the refresher

Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest

is a faithful messenger to those who send him;

he refreshes the soul of his masters.

Proverbs 25:13

This proverb affirms he value of being a person who has an encouraging, refreshing, and uplifting personality. These people produce a sort of kindness that makes hard work easier to endure and pulls people through difficult circumstances. Truly kind actions and words make the world a better place.

The picture that this proverb paints shows us a scene of hard-pressed workers in the heat of a harvest. In Palestine, this is from June through September depending on the crop being brought in. It is the hottest season of the year. Hand harvesting is backbreaking and sweaty work. Those who do it get dry, dusty, and thirsty. And the picture is of someone making an extravagant trip to the mountains just to bring back snow for refreshment. Imagine snow cones being served to parched, dry, sun-burned field hands. That’s the value of an encouraging message and messenger. They can totally refresh others.

This chapter of Proverbs seems to exclusively focus on passing on wisdom to leaders and kings. And a good leader will realize there is great value in going to lengths to refresh those who toil hard under their management. They value refreshment. Great leaders send encouraging messages. They value encouraging people and empower them to be people who refresh and strengthen those around them.

God Himself loves to refresh the weary: “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters...” Isaiah 55:1. Jesus makes the same refreshing offer to all who will believe in Him: “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water I will give Him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of living water welling up to eternal life” John 4:13-14.

imminent dawn

Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;

he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.

Psalm 112:4

I’m thinking about this passage as I sit in the pre-dawn darkness, seeking to hear from the Lord and see direction in His light. And it is for me a striking image that comes to my mind as I reflect on the imagery here in this psalm. I don’t think I have known more darkness than this last year. It has been a kind of engulfing arctic night around the world, swallowing up even those closest to me. 

I was just talking yesterday with a Christian friend about how disrupted the last twelve months have been... How we all thought two or three weeks of intentional quarantine would end the worst of the pandemic, only to still be overwhelmed by it one year later. And in this time I’ve lost people I love, been forced to change plans and lifestyle countless times, and grieved with friends who have lost loved ones to this crisis. All the removal of outward distractions have led to deeper questions for most of us.

It sure will be nice to see a sunrise again! It’s like a lifetime of gray rain clouds have been hanging around. Yet God is faithful. He has promised that for those who trust Him, The Light will dawn over the darkness. Light will win out. The bright Day will again dawn in our lives. And it even now leads us to spread Christ’s Light. To paraphrase the apostle John: “...the true light, which gives light to everyone, has come into the world” (John 1:9).

Jesus is the light dawning on this current dark horizon. The gospel breaks the grip of this cold arctic night! Jesus pierces the darkness, brings the new day, fills us with grace, mercy, and righteousness so that we can spread them in a dark world. How do we withstand this darkness? Only in His light! Cursing the darkness is a fool’s losing pre-occupation! In Jesus there is the true dawning of what will massively change this world. We have His word to pay attention to as a lamp that grows brighter as a dawn on our horizon (see 2 Peter 1:19). I will then wait for the inevitable break of this dawn.

Worship History

Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

2 Chronicles 3:1

Solomon built a house for You

A place to meet

A temple so grand

It was an ancient wonder

There Your glory came down

There sin was atoned

Before there was that temple

There were tents

One in Gibran that had desert-weathered frame

One in Moriah that kept the ark that bore Your name

And you dwelt among Your people

Before those tents were raised

You met Abram as he wandered

You called home Jacob and his children

You lifted up Joseph in Egypt

You raised up Moses to take Your people from slavery

A mighty God worshiped in a magnificent temple

Whose saving works are worth the best worship people can give!

look and live

So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Numbers 21:9

This was yet another episode in Israel’s journey where lack of faith led to discontent and rebellion against God. This time their assessment of God’s care is particularly selfish. They would rather live as slaves than die trusting God to provide. They did not like having to lean on God for everything. And in their worst selfish assessment they totally devalued God’s care... “We loathe this worthless food.” They dared to hate what God gave and deemed it worthless! God would discipline this direct rebellion.

