Visions and Dreams

Readings for today: 1 Samuel 9-12

Several years ago, I was in Ethiopia helping lead a training conference for church planters. About midway through the conference, a striking young man walked up to a group I was talking to. He was dressed head to toe like a traditional Muslim warrior. Flowing robes. Head covering. Curved sword on his hip. We found someone who spoke his dialect and asked him what he needed. He share the most amazing story with us. He grew up in a Muslim village and had never met a Christian. He didn’t even know the name of Jesus. But the Lord revealed Himself to him in a dream one night and he surrendered his life to Him. He woke up the next morning and began preaching about this man who had come to him in his dream. The entire village converted. Now he was left with a dilemma? What to do next? He had no Bible. There was no church in the area. So he prayed to the Lord and the Lord told him to show up in a particular village on a particular day at a particular time and he would be given the resources he needed. The village was Gojo. The day and time coincided with our training conference. It was an absolute miracle.

It’s always hard to read stories like the one we encounter today. Depending on our faith background, we aren’t necessarily used to the idea that God would speak to us in dreams and visions. Today, Saul appears before Samuel. This came as no surprise to Samuel because God had already told him the day before what was going to take place. A man from the tribe of Benjamin would appear out of nowhere. Samuel was to anoint this man king over all Israel. Saul’s task was to reign over God’s people and deliver them from the hands of their enemies. It’s a miraculous story. Especially when one considers all the details that had to take place in order to make it happen. Lost donkeys. A servant’s suggestion to see the “seer.” The fact that Samuel just happened to be in town on that particular day. Three men going up to Bethel with goats, bread, and wine. The confirmation of Saul’s kingship through prophesy. It’s amazing.

Why don’t these things happen more often today? Why do we not see the miracles of God like they did in the Bible or like they do in other parts of the world? If we’re honest, it’s because we don’t need God. Not really. Not in the same way. Most of us live lives of plenty. We have plenty of money. Plenty of time. Plenty of resources at our disposal. This is why Jesus said it’s harder for a rich person to get into heaven than a camel through the eye of a needle. We tend to rely on ourselves. On our own strength and ability and wisdom and for the most part…it works! Or so we think. Contrast that with the people of Israel in Samuel’s day. They were oppressed. Constantly under threat. They were a subsistence agricultural society. The same is true in places like Ethiopia where the local population fights everyday to survive. This is why their faith is so strong. They depend on the miracles of God and He delivers. Friends, the challenge for us is to learn how to depend on God in the same way. To open our hands and hearts to Him and surrender all control. To spend time in silence and solitude before Him. To worship Him in spirit and in truth. As we do these things, God promises to meet with us. He promises to speak to us. He promises to provide for us. He promises to deliver us.

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Samuel 13-16

Talisman

Readings for today: 1 Samuel 4-8

I remember the first time I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark. Such a great movie. Action. Adventure. Suspense. Mystery. It remains a favorite to this day. The heart of the movie is the search for a lost talisman. A sacred treasure. The Nazis want to capture the ark and use it to conquer the world. Indiana Jones wants to capture the ark and put it on display in a museum. Both sides miss the point. The ark of the covenant has no power of its own. Looking into the ark isn’t going to cause your face to melt off. There are no ghosts lurking inside. No insidious force waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting. It simply is a box built to carry the most treasured memories of God’s chosen people. The budded rod of Aaron. A jar of manna from heaven. The stone tablets on which were written the Ten Commandments.

Human beings have this tendency to turn ordinary things into magic totems. We are desperate for something concrete that we can touch and hold and see and feel. We are deeply uncomfortable with the unknown and the unfamiliar. So we make idols like golden calves or bronze snakes. We build beautiful spaces like the Tabernacle and adorn it with golden furniture like the ark but promptly forget the point of it all which is to connect to God.

In our passage today, Israel treats the ark like a magic charm. A good luck token. They mistakenly assumed the ark itself contained power when in fact it was useless. It was just a golden box. The Philistines made a similar mistake. They assumed the ark represented a god and they trembled in fear. Both sides missed the point. In the ensuing battle, the Philistines easily overwhelm Israel. They slaughter thirty thousand on the battlefield. They capture the ark. They kill the priests. They return to their cities having won a great victory not only over Israel but seemingly over Israel’s god. So they take the ark and put it in one of their temples as tribute to their own god, Dagon. When they get up the next morning - probably hung over from the celebration the night before - they can’t believe their eyes. Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark. So they set his statue back up again but the following day they find him fallen yet again to the ground this time with his head and hands cut off. A plague sweeps the city. People start getting sick and dying. They take the ark to another city but the same thing happens. They send it to a third city but the people of that city won’t let it in. So they send the ark back to Israel with an offering. Golden tumor and golden mice to represent the plague they had suffered. It’s important to note the lesson they learned. What they did with the ark was of little importance compared with what they did to honor the God of Israel.

What about us? How often do we turn ordinary things in our own lives into sacred talismans. We place our trust in a particular place or particular style of worship or a particular personality in the pulpit, We treat prayer like some magic formula. The Word of God like some magic book. Friends, none of these things contain any power or authority of their own. Sacred space is important not because of the space itself but because of what happens there. The worship of the Living God. Worship style is important not because of the words or melodies or instrumentation but because of how it points us to God. Prayer is important not because we are good at it or know just the right words to say but because it is the primary way we talk to God. The Bible is important not because of the words on the page but because of how the Holy Spirit uses those words to transform us into the image of God. God is gracious to us. He reveals Himself to us through ordinary means of grace. Make sure you don’t ascribe to those “ordinary means” any more credit than they deserve. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus!

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Samuel 9-12

A Mother’s Devotion

Readings for today: 1 Samuel 1-3

Monica was born in 331 AD to a moderately wealthy family. Though raised as a Christian, she was given in marriage to a non-Christian man named Patricius. Together they had three children who survived infancy. One of them was named Augustine. Monica did not have an easy life. Her husband had a violent temper. Her mother-in-law was a challenge to live with. Her son, though incredibly brilliant, was a happy pagan. All of this could have made Monica bitter and angry but instead she chose to direct her energies to prayer. One by one, her family gave their lives to Christ. Her mother-in-law was won over by her grace and charity. Her husband gave his life to Christ a year before he died. She continued to pray for her son, following him to the city of Milan where he came under the influence of a bishop named Ambrose. As Monica poured her heart out for Augustine to Bishop Ambrose, he is said to have remarked, “I cannot believe a child of such tears shall ever perish.” Augustine soon came to faith and was baptized on Easter in 387AD, becoming one of the most influential Christians in history. After his baptism, his mother told him, “Son, nothing in this world now affords me delight. I do not know what there is now left for me to do or why I am still here, all my hopes in this world being now fulfilled.” She died soon after.

I thought of Monica as I read about the devotion of Hannah this morning. Hannah did not have an easy life. Her barrenness would have been perceived as God’s curse. Her treatment at the hands of her rival, Peninnah, would have been difficult to endure. Most of her community would look on her with pity. It would be easy for Hannah to give into grief and despair. But Hannah turns her energies into prayer. She seeks the Lord with all her heart. She promises to devote her firstborn son to His service if He will simply hear and answer her prayers. God remembers Hannah. He hears her prayers and grants her heart’s desire. Hannah proves faithful. She weans the child and then brings him to Eli so he can be brought up at the Tabernacle which was then located in a city called Shiloh. She never ceases to pray for him. Never ceases to care for him. She even brings him a little robe when she and her husband came up for the annual sacrifice. The impact of her faithful devotion is incredible. Samuel comes to faith at a young age and becomes one of Israel’s greatest judges and prophets.

