Surrender or Slavery

In Nehemiah 9 the Levites are praying.  In their prayer they confess the sins of their forefathers in their wilderness wanderings. 

In their prayers they acknowledge that the forefathers were arrogant and obstinate.   They refused to walk in faith and obey God.  When things didn’t add up the way they thought they should, they rebelled against God.  They were so stubborn and rebellious that they were even willing to appoint a leader to lead them back into slavery. 

That is astounding!!  Here they had been freed from oppression, they were offered a great land, yet instead of walk in faith, their fear of the giants prompted them to be willing to go back to slavery.  Instead of facing their fears and trusting God’s promises, they were willing to go back into a brutal slavery!

How much is that like us? Often we wander in our own wilderness as we question God’s wisdom and power to help us in our situations in life.

There are times in our lives we have to surrender our fears and surrender our willingness to understand how all the details are going to work out, and trust God and walk in faith.  More often than not, God doesn’t work the way we think He should.  Will we surrender our desires and understanding to the fact that He knows best and trust His sovereignty and goodness? 

The great thing about Nehemiah 9 is that they go on to acknowledge that even in the midst of the forefathers’ rebellion, God was gracious and merciful.  God continued to guide them, provide for them, and sustain them as they wandered.

May we live in surrender to a loving and sovereign God and walk trusting in Him.  And thus enter into all that He has for us.

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Coach Wooden

When Coach Wooden died, I read an article about him on ESPN.  As I read the article, they mentioned several “Woodenisms”.  I liked several and made a poster out of one.  On a family vacation this summer we stopped in at Cedarville University (one of  my kids wanted to check it out).  One of my favorite things to do is check out bookstores, so while the kids looked around, my wife and I checked out their bookstore.  While there I saw the book “The Greatest Coach Ever.”   I ended up having to order it later since they wouldn’t take my AMEX card. 

But I have really enjoyed the book.  I also ended up ordering his “Pyramid of Success” which I have been reading as well.   Both of those are well worth the read!

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God Still Uses People

 In Acts 18.24-28 we read that Apollos was well educated and he knew the Scriptures.  He came from a region known for its study of the Scriptures (much of the Septuagint was translated there). In addition, he had great zeal for God and spoke with great fervor.  However, he “knew only the baptism of John” (v.25).  When Priscilla and Aquila heard him they invited him to their home and explained the way more correctly.  Basically, explained to him about Jesus Christ.  So effective where they that as he moved on he was a great benefit to the people of Achaia.  

 There are a few things we can observe from this story. 

 One, it is possible to be highly educated, and zealous for God, and still not see things correctly.  The Scriptures that Apollos knew about were the TANAK (OT).  While they point to Jesus Christ, they don’t have the detail that the NT does, 1 Peter 1.10-12 points out that the prophets didn’t fully understand what they were writing about, and neither did the angels.

 Note how God uses people to come alongside others and help them see things more correctly.  Here is Apollos, highly educated, trained in the OT Scriptures, has great fervor, and boldness in speaking out – yet he still needed correcting. And he was corrected by people he was trying to teach.  It was not a vision, or a private moment with the Lord. It was a couple of tent makers. 

 We can also see the wisdom of Priscilla and Aquilla, they didn’t stand up in church and challenge him, and they didn’t talk to anyone else about how wrong he was—they took him to the privacy of their own home.  They got alone and they explained things. 

 We can also see the humility of Apollos.  He was willing to listen.  It is highly doubtful that they had the educational pedigree which he did.  Yet he listened and learned and his ministry took off. 

 God still uses us in the lives of people around us.  He doesn’t typically reveal directly to people their blind spots and short comings – He uses people.  As we live in community it is a give and take where we are learning and growing from one another as we invest in each others’ lives. 

May we have the grace and courage of Priscilla and Aquila to take people aside privately and personally and may we have the humility of an Apollos to learn from others.

