Friday, March 30, 2018

Pray when you feel bad.


But I, O LORD, cry to you;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Psalm 88:13

Psalm 88 is known as an “individual lament”. The only positive takeaways are this verse, the end of verse 9 which is also a commitment to pray, and the opening two verses which reveal a lamenting person praying and asking God to hear their prayers.

Every other part of this psalm is a depressing list of the pain of soul in which the lamenting person exists. Theirs is a soul that feel dead to joy, close to dying (Psalm 88:3-7). This is an overwhelming heaviness of soul, bearing feelings of God’s wrath, perhaps because of a sin committed against God as they wrestle with their guilt.

The lamenting person feels alone with no human companions to understand the pain they uniquely know (Psalm 88:8, 18). This brings a litany of questions to mind that are asked of God (Psalm 88:10-14). Do the dead know how to praise God? Do they remember His grace and faithfulness? Why had God hidden Himself and seemingly forgotten the pain for the lamenting person? The pain creates the questions.

These are all feelings, though. And in these bad feelings the soul in distress, filled with doubts of God’s faithfulness, overwhelmed by pain and emotion, feeling all alone, does the only spiritual act left... prayer. And when bad feelings overwhelm us, the best outlet we have is prayer to God. We let God know how it feels. We ask our questions, speak our pain, and start moving back to faith by prayer.

Thursday, March 29, 2018

sovereign despite sin

Now then bring it about, for the Lord has promised David, saying, ‘By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hand of all their enemies.’
2 Samuel 3:18

David was promised by God that he would rule over all of Israel. But this was a promise that took years to finally be known as true. For seven and a half years David ruled in Hebron, while the remnant of the house of Saul ruled most of Israel’s territory. This civil war was painful but part of the eventual plan to bring David to a unified kingdom. It took the long weariness of war, as the forces of Saul’s house grew weaker, for the events to lead to change (2 Samuel 3:1).

Eventually Abner, the lead general opposing David and the true power behind the throne of Saul’s house, realized the moral decay of Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son. Abner was accused by Ish-bosheth of a treason he did not commit, which led him to switch his allegiance to David. And using his political power and persuasion, Abner convened the elders of Israel and Benjamin to align themselves again as one nation ruled by David. The promise God made to David came true. God worked even in the messiness of human conflict and the murky dirtiness of human politics.

God will keep His promises. And He can do so despite human activity that seems counter-productive to His will. He will use the worst humans can do to one another and despite our fallenness, His will is done!

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

seeking and being found


And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:9-10

This is the response of Jesus to the legalistic judgmentalism of the religious crowd and to the exuberant, generous true faith of the repentant Zacchaeus. This little wealthy tax man was eager to see Jesus, industrious in his method to see Jesus, and quick to change when Jesus found him. He went looking for Jesus. Jesus found him. What a beautiful picture of how faith comes into being.

So after seeking and then being found, Zacchaeus responds to Jesus in joy, even as the hateful and bigoted crowd grumbles at Jesus’ choice of a host. But little Zacchaeus proudly stands before the Lord and declares that half of his estate will immediately be given as charity to the poor, and what’s more, if anyone has been defrauded, he will make fourfold restitution. He puts his money where his heart now is. He believes Jesus. Everything is changed.

And Jesus uses this conversion and commitment to remind us all of His mission. Salvation has come to Zacchaeus. And Jesus has sought and saved this lost tax collector because that is exactly why He came into the world. A sinner is saved. God is praised. Jesus as Savior is lifted up. It is then a beautiful day in Jericho.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

a prayer to let me hear the Word of my Lord


Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
that glory may dwell in our land.
Psalm 85:8-9

Lord,
I will listen to Your Word this morning. I will listen, because I need Your voice to speak Your peace to my soul. My heart is often in turmoil. Life throws so much at me, but I must hear Your voice, and then I will know that everything I face is coming from the caring hand of my Creator. I have a Father that loves me and will never leave me without peace made for me by His Son, Jesus, and experienced by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit with my soul.

By Your Word I will know Your peace. And by Your instruction I will not give in to the folly of my sin. I want to hear Your Word’s wisdom and turn from the foolishness that can rule my own heart so rigidly. And I can find freedom in the peace that comes from Your saving, nail-scarred hands! For Your salvation is always near to me when I look to You. When I obey and believe You, my Lord, Your glory will dwell with me.