Fiery serpents came up from the desert into the camp. Their poisonous bites led to the death of many of these complainers. The people wisely recognized their sin and then pleaded with Moses to intercede for them before God. When he did, God gave Moses this unusual snake bite treatment. These supernatural serpents could be resisted by faith. A believing look at the bronze serpent in the middle of the camp would heal any poisoned person.

And we must realize that there was a much deeper picture yet to come from this story. Jesus cited it to describe a reason for His mission in John 3:14-15: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” Our only deliverance from the fiery poison of our own sinful condition which will lead to death and separation from God is to look to Jesus, lifted up on a cross for us, and to believe in Him. Our worst rebellion against God and the severe judgment of God are all taken care of by the Savior lifted high over us on a cross.

Lord,

We are by nature selfish, ungrateful, and rebellious against Your loving leadership. We often want it our way and not Your way. Forgive our complaining and our sinful assessments of Your provision. Thank You for a love that is lifted up for all the world to see in the message of the cross! May we look to Jesus and truly live! And may we thrive in the faith that gives eternal life, always lifting high for others the truth of the saving gospel so others may look and live!

Amen

The Church is the best place to create unity.

So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.

Philemon 17

This may be one of the most shocking commands in all of the New Testament. Paul upset societal structure with the request to Philemon. He asked his Christian brother to receive back a runaway household slave who probably had pilfered from his master, and to accept him not only as a new believer in Christ, but also with the same grace and hospitality that Philemon would have given to the apostle Paul himself. Paul just placed himself, a Roman citizen by birth, on equal standing with a criminal slave. All is pardoned by Jesus! All people are equal in the fellowship of the church of Jesus Christ when they have believed the gospel. We must recognize and celebrate this in every brother and sister in our fellowship. All of us are equally forgiven at the cross and we forgive one another with that same standard when wronged.

Now is a great cultural moment for the church to be shockingly unbiased. The world wants to corner the market on equality, but they have no holy work preceding their call to change. The result is that we can’t really be equipped to love one another by the social justice movement. Sinners just can’t really do that. The selfishness of sin even corrupts the noble call to unity, equality, and inclusivity, turning it into  another kind of violence and disagreement. This winds up creating further judgmentalism.

Yes, the church has a long way to go still in repenting of sinful discriminations. But we do have the power to change for three very exclusive reasons; 1) Jesus forgives us and we are clothed with His righteousness. We can thus repent of our prejudices and receive all people through Christ. 2) We have the weight of repeated scriptural teachings that call us to love God, love our neighbors, and love one another in holiness and with balance. We CAN do this! 3) Christians are indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit. He can provide the strength and power to receive one another when a sinful world can offer only a system that leads to judgmentalism, anger, and platitudes without power.

Expect to feel bad.

Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.

John 16:20

Any brand of Christian teaching that insists that God will only give us good times and prosperity for our happiness sinfully flies in the face of what Jesus Himself told His disciples to be ready to experience. Jesus taught them to expect sorrow. He told them they would weep and lament. And He warned them that the things that broke their hearts would be cause for celebration in the world.

Of course there is an immediate context to this warning. Jesus is sharing one last extended teaching time with His followers. They finished the “Last Supper” Passover. In a matter of minutes, Judas would come to betray Jesus. He would be put on trial and sentenced to death on a cross. The disciples should scatter into hiding, afraid the authorities were coming for them next. They would grieve at the loss of their Master. The world would rejoice. But three days later, at the resurrection, the tables would turn their sorrow to an amazed joy!

God would turn sorrow to joy. And that cycle of grief and loss, challenging and faithful waiting, and eventual joy at God’s work is one that repeated in Christian history. Believers should expect it even today. The sins, injustices, and pains that Christians grieve about right now are often celebrated wildly by our culture. We should not expect the world to mourn over sin and its devastation. That’s something only repentance brings. Christians must often weep and lament over things that people around us without Christ wildly and enthusiastically pursue.

