It was strange. God had freed His people from their enemies and conquered their foes on every side. He gave them Gideon as a judge to guide them. But, as soon as he died, Judges 8:34 says, “the children of Israel did not remember the LORD their God.”
When Jerusalem lay desolate and without walls, and enemies threatened to stop the construction, Nehemiah offered the people only one hope. “Do not be afraid of them.” Nehemiah 4:14 says, “Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight.”
A prophet running from God found himself in the midst of a storm-tossed sea. But matters soon would get much worse, as he found himself in the midst of a great fish. But, from the bowels of a sea monster, when all hope was lost and his spirit fainted within him, Jonah 2:7 says, “I remembered the LORD.”
Often God must go to extreme lengths to get His people to remember Him. When the psalmist recounts the story of the exodus in Psalm 78, he lists all the ways that God provided for His people. But it was not until God brought death to them that he could say in verse thirty-five, “Then they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer.”
How often we don’t remember God! When He is the only One who can save, guide, and provide. I can only say, with the writer of Ecclesiastes 12:1, “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come.” Now is the time to make that choice. He is worth remembering. He is the most important thing to remember.
“All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You.” Psalm 22:27.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Too Much Honey
The Bible often uses honey as an analogy. Typically it is a symbol of prosperity; several times it is even used as a picture of God’s Word. One chapter in Proverbs, however, references honey twice, but in a very different way. Proverbs 25:16 says, “Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, lest you be filled with it and vomit.” But the verse I really want to focus on comes later. Verse twenty-seven tells us, “It is not good to eat much honey; so to seek one’s own glory is not glory.”
These verses, placed so conveniently close together in the text, have got me thinking. How much of a good thing is too much? Clearly, the Bible is teaching here that indulgence results in our own downfall. Like an overabundance of honey, seeking our own glory destroys the thing we were out to get.
But there’s more to it than that. In the original Hebrew, the word for “seek” doesn’t mean simply “seek;” it has connotations that can make it mean “examine,” “study,” or “number.” So the writer is not merely warning against someone who is only out to get more glory, but he is also saying that we should not spend too much time thinking about their own “glory” or taking stock of their own accomplishments.
When we eat too much honey we get sick to our stomachs. That is the same effect that besets our souls when we think more of ourselves than we ought. So often we seek our own glory. We become caught up in our image or reputation. We refuse to be fools for Christ, forgetting that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. We lap up honey like it was water, and it has made us sick. It is time to finally stop researching ourselves. Enough is enough. There is one Glory, and it is God alone. If we seek any glory but His, we are looking to be filled by something that is actually causing the problem. We are getting sick off of honey.
These verses, placed so conveniently close together in the text, have got me thinking. How much of a good thing is too much? Clearly, the Bible is teaching here that indulgence results in our own downfall. Like an overabundance of honey, seeking our own glory destroys the thing we were out to get.
But there’s more to it than that. In the original Hebrew, the word for “seek” doesn’t mean simply “seek;” it has connotations that can make it mean “examine,” “study,” or “number.” So the writer is not merely warning against someone who is only out to get more glory, but he is also saying that we should not spend too much time thinking about their own “glory” or taking stock of their own accomplishments.
When we eat too much honey we get sick to our stomachs. That is the same effect that besets our souls when we think more of ourselves than we ought. So often we seek our own glory. We become caught up in our image or reputation. We refuse to be fools for Christ, forgetting that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. We lap up honey like it was water, and it has made us sick. It is time to finally stop researching ourselves. Enough is enough. There is one Glory, and it is God alone. If we seek any glory but His, we are looking to be filled by something that is actually causing the problem. We are getting sick off of honey.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Let the Dead Bury Their Own
How easy it is to become distracted from doing the work God has set before us. The gospels of Mathew and Luke share a very brief story that emphasizes the importance of remaining focused on following Christ.
In Matthew 8:21-22 we see the story of a man who would follow Christ. But he asks the Savior if he may first go and bury his father. Jesus answered, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Luke chapter 9 tells much the same story in verses 59 and 60, but records Jesus’ response as, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”
Christ’s response to the man is something many of us would do well to remember. The things of this world can only end in death. Even things that aren’t bad often bring no benefit except in what happens between here and the grave. Christ is trying to get this young follower to shift his focus to what happens after the grave. So many of the things in this life are not worth worrying about, and would take care of themselves if we focus on following Christ and proclaiming His kingdom.
So, let the dead bury their own. Let the things of this world worry about themselves. And follow Christ.
