The Great Escape

Acts 11-12

One of my favorite movies growing up was The Great Escape where Steve McQueen "escapes" from a German prison camp many times but is recaptured each time. Likewise I have always liked Peter's escape from jail when the angel leads him out of locked chains and doors to freedom. The irony of poor Rhoda answering the door at prayer meeting being held at Mary's house is so excited that she slams the door of Peter to run in to tell everyone that Peter is at the door.

We too have been set free... maybe not from a jail with armed guards, but from a prison with chains just as surely. Sin holds us in bondage as long as we will let it, but Jesus will set us free. He paid the ransom and we are free to leave... free to live, but here's the kicker, we have to decide to accept the freedom that he bought us.

Guards and Locks

Psalms 125-127

Unless the Lord protects the city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.

I've always found peoples fascination with lock and alarm systems somewhat humorous. I used to drive a Toyota 4Runner with a canvas top, I decided early on not to lock my doors since a small pen knife could "unlock" the soft top at a much higher cost than any contents that would be stolen. So often, locks, and alarm systems and similar protection devices only protect contents from people who don't want them very bad. Any thief willing to break glass and move quickly can defeat most systems if the Lord isn't on duty too. But when you add the protection provided by the the one who moves mountains, spits out stars, and creates planets, now you've got a real guard who is able to protect.

Hard Work?

Ecclesiastes 1-2

When Solomon claims that he tried to find meaning in building a large home and planting beautiful vineyards, and building gardens and parks, and built reservoirs to collect water... but didn't find meaning, it occurred to me that I doubt he built any of it. While I have had pleasure and indeed a measure of worth in building things, I can't see how the same feelings would be engendered if you had your slaves build everything for you. I agree that all the material pleasures of this world cannot give meaning, but I think that is especially true when the cost is small. That which comes too easy, will never have much worth, and certainly not meaning. Perhaps true meaning really requires something that transcends life... something outside of life to provide meaning to life. In other words, meaning is endowed by something greater to something lesser, thus for human life to have meaning, it has to be bestowed upon humans by something greater... like a Creator.

Demonic Evil

James 1-3

How do you define demonic evil? What class of actions fall into the category of demonic evil? If you are like most people a class of actions comes to mind that are reminiscent of witches and the occult, or gruesome violence, but the Bible has a different depiction of demonic evil... jealousy and selfish ambition are identified by James as examples of demonic evil. That we don't have a similar definition probably says more about us... like wanting to excuse our sin as minor, than it does to refute James. A righteous understanding of God's commands to us will bring us to a similar understanding.

Poison Blowfish Sushi

2 Chronicles 25-28

There is a certain type of sushi called Fugu that is made from poison blowfish. If prepared correctly it is a culinary delight, but if prepared incorrectly it paralyzes the diner and death results within hours. Reading through the slate of Judah's kings in 2 Chronicles reminds me of poison blowfish. It seems that some of the kings were prepared incorrectly and lead to the paralysis and death of Israel, while their fathers or sons were wonderful kings who pleased the Lord. What ingredient in the makeup of man is it that can go so wrong... it all goes back to the garden when sin and evil entered into the DNA of man. We need a savior who can cleanse us from the poison; praise God we have one.

I Wonder...

Deuteronomy 4-6

I wonder if anything would have been different if Moses had handled the situation at Meribah differently. When Moses struck the rock at Meribah with his staff instead of just speaking the word as God had directed him, God pronounced that Moses would not be allowed to cross over into the Promised Land. That Moses wasn't satisfied with God's pronouncement showed when Moses begged God to change his mind, but God told him "Enough!". Now Moses isn't saying anything more to God about it, but he's not finished talking about it. He keeps telling the Israelites that it was their fault that he doesn't get to cross over... that God became angry because of them. But that wasn't the case. I wonder what would have happened if Moses had taken complete responsibility from the start. We don't know... and can't know, but God seldom rewards those who fail to repent.

Just Rewards

Acts 9-10

During our lesson at church this evening, we discussed an Andy Stanley video about personal spiritual  disciplines using the text from Matthew 6:1-6...

Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. [...]  Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. [...] But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

 One of the focuses, was on the reward part. Not that we do these things so that we receive a reward, but rather that when we do these things God does reward us. Today's reading from Acts shows the practical outworking of Jesus' words. There was a Roman Centurion named Cornelius who feared God, gave to the needy and prayed. An angel of the Lord appeared to Cornelius with this message... “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!”

Even though we may not know how or why God works in a particular manner, we can place our full faith and trust in him... and that is just rewards.

Peace Within the Walls

Psalms 122-124


Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper. O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls and prosperity in your palaces. For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “May you have peace.” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem.

Who could ask for more for their house... that there would be peace within your walls and prosperity in your palaces. Even the prosperity is overrated when peace is missing.

Resolute Trust

Habakkuk

The prophet Habakkuk begins with a question reminiscent of King David... How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! However, God is listening and he replies. The answer catches Habakkuk off guard though. What do you do when you cry out to God for an answer and the answer comes back load and clear and not what you were hoping for? What do you do then? If you are Habakkuk, you ask another question, but this time, there is less confidence in your cry of indignation and listening and expecting the answer, you resolve to trust in the Lord's ways... whatever they are... for he knows better then you. You look to the skies and proclaim that you are filled with awe because of his amazing works, and you praise him in good times and bad. I will rejoice and be joyful in the God of my salvation.

The Other Half

Proverbs 31

It's not just about the virtuous wife... the other part of Proverbs 31 advises that women, beer and alcohol are not appropriate for kings. Okay, that may overstate King Lemuel's mother's advice about women, but beer and alcohol are out, because they may forget the law and deny justice to the oppressed. The oppressed on the other hand are welcome to the beer and wine that they may forget their troubles. I wonder what said said about the oppressed and women... that was probably what led her to the discussion of a virtuous wife.

Not My Home

Hebrews 11-13

This world is not my home. Throughout scripture, men of faith have found that their rewards did not come to them in this world... this world can only produce worldly good and worldly evil. It cannot provide the eternal rewards that faith promises. To the worldly, Paul lived a life to be pitied, but he knew something they didn't. He had confidence in the one in whom he hoped and assurance about things he could not see... he was a man of great faith, following in the footsteps of great men and women of faith.

We to can walk in that light if we so choose to throw off the weights of this world that hold us back, especially the sin that trips us up. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus... Jesus at home, Jesus at work, Jesus at play, Jesus at church, Jesus at WalMart. Wherever we are, Whatever we are doing, if our sights are set on Jesus he will bring us through any trouble... on the other side.

The Company You Keep

2 Chronicles 21-24

Many parents have advised their children to be careful of the company they keep, because the parents know by experience that we can become tempted by others to do things that we might otherwise have avoided. Kings are not immune from that temptation. While their were no angelic kings in Judah, by and large the Kings of Judah were more likely to do good in God's sight than evil compared with the Kings of Israel. That is, until  Jehoram King of Judah married Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab King of Israel. He was so evil that no one was sorry when he died and they did not bury him in the tomb of the kings of Judah. His son and wife succeeded him into leadership of Judah and brought dishonor to the nation. The trend wasn't stopped until the influence was completely removed by taking the baby Joash and secreting him away for his first seven years until he could be declared King.

Enough

Deuteronomy 1-3


When Moses had brought his people within sight of the Promised Land, and had led them in the defeat of Sihon King of Heshbon and Og King of Bashaam, he desired to cross over into the Promised Land with his people. He knew that God had already decreed that he was not to go into the Promised Land, but he desired it in his heart. So he pleaded with God, begging to be allowed to go into the Promised Land. Moses forgot who he was in relationship with... he forgot that God is the same yesterday and today... he thought he could convince God to let him go if he used the big puppy dog eyes. But God's response was firm.

“That is enough,” the LORD said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross this Jordan. 28But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.”

In essence, God told him the same thing that Jesus was to say to Peter many years later when Peter asked what wpould happen to John. God has a plan for each of us. He wants us to follow his plan. He will not cotton to our deciding that we want to execute someone else's plan. Enough.