I imagine all of us can relate even if we don’t have children of our own. All of us know what it’s like to watch a loved one struggle. Perhaps life deals them a bad hand. Perhaps they are struck down with a terrible disease. Perhaps they struggle with their faith. Whatever it may be, it is always tempting to let ourselves become bitter and frustrated and angry with God if He delays in answering our prayers. It’s easy to become impatient or throw in the towel or give up. But faithful people like Hannah and Monica remind us of the power of persistent, devoted prayer.

I have experienced this in my own life. I have prayed over family members for years. I have shed so many tears for them. I have sought God on their behalf. I’ve spent many a sleepless night pacing the floor crying out to God. Sometimes I get frustrated with God. Sometimes I get angry with Him. Sometimes I throw my hands up in despair. But saints like Hannah and Monica and Don and Berk and Daisy and Sam and James and Sarah and Lisa and a host of others have inspired me to keep coming back to the Lord. They have encouraged me to hold fast to God’s promises. To believe God when He says He will never stop pursuing those He loves and He will bring to completion the good work He’s begun.

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Samuel 4-8

Great Redeemer

Readings for today: Ruth 1-4

Thank God we made it to Ruth! I love the book of Ruth. It upends so many of our expectations and helps us come to a deeper understanding of the heart of God. Ruth is a Moabite. A foreigner. A sojourner. She married an Israelite named Chilion and became part of his extended family. This was forbidden by the Law of God but it took place during the time of the judges when everyone was doing right in their own eyes. Then tragedy strikes. Her father-in-law, Elimelech, dies. Ten years later both her husband and his brother die as well. This puts the whole family at risk. There are no men to work. No men to protect the widowed women. So Naomi makes the decision to return home. She encourages her Moabite daughters-in-law to do the same. Start over. See if they have better luck with a new family because hers has brought them only grief. Ruth refuses. She makes this extraordinary declaration, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” (Ruth‬ ‭1:16‬) So powerful is her statement that we often hear it read at weddings thousands of years later! 

Ruth not only returns with Naomi to Bethlehem, she cares faithfully for her mother-in-law. She puts her life at risk by going out to the fields to glean what was left after the reapers had made their way through. It was backbreaking, painstaking work. Women who did this were often molested, harassed, and abused. They were the poorest of the poor in the land. Completely without hope. In the providence of God, the field she chose belonged to a man named Boaz. A righteous man. A man who left the gleanings for the poor as the Law of God demands. (Lev. 19:9-10) A man who protected her from the men who worked for him. A man who included her among his own young women so she woudn’t be alone. Even invited her to sit and eat at his table. Boaz is a man who clearly honors the Lord. I love what he says to Ruth when she asks him why she has found favor in his eyes. “The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!" (Ruth‬ ‭2:12‬) 

Naomi cannot believe their good fortune! Ruth has been led by God to the very fields of the man who can redeem them! (Lev. 25) A man who is a close enough relative to bring them into his home and continue the family line! Thus unfolds a beautiful courtship in chapter three where Ruth goes and lies at Boaz’s feet to ask him to take them in. Boaz is humbled by the request and makes the necessary arrangements to become their kinsman-redeemer. They get married. Conceive a son. The family line continues which is important since her great-grandson is King David! Furthermore, many generations hence, her descendent Joseph will marry a young pregnant woman named Mary and they will have a son named Jesus. The Great Redeemer who will save His people from their sins! 

After all the bloodshed and violence and suffering and pain, it is nice to read that not all was lost in Israel. Even in the time of the judges, there were still faithful men and women who followed the Lord. It is a great reminder to us in our own time that the night is always darkest right before the dawn. Next Saturday is Holy Saturday. A day where Christians reflect on the death of their Lord. His body lying on a cold slab. Wrapped in a burial shroud. Death seemingly having the victory. Sin and Evil seemingly having their way. The Son of God seemingly defeated. We wait on that day in silence. With baited breath for we know what the next day brings! Victory! Jesus rising from the grave! Jesus throwing open the door of the tomb! Death could not hold him! Hell could not defeat Him! Sin and Evil had no power over Him! Jesus is our Great Redeemer! Jesus is our Great Savior!  

Readings for tomorrow: None

The Horror

Readings for today: Judges 19-21

Today we encounter some of the most difficult material in all of Scripture. We see Israel at her lowest point. She has forgotten Yahweh. She has become like the pagan tribes around her. She is more focused on her own gratification than she is on serving and honoring the Lord. Her world is full of idols and sexual perversion and violence. Yes, she still goes through the motions. She still makes her sacrifices. She still prays. Fasts. Appears before the Lord at the appointed times. But it’s all empty at this point. Everyone is doing what seems right to them. They are all following their own ways. They are plumbing the depths of sin. They are pushing the boundaries of evil. Unspeakable atrocities are taking place in Israel such as the gang rape of a woman whose body is then dismembered resulting in a genocidal war that basically annihilates an entire tribe. It’s madness.  

One of my favorite books is the Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. With penetrating insight, he describes the nature of man. Given the right conditions. Given the right set of circumstances. We will all succumb to temptation. In the book, Kurtz sets himself up as a god to be worshipped. He exploits those around him. He uses them for his own personal gratification and enjoyment. He is evil and selfish and insane. Towards the end of the story, he finds himself dying as he “returns” to civilization. His life flashes before his eyes. He reflects back on all he has done. And his final words are, “The horror! The horror!” 

Horror. It’s a good word to describe what we read today from the book of Judges. There simply is nothing redemptive in the story. Nothing good. Nothing godly. Man’s inhumanity to man is on full display. It’s dark. It’s evil. It’s terrifying.

Horror. It’s a good word to describe what’s going on in our world today. One only has to scroll through a Twitter newsfeed or watch cable news to see the hate that leads to violence that leads to death and then return the next day to watch the cycle repeat itself.

Horror. If we’re totally honest, it’s a good word to describe what goes on in all of our hearts. All of us are perpetrators. All of us are victims. We are the Levite. We are the concubine. We’ve sacrificed others and we’ve been sacrificed for the sake of self-protection and self-gratification. In the Bible’s judgment, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Romans‬ ‭3:10-18‬)

Perhaps it’s providential that we read this section of Judges as we head towards Holy Week. A season we dedicate to reflection on the horror of the Cross and the death of God. We reflect on the price Jesus paid. The blood He shed. The penalty He bore. We reflect on the suffering He endured. The pain He experienced. The heartbreak of betrayal. We reflect on the depth of our sin. The depravity of our nature. The darkness of our hearts. We reflect on the cost of our salvation. On what it took to redeem us from sin and death. To deliver us from evil. 

Of course, we also reflect on our salvation! God plunging Himself into the horror of our condition! Plunging into the depths of our darkness! Immersing Himself in the breadth of our madness! Embracing us as His own! In Christ, there is hope for the Levite and his concubine! In Christ, there is hope for the Kurtz’s of our world! In Christ, there is hope even for us! And that hope is found in Jesus!

