Listen To His Word

"The LORD, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy."  (2 Chron 36: 15,16)

These are two verses that should shake us and wake us and they surely demand our attention. Sadly, the Israelites had fallen into the worship practices of their neighbors and had turned from the one true God. He sent His prophets to call them back to a relationship with Him and for a time they would return. Whether it was poor parenting, poor teaching or poor leadership, they would always abandon God and He, because of His love for them, would call them back again and again. (sounds familiar)
While the tendency is to apply these verses to our nation, and we certainly should, the real application must be to me as an individual. Am I listening to God's message, am I sensitive to His leading in my life, do I despise His words and mock those that bring them or obey them? Do I recognize that His love for me means that He is patient and will give me repeated opportunity to hear His message and return to Him? Am I a parent that makes sure that the next generation is faithful to God and His message or do I let my children grow up under the influence of the world and its messages?
God is patient and does not want any to perish. (2 Peter 3:9) However, He tells us that there comes a point where it is to late and "there is no remedy". That is a scary statement. We can ignore the message long enough that He is done with us. Some say God is the God of second chances, I say He is the God almost unlimited chances. But He tells us that we can ignore Him to the point that His anger is aroused and our opportunity to hear and listen is over.
This brings to mind the story of the man who drowned on his roof during a flood. He confronts God and asks why he didn't save him. God tells him He sent a boat and a helicopter. Sometimes we have the person right in front of us with the right word from God or we read our Bibles and ignore the very verse that can change our lives for eternity. Our pride or our ignorance often stands in the way of our rescue. He has sent the vessel through which our salvation is available. Jesus is our boat and our helicopter if only we will listen. He "has the words of life" that we need to hear.
I am thankful that God is a God of pity and that He is "slow to anger". I need that! I need His grace and patience to allow me to grow and learn. That is what I need, what he needs is for me to be willing to listen. Just as a parent dealing with a child, God wants us to listen and learn and just as a parents patience finally gives out, His can too. There comes a point where there is no remedy.
Paul puts it like this..."And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers". (Romans 1:27-29)
You and I see this list of sinful actions lived out around us daily. God is patient, but His patience has a limit at which point it is to late and no remedy can be found. May we stay open to His message and His messengers, always going to His Word to confirm truth. May God richly bless you as you strive each day to be His man and His woman.

Faithful Under Pressure

(Daniel 1 & 2)
One of my favorite stories in the Old Testament is the story of Daniel. He stands as a great example of how to live out our lives in this world in a way that brings honor to God. As a young man, Daniel is taken captive and removed from his homeland. He finds himself in a foreign nation, serving under an evil king. His name is changed and he is instructed to begin living like the natives. His Jewish name, Daniel, which honors God is changed to Belteshazzar, a name that honors the king. He is given the food of the king, which would violate his conscience and God's Law.

Here is the thing that I admire most! He is away from mom and dad, he is away from the "church", he is far from home, yet he determines to continue to live in a way that pleases God. His surroundings, his circumstances are not what determines his conduct. Daniel is God's man in every location, in every situation and God blesses him for that. He is rewarded in the here and now for his faithfulness. (of course he is also rewarded eternally) God uses Daniel to demonstrate His power before king Nebuchadnezzar. He interprets dreams and demonstrates great wisdom, so the king makes him ruler over the entire province of Babylon.

While we read about Daniel's faithfulness and his promotion to ruler, the purpose of this is not Daniel's glory, rather it is all about God. Daniel understands that God is the one that is doing the work, he understands that alone, he is helpless. After interpreting the dream for the king, Daniel makes it clear that it is not his power that has enabled him to do this. "The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy." (Daniel 2:45) It would have been easy for him to take the credit. He could have let everyone believe that he was the one with the power and reaped the reward, but Daniel is faithful in every situation.

The king understands that God is the one that is at work here. "Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery." (2:47) Daniel's faithfulness accomplishes God's purposes. The LORD is honored and glorified, even by an evil king.

Sometimes we think our actions have no effect, that our conduct goes unnoticed. Daniel calls out from history to say that our lives matter, how we choose to live has meaning. We may not serve before a king, but we serve before those that need to meet God everyday. When we are home or away from home, God gives us opportunities to demonstrate faithfulness. We can choose to eat and drink like those around us or we can choose to not defile ourselves. We can choose to identify with the world or we can wear the name of Christ.

