BEST DECISION EVER: TAGGING ALONG

November 13, 2012 at 9:31 AM (Best Decision Ever, Christian Living)
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INTRODUCTION

In the course of a twenty-four hour period we make gobs of decisions. Some of these we make with a serious amount of forethought and prayer. Others we make spontaneously with little or no thought as to the consequences or impact our decisions will have—not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives are intertwined with ours.

Have you ever thought much about how a single decision can change your life forever? For better or worse?

In these blog posts I’d like to look at the one good decision that some people in the Bible made that changed the course of their life for the better. By looking at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word I hope we’ll all take comfort, courage, and hope in the fact that, despite the mess we’re presently faced with, we can still turn things around. A lousy past or dismal present doesn’t have to give us the same future. By God’s grace, our future and life can be changed for the better…if we only make the right decision today. May God help us do that on a daily basis!

TAGGING ALONG

The Israelites were not too long ago delivered from a lifetime of bondage in Egypt. They were now in the desert, making their way towards Mount Sinai where they were to rendezvous with God. After Sinai they would resume their journey to their ultimate destination, the Promised Land called Canaan.

Anyways, I’m really getting ahead of myself. The Israelites were probably two or three million strong. Their caravan had to have been really humongous. And their campsites had to have struck awe and wonder at the sheer number of people involved. If I was an enemy bystander I’d think twice before attacking this huge number of people!

Anyways, the Amalekites weren’t similarly inclined. They found the Israelites encamped at a place called Rephidim and figured they were easy pickings. So they attacked the Israelites and, of course, the Israelites had to respond and defend themselves. So Moses told Joshua, his lead General, what to do.

Exodus 17:9-13,  And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.”  (10)  So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.  (11)  And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.  (12)  But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.  (13)  So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

In a very real way, Israel won the war because of Moses’ uplifted hands. Thank the Lord for Aaron and Hur who held up his hands and enabled the Israelite victory!

How different the war would have ended if Moses hadn’t brought Aaron and Hur along! If they hadn’t held up Moses’s hands, Israel would have lost the war. Moses couldn’t hold up his hands all day by himself! He needed help. And that’s where Aaron and Hur came in. So a large part of the credit for the battle’s victory went to Aaron and Hur.

Did Moses know in advance how long the battle would last? Did he have any idea that it’d last the whole day? Did he know that it wasn’t going to be enough to hold the rod of God in his hand? That he’d have to hold the rod up until the battle’s end to accomplish the battle’s victory? Did he know he was going to need Aaron’s and Hur’s help to hold up his hands? I don’t know. But Moses’ decision to bring these two guys along was, to that point in time, his best decision ever. Israel would have been decimated and vanquished had it not been for Aaron and Hur!

Sometimes we make decisions that, at the moment, seem rather inconsequential. Moses could have gone up the hill by himself and left Aaron and Hur in the camp to take care of things for him. But, rather wisely and with foresight, he decided to let Aaron and Hur tag along. And, in hindsight, we learn that the decision we made as a matter of no consequence turned out to be a momentous, life-changing decision.

Brethren, don’t ever underestimate the importance of any decision you make! The little stuff can end up being a really really big deal!

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ONE BAD DECISION: YOU ARE INSANE!

October 24, 2012 at 10:05 AM (Christian Living, One Bad Decision)
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INTRODUCTION

In the course of a twenty-four hour period we make gobs of decisions. Some of these we make with a serious amount of forethought and prayer. But, if you’re like me, we make many of our decisions spontaneously with little or no thought as to the consequences or impact our decisions will have—not only for ourselves, but also for the many others whose lives are intertwined with ours.

Have you ever thought much about how a single decision can change your life forever? Sometimes a single decision will change us for the better. And sometimes a single decision will change us for the worse.

In these blog posts I’d like to look at the singular decision that some people in the Bible made that changed their lives forever…for the worse. By looking at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word it’ll give us reason to stop and think about both the long-term and short-term ramifications of the decisions we make. Lots of forethought and prayer, I’m convinced, will save us from the pain and regret of a hastily-made decision for the worse.

YOU ARE INSANE!

I have to admit that I don’t know a whole lot about jealousy. I’m not the jealous type and I seriously don’t remember when the last time was that I battled jealousy. I guess my morals kept me from going there. So I don’t know a whole lot about jealousy except what I see it do in people’s lives and how it’s affected them. In every instance, jealousy affected them for the worst. Always. And without exception.

I used to think that anger was temporary insanity. It is. But I recently learned from a Bible story that jealousy is temporary insanity too. IT MAKES YOU THINK, TALK, AND ACT IRRATIONALLY. IT MAKES YOU CRAZY! The story I’m talking about is found in Daniel 6.