Readings for tomorrow: Ruth 1-4

Flawed Heroes

Readings for today: Judges 14-18

I grew up in church. Sunday school every weekend. Learning the Bible stories via flannel board. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Noah on his ark. Moses parting the Red Sea. Joshua and the battle of Jericho. One of my favorites was Samson. For a young boy, what’s not to like? Strength. Power. One man winning victory after victory culminating in a final heroic act of self-sacrifice where Samson literally brings the roof down on his enemies!  

As I got older, I began to learn about all the stuff my Sunday school teachers left out. Rightfully, by the way, as I was too young to understand. Adam and Eve’s rebellion and descent into sin. Noah and his family being saved but at incredible cost. Moses parting the Red Sea but often ending up in these violent clashes that would end in entire families being wiped out. Joshua devoting entire cities to destruction. And Samson. A moral train wreck of a man. Selfish. Immature. A man who seems to use his God-given gifts for his own gain and self-gratification. What are we to make of such heroes? The Bible seems full of them. Broken, frail, sinful men and women who are subsequently enshrined in the great “Hall of Fame” of faith in Hebrews 11? 

First and foremost, we are to see them as they are...not as we wish they would be. They are human beings. As such, they are sinners just like us. People whom God chooses to use despite their shortcomings and failings. By the way, this is one of the best arguments for the trustworthiness of Scripture. It paints an honest picture of God’s chosen people. Putting their weaknesses on display right alongside their strengths. Compare that to the sacred writings of other major world religions where heroes are whitewashed to perfection.  

Second, we are to look beyond them to the true source of their strength. The true source of their wisdom. The true source of all their miracles and great victories. It is the Spirit of the Lord that rushes on Samson and gives him the ability to tear a lion apart. Kill a bunch of Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. Trap and tie torches to hundreds of foxes. Tear off a city gate. Bring an entire building down around him. This is not Samson’s doing. It has very little to do with the length of his hair. That’s superstitious nonsense! Not cutting his hair was simply an outward sign of the Nazirite Vow his parents had taken on his behalf before he was even conceived. (Judges 13:2-5) Keeping the vow was a sign of his devotion and dedication to the Lord, the true source of his strength. When he treated his vow casually by allowing his wife to manipulate him, his strength left him. Again, not because of his hair but because he had despised the Lord.

Finally, the entire book of Judges is meant to lead us to despair. Each judge over Israel seems less and less capable of leading well. They are increasingly morally compromised. Increasingly they lose sight of the One True God. Increasingly they abandon the ways of the Lord and follow their own paths. In fact, the city of Dan - a major city in the Northern Kingdom of Israel - will continue to be a city known for its idolatry. Jeroboam will put one of his golden calves here in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. So what begins with violence and idolatry by the tribe of Dan will continue until the day God sends the Assyrians to wipe out the northern kingdom altogether. 

Why drive us to such despair? To teach us yet again of our need for God. Over and over again, the same narrative is reinforced. Humanity is hopeless. From Adam and Eve to the Great Flood. From Noah to the Tower of Babel. From Abraham to slavery in Egypt. From Moses to the end of Judges. With each generation, man’s inhumanity to man only grows. Only increases. Only becomes more pervasive. And we would be lost except for God. He continues to pursue us. He continues to reach out to us. He continues to be faithful even in the face of our unfaithfulness. The climax of the Biblical story is, of course, something we celebrate on Holy Week. Jesus’ suffering and death and resurrection is God’s ultimate and final victory over humanity’s sin and the curse of death.

Readings for tomorrow: Judges 19-21

Jephthah’s Vow

Readings for today: Judges 10-13

When we travel to Ethiopia, we often head into the rural areas to visit village churches. As we walk along the dirt paths, we pass home after home. Most of them are mud huts surrounded by a little brush fence. In the evenings, we see children driving whatever livestock (donkeys, chickens, goats, etc.) the family owns into the enclosure. This keeps the animals safe and the house warm. It’s a common custom all over the Middle East even to this day. 

Hopefully, this places Jephthah’s tragic vow in context. He fully expected the first thing to greet him when he returned home to be a goat or a sheep or some other animal. He most certainly did NOT expect it to be his daughter! So when she comes dancing out of the home with her tambourine, he tears his clothes. He instantly regrets the vow he made. He feels trapped. And how does his daughter respond? Her reaction is perhaps the most surprising part of this story. She willingly lays down her life for her father! She faces her fate with courage and faith. Taking two full months to say goodbye and grieve with her friends. Two full months to weep over what could have been. 

It’s a story that baffles us on a lot of levels. How could Jephthah sacrifice his own flesh and blood? How could Jephthah’s daughter willingly lay down her life? And where is God in all of this? Is He pleased? The cultural distance between this world and our own is almost insurmountable. However, one key to understanding is Judges 11:23-24, “So then the Lord, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them? Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? And all that the Lord our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess.” Everyone in the ancient near east believed in gods. Dagon for the Philistines. Chemosh for the Amorites. Molech for the Ammonites. Every tribe had their own deity. Make the right sacrifices and you were awarded with great wealth, military might, and political power. Make the wrong sacrifices and your deity would turn his face from you, resulting in poverty, weakness, and defeat. One some level, the same now held true for Israel. As they adopted the ways of their Canaanite neighbors, Yahweh ceased - on some level - to be the One True God and became just another tribal deity to be appeased. This helps explain Jephthah’s tragic choice to sacrifice his daughter and her tragic choice to accept her fate. Most importantly, God is silent throughout. Nowhere does the Bible say God is pleased with Jephthah’s decision.

What about us? We claim to worship the supreme God of the universe. We claim to know the King of kings and Lord of lords. We claim to be heirs of His eternal Kingdom. But do our lives reflect this truth? How much have we accommodated to the ways of this world? Brought God down to our level? Limited Him to our tribe? Reduced Him to our personal deity? 

Readings for tomorrow: Judges 14-18

The Work of Renewal

Readings for today: Judges 6-9

Renewal never comes easy. Not in my experience. Renewal in a marriage. Renewal in a family. Renewal in a congregation. Renewal in a community. It comes through hardship and suffering and a lot of pain. There is conflict to manage. Egos to assuage. Obstacles to overcome. Perhaps the biggest challenge is not external but internal. Our insecurities. Our lack of confidence. Our aversion to risk.

Gideon is the least likely of heroes. He’s an insignificant son of the weakest clan in the tribe of Manasseh. He’s just an ordinary guy trying to do his best to make his way in a very tough world. When the angel of the Lord first approaches him, he’s threshing grain in a winepress and attempting to hide from the Midianites. When the angel addresses Gideon as a “mighty man of valor”, Gideon responds by telling him he’s got the wrong guy. He’s showed up at the wrong house. He’s in the wrong part of town. When the angel further tells Gideon he will deliver Israel, Gideon needs multiple confirmations involving a fleece before he will agree. Once the decision is made, Gideon assembles an overwhelming force of men to go with him. God strips his force down to 300. This makes Gideon fearful and anxious. Nothing about this process is easy. Nothing about it is guaranteed. God is taking Gideon beyond himself, forcing him into a place of utter dependence so he will learn to trust in God and not himself.