But our weeping will turn to joy when we see Jesus. There is this wonderful promise in John 16:22 that allows us to keep perspective: “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” Yes, Lord Jesus! AMEN!

Judgment is no idle threat.

“Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;

because I will do this to you,

prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

Amos 4:12

When a sovereign God promises

His worship to get

and unveils His coming judgment

it is not just a threat.

What a holy God purposes

that will come yet

even when He brings judgment

it is not just a threat.

God’s decrees are for certain.

The timing is set.

It will not fail to happen.

It is not an idle threat.

So pay heed to the warnings.

You will get what God has set

because His will in judgment

is never just a threat.

To meet righteousness in judgment

is not how The Holy One should be met.

But for those without Jesus

this future is not an idle threat.

But Jesus took sin’s judgment

where at the cross mercy met

the God of all justice

so we believe and aren’t under the threat.

intentional, holy preparation

Prepare your work outside;

get everything ready for yourself in the field,

and after that build your house.

Proverbs 24:27

Preparation is as an important a life skill as any. Haphazard living is a dangerous approach to life. Only a fool would want to live an unintentional life. Having intention, plans, purposes, and preparations are wise... not out of self-effort alone, but out of a wisdom borne by faith that God is with us, supplying our needs, equipping us to work hard for His glory, and lovingly informing our plans as a caring Father.

Careful preparation takes time and effort. You don’t build a house by dumping random materials on a lot. First there is a blueprint. There is cost estimation. Then there is the site work to prepare for the foundation. Without all that outside work, the house cannot even begin to be built. Preparation is the foundation to the foundation.

When we trust Jesus for eternal salvation, we put our faith in a work that God prepared for us before the foundation of the world. That’s right... God prepared our salvation before He created the universe (Ephesians 1:4; Revelation 13:8). God prepared for the people who would be at home with Him for eternity before even the first molecule was spoken into existence.

Jesus called His disciples to count the cost of committing to being in His kingdom (Luke 14:26-28). I personally find this to be an ongoing task as life changes and new opportunities lend themselves to calling me to follow Jesus in a new and deeper way. I must be prepared. And the first way to “work outside” and get “everything ready” is to regularly intake scripture so that I hear from God clearly, spending time in real personal prayer to commune with the Lord properly, and then trust as His Spirit leads me to prepare steps to follow unique to me. I should seek counsel from other mature friends and followers of Jesus that help confirm what God is showing me. These steps are humbly submitted to His sovereign control, ready to flex as God may direct me. God’s blessing comes both in the preparing AND in the obeying!

beyond a horizontal perspective

With God we shall do valiantly;

it is he who will tread down our foes.

Psalm 108:13

I’m not a fan of the culture war metaphor. When I hear Christians use it, it is always in the context of losing. And it is often in the language of politics. It just seems to me that two things ought to be remembered: 1) we aren’t to use natural means to engage our culture with the gospel. 2) God never loses. That is impossible for an Almighty God! Politicians lose, Ideas lose. Human pursuits have winners and losers. God is absolutely sovereign. Whatever we see happening in our culture, it is NOT God that is losing!

Psalm 108 is a song for those who don’t like to lose. It may have been sung to commemorate past deliverances in Israel. It may have been sung before entering into battle. David, the warrior king, is its author. The song focuses on a faithful God (Psalm 108:1-5) Who has promised to care for His people (Psalm 108:6-7) and controls the fate of all the nations of the world (Psalm 108:8-9). It concludes with a future hope that reject’s human power to win out (Psalm 108:12) but instead trusts God to always do His will in future victory (Psalm 108:10-13). And in the end God wins and defeats all who dare to oppose Him.