Darius the Mede has captured Babylon. He now reigns as supreme ruler of the ancient Middle Eastern world. His is a vast kingdom composed of three great nations. They were not only great, but they were world empires! These three nations were Babylonia, Media, and Persia.

Naturally, every king needs help in governing the vast expanse of lands and nations that now lie under his possession and control. Babylonia itself is divided into 120 provinces and the King appoints 120 satraps, or governors, to rule over these provinces. These 120 satraps, in turn, were subordinate and answerable to 3 presidents. And, finally, the 3 presidents were answerable to the King.

Anyways, Daniel made a name for himself in Babylon, serving in the courts of the Babylonians Kings Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzer. So when Darius took the throne he conducted interviews to see who would make a good satrap or president. As you’d probably guess, Daniel stood at the forefront of the King’s candidates and he was promptly appointed as one of the 3 presidents in Babylon.

In the course of time, Daniel proved himself to be such a gifted leader and greatly advantageous to the King that Darius thought to promote him to an even higher position: he would make Daniel the Grand Vizier over the entire Kingdom! He would no longer be a presidential triumvir in Babylonia: he would be the 2nd in Command over Babylonia, Media, and Persia. Only the King would be more powerful than him!

With such a promotion pending, Daniel’s associates in Babylonia were alarmed. Daniel 6:4-5  puts it this way:  Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.  (5)  Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

I don’t know about you and I don’t know what you see in these verses, but I see jealousy written all over these men. Why would they want to  badmouth and vilify a man when there was nothing wrong with him? Think of it. These guys couldn’t find a single thing wrong with Daniel! They didn’t care for Daniel’s God. And they certainly didn’t respect or agree with  his religious convictions. But other than this, Daniel was so good at his job that they couldn’t pin any missteps on him! So why mess with the guy?

Daniel had a solid, favorable reputation in Babylon. These satraps and presidents knew him well. They knew about his  extraordinary wisdom and his ability to interpret strange, perplexing dreams.  And writings on the wall. They got a taste of Daniel’s God when they witnessed or heard Shadrach’s, Meshach’s, and Abednego’s miraculous preservation in the midst of the fiery furnace. Did these men have no fear of God?

Worse yet, didn’t they fear the King’s edict? After the King had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego brought out from the furnace, he proclaimed “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.  (29)  Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way” (Daniel 3:28-29).

Daniel’s jealous satraps and presidents were playing with fire by messing with Daniel’s God. They ought to have known better. Did they seriously think that a God who could keep 3 guys from getting incinerated and cremated in a humongously-hot fire  not keep a guy alive in a den of lions? Fire burns and hungry lions eat. But if fire doesn’t burn 3 God-believing Jews, then isn’t it possible for hungry lions to keep their paws and chops off a God-believing, God-blest Jew? Let’s face it. These scheming and conniving foxes were downright crazy. But then, THIS IS WHAT JEALOUSY DOES TO PEOPLE: IT RENDERS YOU TEMPORARILY INSANE AND UNABLE TO THINK CLEARLY.

What’s even more insane about these satraps and presidents is the fact that they decided to wage a war of impeachment against a man who was heavily favored by the King! To fight the King’s friend was risky business because they’d be fighting against the King himself. Did these guys honestly think they could mess with the King’s friend and not lose their heads over it?

Apparently so. In hindsight we know they were stupid. Just remember that. JEALOUSY MAKES YOU INSANE AND IT ALSO MAKES YOU STUPID. IT BRINGS THE WORST OUT OF YOU. IT MAKES YOU MURDEROUS. AND IT MAKES YOU SAY AND DO STUPID THINGS THAT YOU’LL LATER ON REGRET.

Long story short, the satraps and presidents fool the King into forbidding anyone to pray to any other god except the King. The King unwittingly signs the edict. Of course, Daniel isn’t going to obey the royal edict. He’s faithful to God, first and foremost. So Daniel continues to pray to his God three times a day, with his window open so that everyone can see that he was praying.

Naturally, when the satraps and presidents brought the matter to the King, the King had no recourse but to very reluctantly and sadly throw his beloved Daniel into a den of hungry lions. May the God who you serve keep you safe from the lions were the King’s last words of hope to Daniel before the den was sealed.

The King couldn’t sleep all night. He didn’t eat either. Darius was remorseful about the edict that he’d been conned into signing. He didn’t want Daniel dead! If he was like any of us, as I’m sure he was, the King was ginormously ticked with his satraps and presidents. Payback was on his mind. He wasn’t going to let these men get away with murder!