I see this happen all the time in the marriages, families, churches, and communities I work with. Husbands and wives come into my office at the end of their rope. They’ve done all they can to manage the conflict in their relationship but things have only gotten worse not better. They can’t hear each other. They can’t see each other. They can’t understand each other. They want to call it quits. Meeting with me is often their last resort. Parents and children come into my office at each other’s throats. So much anger. So much hurt. Every conversation seems to devolve into an argument. Voices are raised. Painful things are said. They wound each other deeply. They see no way out. Pastors and other church leaders email or call. They are confused. Frustrated. Hurt. Depressed. Exhausted. They’ve tried so hard to love their church. Tried so hard to serve their church. Tried so hard to lead their church. What have they received in return? Their motives are questioned. Their character is impugned. Their reputation is trashed. People do all they can to subvert and sabotage even their best efforts.

The work of renewal is not for the faint of heart. It requires courage to face down the forces that oppose God’s work. To turn away anger with gentleness. To meet sin with grace. To be a peacemaker in the face of conflict. To persevere under the unrelenting pressure. But God can strengthen the weary heart. God can mend the broken heart. God can give courage to the faint of heart. God specializes in bringing hope in the most hopeless of situations.

Readings for tomorrow: Judges 10-13

The Power of One

Readings for today: Judges 2-5

All it takes is one. That’s the message I send every time I consult with a struggling church. One leader. One person of influence who is willing to seek the Lord. Willing to humble themselves before Him. Willing to walk in the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of all wisdom and strength. So many churches are struggling in America right now. According to some statistics, 80-85% of churches in the evangelical space are plateaued or declining. The numbers are worse in the mainline denominational world. It’s heartbreaking. Church consultants have discerned any number of reasons. Confusion over mission. Disconnection from the local community. Unresolved conflict. Spiritual abuse and neglect. Sin in the camp. Dysfunctional leadership. The list goes on. Where to find hope?

The Book of Judges is one of the most depressing in all of Scripture. Israel suffers tremendously under the weight of sin and disobedience. God simply gives them over to the desires of their hearts and the results are devastating. However, renewal is always just one godly leader away. All it takes is one man or one woman who seeks God with all their heart. One man or one woman who has the courage to take a stand for their faith in the face of incredible odds. One man or one woman who is willing to endure hardship for the sake of a cause greater than themselves. God raises up such men and women. Makes them judges for His people. Spiritual leaders who become “saviors” of a sort. The result is repentance. Freedom. Deliverance for God’s people.

I see the same dynamic in play in our day and age. It’s the hope I offer every church I work with. All it takes is one leader who is willing to seek the Lord with all their heart. One leader who has the courage to stand for their faith and remain healthy and differentiated in the face of incredible odds. One leader who is willing to endure all sorts of hardship and pain for the sake of congregational renewal. Most of the time it is the pastor but it could just as easily be a key elder, key deacon, key lay leader. All congregations are emotional systems. As such, they are intimately and intrinsically connected. When one leader within the system makes the decision to pursue greater levels of emotional and spiritual health, the system is forced to respond. At first there is always pushback as the system reacts by trying to turn the leader back. All systems tend to resist healthy change. But if the leader remains courageous and perseveres, the system will eventually adjust and become more healthy itself. Ideally, of course, it’s not just one leader who makes this decision but a group of leaders. Men and women who can support and encourage each other along the way.

Perhaps you belong to a struggling church. Perhaps it’s your business or family that’s struggling. All of us belong to emotional systems. The good news is God can use anyone to bring about spiritual and emotional renewal. All we have to do is turn to Him. All we have to do is humble ourselves before Him. All we have to do is walk in the fear of the Lord to receive wisdom and strength for the journey.

Readings for tomorrow: Judges 6-9

Choose this Day…

Readings for today: Joshua 23-24, Judges 1

My grandfather was my spiritual hero. A man who loved and served Jesus for over ninety years. He started preaching at 14. He didn’t stop until he was in his late eighties. After retiring from full-time ministry and moving into a retirement community, he worked part-time at a local church and did all the visitation and pastoral care for the graduated care facility. I remember sitting with him in his living room and reading the Bible together after I became a Christian. He had read through the Bible who knows how many times over the years. It was my first time through. In the middle of our time together, he paused and said, “hmmm...never seen that before.” I said, “What do you mean? Haven’t you read through the Bible like a million times, granddad?” “Yes”, he replied, “But there’s always more to discover.” When I graduated from seminary, granddad was dying. He had a few months left to live. He was living in a room with grandma who was catatonic from Alzheimer’s and was suffering from some paralyzation due to a burst cyst in his ear. My mom warned me he probably wouldn’t be able to talk. I walked into the room and for the next TWO HOURS he proceeded to talk my ear off about life and ministry and my future as a pastor. He was so proud. So excited. It was like he had been saving up all his words just for me. He “went the way of all the earth” just two months later. He and grandma died within two weeks of each other. It was the first funeral I performed as a pastor. 

One generation rises. Another falls. But the promises of God remain the same. “Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left...Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God...And you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed.” (Josh. ‭23:6, 11, 14‬) Think of all the things Joshua had seen! Slavery in Egypt. The plagues. The parting of the Red Sea. God meeting with His people on Sinai. The Ten Commandments. Manna from heaven. Wilderness wandering. Water from rocks. The parting of the Jordan. The incredible victories against Jericho and Ai. The beginning of the conquest of the Promised Land. What a life! And through it all, what marked Joshua was an unwavering commitment to serve the Lord. To love the Lord with all his heart and soul and mind and strength. Joshua was a worthy successor to Moses and led God’s people well. And now at the end of his life, he challenges the people to carry on! To continue to trust God! To walk in faith and see the fulfilllment of all God had promised! 

"Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Josh. ‭24:14-15‬) Choose this day whom you will serve. The question reverberates throughout history. Every generation is called upon to answer. Will we love and fear and serve the Lord? Or will we bow down to the gods of our own making? The gods of our culture? The gods we once served before coming to faith? As for me and my house...we will serve the Lord! 

Readings for tomorrow: None

Witness

Readings for today: Joshua 19-22

“The people of Reuben and the people of Gad called the altar Witness, "For," they said, "it is a witness between us that the Lord is God." (Josh. ‭22:34‬) 

What does it mean to be a witness? And what are we “witnessing” to? For the tribes of Israel, the altar by the Jordan was built to remind them they were all part of one large family. Deeply connected not only by their common kinship with Abraham but also their covenant with God Himself. The tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh were concerned that future generations might forget this connection and start to see the Jordan River as the boundary between God’s people and the rest of the world. They didn’t want to be left out so before they crossed the Jordan to take possession of their inheritance, they built a monument of “imposing size.” Not for burnt offerings. Not for sacrifices. But as a witness to all of Israel that they were one people under Yahweh. Every time an Israelite would pass by the monument, it would “witness” to their shared history and deep connection. 

In the Book of Acts, Jesus calls us “His witnesses.” We are witnesses in our neighborhoods, cities, nations, and to the very ends of the earth. In this way, we are living memorials to all God has done. We are living monuments to a shared history. A common heritage. The deep connection we share as God’s chosen people. We “witness” to the glory and goodness of God. We “witness” to the unity we share as the family of God. Anytime someone “passes us by” or interacts with us on any level, they should leave having “witnessed” the mercy and grace of God and having experienced the deep love we have for one another.

