Hometown Hero

This is how Jerusalem was taken. –Jeremiah 39:1

What?! Academically I have known that Jerusalem was sacked multiple times, but it just kind of hit me. Jerusalem. God’s Holy City. The Holy City. God’s Hometown. Taken. How could an all-powerful God let his home town get razed? Where were all Elisha’s angel warriors on chariots? Where was the miraculous redirection of the Jordan river to wash out his enemies? Where were the earthquakes swallowing His foes? How could you, God, let this happen?

Do you feel like there are things in your life God could not possibly allow to be destroyed? Your car? Your career? Your house? Your family? Your ministry?

We live in a fallen world. Because of sin, even things that are good and ordained by God are subject to sin’s wrath. Everything we have and do and value are gifts from God and all can be taken away in just moments. But why would He allow this to happen?

Our God is a big God. He is a good God. He is a powerful God. A time is coming when all the destruction will end. Flip to the end of your Bible,to the book of Revelation, and here God is describing a new Jerusalem. The new Jerusalem will be a massive, ornate, worthy-of-the-King-of-the-universe class city. It’s roads will be paved with gold so pure it will be transparent. It’s gates will be inlayed with precious jewels. It will be teeming with life and love and happiness and this Jerusalem will not be taken. Sometimes God allows the things that we hold so dear to be taken because he has something better that He is preparing. But we need to trust Him. We need to be patient. We need to remember that He is good. Because He is worthy of our trust, deserving of our patience, and He is good. Don’t cry for old Jerusalem, but praise Him who is architecting the new Jerusalem.

Ugly-Day Exorcism

Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." – John 14:8

Don’t you wish you could just see Him? Just once? What it must have been like for Moses on top of  Mt. Sinai to see the face of God. The anticipation kind of reminds me of when we’ve been expecting our 3 boys to arrive and wondering what they would look like. They are so close – just on the other side of a thin layer of skin and tissue – but we couldn’t see them until the appointed time. We see echoes of what they will look like in the ultrasound, but it’s just not a very clear picture.

Jesus responds to Philip in the passage above by saying that if he wants to see the Father, he need look no further than than Jesus himself. His reasoning is that the Father lives in him and he in the Father. The same Spirit that lived in Jesus also lives in us, so we too are the face of the Father.

So, when you next look at yourself in the mirror, don’t feel defeated, depressed or unhappy. Instead, tell yourself, “You look divine!” And you’d be right!

Father, thank You for living in us. Help us to reflect Your glory in this dark world. Let others see You in us and help us to represent You well. We love You. Amen.

Empty Breadbox

I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again. Those who believe in me will never thirst. –John 6:35

Well, that sounds nice, doesn’t it? Jesus is promising to be there – to sustain us – every day, all the time. We will never be hungry again. We will never thirst again. How many of us though, come to the breadbox only to find it empty? We go to the well, and the bucket has no water. It feels like Jesus is not there. How can he promise to provide us with bread and water but then not be there when we come? That’s what I wondered as I read this passage. But then I read it again. Jesus never promises that he will provide bread every time we come to Him. He promises, rather, to provide that nourishment when doing so will prevent us from being hungry or thirsty. In other words, are we on the brink of hunger when we come to Him or are we full? I think Jesus wants us to come to him daily and seek him out. On those occasions, though, when it seems that He’s not there, where it seems that the breadbox is empty, it should not discourage us. Rather, it should cause us to ask: Am I still full? Do I still have some work to do to burn away these spiritual calories? Perhaps what Jesus is saying is “I’ve given you what you need to do the work I’ve given you to do. Now go do it.”

It’s kind of like calling mom on Thanksgiving morning after a big breakfast and she says, “I promise to feed you well. See you for dinner.” Then you get in the car, drive half way there, pull over, and call her up and say, “Mom, where’s my dinner – I thought you said you would feed me.” She replies, “I’m preparing a feast for you. Finish your trip and you will eat richly when you arrive.”

Get Back Up

When people fall down, don’t they get back up again? – Jeremiah 8:4

It is fairly easy to train animals against a specific behavior by applying some sort of negative response to that behavior. The dog jumps on the couch, you yell at it to get off – maybe a gentle spanking for the more stubborn ones. Generally speaking, after a few iterations, the dog learns the behavior and it is not repeated. For kids though, it does not seem to matter how many times and what form of punishment it is, they go right back to doing the bad things again (can I get an Amen?). Has anyone had to send their kid to time-out only a few times for not sharing? People are persistent. This can be a good thing, too. And God knows it.

We mess up all the time, do we not? It seems that we all have these stumbling blocks in the path before us that our eyes do not see or that we refuse to look at which trip us up over and over again. But that does not mean that we should stay lying on the path. We get back up. Here is the thing to keep in mind though: it does not matter which direction you are going on the path – you can stumble walking in either direction.

When we are headed away from God, we stumble. At some point, we will realize the path we are on is not getting us closer to Him and we will turn around. But don’t you know those same stumbling blocks are still there on the path? Stumbling blocks are not an indication that we are on the wrong path, but they should remind us to verify which direction we are going. When we fall down, we get back up again. We are not going to get any closer to God lying down on the path.

