Beware of culture creep!

They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.

Judges 2:13-14

Idolatry always has consequences. In Israel’s case, it took just one generation for God’s people to become pagans. A generation chose idols over Yahweh. They forgot their history. They took for granted that their life in a land that their ancestors fought to receive from God would just always be. They assumed it was always theirs. They abandoned the Lord.

And such casual drift into worship of false gods is easy to do. The nations around Israel that previous generations just tolerated, to the next generation became role models and lifestyle barometers. One generation failed to completely follow God’s will. The next generation chose to completely follow Baal and Ashtaroth. Disobedience to God has generational decay as a sad consequence.

The idolatrous generation that preferred gross pagan worship (rites that included child sacrifice and religious prostitution)… that generation experienced judgment by God as well. Israel was regularly plundered and oppressed. Occupying Canaanite forces grew stronger. Sadly, the pagan gods just brought pagan occupation and oppression. Idolatry made everything worse. It always dominates and destroys. 

Hearts that are drawn to worship the stuff of this earth, or the lifestyles of those outside God’s people, are always going to pay this kind of price. Heeding the setup warnings on the Book of Judges requires that we guard our hearts from “culture creep”. There are still types of Baals and Ashtaroths that can lull us into idolatry, and then oppress our lives miserably!

God gives

I am the LORD your God,

who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Psalm 81:10

This verse, situated in Psalm 81, which Asaph wrote as a spiritual history lesson for Israel, emphasizes four important ways God worked among His people. And what God gave to Israel in the Exodus, He also gives through Christ today.

First, God emphasizes PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP. “I am the LORD your God.” The Jews have a unique covenant life with God. He is their God. They are His people. He cares for them in that relationship. He revealed His unique purposes, plans, passion, and position to them as His people. And through His people He sent One Who would save and bless the entire world!

Next, God emphasizes His RESCUE of His people. God brought about their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. God gave them Moses as their leader. God brought about the means for their salvation when it took the Passover’s death angel to bend Pharaoh’s hardened heart to release Israel from bondage. In Christ we are rescued from sin’s slavery now!

God also emphasizes His POWER to His people. He brought them out. He made them His own. He kept them fed and cared for in the wilderness. In the covenant relationship, God’s supernatural power was the highest and greatest display of His constant care of Israel. They simply had to follow. And so it is with Jesus. His power saves us. We must believe and follow.

And finally, God’s PROVISION is emphasized. The command of joyful divine generosity is this: “Open you mouth wide! I’m going to fill it up with the good stuff!” God lived up to His promise of provision, not only in the wilderness, but beyond, in all of Israel’s history. He has kept covenant at His great cost, even when they failed. And His generous grace still pours to believers now, even when we are less than worshipful or obedient. In Jesus we are in relationship, rescued, empowered, and provided all we need for life and godliness by His great and precious promises!

the soils

But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.

Mark 4:20

Jesus told the parable of the soils in order to teach His disciples how the kingdom would grow as the gospel was preached. Not all who hear the gospel accept and believe the gospel. And not every soil in which the Word is planted will ultimately bear fruit. But the sower still sows.

Some people, caught in the schemes of the Devil, have the gospel plucked from their hearts before it even has a change to germinate into a convicting thought. This is a way the world wars against the gospel. And it isn’t just a post-modern problem. Jesus warned of it in His preaching.

Some people have an emotional reception of the gospel. Jesus says they receive it with joy thinking it to be wonderful good news. But when hardships come because of the gospel, they reject it. They assumed it was all about feel good prosperity. And the truth of endurance makes them swiftly wither away.

Still others seem to hear and believe, but never really “leave” the world’s cares fully for Jesus. And the worldly siren song is louder in their hearts than their praise of their Savior. They are choked silent by the overgrown jungle of materialism, pride, and sensuality. They never thrive because they never let the gospel change their hearts.

The kingdom grows however with fruit bearing disciples. They aren’t lulled by culture, deceived by Satan, or driven by their own emotionality. They believe that Jesus alone is Savior and Lord and that they are sinners made holy ONLY by Him. They follow Him and grow. They too share the seed of the gospel so that their lives may bear fruit for His kingdom, not all to the same degree, but all for the same ends… So Jesus will be glorified and His Kingdom made known!

hearts that test God

They tested God in their heart

by demanding the food they craved.