It is easy to have a low, horizontal perspective on our lives. And if we are stuck there, all we will see will let us down. Christian counter-culture? ...an idolatrous painted lady. Political activism? ... a disappointing practice when Christianity is marginalized. Religious nationalism? ...a rejection of the kingdom perspective of the gospel vision of one Body of Christ united around the world from every tribe, language, and nation.

Instead, we need to look Godward with a vertical vision. The vision that should bring hope to God’s people right now is the same one David held in this psalm: Only through a sovereign, powerful, saving God will we bravely carry on. Only God will win out over evil. And we must focus on trusting His power, His plan, and His timing.

generous worship

Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

1 Chronicles 29:9

The author of 1 Chronicles chose to tell David’s story to emphasize that the greatest achievement of his rule was the peaceful transition of power to Solomon who was immediately tasked and equipped by God and with David’s own charge to build the temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem. David had drawn up plans and meticulously gathered the supplies for this temple and its furnishing during his reign. He had already created legions of workers, gatekeepers, and treasury officials to make sure it happened. And the people of Israel also freely gave to support this work. The result was a generosity that brought joy. David had generously saved up, and the result of these offering converted to contemporary standards has the offering value hovering at just under 900 million dollars. That’s right... nearly a billion dollars was ready to be utilized to build and operate this new temple.

Giving for the promotion of the kingdom of God and the worship of His great name should come naturally, spontaneously, and generously to the people who truly love the Lord. And it should be the cause of great joy, never a “requirement”, and never with the mundane drudgery of “paying the bills”. Giving is a joyous expression of our heart’s true worship! If we can’t give up money, maybe we love it more?!

These people rejoiced because their hearts gave willingly with a liberating, worshipful, joyous freedom. Imagine that the offering time in a church service sounds more like a hometown football crowd when their team scores a touchdown! That’s the way real joy in giving to God ought to feel. In fact, it is better than that because these gifts, when given with a heart of honest worship, for the spread of the gospel and advance of the kingdom, bring a joy that resonates into eternity.

dark waters

These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the LORD, and through them he showed himself holy.

Numbers 20:13

After facing so much crisis and pushback from the people that he led, it is sad to see Moses react so selfishly at this late stage in his leadership. But the fighting waters of Meribah became the place where Moses lost it and deliberately chose to put himself ahead of a holy God. Just how did it get this bad?

The nation of Israel journeyed to a place called Kadesh. There Miriam, the leading lady of the Exodus story, a prophetess and Moses sister, died. But it was also significant as a place where the nation was strategically staged to change. Kadesh was moving them out of decades of wilderness wandering to a place to cross into the Promised Land. But there was no water there, and that fact led the nation to complain to Moses. Moses and Aaron respond to this complaint with a correct first step. They went to the tent of meeting, fell on their faces, and brought the problem to the Lord. God instructed Moses specifically to take the staff, go to the rock in the camp, and to speak to the rock to bring forth water (Numbers 20:6-8).

Their obedience drifted away when it came to the moment. Yes, Moses took the staff. Yes, he and Aaron went to the rock in the gathered assembly of the people. But then Moses went into a totally self-driven agenda: “Here now, you rebels, shall we bring water for you out of this rock? (Numbers 20:10)” Moses chose to be Israel’s judge (calling them rebels). He chose to take credit for their deliverance (shall we bring water for you). Both of those were the exclusive roles reserved for only a holy God.

Moses struck the rock... twice... and then surprisingly, God still brought a spring of water from it. But because Moses dared to take God’s role, he was judged by God. Moses and Aaron were forbidden from entering Canaan (Numbers 20:12). They too would die in the wilderness with the generation of disobedient people. Their actions were faithless and disregarded a holy God. 

How easily our agendas can rise above the plan of a holy God. Sin leads us to do that every time we chose to disobey God, His Word, and His Spirit’s work in us! And there are always consequences for dismissing God’s holiness.

for Himself a people

...who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Titus 2:14

Jesus gave Himself for us.