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Musings on Habakkuk

Habakkuk is the only book of the prophets that starts out by approaching God.  He has a question for God–when will he see justice?  God responds that justice is coming in the form of the Babylonians.  This creates a dilemna for Habakkuk because the people God is using to exercise justice are more wicked than the people they are punishing.  God responds by letting Habakkuk know that He has a plan for the Babylonians as well. 

We get the phrase, the righteous (just) will live by his faith in Habakkuk (2.4).  There are times when injustice surrounds us and things don’t make sense to us — that is when we demonstrate where our faith is truly placed. 

Habakkuk ends by stating  “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,  yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.  The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”  (Hab 3:17-19 NIV)

Basically, no matter how bad it gets I will continue to rejoice in the Lord and be joful in Him.  He gives me the strength and ability to rise above it all.

May we, may I, continue to rejoice in the Lord no matter what goes down and rise above it all in Him.

Habakkuk is the only book of the prophets that starts out by approaching God.  He has a question for God–when will he see justice?  God responds that justice is coming in the form of the Babylonians.  This creates a dilemna for Habakkuk because the people God is using to exercise justice are more wicked than the people they are punishing.  God responds by letting Habakkuk know that He has a plan for the Babylonians as well. 

We get the phrase “the righteous (just) will live by his faith”  in Habakkuk (2.4).  There are times when injustice surrounds us and things don’t make sense to us — that is when we demonstrate where our faith is truly placed. 

Habakkuk ends by stating  “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,  yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.  The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”  (Hab 3:17-19 NIV)

Basically, no matter how bad it gets I will continue to rejoice in the Lord and be joful in Him.  He gives me the strength and ability to rise above it all.

May we, may I, continue to rejoice in the Lord no matter what goes down and rise above it all in Him.

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On Giving Money

I was reading 2 Corinthians 9 this week and a couple interesting things stood out to me.  

First, Paul was not ashamed to talk about money.  I am often hesitant to talk about money.  You turn on “Christian” radio or TV (which I rarely do) and you get a good dose of giving pleas.  Certainly there has been a lot of abuse on the teaching about money and those who would like to get it.  I remember hearing one guy begging and pleading for money to get the gospel out – in the divorce proceedings from his wife it came out that his personal income was over $500,000 per year.  Stories like that make me cringe.  

However, there is still an appropriate discussion about money.  How we handle our money is an important spiritual discipline.  Jesus said in Luke 16:11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? (nlt).   One local pastor related how when people come to him for financial help, one of his first questions is whether or not they have been faithfully tithing.  He noted that no one who has come to him for financial help had been faithfully tithing.

Paul observes in 2 Cor. 9.6 that people who sow sparingly will also reap sparingly and those who sow generously will also reap genersouly.  

He goes on in v. 11 to point out that God gives us riches so that we can be generous.  Generousity is a mark of a person who is growing spiritually.    

Paul closes the chapter reminding us that no one has given more than God has.  

While we may not like it, how we handle our money is truly the most practical way we demonstrate where our values and priorities are placed.  It has often been said: show me your checkbook and your daytimer and I can tell you what is important to you. 

We often claim loyalty to God and His people.  How we spend our money and our time reflects what is really important to us.

 

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On Giving and Receiving Counsel

Never in the history of humanity have we had more resources to help us understand ourselves and to help us deal with personal, emotional, and spiritual issues.  Yet, people are feeling less fulfilled, marriages are breaking up just as often (if not more so), and jobs are as unfulfilling as ever: people are continually searching and seeking for enlightenment and fulfillment—even within the evangelical church. 

One important issue to determine is: do you want help or do you want people who just agree with you?  The counseling world today is so diverse that if you just look long enough you can probably find someone who agrees with what you want to do. 

But is what seems best in fact what is best?  Proverbs 16.25 reminds us, “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death” NLT.

In counseling someone it is important to determine: do they want help? do they want to change? or, are they just informing you of what is going on? or, are they simply seeking your approval for what they have already planned to do?  I used to think that all the people who came to me for counseling or for advice were people who wanted help.  I figured they were all people who wanted to grow, they wanted to be healed emotionally and spiritually, they wanted the important relationships in their lives restored. They wanted to take their spiritual life to the “next step.” I am coming to realize that is not always the case. 