Psalm 78:18

Our sin can be particularly grieving to God when we put God to the test in our unbelief. In the long history of Israel recounted in Psalm 78, this is seen over and over. God was faithful to His people. They wanted even more from Him. God gave it to them in mercy. They did not repent and instead their hearts demanded even more. And then God would judge their sin.

Interestingly it all starts in the heart. They tested God first in what their hearts demanded. Sin begins with evil desire. And evil desire is often a twisted form of a good desire. In Israel’s case in the context of Psalm 78:18, it was a good desire to have food. But the desire became a testing of God in sin when Israel DEMANDED God give them a specific food they craved. Manna was His heavenly gift! Soon they demanded meat instead. And as their hearts assigned contempt for God’s care and demanded He provided differently, God’s anger arose because of their unbelief and failure to trust His saving power (Psalm 78:22).

God’s judgment on insolent hearts was first to give them all that they craved. Water sprang from a rock in the desert. Manna rained from heaven daily. A strong wind covered their camp in quail until there was so much meat feasting that they were nearly sick from it. And as they satiated their craving on quail, God struck them down mid feast. Even after judgment they still eventually returned to their whining, craving lack of faith.

Thankfully in judgment God had mercy. He did not destroy Israel and all His wrath was not poured out in an exercise of divine restraint (Psalm 78:38). He took into account His covenant and their weaknesses and kept covenant with them despite a consistent pattern of sinful craving and rebellion (Psalm 78:39). Thank God, He does not treat people as their sins deserve, but is great in mercy! This mercy even forgives me when I test God in my heart.

remembering the precious and powerful

I consider the days of old,

the years long ago.

Psalm 77:5

I keep a journal as a means of remembering, recording, and reflecting on God’s Word and work in my experience. Psalm 77 has insight in the process and reasons to do this. Here’s an outline:

1. Remembering can hurt. God can feel distant. (Psalm 77:1-3)

    A.  Faith cries out from the soul. (Psalm 77:1-2a)

    B.  Feelings confuse the soul. (Psalm 77:2b-3)

          1. Lack of comfort

          2. Expressions of sorrow

          3. Spiritual weakness

II.  Remembering can haunt. God can leave unanswered questions. (Psalm 77:4-9)

      A. Comfortless lack of sleep. (Psalm 77:4-6a)

      B.  Answerless litany of questions. (Psalm 77:6b-9) There are 5 listed. They are answered at the end of the psalm.

III.  Remembering can heal. God does great wonders and works. (Psalm 77:10-20)

       A.  Choose to believe despite feelings. (Psalm 77:10)

       B.  Conviction based on God’s person and work. (Psalm 77:11-20)

             1.  God’s unique work (Psalm 77:11-12)

             2.  God’s unique person (Psalm 77:13)

             3.  God’s unique revelation (Psalm 77:14)

             4.  God’s unique salvation (Psalm 77:15)

             5.  God’s unique covenant with His people (Psalm 77:16-20)

The multi-faceted reality of remembering is aided by writing it down. And the real beauty of the process is known when I read past journals regularly. Not only do I remember and worship God for His past faithfulness, but I deeply relate with my Father because those reflections came in the forging of my heart. I see God. I see what He is doing in me. Difficult or delightful, remembering all of that precious work of God is preserved and celebrated in journaling. God does great work!

Giants Fell

There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain.

Joshua 11:22

When Israel spied on Canaan land

the sight of giants gave them fear

they failed to trust God’s loving hand

rejected the gift that was so near

Giants seemed undefeatable

imposing strength and towering size

the Israelites were just pitiful

“We are grasshoppers in their eyes.”

And so filled with giant fears

a generation was left to wander

the desert wastes for forty years

in unbelief to whine and ponder

Yet Joshua always trusted the Lord

never giving in to giant worry

he lived to see God fulfill His Word

when Canaan was conquered the giants scurried

Cities of giants before Israel fell

As God gave His people inheritance

eventually all ended quite well

no more fears of gargantuan pestilence

The God who fells giants, makes them run

is still here to help defeat fear

all foes have fallen to His Son

with the power of His Spirit always near

when it all feels bad

“At the set time that I appoint

I will judge with equity.

When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,

it is I who keep steady its pillars.” Selah

Psalm 75:2-3

Whether it is processing natural disaster that has brought unbelievable destruction and death, or just looking at a truly sick world that is unhealthy in nearly every aspect (pandemic, societal unrest, economic uncertainty, and moral abandonment), this psalm is a firm reminder that God is very much in control. He has appointed His time to deal with all of this. We feel the world is tottering and reeling, but God keeps the pillars firm. And those who trust in God can be confident even while all these pressuring issues demand our attention and lead us to the temptations of fear and unbelief.