He endured the shame.

He took the scourging.

He experienced the mocking.

He was hated and despised.

And carrying His own cross, He climbed that hill to be crucified

...to give Himself for us.

Jesus redeemed us...

...from the lawlessness of sin.

...from the worst things about us.

...while we were wrong about Him and about everything.

...even though we were His enemies.

He redeemed us for Himself.

Jesus purifies a people.

...so that they may be His own.

...so that they may have a new identity.

...so that they may be forgiven.

...so that their sins and lawlessness will be remembered no more.

...so that they may now do good.

He purifies us.

How well do I love?

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

John 15:12-14

Jesus is talking with His disciples just before His coming arrest, trial, and crucifixion. He values the relationship that He has with these men. They are His chosen followers. They are the men who would take the gospel to the world. They are His friends.

He gives them a command: “Love one another.” That command has a standard: “as I have loved you.”. That standard is sacrifice: “Lay down his life for his friends.” Obeying that command in the way Jesus says to do in brings intimacy: “You are my friends.”

I am filled with lots of questions as I look at myself in the light of this passage. How well do I obey this command? Is my life marked by loving other people well? How often does my own selfish neediness keep me from following what Jesus wants of me here? These questions call me to love people well, particularly other Christians, so that Jesus might find His church doing His will right now.

Do I really love with Jesus as my standard? I ashamedly admit that selfish motives usually rule my love. Jesus patiently bore with His disciples’ spiritual dullness. He often told them the same truths until the message finally sank in. He gave Himself, eventually all His life, out of love for them. Would I dare to take my love to Calvary levels of sacrifice?

Am I experiencing the intimate friendship with Jesus that He promised here? I do think one reason for a dull walk with God is a diminished relationship with His people. If I want a vibrant life in Christ, I MUST also love His people like He does!

God of all days

The LORD utters his voice

before his army,

for his camp is exceedingly great;

he who executes his word is powerful.

For the day of the LORD is great and very awesome;

who can endure it?

Joel 2:11

The prophet Joel uses a triple play of natural disasters to call the people of God to ponder the Lord in His power to judge. He compels them to return to the Lord in repentance. The book opens describing a plague of locusts that obliterated all agriculture like a ruthless, efficient army... no grain, no vineyards, no olive groves were spared. Then by the end of the first chapter dried stream beds and burning countryside show that drought and wild fires took their toll on what was left. The Promised Land had been reduced to environmental chaos in order to get the attention of a people who had turned away from the proper worship of their God. And at this point Joel points to a bigger judgment yet to come on God’s cosmic agenda.

As grim as life looked under this trio of disasters, a future Day of the Lord would be even more unbearable on a global scale. That is what Joel is prophesying here. The Lord would lead His hosts against a future evil and destroy it by the word of His mouth. No one would stand against Him. This day will be “great and very awesome”.

The God of that day is still the God of this present day. Once this warning is clear, Joel makes his appeal for the people around him to repent, tearing not just their garments in outward mourning, but their hearts in internal, genuine personal sorrow over sin as a commitment to obeying the Lord (Joel 2:12-14). This was their only hope for restored blessing. The God whose judgment is great and awesome is also “gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love”. And because God is simultaneously perfect in holiness, righteous judgment, grace, love, and mercy, He will respond to those whose hearts are truly broken over sin and whose hands and minds are ready to serve Him faithfully again. Praise God that He is always all these things!

a “good name” manifesto

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,

and favor is better than silver or gold.

The rich and the poor meet together;

the LORD is the Maker of them all.

Proverbs 22:1-2

I’m at the stage of my life where a lot of things that I used to think were very important just simply have proven to no longer matter. Life isn’t about grabbing all the stuff, or having all the money, or achieving a certain lifestyle based on a cultural expectation. I am much more concerned about reputation over riches. I would much rather die kind yet very content, than to die wealthy and consumed with money, management, and maintenance. Those three things are damned for fire. In fact, my motto for this last leg of my journey, however far the run may be, and no matter how long or short the finish line is away from me is this: “Die Kind”.