Who Ya Gonna Call

Psalms 120-121

When troubles await, you do you call? Knowing where to find help and then seeking it is a mark of the mature. If you are the psalmist, your help comes from the Lord. The one that won't let you stumble... the one that watches over you... the one that keeps you from harm. Since he never sleeps or slumbers, he is always there... always ready. Why would you ever call anyone else?

Jonah's Dream Job

Nahum

Like Jonah, Nahum prophesies about Ninevah, but unlike Jonah, Nahum was able to prophesy their demise... like Jonah wanted to do. Ninevah was the capital of the Assyrian empire in the time of Sennacherib and Nahum's message to Ninevah was that it would cease to exist. True to his word, Ninevah was overtaken by the Medes and razed to the ground... this was exactly the message that Jonah longed to preach, but the Lord still had plans for Assyria in bringing Israel back to Him, so this message had to wait for Nahum.

Agur's Guest Appearance

Proverbs 29-30

Agur, if he is a real person, makes a small, but powerful guest appearance in the Book of Proverbs. His contribution to the wisdom literature presages Paul's advice to Timothy ("Every word of God proves true") and John's admonition at the end of Revelation ("Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you")... and yet he regards himself as "too stupid to be human."

New Covenant

Hebrews 8-10

If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. [...] When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.

What is so difficult about this passage that so many Christians want to go back to the first covenant? I could understand if a Jew who did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah thought that the Ten Commandments were a binding law on our lives (not to mention all of the other Levitical laws), but why should there be any need for a discussion of whether the Ten Commandments still apply for a Christian? They easily throw away the requirements for animal sacrifice that the Old Testament clearly show as a lasting ordinance for all generations, but want to selectively keep the Ten, as if there were magic in those laws. Try as they might, Israel was never successful in keeping the law... even though they saw God miraculously split open the Red Sea and witnessed the awesome might of God in the pillar of fire by night.

Jesus brought a new law... a new covenant... a relationship in which God tattooed his laws into our hearts so that we can't miss them... so that we can't miss him. And yet, like the Israelites at the foot of Mt Sinai, we want God to push God away for a substitute. But this time, God will not allow Moses or the Ten Commandments, or anything else stand in for us... he paid too high a price. We either accept the relationship that he has created us for... or we reject him and walk away. There's no other choice.

Mid-Life Crisis

2 Chronicles 16-20

Early in his reign as King of Judah, Asa heard the word of the Lord from Azariah. He was advised that as long as he stayed with the Lord, the Lord would stay with him, but if he abandoned the Lord, the Lord would abandon him. For the first 35 years of his reign, he followed that advice and lived in peace, but then he got stupid. When Baasha, King of Israel decided to face off against his fellow Isaraelites, King Asa sought help from the King of Aram instead of the Lord. He may have won the battle, but definitely lost the war. The last four years of his reign were marked by war, and he died an ignominious death as he abandoned the Lord and refused to turn back.

Was this Asa's mid-life crisis? How many continue to follow in his footsteps? What will it take to keep others from taking the same path? Lord God, please guard my comings and goings that I may never abandon you.

Good or Evil?

Numbers 33-36

Encamped just across the Jordan River from Jericho, the Israelites received their final instructions before moving into the Promised Land. Like a father sending his child off into the world, God wanted to place a little focus on an very important issue, that he thought the Israelites might think wasn't so important.

“When you cross the Jordan River into the land of Canaan, you must drive out all the people living there. You must destroy all their carved and molten images and demolish all their pagan shrines. Take possession of the land and settle in it, because I have given it to you to occupy. [...] But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live. And I will do to you what I had planned to do to them.”

Those were pretty explicit instructions, but in their first battle at Jericho, one of the Israelite warriors decided to keep an idol he found... and then the Israelites were tricked into a peace treaty with some of the inhabitants... and God's instructions were not followed, but the consequences he foretold were. What is it about humans that make them feel they can play with fire and not get burned? How many go astray because they kept a "harmless" habit, that later destroyed them? How ironic that the "tree of knowledge of good and evil" placed us in a condition wherein we cannot recognize the difference between good and evil!