So Lord, speak now in Your Word to me. I will listen. I will obey. I will turn from my sinful, foolish thinking and actions and find Your saving love so very near to me now!
Amen

Monday, March 26, 2018

Obedient faith refuses selfish shortcuts.


Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.’
1 Samuel 24:10

This is a turning point in the story of David’s rise to the throne in Israel. It is also an interesting and amusing episode illustrating the length of God’s sovereignty as God literally uses a bathroom break to bring out the best in David’s character. It changes Saul’s relationship with David.

King Saul had been hunting David and happened to come to the very cave where David and his men were safely hidden, not because he was such an expert tracker, but sheerly by the coincidental providence of God. As Saul enters the daylight portion of the cave to take care of nature’s call, (and the third grade boy in me who first heard this story in Sunday School still giggles imagining this in all its most amusing aspects) David stealthily cuts off a corner of Saul’s discarded robe as it lay away from the king who was undoubtedly busily concentrating on royal duties at hand.

David’s men had whispered to him to end Saul’s life at that moment, but David would not. In fact, he was instead struck with guilt over his little escapade of robe cutting. David would honor God’s covenant rather than advance himself by His own shrewdness.

And that faith gave him courage to tell Saul what he had done in sparing the king’s life during a vulnerable moment. His rationale is that he would obey God (Saul was the LORD’s anointed choice as king) and the king (in that order of importance) in order to honor and obey the Lord. Character led David to take no selfish shortcuts. And God was glorified by this kind of obedient faith.

Friday, March 23, 2018

in a little or a lot

One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
Luke 16:10

You will do as you are in your heart. If your heart craves personal attention and selfish desire at any cost, if you have no limits, if you seek yourself first in all the small details, this will all burst out inevitably into all the bigger issues of your life. If you lie easily in a small detail, you will be dishonest and lie in the clutch moments that matter most.

And the converse is also true. If you are faithful, obedient, trusting Christ, honest, quick to repent and believe Jesus in the small things, this character will find faithfulness in you in the big situations. If you allow the Word of God and the Spirit of God to renew your thinking, You will approach life with God’s faithfulness bringing You peace, confidence, and the satisfaction of God’s pleasure in relationship with you.

This is Jesus speaking out this principle... He knows our hearts! It is rewarding to be honest and faithful to the Lord. Our lives are better when we trust God with the small stuff. Faithfulness is rewarded in big ways. The heart of a good steward of the kingdom starts with the simplest desire to be faithful in EACH level of trust so that faithfulness will be known in EVERY level of trust given to us by God. Faithful with a dime means faithful with a dollar. And that is a kingdom-building generous lifestyle worth enjoying!

Thursday, March 22, 2018

shine on us



Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!
Psalm 80:19

Shine on us, dear Lord
that we may be saved
that Your glory might be shown
in our rescue today

Restore us, O God
as Your people again
draw us back to You
by the power of Your name

Be known, O Savior
in what Your people say
and in who You have redeemed
be shown in us, we pray

Be seen in Your church
Jesus, be known
so that others may be saved
as Your life is shown

Your power, Your glory
are our heart’s cry
so that the world may see
Your salvation on high

Let Your face shine
that salvation is here
and we will worship God
as our Savior draws us near

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

stone of help



Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.”
1 Samuel 7:12

The prophet and judge, Samuel, set up this stone to commemorate a great victory and help heal painful memories. God led His people from a humiliating defeat and national tragedy (30,000 troops killed in battle) back to a place of victory over the enemy. Israel had been morally and militarily defeated by the Philistines. The ark of the covenant was captured and cities were occupied by the enemy.

After suffering through this, Israel turned again to God. The nation repented at Mizpah and Samuel led a revival prayer meeting there. And at that point things began to turn around. God fought for Israel (1 Samuel 7:10) and the army was strengthened to drive the Philistines out of Israel’s territory again (1 Samuel 7:11). God turned around the situation in one day, once Israel repented and worshiped. And that is what led “Ebenezer” to be erected as a monument to God’s deliverance of His people. All who saw this stone of help would know the story and rejoice in God’s salvation.