God steadies the world as its pillars wobble. It is held firm by the cross and the foundation of an empty tomb. He has done so since the start of the worldwide pandemic. He still steadies us, even as this virus continues unabated and humbles science, dealing out still more rounds of sickness and death. God provides comfort for all loss, not only from disease, but from disaster. And no tornadic storm, hurricane, or blizzard is unknown or a surprise to Him. These tragedies call humanity to trust in the power and mercies of a God Who holds us steady, even as we wrestle with these losses and changes. As world population grows, these storms and natural events continue to get our attention. Yet our attention should, as this psalm calls us, be pointed to the God Who holds us secure amid our uncertainty.

And in a human society rife with the ongoing aftermath of evil, we must trust that God has appointed His means to judge with fairness in the time He has determined. God sees the wrong and will render His judgment. Innocents are still slaughtered. Injustice still marginalizes many people. Power is often corrupted by the powerful. Economies can fail us. And as prices go higher, the richest seem to only prosper more. It is a painful realization on a day-to-day level. Yet it is not the wealthy who have the true power. Riches cannot save. It is God Who keeps the pillars!

Ancient Israelites sang this song, in the first person, reminding themselves of what God Himself says and personally promises: 

• “I will fairly judge in the time that I appoint.”
• “I will keep you safe when it feels like everything else is shaking.”

In worship, my soul sings these truths too.

How the Spirit helps us know God

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

1 Corinthians 2:12-13

Christians can know, believe, and be blessed with the truth of God’s Word because we have the gift of God’s Holy Spirit with us Who helps us fully understand God’s truth. We aren’t brilliant in and of ourselves. We MUST have the Holy Spirit’s insight into God’s Word in order to be taught what God wants us to know. The Spirit’s rule is indispensable. He makes the difference between knowing ABOUT God and TRULY knowing God possible. With the Spirit’s help, as I open my Bible and read the pages, I can freely understand what God says. Furthermore, Paul says Bible teachers are led by the Holy Spirit to impart truth that is not merely human, but that is also taught to us by the Holy Spirit of God.

So as I intake scripture, both in my own study, and in the preaching of the Word from others, I humbly ask the Holy Spirit to lead, to interpret, to teach, and to freely give me God’s Truth. It isn’t a habit of study alone that helps me. It isn’t the longevity of 51 years of Christian exposure to instruction that makes God known to me. This is ALL the work of God’s Holy Spirit in my spirit. Every time the Book is read this is true. And that direct spiritual encounter is needed, appreciated, and a wonder to my soul.

Spirit of God,

I thank You for Your precious ministry of making that which is spiritual known in me. Forgive me for thinking I have my own insights. You make the truth clear. You reveal Jesus. You instruct me. You lead me to understand God’s truth so that I might have the mind of Christ!

Amen

a humbling admission

Truly God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,

my steps had nearly slipped.

For I was envious of the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Psalm 73:1-3

This psalm of Asaph opens Book Three of the Psalter with a candor worth considering. I think it would do most Christians a lot of good to admit that this same struggle occasionally grabs our own hearts. I know I have been there. I remember once a few years back, as I drove to the church office to do the Lord’s work in my vehicle of the time, a 20+ year old Jeep SUV closing in on a quarter million miles, out of nowhere an obnoxious Audi comes behind me at full speed, crosses the double line, and passes me, flipping me the bird with a grin as he did so. I remember angrily praying out loud something like this: “Lord, why do the wicked get to have the good cars? The way this dude drives, he doesn’t deserve it!” My feet were stumbling. I was envious.

We live in a world that pushes materialism and the good life on us as the only measure of success and happiness. And Christians, if we aren’t in a worship perspective, we can fall for this. Our feet can almost stumble; our steps can nearly slip. That’s why a true worship perspective as described in Psalm 73 gets us back on track.