Ultimately, the Bible itself is the pre-eminent witness. I love what Joshua 21:45 says, “Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” The only reason we know this statement is true is because we have an accurate record of what took place. This is why we read the Old Testament. Within its pages, God “witnesses” to us over and over again of His great faithfulness and love. Even in the face of our sin. Even in the face of our rebellion. Even in the face of our evil. Even in the face of our failures. Even in the face of all our brokenness, God pursues us. God relentlessly chases us. God never lets us go.

I know reading through the Bible in a year is not easy! It indeed is a “monument of imposing size!” But as we sit with God’s Word and prayerfully reflect on all He has to say, we are shaped and formed in ways we cannot begin to imagine. 

Readings for tomorrow: Joshua 23-24, Judges 1

Finishing Strong

Readings for today: Joshua 15-18

The key is not how we start the race but how we finish. I remember running in my first 5K when I was a young boy with my brothers. It was the Denver Symphony Run in downtown Denver. I remember the day was dreary and rainy. I remember pushing my way to the front of the start line with my brothers. I remember the starting gun going off and the three of us sprinting to the front of the pack. We led the race for about the first 50 yards. You probably can imagine what happened next. We spent the next three miles alternating between jogging and walking as we struggled to finish. It was a painful experience.

Israel sprints out of the gates in their conquest of the Promised Land. They win victory after victory. Joshua’s leadership is exceptional. His tactics strong. His strategic decisions brilliant. Always in the right place at the right time. Anticipating. Attacking and counter-attacking. It reminds me of the movie, When We Were Soldiers, and how Colonel Hal Moore seemed to make every right move. The first campaign has come to an end. Israel is now firmly and deeply entrenched. They are the new power to be reckoned with in the region. But Joshua cannot be everywhere all at once so it is now up to each tribe to go out and secure their inheritance. They are to go out with the same faith and boldness and courage that marked Moses and Joshua and complete the conquest. They are to place their trust in God and His ability to fight on their behalf. But they fail. They fall short. They lose heart. So the Jebusites remain in the territory of Judah. The Gezerites remain in the territory of Ephraim. Other Canaanites remain in the territory of Manasseh. As they struggle to uproot those already living in the land, they start to lose heart. They give into fear. They are afraid of the military might of those who oppose them. The iron chariots and those fortified in the hill country. They worry they won’t succeed. They take their eyes off of Yahweh. They forget His faithfulness. And the conquest is never fully completed. 

Finishing is hard. How many people do you know who start this race we call the Christian life only to wither along the way? Jesus knew this about us and He even told a story once about a farmer who went out to plant his seeds. Some seeds fell on the hard path. Some seeds fell among the rocks. Some seeds fell among the weeds. Other seeds in good soil. Each tried to take root. The seeds on the path had nowhere to go so they were eaten by the birds. The seeds among the rocks had no place to put down roots so they sprung up quickly but then died. The seeds that fell among the weeds also sprung up but were eventually choked off. Finally, the seed that fell on good soil produced a bountiful harvest. What makes up the soil of your heart? Did the seeds of the gospel ever find purchase in your heart? Did they spring up only to die for lack of roots? Did the cares and the worries of this world choke off your faith? Or are you producing a harvest of righteousness? Are you finishing the race strong?  

Readings for tomorrow: Joshua 19-22

Keeping Perspective

Readings for today: Joshua 11-14

It’s about this time every year in my Bible reading that I start to get weary. Worn down by all the bloodshed and violence. Worn down by all the God-sanctioned religious warfare. Worn down by the thoughts of men, women, and children dying in these cities as Israel conquers the Promised Land. I am worn down by a world I do not understand. Worn down by the brutality of it all. Worn down trying to understand how God is driving it all. I come to the end of my finite mind. I come the end of my understanding. I come to the end of my ability to reason my way through. And I just sit with the horror of it all. Overwhelmed.  

Several years ago, I had dinner with some friends. One of them does a lot of work in Rwanda with the mountain gorillas. He and his family have been engaged over there for decades helping with the research. He was there just after the genocide. He saw the bodies piled up in the streets. Stacks upon stacks. It was horrifying. He can never get the images out of his head. I have another friend who survived the Killing Fields of Cambodia. He remembers the mass graves. Miraculously escaped one himself. He remembers standing in a line as soldiers executed one person after the next and when it came his turn, they pulled him out of line for some reason and kept on killing. If there’s anything history has taught us, it’s that humanity’s inhumanity knows no bounds. The purges in Maoist China and Stalinist Russia. The Holocaust. The recent invasion of Ukraine. Those are just the more recent examples! Think of the Mongolian conquest. The Crusades. The African slave trade. British occupation of India. Rome’s brutal conquest of the Germanic tribes. For as long as human beings have walked this earth, there has been war. There has been violence. There has been suffering. In fact, some historians calculate that in the history of the entire human race, we’ve experienced four years of peace. FOUR! Can you imagine?  

When human beings engage in such violence, they tend to pull on a common thread…God. God ordains this war. God sanctions this violence. God is on our side. God commands us to fight these battles and destroy these enemies. But is this really true? I readily admit I struggle through the histories of the Old Testament even more than I do Leviticus. In my head, I can make some sense of the law code but I cannot rationalize all the death and destruction. So what’s a faithful, Bible-believing Christian to do?   

Three things help get me through this part of the reading every single year...

1. Joshua 5:13-15. At the beginning of the conquest, before the fall of Jericho, the commander of the Lord’s armies appears to Joshua. Joshua falls on his face before him and asks him if He is for Israel or for their adversaries. It’s a great question. It’s a common question. Essentially, he’s asking the angel, “Are you for us or against us?” Are you on our side or their side? Are you team Israel or team Canaanite? I love the angel’s response. “No, I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” Basically, the only “side” I’m on is my own! I am no tribal deity. I am not like the other gods. I reign and rule according to my own sovereign purposes and plan.

2. My finite mind. My understanding of the world is shaped by time, culture, space, nation, etc. I am not an “objective” observer of history. There is no such thing. I have built-in biases and assumptions that I bring to the table when I read the Word of God that act as “filters.” These filters can be helpful or harmful depending on the text and will shape how I “receive” the Word of God in any situation.

3. Humility. I need to read with humility because I do not know all the answers. Nor will I ever. My questions and fears and doubts are real and I may not find satisfaction this side of heaven. That’s okay. If there is a God who rules and reigns over the universe and if this God is good then I can ultimately trust Him. I can trust He sees things I cannot and He is orchestrating things to His own ends which are ultimately holy and righteous and just.

There is one more thing I always try to keep in mind. My own sinfulness. The evil I carry in my own heart. Like the Apostle Paul, I do things I know I should not do. I don’t do things I know I should do. Every day is full of the sins of “commission” and the sins of “omission” that negatively impact the lives of those I love and the lives of those I am around. The evil in the world is not just “out there” but inside of me as well. So I read with the understanding that but for the grace of God, I too deserve death and destruction. And that moves my heart to praise and thanksgiving for what God has done in Jesus Christ.  