Spiritual Wannabes

Acts 5-6

The Acts Church must have been an exciting time of spiritual renewal... people were added to their number every day... the sick were healed by Peter's shadow... jail doors were opened... and people shared all that they had. Not surprisingly, some people wanted to be a part of the spiritual awakening without the commitment. Ananias and Sapphira sold a piece of land and conspired to pretend to give all of the proceeds to the early church so that others would think highly of them. Instead they instantly fell dead. What appeared to them to be a sure-fired scheme to success was their ultimate downfall. How often do we scheme in analogous ways... hoping that others will think highly of us?

Thy Word

Psalms 119

The psalmist waxes eloquently about the Word, but new ideas keep coming to his mind so it takes him 176 verses to gt it all out. In this the longest chapter of the Bible the psalmist constantly speaks of the Word saying...

• That it brings joy to those who follow it
• That he hides it in his heart
• That he will not forget it
• That he will meditate on it
• That it pleases him
• That he is revived and encouraged by it
• That he will cling to it
• That it gives him life
• That he trusts in it and it gives him hope
• That he will speak to kings about it and not be ashamed
• That it is worth more than silver and gold
• That it is a lamp to his feet

and so much more. Those who truly love the Lord, must  love his word too.

What Kind of Prophet Do You Seek?

Micah

Throughout scripture the prophets were ignored and insulted and if that didn't quiet them down, they were murdered. The people would shout “Don’t prophesy like that. Such disasters will never come our way!” Micah has the Israelites figured out. He suggests that the only kind of prophet they would like would be a prophet full of lies that would say to them, “I’ll preach to you the joys of wine and alcohol!”

Before we get onto the Israelites too quick, we need to review our track record for listening to prophetic words. If any should be so bold as to say he heard a word from the Lord today that doesn't pass the political correctness test, even many Christian ministers are quick to dispute the revelation. What kind of prophet would we listen to today? How much do they have to agree with us before we will take them seriously?

Understanding Justice

Proverbs 28

It seems everyone has an opinion about how God ought to run the world... even those who don't believe in God. They will ague that if God were really all good, all knowing, and all powerful, then evil and suffering wouldn't exist. In other words, they assert that if they were God, then the world wouldn't contain evil or suffering... but of course they've never really been God so they have no idea what they are talking about.

I think this must have been the type of thing that Solomon was talking about when he said that "evil people do not understand justice." People have a cause... the environment, AIDS, health care, poverty, gay rights, abortion, etc. and choose to elevate that cause to the highest form of justice... and assume that God must feel the same way. The problem with this way of thinking is that when our hearts aren't pure, we can't possibly think God's thoughts. When we are filled with evil (pride, greed, sexual immorality, etc.) our sense of justice is skewed and we emphasize things that God doesn't emphasize and likewise we deemphasize things that God values.

If we want to understand justice, we must first seek after God... to obey his commands... to surrender our will to his will. If we will do that, then we can begin to understand his justice, but anything short of that must cause distortions in our attempt to view justice.

Just Kidding

Hebrews 5-7
Ok, so I have a new life verse...

There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen.

Just kidding. But sometimes...

It would be nice to move off the basics and into the meat of the gospel, but our world is lost and getting more lost. We pore billions into new ways to sin and rebel against the moral law that God has set down, but virtually none to uphold his moral teaching. In each day we are given 86,400 seconds to budget, and the average person uses only a few devoted to God -- and those few seconds are often more in the form of a curse, than actually turning the heart towards God.

What if... a new national research project were created to delve into the spiritual depths and given a budget similar to that of embryonic stem cell research. If the greatest minds of our universities were pointed to the creator of the universe and really studied, what benefit would accrue to the nation?

Costly Forgetfulness

2 Chronicles 11-15

Even though I've read the stories over and over... and even though I am so forgetful... it still amazes (and scares) me how much the people of Israel forget the lessons of those who came before. It's a pretty simple formula... when they seek after God and obey his commands good things happen... and when they seek after other gods and disobey God's commands, bad things happen. So we see this cycle where they seek after God and they are blessed and they grow comfortable in their blessings and start worshiping other gods, and bad things happen and they come to their senses and turn back to God... over and over again.