Outwardly the wicked can seem to have the good life. Read Psalm 73:4-15 for Asaph’s sketch of those observations. It looks like we should be envious of materialism. We can end up feeling defeated. But the perspective of God’s power, punishment of sin, and provision for His people changes everything! In worship in God’s sanctuary, Asaph perceives the truly big picture and repents of his envy:

• God judges the wicked and none of their material success saves them (Psalm 73:16-20).
• We are wrong to envy materialism (Psalm 73:21-23).
• God is always with us, protecting, guiding, and holding us eternally. That is priceless (Psalm 73:23-26).
• God settles it all in the end… we don’t! (Psalm 73:27)
• The faithful righteous have much to testify to concerning God’s great work on their behalf. That is the true treasure (Psalm 73:28).

all of you agree

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

1 Corinthians 1:10

Division in the church is nothing new. In the city of Corinth, a church that was planted by the apostle Paul himself became split with quarrels. The main issues involved celebritizing past leaders as well as an unwillingness in the church to take action on immoral behavior. They were starstruck but not sin-sick. The result was shattering to the unity of the Body of Christ and this ultimately took the eyes of the members of the Corinthian church off Jesus and on people.

There were camps of disciples. Some claiming to follow Paul’s teaching… others liked Apollos. Still others claimed Peter or Cephas as their guru, and then there was this super-spiritual sanctimonious group that just said, “Ahem…. We follow Jesus.” It was all a big mess. Paul chides the church for this childish bragging and points out how all of them have got their eyes completely off the gospel (1 Corinthians 1:11-17). After chastising their childishness, Paul again points to the wisdom and power of God in the cross of Christ to refocus all of them away from their infighting divisions and to the unifying salvation found only in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:18-35).

Petty disagreements are always a problem among Christians. And today is no different. We still divide over Christian celebrity and consumeristic ceremonies. And some ministries place character on the back burner in order to attract consumer Christians. Then this becomes a temptation for all churches. But disciples are made not by showtime pageantry, fog and laser lights, and hipster motivational speakers. Disciples are made by individual commitment, clear gospel preaching, sound doctrine, accountable living, and honest connection in community with believers. It is anti-consumeristic to follow Jesus because He requires we deny self and load up a heavy cross on our backs. It is an inconvenient truth.

Oh that we would hear the call in our Lord Jesus Christ to agree together! Oh to end petty divisions over people and personal preferences so that the gospel brings us again into unity!

transcending trouble

Your righteousness, O God,

reaches the high heavens.

You who have done great things,

O God, who is like you?

You who have made me see many troubles and calamities

will revive me again;

from the depths of the earth

you will bring me up again.

Psalm 71:19-20

These two verses are strangely paralleled in a song of praise. They capture the tension that a life lived long with God will inevitably come to know. On one hand, we praise God for His transcendent and unique holiness. Only God is God. Only He is truly righteous. And His power and might are displayed to us. We worship His majesty, power, holiness, and glory. No one is like God.

And then, on the other hand, God will bring us to experience difficulties. Yes, we worship a transcendent God. But we also live in a broken world. And so God may lead us to know trouble and hardship as we experience our sin-marred lives. He calls us to trust and worship Him even as difficulties and tragedies hit our lives and leave us whirling emotionally and spiritually. We need God’s transcendence even more in the depths of such suffering. Thankfully He is still the God of wonders even as we live in a world of blunders!

O Lord,

I have seen, and continue to see, many troubles and calamities in a world that You are still going to make new. Yet even in these hardships, You are better… perfect… and powerful! You revive the soul overwhelmed in crisis. You raise me from the depths of difficulty to again praise Your greatness! And in the tension there is great glory given to You for Your works of power. Thank You for being great, even in the grittiness and grime of rough times!

Amen

refreshed in a culture of joy

…so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.

Romans 15:32

One of the great life experiences comes to those who will give themselves to Christian ministry. It is the mutual ministry, true joy, and meaningful fellowship that binds hearts together in service to Jesus Christ. For Paul it was found everywhere he went. He had not been to Rome, but knew the church both by reputation, and by knowing some of her members that he had encountered along the way in his missionary travels. In fact, virtually all of the last chapter of Romans (16:1-23) is a long list of familiar names to both Paul and the believers already in Rome.

Paul unveils his itinerary to the Roman church. First, he was traveling back to Jerusalem in order to deliver a large monetary gift to the suffering saints there. The Gentiles were helping their Jewish fellow Christians who were under intense persecution. Once that gift was properly delivered to the apostles, Paul had a priority one trip to Spain in the works… to bring the gospel where it had yet to make an inroad. On the way to Spain, Paul planned to visit Rome, encouraging the church there to strategically support his Spanish mission trip. He trusted the redemptive work of the gospel to prepare the church to receive him, support him, and join with him in bringing the gospel where it had yet to be preached. This is the kind of commitment that you ask of your friends. Paul was confident that in Christ, his Roman friends would serve the advance of the gospel with him.