I am nothing outside of God’s help. I have no life outside what Jesus has saved me to live. And I sing:
“Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by They help I’ve come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood.”

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

the kingdom: expansive and subversive



He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”
Luke 13:18-19

With two quite average word pictures, Jesus describes how God’s kingdom works in the world. First in Luke 13:18-19 we have a picture of a gardener planting a small mustard seed that becomes a sheltering tree. Secondly there is a picture in Luke 13:20-21 of a woman hiding leaven in flour until it was all leavened for breadmaking. The first picture emphasizes the sheltering expanse of God’s kingdom and the extent to which it grows. It is large and proves a safe place for lives to be lived. The second picture describes the secretive way the kingdom of God subverts the sinful world system until all is changed by the pervasive nature of the kingdom.

I wish today to celebrate both the expansive shelter and the subtle change of God’s kingdom. Christians are scattered all over this world. Churches are light and salt. The gospel is a global phenomenon, reaching people even when persecution is the cost of its proclamation. Resisting the gospel seems to just propel the message forward. The mustard seed gospel spans the globe and believers are thriving in the shelter of the branches of the kingdom as the Word of God sustains, and the Spirit of God leads.

That kingdom change is happening just one life at a time as the yeast slowly works its way through the flour, leavening this world with the righteousness of Christ. This is the way God is growing His kingdom, not with takeovers or military displays, but with singular life change occurring on a significant global scale. The gospel of the kingdom is being preached the world over. And this is why Christians continue to bring the gospel message, making disciples one by one, to as many individuals as we can. This is the task of the church. It is how God’s kingdom expands and subverts.

Monday, March 19, 2018

I am too stressed to feel blessed.

Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
Psalm 77:10

This is a deliberate move to willfully choose to appeal to the work of God despite a season of doubt and pain. I love that the psalms do this so much, and Psalm 77 is a favorite because it perfectly captures what to do when my soul hits a troubling season where it seems I can’t see God at work. It encourages me to remember what God has done.

This appeal to “the years of the right hand of the Most High” in verse 10 comes right after the psalmist has endured a sleepless night filled with troubling questions. Five painful questions that haunt the soul are fired at God in Psalm 77:7-9. They describe feelings more than facts, but they are painful nonetheless. The psalmist feels like God will never favor His people again. He feels like God’s love has ceased. He feels like God has no more promises to bless. It feels like grace is gone and anger from God is all that is left.

Despite this spiritual depression, God moves through the deliberate act of faith that remembers God’s work in the past. God has blessed. And this psalm pushes us to remember God at the times where we feel more stressed than blessed. The psalm goes on to list five words that counteract those previous five questions as it remembers specifically God’s deeds, wonders, works, ways, and might. This ultimately leads to praise for God’s redemptive work, all laid out beautifully in Psalm 77:11-15. And this is why I discipline myself to write in a journal. It is the way that I can appeal to God’s work when I feel seasons of doubt. The value of journaling comes in the recording of God’s work, but most importantly, in the remembering of His work that comes in my reading of them. Stressful, difficult, doubting seasons all begin to fade when compared to what I know God has done for me in the past, and right now, still is doing for my future.

Friday, March 16, 2018

weakest man alive



His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.
Judges 14:4

The story of Samson is a story of the sovereignty of God over sinful human choices. It is about God’s strength and man’s failing weakness. Samson has little regard for the Law or for his Nazirite vows. This is seen from very beginning of his story when he insists on arranging a marriage to a gentile woman in violation of God’s Law. His parents have tried so hard to raise Samson to be devout, but he already as a young man will have none of it. He wants a Philistine woman. And God will use even this wrong in Samson to deliver the nation.

Later in this same chapter Samson violates his vows by touching the dead body of a lion in order to scrape honey from the carcass. He kills 1000 Philistines with the jawbone of a dead donkey. He is selfish and careless with the covenant. In Samson’s world it was all about what he wanted, and his emotions ran unchecked.