In his book “Healing For Damaged Emotions,” David Seamands lists 6 general biblical principles necessary to follow in order to find healing.  Principle 3 is: ask yourself if you want to be healed. He goes to ask: “Do you really want to be healed, or do you just want to talk about your problem? Do you want to use your problem to get sympathy from others? Do you just want it for a crutch, so you can walk with a limp?” 

I need, we need to ask ourselves: do we really want to be healed?  do we really want to be transformed? do we really want to get out of the sinful patterns in our lives? or, do we just want someone who is supportive of our decisions and plans? 

Often, we simply wish to save face in the eyes of those around us.  Saving face will not change your life. Acknowledging sin, repenting of sin, and the renewal of the Holy Spirit will changes us. 

Peter tells us in Acts 3.19  “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” NAU.

Do you want to change? or, do you merely want approval of your lifestyle and choices? Does the person you are giving advice to want to change or simply gain approval?  Exploring this up front can save a lot of misunderstanding and a lot of wasted effort.

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Trusting God in the Midst of Trials

Few, if any, have been through the depths of the trials that Job has been through.  He lost his children, he lost his wealth, and then he painfully lost his health. 

 The magnitude of the pain from being covered head to toe in boils is extremely hard for me to comprehend. Growing up in the jungles of South America, I experienced boils a couple times.  They are probably the most painful things I have experienced. With just one of them it seemed like my whole body was on fire. I cannot imagine being covered with them from head to toe. 

 As one might expect, Job is crying out to God trying to get answers (as any of us would be doing!). He doesn’t think that he has done anything to deserve this level of treatment. His three friends routinely condemn him that there is something he is not ‘fessing up to and he should just confess his sin and God would restore him. 

 In Job chapters 38—41 we have God’s response to Job.  It stood out to me as I read it again that God reiterates His wisdom, understanding and power and asks Job if he can measure up to what God knows and does.  It is intriguing that God never tells Job the reason why He allowed the trials to happen.   

 As we go through trials, God asks us to trust that He knows what He is doing.  His ability and wisdom is far beyond our comprehension.  It is as if God is saying: “Just trust me, I know what I am doing.  Just hold my hand and walk with me – there is no way you will be able to comprehend Me or My ways – just trust.” 

 In Job 42 Job repents.  Of what does he repent?  He repents of having questioned that God knew what He was doing.  He wanted answers, yet when God revealed Himself, Job realized that the questions were out of order.  

 At times we will go through trials, we will not understand why.  We will not understand all that is going on.  God calls on us to trust Him. He knows what He is doing, this has not caught Him by surprise.  

 Pastor Stephen Sammons

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Deuteronomy 29:29

Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (ESV)

In Deuteronomy 29:29 we are told that there are secret things which belong to God.  These things are God’s.  He knows what He is doing, He knows what His plans are.  Those things belong to Him.  However God has also revealed to us His Word.  He has revealed to us the things that He desires for us to do, for us to walk in.  It is important for us to understand that we have enough revealed to us so that we can live a life pleasing to the Lord.  We will be able to make the decisions and take the actions which are pleasing in the eyes of God.  That part of it is not a mystery.

Certain things we will never know until we reach the other side.  But, what we know now is enough for us to live a life pleasing to God.

Moses goes on in Deuteronomy 30.11 and states that these things are not too difficult for us and they are not beyond our reach.  In Matthew 11.28ff we are challenged to take up Jesus yoke and learn from Him  because His yoke is easy, His burden is light, and we will find rest for our souls.

What God wants of us is not that difficult to understand.  What He wants from us He has clearly stated in His Word.   It is not the ‘hidden’ things which we need to worry about – it is the plain teachings of the Word that we must apply to our lives.

Let us pursue the things He wants, and let Him take care of the secret things which we don’t understand.

Living and Serving by God’s Glorious Grace,

—Pastor Stephen

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