This led Paul to anticipate two things from Christian fellowship with this church: joy and refreshment. When Christians are in Christ we enjoy being together. We laugh! We love each other well. We rejoice in our God. It is a great time. It is truly a lot of fun. And we are also refreshed. Spiritual and emotional batteries should recharge in Christian connection! If the opposite ever happens, we have lost our way! The expectation should always be that even in the hard tasks to which we are called, as we mutually labor, the joy of the Lord is our strength. In true Christian fellowship we know joy and refreshment together. And this leads to committed, strong, faithful mutual ministry.

my God Who knows

You know my reproach,

and my shame and my dishonor;

my foes are all known to you.

Psalm 69:19

Never do I face a difficulty alone when I am God’s child. In this psalm, despite having the pain of a broken heart caused by personal attacks against him, David persevered in worshipful prayer to God. He knew God knew how he felt (Psalm 69:20). In this imprecatory song, David lamented his pain to God, called to God for justice, begged God to act on his behalf, knew God was well aware of all that was happening, and ultimately praised God Who had always delivered him (Psalm 69:30-35).

And so I take hope in God. I’ve never had the dire situation David faced, where enemies literally sought to kill me. And so David’s emotional intensity encourages me to be unafraid to let God know my own feelings during rough events. I have been overwhelmed before. I have felt hurt by my own mistakes as well as the misunderstandings and sometimes deliberate ill-will of others who were not fond of me. God knows all of that. He even knows things of which I am completely oblivious. And so I am encouraged to trust the God Who knows.

Lord,

I am kept because You know me and You keep me. And You know my hurts, my heartaches, my shame, and my dishonor. And you have kept me safe in You. I know that You will continue to do so! You know, You save, and You lead!

Amen

a primer on Christian conscience

So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Romans 14:12

This is a good reminder that I answer to God for my actions. The context of this stern sentence is relationship with other Christians in matters of conscience. The temptation in these issues is to judge others, defend our own positions even if others disagree, and inevitably divisions in the church are the result. But the apostle Paul reminds us we are not the judge of hearts… God is. Furthermore, we should remind ourselves that God holds each one of us individually accountable. I believe He starts with my heart first!

2021 now makes it two REALLY HARD YEARS in a row. 2020 was all about uncertainty with a pandemic. 2021 has been all about disagreement over the new normal. This year, in my over 33 years of ministry involvement, I have seen the most divisiveness ever in churches… not just in my church home, but every church… every pastor I speak with is experiencing it. Christians aren’t getting the Bible’s message on how to handle conscience issues. A conscience issue is a concern that doesn’t have direct biblical commands to direct it. Se we are left to apply principles from scripture as we best can, and we also utilize our own comfortability and sense of right and wrong to navigate the issue. These sorts of things have become societal land mines now buried everywhere in the church: masks, vaccines, politics, and racial justice are probably the biggest right now. All these controversies are creating explosive chaos because conscience-honoring biblical truth is scarce among us. We have forgotten that God sees us.

From Romans 14 then, a short primer on loving one another while understanding differences of conscience:

• If I can only hold one position over another, I AM A “WEAK BROTHER”. (Romans 14:1-2)
• It is wrong to pass judgment on conscience issues. (Romans 14:3-11)
• God holds each of us accountable to Him for our conscience. (Romans 14:12)
• It is wrong to force a conscience issue position onto another person. (Romans 14:13-16)
• God is actually glorified when each person, in conscience and in faith, holds a different view! (Romans 14:16-19)
• Recognizing valid positions and refusing to fight actually builds up the church. (Romans 14:19)
• If I truly have the ability to understand and respect differing views, limiting my opinion actually grows the church. (Romans 14:2-23)

A Prayer to the Awesome One

Awesome is God from his sanctuary;

        the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.

    Blessed be God!

Psalm 68:35

O Awesome One

God in Your Holy Place

now making us Your dwelling

we worship You.

O Faithful One

God of Your people

now living with us

we come before You.

O Powerful One

God of all miracles

Who protects, heals, restores

we need You.

O Strong One

God of all ability

Who parted seas and shook the earth

shake us too.

O Blessed One

Who gave desert manna and water

provide always for us and

bless us now.

Amen