Readings for tomorrow: Joshua 15-18

Collective Guilt

Readings for today: Joshua 7-10

Today’s reading is a tough one. Ancient Near East justice was often brutal and terrifying and impacted more than just the individual who committed the crime. Achan broke faith with God. He took items dedicated to the Lord and hid them in his tent for personal gain. This was not just stealing, it was sacrilege. Taking what is holy and desecrating it. Notice the play on words in this passage. Devoting the spoils of war to destruction typically meant burning them in a great bonfire as an offering to the Lord. However, Achan kept some of the devoted things for himself therefore the anger of the Lord “burned” against the people of Israel. Furthermore, once the sin was discovered, they took Achan and his family and all his possessions and “burned them with fire” in the valley of Achor. We cannot fathom how such an act could ever be called just and good much less be commanded by the Lord but again, God speaks to us in cultural language we can understand and He works through our common cultural understandings to reveal His will.

This raises another difficult question for us. The idea of collective guilt. Achan sins by taking some of the devoted things but the Lord’s anger burns against the people of Israel. Thirty-six men die in the ensuing attack on Ai as God withdraws His protective hand in judgment. Many more are probably wounded in the assault as well. So much grief. So much pain. So much suffering. All because of one man’s sin. And God makes it very clear He holds Israel responsible for what Achan has done. “Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted to destruction.” (Joshua 7:11-12) Why did God not just kill off Achan? Why did He punish all of Israel for one individual’s transgression? How in the world can this be fair?

Once again, we are confronted with cultural distance. We have been raised in a modern, western context which elevates the individual above the community. We think of ourselves as independent agents first and members of a community second. When a person sins or commits a crime, they do the time. They pay the price. They suffer the consequences. Not their family. Not their community. Not the people they are connected to unless they were active accomplices. The Ancient Near East was a much different world. The people of Israel held a collective identity. They understood themselves to be members of a community first and individuals second. They saw themselves as intrinsically connected to each other so when one person sinned, all were culpable. All had a share in the guilt. All were accomplices in allowing such a thing to take place. By the way, this idea is replete throughout the Scriptures and it is one of the major reasons we struggle to bridge the gap between the world of the Bible and our world today.

Friends, the reality is we are not just individuals with a personal relationship with God. We are members of a body called the church that holds a collective identity before the Lord. What we say or do impacts those around us. Our individual sin creates a ripple effect in the community that does have consequences. We are our brother and sister’s keeper. We are responsible one for another. We are held accountable by God on some level for the way we contribute to the overall health and well-being of those around us whether it is in our families, among our friends, in our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and communities. Our actions or lack of actions matter to God and they make a significant difference in the world. Thankfully, God doesn’t just judge us collectively. He redeems us collectively as well. 1 John 2:2 says, “Christ is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” Thanks be to God for collective grace!

Readings for tomorrow: Joshua 11-14

Altars

Readings for today: Joshua 3-6

“And Joshua said to them, "Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?' then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever." (Josh. ‭4:5-7‬)

When you think back on your life, where have you seen God at work? Where have you seen His finger touch down? Where have you witnessed Him working a miracle on your behalf? How do you remember such things? How do you mark such occasions? Israel built altars. They would take uncut stones and stack them on top of each other to remind themselves of God’s great faithfulness. As we get deeper into the Old Testament, it will soon feel like the landscape is riddled with these altars. It’s like you can’t travel anywhere in Israel without stumbling over an altar they’ve made! Altars were significant. Especially in an oral culture where many of the stories were not being written down as they happened but instead were passed from father to son, mother to daughter. Walking by an altar presented an opportunity for the family to pause and remember and re-tell the tale of God’s great love and miraculous deliverance for His people. These altars formed something like a national “scrapbook” or “Instagram” account for ancient Israel. A place they could go to be reminded of their most precious memories.  

Of course, preserving the institutional memory of Israel was not the only purpose for the altars. There was an “evangelistic” component as well. “And he said to the people of Israel, "When your children ask their fathers in times to come, 'What do these stones mean?' then you shall let your children know, 'Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.' For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever." (Josh.‬ ‭4:21-24‬) Remember, God’s great aim is to fill the earth with His glory. His great vision at the end of time is that of every tribe, tongue, and nation coming to bow before His throne. Even here, Israel is being reminded of her calling to be a light to the nations. To reflect to the world the greatness and glory and majesty of God. Sometimes that will mean executing divine justice on the pagan tribes around them. Other times it will mean showing great mercy happened with Rahab and her family in Jericho. Through it all, God is making Himself known to the world in and through His people. 

The same holds true today. God is making Himself known to the world through His people. His plan hasn’t changed. His purposes haven’t changed. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever! Where His people struggle, God brings comfort. Where His people fail, God brings discipline and judgment. Where His people step out in faith, God meets them and performs miracles on their behalf. This is who our God is and always will be! 

Readings for tomorrow: Joshua 7-10

The Significance of Insignificance

Readings for today: Joshua 1-2, Psalm 105

God is no respecter of persons. God does not look on the outward appearance of a man or woman. He doesn’t look to their credentials or their titles or their net worth. God doesn’t need the influential or the powerful or those with a large platform. God measures a person solely by what He sees in the heart. Is the person humble? Teachable? Do they seek to serve rather than be served? Do they love unconditionally? Are they repentant? Do they cultivate self-awareness? Do they have a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit? These are the qualities God looks for in a disciple and we see them on display in the life of a Canaanite prostitute named Rahab.

Rahab is the most unlikely of heroes. She is “triple outcast” due to her ethnicity, gender, and vocation. She lives and works in a disreputable area of town. She is the antithesis of the Law and yet she responds in faithfulness to Yahweh. “I know the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, He is the God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.” (Joshua 2:9-11) As Jesus Himself will later say, “blessed is the one who does not see and yet believes.” Rahab is blessed for her faith. Though she did not personally witness the miracles that took place at the Red Sea or in the wilderness, she exhibits a deep sensitivity to God which leads her to repentance. Repentance simply means to “turn around.” To make a 180 degree shift in life and head in a new direction. Rahab exhibits this on a number of levels. She turns from her pagan, Canaanite faith to embrace Yahweh as Lord. She turns from her tribal and ethnic identity to become one with the people of Israel. She turns from her life of prostitution and marries Salmon, becoming the great-great grandmother of King David. (Matthew 1:5)

Rahab’s story is one of the most remarkable stories of redemption in all of Scripture. Without Rahab, the conquest of the Promised Land might have failed before it even started. Without Rahab, the people of Israel may have gotten bogged down in a pitched battle at Jericho. Without Rahab, the casualties would have been high, morale would have been lost, and the people might have gone back to Egypt. Her faith saved not only herself and her family but the people of God as well.

One of the great temptations we face is to assume we are too insignificant to be used by God. We look around at those who are more powerful, more influential, more popular and we wonder how in the world we can compete. We look at those who are more wealthy, more financially secure, who seem to have more disposable income and we wonder what difference we can make with our meager resources. We look at those who are younger and more attractive, more physically fit, more healthy and we wonder how we can keep up. We look at those who are smarter, have more degrees, who’ve achieved more success and we wonder why God would ever want to use us. Rahab’s story exposes the lies we so often believe. Her testimony proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that God can and will use anyone who comes to Him by faith. Repent, friends! Turn and believe. Let God use you to further His great plan of salvation in the world!