He would go on disobeying God with relationships with Philistine women. He would eventually break every one of his vows until God finally allowed his humiliating capture by enraged and afraid Philistine oppressors. By that time Samson had racked up an impressive body count of dead Philistines in his wake. Yet Samson would die an angry, blind sacrifice, dying not for the nation, but with a desire for his own vengeance driving him, as clear an example as how not to live as anyone could ever be. His story is not heroic. It is tragic. Samson is not any kind of hero. God is the deliverer in the Samson story. God shows Himself strong as His Spirit does the work in a very pathetic weak man.

Thursday, March 15, 2018

believing Jesus and seeing the Father



All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Luke 10:22

You can only know God through Jesus Christ. And that is why all Christian worship and experience must center upon Jesus. It is Jesus that reveals the Father. There is no other way to know God. Jesus reveals Him.

Just as God the Father sent His Son into the world to save us, so Jesus reveals the Father and His love to us. We cannot know that apart from Jesus. So for me to be content and clear in my knowledge of God, I must not ever stray from following Jesus. And that means the gospel has to be at my center.

Because Jesus came, by the love of the Father, to die for sinners and to be raised so that we might know life, I can be forgiven and can truly be found in Him so that the Father accepts me through the work of the Son. To know God, I must know Jesus. To know Jesus I must believe the gospel.

Lord Jesus,
I thank You for showing me the Father. I worship You for Your obedience to the Father’s will. You arrived on earth with one mission: to end sin’s hold on us by dying once for all and to be raised from the dead so we might believe and have eternal life. You are my only hope, and Jesus, I believe You. I trust only the gospel and I find my life and my hope in You!
Amen

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

this old man’s prayer



O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.
Psalm 71:17-18

This prayer feels like a faint echo of my own life. I still vividly remember the time when Jesus changed my life. I was only 7 years old, yet the change was amazing. My parents became Christians, responding to the gospel in a revival service altar call (really old fashioned... really Baptist), both in the same night. Our home was transformed by grace and the gospel. I understood the gospel myself just a few months later in a Vacation Bible School (also very Baptist). That was 1971. From my youth then, God has taught me. And I have desired to proclaim His wondrous deeds.

And now I am near the double nickel mark, that magical age where societal pressures push people to think hard about retirement and self-driven fantasies of a life of ease in old age (I’m not ready for that at all). I am more and more an “old guy” when I go to pastor’s gatherings and conferences. It’s OK. I am fine with this stage. It has its advantages. When I turned 50, I had a firm conviction (some would call it a “word from the Lord” but I wouldn’t go that far) that my ministry efforts needed to transition to a concentration on helping the “young eagles” fly. I’ve seen too many old pastors not train young leaders to take their place and watched churches crash as a result. I think that is so selfish. No way is any ministry ever to be dependent upon me.

And here I am... graying whiskers and stiff knees, sorting meds in the morning, knowing God wants me to still proclaim His might to another generation. Aging has taught me that God is the constant source of strength, to the young and to the old. The same God that transformed my world in my youth is powerfully transforming this old dude still! May God do so in order that His power might be known to those yet to come! Amen. 

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

people God uses



And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him.
Judges 4:14

God uses the most interesting and the most average of people to do His great work. He will accomplish His means using the men and women who will simply make themselves available to Him. In this chapter there are three people God uses to save Israel from the Canaanite oppressions committed by Sisera and his army.

God had already raised Deborah as a prophetic judge for Israel. And when the time was right, she summoned Barak, a military commander, to encourage him to gather his troops and defeat the oppressors. But Barak would not act without Deborah’s prophetic ministry alongside him. And so the unlikely team of prophetess and general together lead Israel into battle. There is a plan in action. God is giving them strength. I can hear the “A-Team” theme song playing as the action starts!

But Sisera escapes the battle, appearing to successfully elude capture. God is in control, though! He raises up a third deliverer... a very unassuming nomad woman named Jael, who under the guise of hospitality, slips Sisera a mickey, and when the Canaanite general snores away in her tent, Jael drives a tent peg through his temple with a worker’s mallet. She must have been one strong woman! God uses whom He will and justice is done as Israel is saved. Salvation is accomplished. God delights in writing His story using regular lives!