In Matthew 8:21-22 we see the story of a man who would follow Christ. But he asks the Savior if he may first go and bury his father. Jesus answered, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Luke chapter 9 tells much the same story in verses 59 and 60, but records Jesus’ response as, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”
Christ’s response to the man is something many of us would do well to remember. The things of this world can only end in death. Even things that aren’t bad often bring no benefit except in what happens between here and the grave. Christ is trying to get this young follower to shift his focus to what happens after the grave. So many of the things in this life are not worth worrying about, and would take care of themselves if we focus on following Christ and proclaiming His kingdom.
So, let the dead bury their own. Let the things of this world worry about themselves. And follow Christ.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Head to the Window
Around the turn of the 18th century there was a poet named William Blake; from the time of his childhood, he claimed to experience visions. When Blake was a boy, he claimed to have a vision to which he clung so surely that even his parents began to stop doubting the truth in what he said. In it he claimed that he saw God “put His head to the window” and gaze into his house.
Whether or not you give credence to the thought of a vision, the idea caught my attention. I have often thought of God watching my life and wondered what He thought of it, as if He were a critic watching a movie or reading a book. I imagined His response in the sad moments; I pictured times when He called the angels over to watch a part He knew was going to be good.
The idea may seem strange, I know, but it reminds me of Proverbs 15:3; “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”
So, however you choose to remember it, keep this in mind: He is watching. What does He see?
Whether or not you give credence to the thought of a vision, the idea caught my attention. I have often thought of God watching my life and wondered what He thought of it, as if He were a critic watching a movie or reading a book. I imagined His response in the sad moments; I pictured times when He called the angels over to watch a part He knew was going to be good.
The idea may seem strange, I know, but it reminds me of Proverbs 15:3; “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”
So, however you choose to remember it, keep this in mind: He is watching. What does He see?
Thursday, September 17, 2009
God Remembered
Noah was alone with only his closest family, floating above the watery grave that was the rest of the world. When God had shut him in the ark, it had taken seven days for the rain to start. Noah must have wondered at that point, “What now?” Now the ark had saved him, for the time being. But, as he sailed over the corpses of his neighbors, brothers, sisters, friends, and everything he knew, he had to be thinking again, “Now what?” Then Genesis chapter eight says, “And God remembered Noah…”
Abraham was looking out over the plains toward where Sodom and Gomorrah used to be. Now he saw only smoke rising like out of a furnace. As he looked upon the judgment and wrath God had rained down, he must have wondered, “What about my nephew?” It surely seemed that no one could have escaped that awful flame. But Genesis 19 says, “God remembered Abraham…”
The Hebrews were in bondage to the Egyptians. They were forced to struggle under heavy burdens. They did not control even the destinies of their own children. Their one advocate in the palace had fled the country after he committed a murder. He had been the closest thing they had known to hope in nearly four-hundred years, and now even that was gone. As they labored hopelessly under the sun, they must have wondered, “Has God forgotten us?” Then, Exodus 2:24 says, “God heard their groaning, and God remembered…”
When we are lost and don’t know what to do next, when we wonder if the good perish with the evil, when we think we are forgotten, God remembers. When we wonder, “What now?” when the world around us is going up in smoke, when we haven’t heard from God in what seems like ages, God remembers. No matter where we find ourselves, God remembers. It is not because He ever forgot; it is because He was waiting on time to catch up with His plan. He has marked us out for a purpose, and He remembers. And, no matter how many times we forget, God remembers.
Abraham was looking out over the plains toward where Sodom and Gomorrah used to be. Now he saw only smoke rising like out of a furnace. As he looked upon the judgment and wrath God had rained down, he must have wondered, “What about my nephew?” It surely seemed that no one could have escaped that awful flame. But Genesis 19 says, “God remembered Abraham…”
The Hebrews were in bondage to the Egyptians. They were forced to struggle under heavy burdens. They did not control even the destinies of their own children. Their one advocate in the palace had fled the country after he committed a murder. He had been the closest thing they had known to hope in nearly four-hundred years, and now even that was gone. As they labored hopelessly under the sun, they must have wondered, “Has God forgotten us?” Then, Exodus 2:24 says, “God heard their groaning, and God remembered…”
When we are lost and don’t know what to do next, when we wonder if the good perish with the evil, when we think we are forgotten, God remembers. When we wonder, “What now?” when the world around us is going up in smoke, when we haven’t heard from God in what seems like ages, God remembers. No matter where we find ourselves, God remembers. It is not because He ever forgot; it is because He was waiting on time to catch up with His plan. He has marked us out for a purpose, and He remembers. And, no matter how many times we forget, God remembers.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Shown on the Mountain
It has been said that you should not doubt in the dark what God has told you in the dark. There’s nothing wrong with the saying, and I think it speaks to an important point. But, like most such sayings, I believe it is said much better with scripture. So, here it goes, “And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” Exodus 25:40.