Readings for tomorrow: None

The Song We Sing…

Readings for today: Deuteronomy 31-34

As we finish the Book of Deuteronomy, we need to pause for a moment and reflect on the life of Moses. Miraculously saved at birth. Raised in the palace of Pharaoh. Exiled for murder. Bedouin shepherd. Husband. Father. Called late in life to save Israel. Prophet. Miracle-worker. Deliverer. Spiritual and political leader of a nation of wandering ex-slaves. His life, especially the last third, was marked by his close relationship with God. Now we are at the end. Now the people stand on the borders of the Promised Land. Now he’s on a mountain looking over at the fulfillment of all God has promised. Now is his last chance to share with his people all he has learned in his 120 years of walking with the Lord. 

So Moses sings them a song...(Deut. 32:1-43)

“Give? ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb. For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God! "The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He...” For Moses, everything begins with God. God’s faithfulness. God’s steadfast love. God’s enduring grace. Without God, he is nothing. Without God, the people of Israel are nothing. Without God, they would still be slaves in Egypt. If God had abandoned them, they would have died in the wilderness. If Moses is going to sing about anything, it will be about the greatness of God! The glory of God! The majesty of God!

“They have dealt corruptly with him; they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation. Do you thus repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you? Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you...” Moses also sings of the people he has served. He boldly reminds them of the truth. They are sinners. They are broken. They are rebellious. They despised God. They abandoned God. They doubted God. They disobeyed God. He sings, eyes wide open to the reality of their condition. He pulls no punches. He’s not interested in sentimentality. This is his last chance to speak and he’s not going to waste words on empty flattery. 

“But the Lord 's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage. "He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions, the Lord alone guided him, no foreign god was with him. He made him ride on the high places of the land, and he ate the produce of the field, and he suckled him with honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock. Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock, with fat of lambs, rams of Bashan and goats, with the very finest of the wheat— and you drank foaming wine made from the blood of the grape...” Back to God. It was God who first called Jacob. Found him in the wilderness. Loved him. Nursed him. Cared for him. Taught him how to walk. Taught him how to live. Guided him along the way. Always protecting. Always providing. 

“But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked; you grew fat, stout, and sleek; then he forsook God who made him and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation. They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked him to anger. They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded. You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth...” What was the response of the people? Again, rebellion. As they grew strong and prosperous, they forgot God. They started going their own way. Doing their own thing. Forgetting God. Seeking to be their own gods. They repeated the sin of Adam and Eve. They fell for the original temptation of the evil one. They gave in, wanting to live like gods themselves. 

"The Lord saw it and spurned them, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters. And he said, 'I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness...” So God judged them. Disciplined them in his wrath. He sought to purify and sanctify them through suffering. Through exile. Through wandering. Through defeat. He was faithful to remind them they held no power of their own. They had no strength of their own. All they had achieved had come via the mercies of God. He would not allow their illusions and self-deceptions to stand. 

“For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free...See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand...Rejoice with him, O heavens; bow down to him, all gods, for he avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on his adversaries. He repays those who hate him and cleanses his people's land.” It took God forty years to bring his people to their knees. But the long years of wandering were not in vain. Now they knew God. Now they saw God. Now they understood God. They submitted. They surrendered. They repented. And they were ready to enter the land He had promised. 

Friends, this isn’t just Moses’ story. It’s not just Israel’s story. It’s my story. It’s your story. And this begs a really important question...when the years grow short and your strength begins to fail and you’re surrounded by your family and those you love, what song will you sing? Will you sing of God and His great faithfulness? Will you sing of His mercies and kindness? Will you declare His glory and majesty? Will you make known His mighty works to the next generation? What song will you sing?

Readings for tomorrow: Joshua 1-2, Psalm 105

Simple Life

Readings for today: Deuteronomy 28-30

Obey God and you will be blessed. Your family will flourish. You will never be defeated. Your crops will never fail. Your flocks will grow. You’ll receive promotion after promotion at work. Your kids will earn college scholarships. You’ll never see the inside of a hospital. You will be healthy and wealthy and prosper in all that you do. Disobey God and you will be cursed. Your family will suffer. Your enemies will be victorious. Your crops will fail. Your flocks will miscarry. You’ll be terminated from your job. Your business will go under. Your kids will do drugs and never leave home much less go to college. You will be sick and poor and everything you do will turn to ash. 

If only things were that simple... 

Today’s reading from Deuteronomy is one of the most misunderstood and even abused sections of Scripture. Heretical prosperity preachers love this part of the Bible. Especially Deuteronomy 28:12-14, “The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.” They love to tell their listeners that if they will just obey God by sending in their money - “sowing a seed” is the phrase they commonly use - God will make them the head not the tail. Their fortunes will only go up, never down. They will find healing for all their hurts. They will accumulate more possessions and earn more money than they know what to do with. All because they had faith and obeyed God.  

If only things were that simple... 

Sadly, life is not that simple. We all know it. We’ve all seen it. God’s faithful often suffer. Their families struggle. The stock market crashes and takes their savings. Natural disasters strike and destroy all they own. I’ve seen cancer or COVID come out of nowhere and take the lives of some of the most godly people I’ve known. I’ve watched evil flourish. Look at what’s happening in Ukraine right now! I’ve witnessed dishonest people get ahead. Horrible, manipulative, ungodly people flourish. The pandemic of the last two years has certainly brought the worst out in many folks and some of them seemed to have come out smelling like roses. I don’t understand.

What does it mean to faithfully obey the voice of the Lord? (28:1) What does it mean to keep His commands and walk in His ways? (28:9) What does it mean to return to the Lord and obey His voice? (30:2) Here is what I’ve discovered. Following God’s Law is a means to a much greater end! As always, the key is the heart. “And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” (Deut. 30:6) The key is living from the “inside out” rather than from the “outside in.” You and I cannot “work” our way into God’s good graces. We can’t “obey” our way into God’s blessings. We can’t “earn” our way into God’s favor. That’s “outside-in” thinking! The idea that if we just follow God’s commands faithfully enough we will be blessed is nonsense. Life with God doesn’t work that way! It’s not an equation. It’s not an A+B=C kind of deal. So we can’t look at our life - with all it’s ups and downs - and conclude that when life is up, God and I are good. Or when life’s down, God and I are on the outs. That’s not how life with God works. 

It’s just not that simple... 

What God is after is the human heart. Over and over again, He makes this clear. Genesis. Job. Exodus. Leviticus. Numbers. Deuteronomy. The theme is consistent. God wants a family. A people with whom He will share His great love. Furthermore, He desires their love in return. Love Me with all your heart, soul, mind and strength! Return to Me with all your heart and soul! Love Me for who I AM! I AM the God who chose Abraham when he was bouncing around Ur living life as a happy pagan. I AM the God who visited your forefathers and mothers. Abraham and Sarah and Hagar. Isaac and Rebekah. Jacob and Leah and Rachel. I AM the God who delivered you from slavery in Egypt. I AM the God who guided and protected you in the wilderness. I AM the God who has brought you to the Promised Land. Yes, obey Me! Not because you have to or are forced to or because you are afraid of what might happen. Not because you’ll get ahead in this world or be healthy and wealthy and live a life of luxury. No! Obey Me because you love Me and long to serve Me. This is the key! Loving God from the heart will NATURALLY lead to obedience which in turn NATURALLY leads to blessing. Don’t get these confused. Don’t put the cart before the horse. The goal here is not the blessings. The goal is God! God must be our supreme treasure. God must be our heart’s truest and deepest desire. God must be our all in all. 