At the crack of dawn, the King hurried to the lions’ den. It was dark in the den, so the King cried out, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God, whose servant you are at all times, able to keep you safe from the lions?

And from the bottom of the den came Daniel’s reply and the King’s gladdened relief:  O King, live for ever.  (22)  My God has sent his angel to keep the lions’ mouths shut, and they have done me no damage: because I was without sin before him; and also before you, O King, I have done no wrong (Daniel 6:21-22 ).

The King was so elated! His hope that Daniel’s God would keep him safe had been realized! Truly, God was a powerful Savior and Defender of His people! And woe to the man who messes with God or His people! In fact, the King went on to declare this edict: I decree that in every part of my kingdom people should tremble with terror in front of Daniel’s God, the living God who continues forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed. His power lasts to the end of time. (27) He saves, rescues, and does miraculous signs and amazing things in heaven and on earth (Daniel 6:26-27).

As it turned out, the satraps’ and presidents’ decision to mess with Daniel was their worst decision ever. Daniel 6:24 tells their sad end, The king ordered those men who had brought charges against Daniel to be brought to him. They, their wives, and their children were thrown into the lions’ den. I can’t imagine what these men must have felt as they heard the King’s judgment and were brought to the lions’ den. I can’t imagine the horror their wives and children felt, their tortured screams and pains as they were being eaten alive. Take it from these guys, JEALOUSY WILL FILL YOUR LIFE WITH REGRETS AND SORROWS.

JEALOUSY KILLS YOU IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. A big part of you dies on the inside when you let jealousy consume and control you. The sad thing is, JEALOUSY NOT ONLY KILLS YOU: IT ALSO KILLS THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE OR ARE JEALOUS ABOUT. Jealousy brings death. It ends in death. And when you decide you want to be jealous you’re bringing the curtains down on yourself. You’re asking to be eaten alive. Don’t do it! It’s not worth it!

GET RID OF JEALOUSY. IT’S THE ONLY WAY YOU’RE GOING TO SEE AND THINK CLEARLY AGAIN. HOLD ON TO JEALOUSY AND IT’LL DRIVE YOU NUTS! 

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BEST DECISION EVER: BARNEY’S GAMBLE

September 9, 2012 at 1:38 PM (Best Decision Ever, Christian Living)
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In the course of a twenty-four hour period we make gobs of decisions. Some of these we make with a serious amount of forethought and prayer. Others we make spontaneously with little or no thought as to the consequences or impact our decisions will have—not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives are intertwined with ours.

Have you ever thought much about how a single decision can change your life forever? For better or worse?

In these blog posts I’d like to look at the one good decision that some people in the Bible made that changed the course of their life for the better. By looking at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word I hope we’ll all take comfort, courage, and hope in the fact that, despite the mess we’re presently faced with, we can still turn things around. A lousy past or dismal present doesn’t have to give us the same future. By God’s grace, our future and life can be changed for the better…if we only make the right decision today. May God help us do that on a daily basis!

BARNEY’S GAMBLE

Who of us have not heard of the apostle Paul? From his zealous persecution of Christ’s followers, to his dramatic conversion on the Damascus Road, to his tireless work in spreading the Gospel that he once sought to destroy; to his many letters which were later included in the canon of sacred, inspired Scripture; the apostle Paul almost singlehandedly changed the world of his day and made Christ known to a world who knew Him not. Christianity today is largely the religion that it is because Paul stood fast on the conviction that Christ was for everyone—not just for the Jews, but for the Gentiles too. And through his tireless missionary efforts and undaunted zeal in the face of horrendous pains and persecutions; his courageous stance against those who wanted to keep Christianity Jewish; Christianity grew beyond the bounds of a peculiar religion of one race of people, the Jews, and became a worldwide religion with followers from every nation and tongue. Through him, this Apostle to the Gentiles brought to fulfillment the promise God made centuries earlier to Abraham that through him all the nations of the earth would be blest (Genesis 22:18). If you stop and think about it, Paul changed the world of his day and his profound influence continues to be felt in our world thousands of years after his death.

What many of you may not know is that all this would not have happened the way it did had it not been for one man. Barnabas was his name. Now Barnabas was an influential leader in the early church. He wasn’t an apostle like one of the twelve, but he was well respected throughout the church and the apostles used him quite a bit in the work of the Gospel.

Anyways, Paul, who was at that early time known as Saul, was dramatically converted to Christ on the Damascus Road (Acts 9). Christ personally appeared to him in a vision and that was the end of Saul the antichristian persecutor of the church. (Just goes to show you’re bound to change when you meet the Lord!)