Daniel had a choice to make and he chooses faithfulness over fitting in, he chooses to live honorably instead of comfortably. He chooses God over the world. His life stands as an example to us that when we chose to live our lives in a way the honors God, we will receive the glory that is from God.  "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?" (John 5:44)

May each of us determine to live noble lives in service to God, whether we find ourselves at home or abroad, in high school or college, married or single, young or old. God will use us, if we chose Him. As they say.... "Dare to be a Daniel"!

Clay In His Hands

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
Then the word of the LORD came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. (Jeremiah 18: 1-6)

God sends Jeremiah to the potter for a visual lesson. Sometimes we need to see something to fully understand the meaning in a message and God uses a potter and his clay to communicate a truth that we all need to fully grasp and make part of our DNA.

I have always enjoyed watching a potter work with clay on a wheel. It is almost magical to watch a lump of clay turn into a vase. The clay starts out as a blob, without form and in the skilled hands of the potter becomes a beautiful, yet useful vessel. He has done this many times before and it shows in his skill at working with this unforgiving medium. One wrong move, one touch here or there, the amazing work turns into a twisted mess. Thankfully, the potter knows what he is doing and even when a mess is made, he is able to take what is left and turn it into something of value.

God is like that! He knows and understands the materials He is working with. He has formed and reformed multiplied millions of lives in useful, beautiful vessels for His use. No matter what the lump looked like before His hands touched it, the clay is forever changed after His touch. No lump is beyond His ability to change, if the lump will only get on the wheel.

Every lump is "marred" before He shapes it, no one is without blemish and everyone needs His touch. He can form any messed up life into something that is useful to Him, if He is allowed the opportunity. We must be willing to "be shaped as it seems best to Him." He is the potter and He determines how to mold and shape each person in service to Him. The clay cannot say to the potter "make me a flower pot" or "make me a water pitcher". It is in the hands of the potter to decide what each lump will become.

For many of us, allowing someone to have that kind of authority in our lives is scary. Submitting ourselves to that kind of shaping and molding takes trust. We must consider who or what is shaping our lives, who have we turned over control to? Is it television? Is it a book? Is it our friends or our family? Is it our computer or our smart phone? Something or someone is shaping each of us. We have made the decision (consciously or unconsciously) to trust.

Our creator is calling us to submit to His authority, His shaping of our lives. Nothing or no one is in the position God is in to know what is best for us. He made us and He knows what our lumps should become. His hands understand our needs and are able to form us into just the right person.

"Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand". He is able, unlike anyone else to know you inside and out and to give you the life that your heart longs for. Get on the wheel; allow Him to work in your life. Allow His hands to fix the blemishes, allow His hands to shape your life into something beautiful and useful to Him.

God's Wrath

I have heard it said that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are two different gods. I don't see it that way. For much of the Old Testament God is dealing with the nation of Israel and is involved in administration of a country. In the New Testament, His involvement in a nation is replaced by His reign over His kingdom. In the Old Testament, His discipline was directed at nations; in the New he disciplines us individually. The difference isn't in God, but rather in His administration. In the Old Testament the focus was national; in the New it is individual. Same God, different administration.

In the book of Nahum, we get to see how God deals with a nation that once repented and was saved, but then turned her back on God. The nation in question is Nineveh. Jonah delivered God's message to the people of Nineveh and they responded by repenting and turning to God, so the nation was spared. (Again, the difference between Old and New is nations vs. individuals)

¹ A prophecy concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

The LORD’s Anger Against Nineveh

 ² The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;
   the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
The LORD takes vengeance on his foes
   and vents his wrath against his enemies. ³ The LORD is slow to anger but great in power;
   the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished.
(Nahum 1:1-3)

These verses give us great insight into God and His expectations of us. He is a "jealous" God, He expects us to be faithful to Him. I understand that completely, as a human, I experience jealousy when those I love and have been faithful to demonstrate that they have loyalty to someone else. I cannot imagine a husband that doesn't care if his wife is off with another man. God is like that! He is faithful to us and loves us and in return, He expects faithful love.

He is an avenging God. He hands out justice! Whether to nations or individuals, God is a god of justice. He is the rewarder of those that are faithful and the punisher of those that are not. "The LORD takes vengeance on His foes". That is a scary verse to me! Who wants to be a foe of the almighty God? Given the choice, who would choose foe over friend?

Thankfully, the next verse gives us hope. "The LORD is slow to anger but great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished." He is slow to anger, giving us time to learn from our mistakes and make changes in our lives. This is a great picture of parenting. A child makes mistakes; the parent responds appropriately, without anger and administers the proper punishment. If the child continues in improper conduct, the parent’s anger is seen by the child and the conduct changes or the punishment becomes more severe. He is slow to anger, but He will become angry if we continue in our rebellious conduct. That is proper discipline from a loving Father.