Monday, March 12, 2018

the friend of cheats and sinners



The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
Luke 7:34

I wonder what we would accuse Jesus of today? He lives in His people, yet for the most part, the church seems to hardly bear His same reputation as Jesus described Himself in this passage. We gather together quite properly, with good intentions, but do we also go out into our lives to live among sinners as comfortably and as winsomely as Jesus has shown us by His life recorded in the gospels? Are we more known for our judgmental actions, our alliances with political causes, our quest for cultural power, then for our day to day lives among people who don’t know Jesus? We
Why aren’t we known for our acceptance, for are closeness to sinners so that they call us friends?

I have come to the conclusion that religion has destroyed the gospel witness of many a disciple of Jesus. And perhaps the best thing we can be to those who aren’t followers of Jesus is a friend and not in a “double agent” undercover sense of the word. We don’t foist our moral agendas on those who don’t know Jesus. Instead, we bring Jesus to their places and let the light of the gospel lovingly shine so that they may see Him, hear us speak of Him, crave the gospel they see in us, so that they may repent of sin, turn to their Savior, follow Him and call more sinners to repentance in that work. Jesus does all the changing. We are just there, naturally, with them as friends... true friends who enjoy the fun and compradarie of being together. But for Jesus to make that change, we must first be with them.

Christians must not isolate. And finding the right word to describe what we do is important. “Infiltrate” is not the right word. Jesus has the right word for us: “friend”. Christians, with Jesus leading them, must relate as friends with those who do not know Jesus. We must live our lives in the world, not away from it. We do not gather in worship on Sunday to stay cloistered. We gather to be strengthened as we scatter naturally into great friendships with others. We must love those who need Jesus, risking our souls in friendship, opening up and caring and being cared for by them. We need not fear and we must not judge. We must be friends with people, repenting with tears of our pretentious self-made, works-based religion. We must be like Jesus.

Friday, March 9, 2018

God’s missions song



May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, [Selah]
that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Psalm 67:1-2

God wants the world to know Him. He makes His grace and power known in the earth, especially among His people, to draw the people of this world to Him. He makes Himself known to the world by His saving power. And as God’s people make the gospel known, His grace will be displayed among all the nations. It is a beautiful sight taken in by a watching world, all for the glory and worship of God.

This psalm shows us how God wanted His people Israel to declare Him among the nations so that the world would know Him. But it was more than just a knowledge that was aware of God. It was to be a knowledge that experienced God’s saving power.

And now, in Jesus, this is fully realized. God has brought His saving power to all the earth through the gospel of Jesus Christ. And as Christians proclaim the gospel in places around the world, making God’s Word known and planting churches worldwide, this song from so long ago is sung anew. God has always loved the world. He has given His Son so that those from every tribe and tongue can believe in Jesus and know God’s saving power among all peoples. God’s love creates powerful, beautiful, worshipful diversity! Eternity WILL NOT look like white American evangelicalism. Eternity will be a multi-cultural worship service filled with the beauty of God’s redeeming work created a tapestry of undescribably wonderful diversity. 


Thursday, March 8, 2018

javelin stretching moments



Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” And Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.
Joshua 8:18

This is just one very small example of just how receptive Joshua was as a leader to directly following the command of God. He obeyed. Humanly speaking, stretching your hand out with a weapon will in no way win a battle by itself. Still, Joshua acted in faith and in obedience. He trusted God in the simplest of matters. And God rewarded that humble obedience, unleashing powerful leadership and victory through Joshua.

And my simple application from this simple story? Obey God, in all things, no matter how small I may see them. Picking up my Bible, jotting in my journal, praying in weariness of soul, or reaching out to help someone when I am unsure of how to help or feel drained of resources myself are all matters of simple obedience. These are my javelin stretching moments. And I believe God will bless them in His time and with His power... much greater than my weak hands and heart will ever have!

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

mobile gospel preaching



And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Luke 4:42-44

This little episode gives us insight into the core of Jesus’ mission: He was sent to preach good news of the kingdom of God to as many places as He could. That is why He was itinerate. He never settled into one permanent location (although He spent a vast part of His ministry in Galilee). It was vital to His mission to preach the gospel to many towns.

This all occurs in Luke’s gospel before the calling and training of the disciples commences. By the time they start following Jesus, this pattern of moving from village to village, preaching to crowds and teaching in the synagogues was already established by their Master. It would be a pattern they too would learn to follow as the gospel would spread around their world.