God, thank You for creating us to persevere and persist through our trials. Thank You for giving us the strength to get back up when we fall. Let Your Spirit guide us so we can be sure we are on the path headed in the right direction. Amen.

Beach Maker

Why do you not tremble in my presence? I, the Lord, am the one who defines the ocean’s sandy shoreline, and everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the bounds I set. – Jeremiah 5:22

If you think about the geography of Israel with its entire western border exposed to the Mediterranean Sea, and historically surrounded by the mighty empires of Egypt, Syria, and Rome, it’s easy to understand that the ocean to the ancient Israelite was a symbol of danger and peril. There weren’t too many times when something good would have shown up on their shores.

God is the master of the sea. As Jesus demonstrated on a few occasions the waves obey Him. He is powerful and strong. When God tells the water to not cross a certain boundary, they obey. Do you know that God will never burden you with a situation that you can’t handle with His strength? He has defined the boundary where the Enemy is not allowed to cross. With the waves and the tide and some of the bad storms that come our way, it’s hard for us to see exactly where that boundary is, but it’s there. God has set it.

Lord, we praise You because You are mighty. You keep the evil in this world at bay and protect Your children from being overtaken. God thank you for being in control of all things. You are the Great One. Amen.

Aqueducts and Cracked Pits

For my people have done two evil things: They have forsaken me – the fountain of living water, and they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all! – Jeremiah 2:13

Hmm. When I started reading the verse above, I got an ominous feel about what was to come. This is God condemning Judah for their sins and His scorning them saying that they have done evil in his sight. There are two horrible things about which God is very concerned. The first falls in line with the tone of intro, “They have forsaken me.” Sounds like typical Old Testament rebuke so far. Before describing these two things, in verse 12, God says that these things made the heavens “shrink back in horror and dismay.” We are talking really really really bad stuff. So first we have that they have forsaken God, but then comes the part that makes one eyebrow go up and the other go down in confusion. God is angry and all of heaven is in shock and awe that the people of God have built cisterns with cracks in them.

A cistern is essentially a hole in the ground that was used for collecting rain water. If the cistern develops cracks, it can no longer hold the rain water it was designed to hold and the water seeps back into the ground. So God is furious over their civil engineering and plumbing skills? My eyebrows are still cocked.

Clearly it is not the case that all of Heaven is disappointed that they can’t build a proper rain barrel. Note in this passage that God refers to himself as the “fountain of living water.” (Aside: Remember when Jesus claimed this same thing to the woman at the well? She would have understood this to be Jesus claiming to be God.) The cistern that God is referring to is the set of religious systems that Israelites had built up to try to contain and retain God. They try to store up their God so they’ll have Him when they need Him. God is disappointed in this because with a fountain of living water that doesn’t run out – why do you need a cistern? And a broken one at that?

God doesn’t want us to build systems of religion up to try to store up and contain God. He wants us to be more like an aqueduct, a mechanism for carrying God to those far from the spring. Our temptation is to hold God close and not want to let Him go because we’re afraid it’s not going to rain again for a long time and how will we be refreshed in that case? God promises that this fountain will never run out, we don’t have to fear an end to God’s supply. We can give of our time, our money, our resources and he is powerful to replenish us. We act better as conduits of God’s Spirit than as a retention system. We are broken jars of clay (2 Cor 4:7).

God, thank you for Your unending supply. Help us to carry You to those far from You. Let Your Spirit flow through us today. Amen

Freedom from Speech

Obey the government, for God is the one who put it there. Pay your taxes and import duties, and give respect and honor to all to whom it is due. – Romans 13:1,7b

I may have mentioned before that I tend to lean conservative in the political spectrum so you may be able to figure out which way I voted in the most recent Presidential election. America is a great country, founded to protect our individual and collective freedoms. One of our most cherished (and exercised) freedoms is the freedom of speech. It is fantastic that we have the option to speak out against the choices our government makes without fear of incrimination. There is a difference, though, between challenging ideologies in healthy debate and just flat-out disrespect.

Many of you, I am confident, have seen or at least heard about Rep. Joe Wilson’s heckling of the President during his recent address to a joint session of Congress.

Now, Rep. Wilson has publically apologized and recognized that he was out of line. Both political parties have condemned his actions, so there is no question here that everyone recognizes the incorrectness of this situation – I merely use this as an example.

God put our government in place. Just because we disagree with the choices that our government makes some times and just because we have the freedom to speak about it doesn’t mean we should necessarily exercise that freedom. Is what we are saying disrespectful? Does it honor those in the government? I’m not saying we should be quiet, but there is a difference between political disagreement in the proper forums and just flat out lack of respect.

When our government officials do something that is morally wrong, they should be held accountable. They should deal with the consequences, and in a democracy or a republic like ours, we the people are charged with holding those officials accountable. That doesn’t mean smearing them and ridiculing them at the water-cooler. It doesn’t mean seemingly endless media stories belaboring all the same points. How do  you think it looks to our enemy (or our friend) nations when they see the people of America bashing our own leadership? How do you think it looks to God when we mock the leadership He has put in place?