I don’t see that as a grim goal. In fact, embracing the wisdom of this proverb with my own mortality, I’d rather have a good name and favor, prayerfully for all the right reasons, hoping to look more like Jesus, than to have the finest retirement portfolio that gives me the perceived good life! Dying rich or poor doesn’t make a lick of difference really! Both must meet together before their Maker. And a life lived in following Jesus, in flowing His grace toward others as He leads me, is the richest, fullest, most satisfying life imaginable to me.

I reject the unnecessary complexity that materialism and greed may tempt me to want. I am content in Jesus with my daily bread, and will find joy in the life that He gives to me. I will endeavor to make eternal investments in the Word of God, which abides forever, and in the souls of people who will go into eternity. And the name that God may choose to bless me with, the reputation that is the only thing that matters among those I leave behind who will only remember me until they too meet their Maker, will be the choice that I will never regret as I seek to know, love, and forever dwell with my Creator!

God restores.

Some wandered in desert wastes,

finding no way to a city to dwell in;

hungry and thirsty,

their soul fainted within them.

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

He led them by a straight way

till they reached a city to dwell in.

Psalm 107:4-7

Psalm 107 is about God’s loving restoration to those exiled from Jerusalem and the Promised Land. Once you are aware of this, you will notice there are four groups of various exiles that God has restored, each set off by a new stanza that begins with the word “Some” (Psalm 107:4, 10, 17, 24). 

This first group tried to leave Jerusalem in advance of the growing Babylonian threat. They wound up wandering in the desert until they finally cried out to God in submission and He heard their cry. That God even hears the prayers of those who have deliberately disobeyed and incurred His direct judgment is testament to His gracious mercy. God will restore His care to repentant sinners.

So here is how God helps each group of exiles in this psalm:

Passage:	Group:	Need:	Answer:
Vs 4-9	Desert Wanderers	No City; hungry and thirsty	Led to dwell in a city; satisfied
Vs 10-16	Darkness Sitters	Prisoners; bound	Set free; bars broken
Vs 17-22	Selfish Fools	Near death	Healed by God’s Word
Vs 23-32	Sea Farers	Storm tossed and afraid	Storm is ended

In all these groups a common response came in their affliction: They recognized their distress was the result of their sin, they then took responsibility and cried out in repentant faith, and then turned to God as their only hope. God then restored each group in merciful love. And the goal of it all according the author of Psalm 107? 

Verse 43: Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.

Amen! God is better to us than we deserve.

Our God forgives.

And David said to God, “I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

1 Chronicles 21:8

What was David’s sin that led to this intense confession? He selfishly insisted on taking a census of the kingdom in order to indulge his own pride (1 Chronicles 21:2-3). He yielded to a Satanic inducement when he did so (1 Chronicles 21:1). In this action David ignored a key purpose of any census as instructed in the Law — a collected offering from each able-bodied male as a gift to the Lord and ransom for his life (see Exodus 30:12). The following four elements made this a grievous sin: 1) giving in to Satan’s lie. 2) ignoring the wisdom of Joab to refrain. 3) taking the census solely so David could “know their number”, and 4) disobeying the requirement God had for any census to emphasize atonement.

Despite this, God would move to bring Himself closer to David and Israel even in this sin. After David’s sin, God revealed that a consequential judgment would come as a result of David’s willful disobedience. The warning in Exodus 30 was that plague would break out if the command was disobeyed. And over a three day period seventy thousand people died in Israel due to a horrible pandemic as the angel of the Lord brought death to the nation.