God finishes these verses with the assurance that the guilty will be punished. Sometimes it seems that the guilty are rewarded and that can test our faith. We see child killers set free and given interviews on television and book deals. We see wife killers declared "not guilty" and then live out their lives as celebrities. But we can rest assured that God will punish the guilty. They might get away with it here, but they will ultimately face a judge and jury that cannot be fooled. He "will not leave the guilty unpunished!"

For Christians, the good news is that through the sacrifice of our savior, Jesus we stand before the judge innocent of all charges. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) Jesus is the one and only that can take care of our guilt problem. He is the only one that has taken our punishment for us. Good news? Good News!

Ritual vs Righteousness

The children of Israel had lost their way. They had become (for the most part) like those that lived around them. They had taken on their lifestyle, their attitudes and their gods. God's people were no different than the rest of the world. Yes, they continued to keep some to the traditions of their fathers, they would go to temple, they would make their offerings, they would sing a few songs and then go home and live just like their neighbors and God would have none of it. He was angry and rightly so. These people had made a promise, a covenant with Him that they would be His people and be a light to the rest of the world. They would live in obedience to Him and would be a blessed people because of it.

Time passes and His people had forgotten what He had done for them. All the warnings of His prophets fell on deaf ears. They had abandoned righteousness and retained ritual. They attended the assemblies, but were unchanged by the encounter. They sang songs of worship with their lips, but their hearts were somewhere else. They made offerings, but retained the best for themselves.

So God says to His people:
"I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me.
Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" (Amos 5:21-240)

He uses strong language to get His point across. Words like "hate', "despise" and "stench". He tells them that their offerings are unacceptable, that their songs were just noise to Him. The people that had been a joy to Him had become the source of sadness. This picture is in stark contrast to the time that the temple was completed and God came to live in it and all the people celebrated.

God reminds His people that what He wants is justice and righteousness. Their assemblies were to be an outpouring of love for a God that provided and protected. Their offerings were to be in view of their unrighteousness and God's demand for justice. Their songs were to be filled with praise of the One who is worthy of worship. Without justice and righteousness, His people were missing the point of having a relationship with the Creator. Without those elements, they were just like everyone else.

Thankfully, this could never happen today. (sarcasm) We struggle with the same issues in our lives that the Israelites did 3000 years ago. People are people and God still calls on us to be a people of justice and righteousness. Our assemblies are "despised" by God if we are living lives of injustice and unrighteousness. Our songs are noise to God if our hearts are not filled with the joy of a true relationship with Him. Our offerings are unacceptable if they do not flow from a heart that is filled to overflow with gratitude. May we grow in our pursuit of righteousness and our dedication to justice and may we be a people that offer true worship and avoid ritual.

The Power of Prayer

In the midst of all the unfaithfulness that plagues Israel, a story of faithfulness is given. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah reforms the justice system refocusing on the Laws of God. He instructs the judges that they are "not judging for man but for the LORD". Whether it was his desire to serve God or some other event, the next thing we are told is that his neighbors were sending a vast army to make war against Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah. He is told of the impending attack and his actions in the face of war are worthy of our consideration.

Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him. Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard and said: “LORD, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’ “But now here are men from  Ammon,  Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (2 Chron. 20:3-12)
The king knows where hope is found. Confronted with "unwinnable odds", Jehoshaphat declares a fast and determines to seek God's help for his people. Through his leadership, the people of Judah, from every town came together and sought the LORD’s help. He did not trust in the might of his army or the power of his intellect, he turned to God and led the people whom he ruled to seek God's help. (Where can we find leaders like that?)
With all the people assembled at the temple, Jehoshaphat stands up and offers a mighty prayer in which he praises God for His power, His rule over the nations. He thanks God for deliverance of His people and the fulfilling of the land promise. He reminds God of His promise to deliver His people if they would cry out to Him. He lays their requests for deliverance at God's feet and honestly proclaims "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you".
Humility is not usually an attribute associated with power, but here we have a king willing to publically admit that he is clueless in the face of his enemy. He shows his dependence on God and calls upon all the people to follow him in submission. Take a moment to imagine the scene, the king standing in prayer, all the people around him as he offers a prayer for God's help. Meanwhile, the enemy continues to march towards Jerusalem to drive out the Israelites. Faith vs. force. Prayer vs. power.
Las Vegas would certainly offer good odds for the enemies of Judah. Physical eyes would see a forthcoming slaughter; spiritual eyes would see a sure victory for the faithful. The people stand together before the LORD and wait for His response. He doesn't make them wait long as He sends his message through His servant, Jahaziel. "Do not be afraid or discouraged becauseof this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's". (20:13-19) The battle is not yours, but God's!
The king understood that hope, real hope is only found in God. He demonstrates his trust by leading the people in prayer before the King. He places their future in His hands. And God doesn't let His people down! When God's people are attacked, God is attacked. He takes it personally! Jehoshaphat assembles the people to march out to fight, armed with.... songs. They go out singing and praising Him and He fought the battle for them, defeating the enemy.
Lessons to learn.... first, when trouble comes our way, remember where our help comes from: the maker of heaven and earth. Leaders and followers alike turn to God in prayer; ask for His help when you are faced with difficult odds in your life. Second, wait for His response. Too many times, I ask for His help and then jump out ahead of Him. Wait, patiently for His leadership in our lives. Go to His word and seek wisdom. Ask mature brothers and sisters for guidance. Let God work. Lastly, in the face of difficulty, sing to and praise the Creator. Stop thinking about yourself and how difficult you have it and just praise God. He will work on your behalf, He promises.
May we determine to be like Jehoshaphat turning to God when we need help. May we decide that God is the source of all that we need to "win" in this life and the next and may we sing our way through trials and difficulties as God fights our battles. Praise Him.

Abandoned the Law

(1 Kings 14:22-24; 2 Chron. 12:1, 14)

With Solomon gone, God keeps His promise and divides the kingdom. Solomon's son Rehoboam rules over Judah and Benjamin, while Jeroboam rules over the other 10 tribes. This begins a very dark time in the history of Israel, the divided kingdom. Under Solomon, they had reached the pinnacle as a nation and then just as quickly, they fell to new depths. They were divided and defeated and they had abandoned the LORD who had given them all the blessings.
Warning after warning had been given to the children of Israel and God had made it clear that if they turned from Him, His blessings would be withdrawn. God had delivered them from captivity in Egypt, defeated the people in the promised land and established them as a great nation, yet they abandoned Him.

"After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the LORD. He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the LORD." (2 Chron. 12:1, 14)

Judah did evil in the eyes of the LORD. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than their fathers had done. They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. (1 Kings 14: 22-24)

"Rehoboam's position as king is established and he had become strong." He feels his power!  He is in charge and is self-reliant. Nothing good comes from pride and Rehoboam is wallowing in his own strength. God tells us that "after" this, after he is "established" and "strong", Rehoboam and all Israel "abandoned the law of the LORD". They no longer needed God. He had provided everything they had, everything they needed, yet they turned from Him and began to worship idols. A nation, blessed by God, given great power and influence in the world, abandons the God of their fathers to become like the nations around them. (sounds familiar)
God doesn't waste ink, so there are lessons to be learned in the recording of these events. First, God keeps His promises. He told Solomon that the kingdom would be taken away from his son and He fulfills His promise through Jeroboam. Solomon's unfaithfulness results in problems for his children! Parents should pay special attention to this lesson. Each generation has an impact on the next. If I am faithful and my children see that I love the LORD, they will likely want to have that same faith. If I abandon my faith or if they detect that it is phony, they will not have interest in joining me on my faith journey.
 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." (Eph 6: 1-4)
Secondly, when I am strong and powerful, the temptation is to think it is me. I am smart, I am wise and I am wealthy....I, I, I. It becomes about me and I stop depending on God and forget that He is the source of my blessings. We are called to live a life of gratitude for the blessings that God sends our way. Whatever they are, whether great or small, God is the source of every good thing in our lives.  "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17)
And lastly, people are going to worship something. When the king and all Israel abandoned God, they turned to other "gods". God created us with a need to worship something or someone. The correct use of that need is of course directed at the God of the universe. Just like every other need or desire that we have, there is a proper outlet for that want; but God gives us the choice to fulfill it properly or improperly. People today worship many things: jobs, homes, spouses, money, boats, boyfriends, girlfriends, leaders, athletes and on and on. When we remove God from the throne of our lives, something or someone else will most assuredly take His place. Israel replaced God with the "gods" that those around them worshipped. Just like them, we are constantly being pulled to conform to those around us, but God calls us to be transformed. (Romans 12: 2)
May we determine to be humble, realizing that God is the source of everything. He, alone is worthy of our worship. Praise Him!