Makes you wonder about us. Did everyone in Israel turn away from God or only the majority? Are we "safe" because we haven't turned away, or are we lumped in with the rest of the nation who have so turned away from God that they question his existence or worse they question his continued relevance? I doubt we can count on being safe. By all accounts it certainly looks like our country has felt the blessings of God and reckoned that those blessings didn't actually come from God, but came because we deserved them, so we have abandoned God and he will not be mocked. Father God forgive us our trespasses.

They Just Don't Get It

Numbers 29-32

Then the Lord said to Moses, “On behalf of the people of Israel, take revenge on the Midianites for leading them into idolatry. After that, you will die and join your ancestors.”

You would have thought that since this was going to be Moses' last battle that his people would be sure to do this battle right... one for the Gipper, so to speak. They fought valiantly, and were victorious (for the Lord was with them), and not a single one of their men was lost while all of the Midianite men were killed along with Balaam (for the Lord was really with them and he detested the Midianites and was sorely disappointed with Balaam). However, they completely failed at the finish line for they "captured all the women." Had they already forgotten that it was the Midianite women that had seduced them into sin, or were they remembering the Midianite women? How often do we unconsciously sin because the taste of pleasure is still in our memory? At least Moses saw the sin and called out the generals and captains for their lack of leadership with regard to the Midianite women, and then they stepped up and offered all of their share of the gold plundered (about 420 pounds of gold) out of thanksgiving to the Lord when they realized that none of their men had been killed. We need to always be on the lookout for the sin that creeps into our lives (to purge it) and the blessings in our life (to thank the great provider.)

Scary Prayer

Acts 3-4

After Peter and John were released by the Temple Guard for healing the lame man at the Beautiful Gate in the name of Jesus, they gather with the other disciples and prayed that God would give them boldness in proclaiming the name of Jesus. But they also prayed something else... they prayed that God would "Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

Too often when we pray we stay away from the scary prayers... those that our faith isn't big enough to allow us to proclaim with boldness. Notice that the disciples did not qualify their request with "if it be in your will" or "in your time." They simply brought their request before the Lord. The thought that God might not answer their request didn't seem to be a part of their belief. It was the same way with Peter and John at the gate. The lame man asked for alms and they instead boldly told him to get up and walk, and then leaned over to help him up. It didn't seem to occur to them that the lame man's legs wouldn't support him, they fully expected God to work right then to heal the man.

Why is it that we don't pray with that level of belief? Many Christians today don't even believe that miracles are still a part of God's plan... entire denominations refuse to accept that God is still in the miracle business. Perhaps we should not be too surprised that the atheists around us think of us as pitiful... an ignorant group clinging to myths from long ago. As a whole, we don't really seem to believe what we claim. True faith ought to step out with scary prayers... not to test God, but rather to be the voice of God manifested in a life in tune with God's perfect will.

Scrappy Verse

Psalms 117-118

The two verses that make up Psalm 117 qualify it as the smallest chapter in the Bible, but like the proverbial small guy on the athletic field of play, you could say of it that "it may be small, but it's scrappy." The terseness of the verse does not diminish the message, for the object of the psalm is anything but small. The Lord, our God Almighty is worthy of all of our praise for he loves us with a love that endures forever and his faithfulness endures for all generations. The only reasonable response to that kind of love and faithfulness... is praise... HALLELUJAH!

Many gods

Jonah

When the boat that Jonah escaped in encountered stormy seas, the sailors all began entreating their separate gods to get them out of the mess, but it wasn't working. The captain went below decks to find Jonah fast asleep. He woke him and asked Jonah to pray to his God.

In times of trouble people want to turn to a transcendent being... but if the god you believe in wasn't the God who created you and the universe and everything in it, there should be no reasonable expectation that your god can accomplish anything real. The sailors instinctively reached to someone who could fix their problem, but they didn't really know who that was. We later learn that Jonah prophesied to the citizens of Ninevah and introduced them to his God, but even before that Jonah introduced the sailors to his God... so much so that they were awestruck by God and offered him a sacrificed and vowed to serve him. When our eyes are opened to the one true God, our reaction should be the same as the sailors and the Ninevites.