 Readings for tomorrow: Deuteronomy 31-34

First-Fruits

Readings for today: Deuteronomy 24-27

The principle of first-fruits is an important one in the Bible. Simply put, when we produce whatever it is we produce, we are to take the first portion. The best portion. And offer it to the Lord. Before we take care of ourselves. Before we meet our own needs. Before we pay the mortgage. Before we head to the grocery store. Before we pay the bills. Certainly before we take that vacation. Before even putting money into savings or paying off debt. We are to give unto the Lord first.  

Why? Is God short of cash? Does God need our money? Isn’t this just a way for churches to manipulate God’s people? How do I make sure the money actually goes where God wants it? After all, I’ve seen celebrity pastors buy multi-million dollar homes. I’ve watched ministries spend all kinds of money on stuff that’s not important rather than helping people. I’ve seen the abuse. I’ve seen the waste. Furthermore, I have all kinds of opinions on what my church should spend their money on. I don’t agree with the way they do ministry or what they emphasize or how they operate. Why should I give them any money at all?   

Those are great questions. And if we’re honest, we’ve all probably asked them. But let’s go a level deeper. Let’s bring it closer to home. How are we spending our money? Are we actually any better than the church or organization we criticize? If we were to open our personal books and give ourselves an audit, what would we find? How much money did we waste last year? What extravagances did we indulge? How much did we spend on stuff that’s not important rather than helping others? It’s a sobering exercise, is it not? The reality is we are all corrupted by sin and our natural tendency is to hoard our wealth. To spend it primarily on ourselves. To make sure we improve our lifestyles. To make sure we get our needs taken care of. To make sure we get to live the lives we believe we deserve. And after we accomplish that then maybe we’ll throw a little money God’s way just to hedge our bets. We find ourselves in worship when the call for the offering comes so we take out our wallet and give God a $20. Throw Him a bone. Keep Him happy. And we walk away feeling like we at least did something.   

According to research, the average Christian gives 2.5% of their income away. (For comparison, during the Great Depression, the average was 3.3%.) Average giving by adults in Protestant churches across the United States is $17/week. 37% of regular church attenders don’t give at all. And the higher the income, the less likely a person is to tithe or give 10%. Only 1% of those making 75k or more tithe their income. That’s the bad news. Here’s the good news. About 10 million Christians give 10% or more totally $50 billion dollars a year to churches and non-profits. 77% of those who tithe actually end up giving between 11-20% of their income away. And charitable giving has continued to grow in the US though the share going to religious organizations is decreasing.  

So back to the principle of first-fruits...why is it important? It serves as a reminder that everything we have comes from the Lord. Israel was descended from a wandering Aramean named Abraham. A man of no consequence other than the fact God chose Him to become the father of a mighty nation. His descendants immigrated to Egypt where they grew into a large and prosperous people until the Egyptians felt threatened and enslaved them. For hundreds of years they suffered until they cried out to the Lord for deliverance. God brought them out from Egypt with miracles and signs and wonders. He fought on their behalf. He defeated Pharaoh and his army. He provided for them in the wilderness. Fed them with manna. Quenched their thirst with water from a rock. And now He would bring them into the Promised Land. A land flowing with milk and honey. A land full of natural resources where they would flourish. None of this was their own doing. None of this happened through Israel’s strength or ability or hard work. They are not masters of their fates or captains of their souls or in charge of their own destinies. They are God’s people. His treasured possession. Among all the nations of the earth. So in recognition of this special status that they did not earn...they give. They offer the first and the best of what they have to the Lord. 

So what about us? Do we do the same? Do we live our lives in recognition of all God has done for us? Do we offer Him the honor He deserves? Do we thank Him for where we were born? The family we were born into? The nation in which we get to live? The talents we are naturally endowed with? The opportunities He’s given us along the way? The gifts we’ve received that we did not earn? And do we acknowledge His sovereign grace over our lives by offering back to Him our first-fruits of time, talent, and treasure? (Notice I didn’t say time, talent or treasure because we cannot substitute one for the other.) This is truly what it means to love God with all our hearts and souls. 

Readings for tomorrow: Deuteronomy 28-30

Blessings and Curses

Readings for today: Deuteronomy 20-23

Buried in all the discussion today about who gets stoned for what and when is this key passage that the Apostle Paul will pick up later in Galatians and apply to Christ. “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.” (Deut. 21:22-23) Blessings and curses are a huge theme in Deuteronomy. If you do well, you will be blessed. If you rebel against the commands of God, you are cursed. And not just you but your family, your land, your friends and neighbors because every action we take has communal consequences. This is why God is constantly telling His people to expel those who break His law lest they defile the land.  

Enter the Apostle Paul. He picks up on this theme of “blessings and curses” in the Book of Galatians. He is writing to a group of largely Gentile believers who are doing their best to keep the Law of Moses. The entire book is a forceful critique that draws a sharp contrast between life under the Law and life under the Spirit. “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith." But the law is not of faith, rather "The one who does them shall live by them." Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:10-14) Basically, Paul argues that when we seek to justify ourselves by keeping the Law, we take on the curse because no one can actually achieve what the Law demands. Furthermore, he tags Abraham and reminds God’s people that it is not the Law that justifies in the first place but faith! Abraham believed God and was justified. 

What then happens to the Law? What about the all the curses that have piled up over the centuries through the failure of God’s people to keep it? Christ literally becomes the curse for us! He literally takes our place and perfectly satisfies the Law’s just demands. And the sign of this great salvific event is the Cross. The place where Jesus literally hangs on a tree, becoming cursed on our behalf. As we know, He doesn’t hang there all night but is buried that same day in accordance with the instructions given in Deuteronomy so even in His death, He fulfills the Law.

This, in itself, is incredible news but Paul’s not done! Not only did Christ remove the curse by His saving death, He also unleashed all the blessings! All the promises God made to His people from Abraham forward are now ours in Christ Jesus! All the blessings of obedience are given to us because of Christ’s great faithfulness! This includes the very Spirit of God which is now our inheritance as adopted sons and daughters of God!  

It is so easy to make the mistake of reading Deuteronomy and get crushed by the weight of expectations. We read about the blessings and curses and think immediately of our own lives and how often we fall short. We start to wonder and question our faith in God. We immediately recognize the gap that exists between who we are and who we should be. We look at the list and see all the things we should do that we don’t do and all the things we do that we shouldn’t do. An honest person knows they’ve sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. An honest person knows they have done things that bring them under the curse. Even earned them death. An honest person looks at the sin of their life and experiences deep grief over what they have done. All that is good because it drives us to Christ! It brings us completely to the end of ourselves. The end of our pride. The end of our self-sufficiency. And it is there that Christ meets us with open arms. Hands and feet bearing the scars from where He hung on the tree. He embraces us. He lets us know all has been accomplished. The work of salvation has been finished. We are free. 

Readings for tomorrow: Deuteronomy 24-27