Perhaps a little context would be helpful in showing the point.
Moses has just received the Ten Commandments, many other rules, and a detailed design for the furnishings of the tabernacle. These objects were the holiest utensils ever created, and they included the ark of the covenant, the physical symbol of God’s presence on earth.
Imagine Moses, after he came down from the mountain, trying to fashion these pieces in the middle of the desert: gathering the raw materials, acquiring the necessary tools, and then completing them to God’s extravagant design. It is not hard to imagine Moses and the craftsmen becoming discouraged. They may have even questioned the point of the utensils, or why they had to be so lavish. But it was in those times when they remembered the command of the LORD, “make them according to the pattern which was shown.”
And it’s a good thing they did. They had no way of knowing it at the time, but their faithfulness was remembered thousands of years later. It was then that the writer of Hebrews quoted that fortieth verse of Exodus 25. And it was then that he revealed why it was so important. He tells us that they were for a “copy and shadow of heavenly things.” They showed the greatness of God, and foretold of His work in the future.
So let us not grow discouraged in following God’s design. All that we do is meant to be a copy and shadow of something better to come. And, if we are faithful to the pattern shown us on the mountain, people will see how great God is, even in the desert.
Perhaps a little context would be helpful in showing the point.
Moses has just received the Ten Commandments, many other rules, and a detailed design for the furnishings of the tabernacle. These objects were the holiest utensils ever created, and they included the ark of the covenant, the physical symbol of God’s presence on earth.
Imagine Moses, after he came down from the mountain, trying to fashion these pieces in the middle of the desert: gathering the raw materials, acquiring the necessary tools, and then completing them to God’s extravagant design. It is not hard to imagine Moses and the craftsmen becoming discouraged. They may have even questioned the point of the utensils, or why they had to be so lavish. But it was in those times when they remembered the command of the LORD, “make them according to the pattern which was shown.”
And it’s a good thing they did. They had no way of knowing it at the time, but their faithfulness was remembered thousands of years later. It was then that the writer of Hebrews quoted that fortieth verse of Exodus 25. And it was then that he revealed why it was so important. He tells us that they were for a “copy and shadow of heavenly things.” They showed the greatness of God, and foretold of His work in the future.
So let us not grow discouraged in following God’s design. All that we do is meant to be a copy and shadow of something better to come. And, if we are faithful to the pattern shown us on the mountain, people will see how great God is, even in the desert.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Taster of Death
If you have carefully followed my notes or blogs, you may have noticed that I write about death slightly more than the average person might; perhaps not always physical death, but spiritual death or the putting to death of our selves. The duality of death for the Christian fascinates me. It is a paradox. We once were dead, but if we die to ourselves we can live. And, if we crucify ourselves, we will share in Christ’s resurrection. And so, we really only know life if we die.
More thoughts of death and the Christian were aroused in my head as I was reading through the book of Hebrews. In verse nine of chapter two it says, “But we do see Him who was made a little lower than the angels, namely, Jesus because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” Later in the same chapter it says that, by His death, Jesus destroyed him who had the power of death and He set free those imprisoned by the fear death brings.
It’s a beautiful image. Because Christ has died, we no longer have any reason to fear death. But the part that really stood out to me was when it said that Jesus tasted death for everyone. This called to mind an image of ancient winetasters, testing the king’s drink to make sure it contained no deadly poison. I’ve often thought that a wintaster’s job would not be one I would want. But that is, in many ways, what Christ became for us. I like to imagine Christ tasting death and then handing it to us as if to say, “This is fine. It won’t kill you.” Indeed, death no longer has any sting. Christ tasted it, He destroyed its power, and it’s a safe cup for us to drink.
More thoughts of death and the Christian were aroused in my head as I was reading through the book of Hebrews. In verse nine of chapter two it says, “But we do see Him who was made a little lower than the angels, namely, Jesus because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” Later in the same chapter it says that, by His death, Jesus destroyed him who had the power of death and He set free those imprisoned by the fear death brings.
It’s a beautiful image. Because Christ has died, we no longer have any reason to fear death. But the part that really stood out to me was when it said that Jesus tasted death for everyone. This called to mind an image of ancient winetasters, testing the king’s drink to make sure it contained no deadly poison. I’ve often thought that a wintaster’s job would not be one I would want. But that is, in many ways, what Christ became for us. I like to imagine Christ tasting death and then handing it to us as if to say, “This is fine. It won’t kill you.” Indeed, death no longer has any sting. Christ tasted it, He destroyed its power, and it’s a safe cup for us to drink.
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