I don’t agree with the choices our government makes on many issues, but they are the government God has appointed and they are due our respect for that reason alone.

Lord, thank you for our government, and for all the leadership of our country which You have put in place. God, help me to respect and honor the Mayor, Governor, and President that govern the land in which I live. Strengthen them to carry our Your will. Help them to lead with wisdom, confidence, and justice. God we know that ultimately, You are the one in charge. This is Your world and we are Your people. Political differences aside, Your Word is the one true Law of the Land and we trust in You. Amen.

Humbled by Hieroglyphics

And don’t think you know it all! – Romans 12:16

I don’t know about you, but I know everything, and I’m right about everything. I’m not one of these who will defend their position even after realizing they are wrong and being proven beyond the shadow of a doubt they are wrong. No, I can admit when I’m wrong – it’s just never the case that I’m wrong. ;) Do you know someone like that? Is that you?

How arrogant we are! There is only one person who knows everything, and that’s God the Father. Even Jesus demonstrated his lack of complete knowledge admitting that he did not know the time or place he would return.

If we thought about it long enough, even the smartest among us, we could come up with at least a few things about which we have absolutely no knowledge. Do you have a good understanding of Bulgarian tax law? Do you know how to perform a bi-pass surgery? Can you read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics? Do you know the names of all 1.5 billion people in China? Lets come a little closer to home. Do you know what was the scariest thing that happened to your spouse or kids or siblings this week? the most encouraging? Do you know what God wants you to do today?

My guess is that stepping back for a minute, we can all admit that we are not all omniscient.  Recognizing I don’t know it all also helps me to not think of myself more highly than I ought and to consider others as more valuable than myself. Additionally, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we have direct access to the only One who is! His omniscience comforts me and helps me to approach Him humbly.

God, You know everything and I know nothing in comparison. I’m comforted by Your knowledge over me. You know everything about me and everything that has and will happen to me, and You love me still. You can choose to share Your knowledge with me or choose to keep me humble, and I know that You will work it all out for good. You are the only One worthy of praise! Amen.

Misery Loves Company

It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. – Romans 7:21

We all mess up. Some of us mess up more than others, and some try really hard not to mess up at all; but we all mess up. We make mistakes when we’re being careless – spilling a cup of coffee, backing up the car into a post, forgetting to record that favorite TV show. We mess up when we’re being selfish: saying something in anger, ignoring people, eating too much, making fun of people. Whether we intend to or not, we all mess up.

The message of Romans 7-8 though is clear. We see a stark contrast between the focus of chapter 7 and the focus of 7:25 and chapter 8. Chapter 7 is focused entirely on “I” where chapter 8’s attention turns to Christ and Spirit. It would seem the answer to us messing up is Jesus himself. He is our redemption – the answer to our failures. If we can stand on His goodness instead of our mishaps, we will be like the one who built his house on the rock instead of the one whose foundation was on shifting sand.

Is it OK, then that we mess up all the time? No, of course not, we should always strive for perfection, but don’t be surprised if we don’t reach it. But when we mess up, and we will, it’s good to know that He is there to lift us back up.

Evidence of Things Unseen

When God promised Abraham that he would become the father of many nations, Abraham believed him…even though such a promise seemed utterly impossible. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. – Romans 4:18,20

Has God ever promised you something? Not something He promises everyone, but has He promised something just to you? I know I’ve gotten promises before – and there’s one that has stuck with me for many years. I’m not going to tell you what it is. What my promise is isn’t as important as the fact that it’s a promise. I don’t understand mine, I don’t know how God will fulfill it through me, but I hear Him tell it to me over and over.

I can imagine what Abram must have been thinking as God promised him that he would be the father of many nations. “God, did I hear you right? Maybe you got the wrong Abram.” For some reason, we have no problem believing our all-powerful God is able to create the universe, molded life out of dust, and has planned all events through all time, but we doubt that he can fulfill the promises He gives us.

I heard a wonderful sermon this Sunday from Andy Stanley on the subject of faith. He describes faith as what we do concerning the promises of God. Hope, by contrast, is what we do concerning things God hasn’t promised, but that we think He would want or that we would want. I hope I get a new job, find a girlfriend, get pregnant, my friend gets healed, my sister gets saved. I have faith that Jesus will return, that God won’t flood the Earth again, that God loves me, that God’s character will never change, that He is true to his promises. It’s in his promises that we can have faith and stand sure-footed.

I’m not sure how God implements his promises, what events lead up to the fulfillment of the promise, and I’m not sure what the fulfillment will look like exactly. I’m sure many Jews at the time didn’t expect the fulfillment of the Messiah to look like Jesus. I’m not convinced I’ll know God’s unique promise to me when I see it, but there is one thing I know. He will fulfill it. I can have faith in that.

Lord, give us faith in You and in Your promises. Help us to trust You when You answer prayers differently than what we hope for. You are true and good. Amen.