By means of gospel preaching, the good news reaches the world and fulfills the purposes of God. Jesus was committed to this practice. His disciples followed in gospel preaching. And today, it is what His church must continue to do in town to town around the world until He returns.

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

what to when people talk bad about you



They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them;
all who see them will wag their heads.
Psalm 64:8

In this psalm, David cried out to God because people have been plotting against him. A major part of his trouble involves people talking bad about him (see Psalm 64:3-5). This verbal attack is not just dangerous, but also has potential to hurt the nation since it is directed at God’s anointed king.

What did David do when people talked bad about him? He prayed to God about the situation, releasing his anxieties to the Lord, and asking Him to handle it. He trusts in the Lord to make the situation work out, to save him from the attacks of these conspirators. He releases dread and receives assurance in its place.

And as God so brilliantly works, the secret talkers are undone by their own strategy. Their own tongues turn against them in ironic justice. The humiliation David feared for himself falls on them. God’s justice is pure art! The end result is that God is feared by those who know what happened and is worshiped by the righteous who trusted in God to work it all out (Psalm 64:9-10).

So what should we do when people talk bad about us? We pray, giving our worry to God. Then we trust, knowing God can undo the damaging abusive speech through the attacker’s own words.

Monday, March 5, 2018

commissioned and assured



And the Lord commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you.”
Deuteronomy 31:23

Joshua is called by God to exhibit two remarkable character traits: strength and courage. In all the work of leading Israel to conquer Canaan, Joshua would need to show them both. God’s confidence in Joshua is strong: “you shall bring the people into the land.”

Exactly what is the source of such success? How could Joshua be strong and courageous? The answer is found in five one syllable words at the end of this charge that embue the command with the power of God: “I will be with you.”

Joshua was able to lead faith-filled people to do what a previous generation considered impossible in their doubts. And faith in the command and presence of God were crucial to that success. The command of God drove him as God commissioned him. The presence of God assured him as the tasks got more difficult. God’s peace is found in His presence: “I will be with you.”

And those five words are the source of encouragement from Jesus as well, Who commissioned us to take the gospel to the world, and ended His command to us with this assurance: “I am with you always.”

Friday, March 2, 2018

visited and redeemed



Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
Luke 1:68-69

Strange that these words of hope can feel so out of place when the calendar is closer to Easter than to Christmas. This song from Zechariah, set in Luke’s gospel just before the birth story of Jesus in a song of rejoicing. It anticipates the wonderful incarnation, the delivery of the baby Who is God’s good news. God has visited His people. The plan of redemption is fully in motion, first with the birth of the prophetic forerunner of the Messiah, John the Baptist. Then we see Jesus born to save His people from their sins.

This is good news of blessing meant to stir our hearts even when the Christmas decorations have long been stored away. Praise the LORD! Let’s always be reminded that salvation has been brought to the earth with Jesus. Zechariah sang about it while that salvation still stirred in the womb of Mary. God was already visiting His people. The horn of salvation was being raised up.

And in that hope, even our darkest days can find peace. Jesus came to bring it. He is still visiting His people, redeeming people to Himself, and bringing salvation to all who believe. There is never a time when that hope is out of place once we appreciate this truth. 

Thursday, March 1, 2018

hearing the prophet


I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
Deuteronomy 18:18

Israel needed to hear the Word of the Lord. And although they had been given the Law in written form, they needed to regularly hear the Word of God. And for this reason, starting with Moses, God kept raising up prophets to speak His Words to the people. The prophet spoke what God put in his mouth. And the prophet was compelled to speak ALL of those words from the Lord to God’s people.

As the Old Testament unfolds the story of the redemption, we find prophets speaking for God all through the text. These prophets are used by God to lead the people (like Joshua), to confront the people (like Jeremiah), and to instruct and warn the people (like Samuel). They show us how utterly dependent we should be on the Word of God. We must be led, confronted, instructed, and warned by God’s Word.

Because God spoke through prophets, and many of those prophets recorded what God said to them in scripture, we can know the mind of God and do His will. God is not silent. His Word still speaks as we apply ourselves to what He has revealed through those to whom He has spoken. And these words stand the test of time as they clearly speak to my heart even today.