Yet a mercy came afterwards. As the angel of the Lord who brought all this death stood poised with his sword drawn over Jerusalem at the threshing floor of Oman, God halted His hand of judgment. David then in turn purchased the plot of land from Oman where he watched the angel of death sheath his sword. There David gratefully built an altar and had sacrifices offered to atone for his sin. And this would then become the temple site... a place still holy for all Jews to this day. A place where God would always atone... where Jesus Himself would one day walk and worship. As a result of these events, a permanent place to celebrate God’s mercy and forgiveness as well as worship in His presence would be established. God made even of David’s sin a place to make His grace known. Oh how wonderful that our God forgives!

Caleb vs the congregation

How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me.

Numbers 14:27

The congregation of Israel:

G - Going against God

R - Refusing to trust God

U - Understanding darkened

M - Myopic focus

B - Bent on self rule

L - Lifting up constant complaint

I - Intent on childish tantrums

N - Never ceasing to complain

G - Graceless perspective

S - Sin controls the heart

God calls grumbling complainers a “wicked congregation”. That is not a good assessment!

Caleb:

F - Forsaking sinful viewpoints

A - Acknowledging the power of God

I - Intent on obeying God

T - Tenaciously trusting God’s promises

H - Hearing God and believing

God rewards those with a “different spirit” who follow Him fully (Numbers 14:24)! Be a Caleb... not the congregation.

Lesson 1: You can’t disobey God and believe God at the same time. Sin will lead to a crisis of faith because it begins in unbelief.

Lesson 2: No matter how bad it gets around you, God will sustain you as you faithfully trust Him. Grumblers all fell dead in the desert over forty years time. Faithful Caleb and Joshua endured and were rewarded by their God, even as they lived most of their lives among the ungrateful.

depravity & difficulty

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.

2 Timothy 3:1

Paul reminds Timothy that he is ministering in the last days. Yes... that’s right... two thousand years ago in the Roman Empire, as Christianity was still in its infancy, the perspective on the times was that Jesus could return at any moment to judge the present world. This is why the days were difficult. Paul instructed Timothy to preach and guard the gospel, not to usher in some mythical utopia, but to counteract the evil of the last days. The days are expected to be difficult.

The days are difficult because the people are depraved. Verses two through five rattle off a long list of depravity as it is clearly seen in a culture. These are things that drive people who are outside of the gospel. These are what we should expect of human beings. They look quite familiar:

- loving self     - loving money     - proud

- disobedient     - heartless     - arrogant

- ungrateful      - insatiable      - abusive

- unholy      - slanderous     - not self-controlled

- brutal     - hating good     - treacherous

- reckless     - conceited     - loving pleasure rather than loving God

- appearing godly by lacking power

The last two in particular show that these elements of depravity infiltrate and threaten the church. They are not distant threats on some eschatological timeline yet to be. Paul saw them as a present problem and warned Timothy to “avoid such people” (2 Timothy 3:5).

So what is my perspective to be? I have to believe I too am living in the last days when it comes to gospel ministry. And I have to adopt the same mindset that the early church had on this. These are difficult days (they always have been) because the light of truth always confronts the darkness of evil. I should expect to see the gospel opposed because it is ALWAYS opposed. I do not live in some utopian culture where nationalistic Christianity is to be expected or even advocated. That circumvents the gospel from doing it’s necessary convicting and confronting counter-culture work! In these times of difficulty I must believe, trust, guard, and proclaim the gospel to a difficult culture. Depraved people need the transformative gospel. Only Jesus can turn sinners into saints!

Life to the Full

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

John 10:10

I was born

in a deficit

a full life?

I wouldn’t get it.

Sin weighed me down

a debt impossible to pay

until I heard Jesus say:

“Come to me.

I am the Door.

I am the Way.

Sin won’t define you any more.

Believe today.”

And true life He gives

of eternal benefit

incredibly full

I love to live it!

Grace lifts me up

my sin debt cancelled

Jesus before me exclaims:

“Live in me!

I am abundant life!

I give life forever.

God’s child You are.

I’ll forsake You never!”