Paul continued the rest of his trip to Damascus as a changed man. Shortly thereafter he went into seclusion in Arabia. We don’t know exactly how long he was in Arabia. But we surmise with good reason that it was during these solitary times in Arabia where the Lord taught him and convinced him of the truths of the Gospel (Galatians 1:15-17). From there, Paul returned to Damascus and began to preach with boldness and conviction the truths that he was now fully persuaded of.

Three years later, after his conversion, his time in Arabia, and his evangelistic ministry in Damascus, Paul returned to Jerusalem (Galatians 1:18). He sought to meet with the believers there, including most especially the twelve apostles. But, wonder of all wonders, the Christians in Jerusalem wouldn’t have anything to do with him! Acts 9:26 tells the story. After Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples. But everyone was afraid of him. They wouldn’t believe that he was a disciple.

He’d been saved for 3 years. He spent the last 3 years ministering for the Lord in Damascus. His was a courageous stance. His life was on the line. In fact, the reason why he came to Jerusalem was because of a Jewish attempt to assassinate him in Damascus (Acts 9:23-25).

Didn’t the apostles and church in Jerusalem hear about his miraculous encounter with the Lord and his subsequent conversion? Didn’t any of them bother to go to Damascus and check out this sensational story of the church’s chief persecutor? Apparently not.

They wouldn’t believe that Paul was saved. They didn’t believe he was a changed man. Like many of us, they probably thought this was Paul’s ploy to discover who Christ’s followers were in Jerusalem and where their meetings were at so that he could have them all arrested. It made perfect sense to the Christians and the apostles. Their lives and the well-being of their families were on the line. They would do the safest and sensiblest thing: they would refuse to have anything to do with Paul.

But Barnabas wasn’t similarly inclined. He contravened the apostolic stance, took his life in his hands, took a risk and a gamble, and went to see Paul. Didn’t it occur to him that the apostles and the entire church were right? Mightn’t this be Paul’s ploy to discover, arrest, and wipe out the entire Jerusalem church? Did Barnabas seriously think that he was right and the apostles and everyone else was wrong about Paul? What made Barnabas want to see Paul anyway? The Spirit? Curiosity? The principle of fairness and giving a guy a chance to speak for himself instead of letting his past, his reputation, and everybody else speak for him?

I don’t know what went through Barnabas’ mind. I’m sure, being human like all of us, he struggled with the fears and doubts that plagued the rest of the church. But when it was all said and done, Barnabas mustered the courage to seek Paul out and give him a chance to tell his story. Turned out, after he heard Paul’s testimony, Barnabas was convinced that Paul was indeed a changed man, a believer, and a God-called minister or apostle.

With this firm conviction in hand, Barnabas risked incurring apostolic censure and discipline, he risked the criticism and wrath of the Christians in Jerusalem; by courageously bringing Paul before the apostles. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus (Acts 9:27).

As it turned out, there were only 2 apostles in Jerusalem at the time, or perhaps only 2 apostles who succumbed to Barnabas’ persuasions and agreed to meet with Paul. They were Peter and James (Galatians 1:17-19). When the four of them met together, it was Barnabas who started out doing the talking. The apostles trusted and respected Barnabas. On Barnabas’ words, they let Paul speak for himself. And when Paul was done speaking, Peter and James were convinced that Paul was indeed a changed man. They extended the right hand of fellowship to him and told the rest of the church that it was safe to let Paul in. Paul got to meet the Christians in Jerusalem. He testified of Christ throughout the city. And the rest, as you know, is history.

History all because Barnabas rose above his doubts and fears, did the right thing, sought Paul out, and gave him a chance to tell his story, believed him, defended him, and advocated for him. It was Barney’s best decision ever! How different Christianity would have been if it hadn’t been for Barnabas! Isn’t it amazing how one decision to go and talk to Paul changed the course of history!? Think about it. If it wasn’t for Barnabas the apostles wouldn’t have seen, believed, or received Paul. They believed Paul because they believed Barnabas. If it wasn’t for Barnabas we wouldn’t have the Paul of Acts and the Epistles. We are where we are today because of Barnabas. And the Christian world owes him a debt of gratitude that can never be fully paid. Thank you, Barnabas!

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BEST DECISION EVER: A MOTHER’S CHOICE

June 26, 2012 at 11:14 AM (Best Decision Ever, Christian Living)
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In the course of a twenty-four hour period we make gobs of decisions. Some of these we make with a serious amount of forethought and prayer. Others we make spontaneously with little or no thought as to the consequences or impact our decisions will have—not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives are intertwined with ours.

Have you ever thought much about how a single decision can change your life forever? For better or worse?

In these blog posts I’d like to look at the one good decision that some people in the Bible made that changed the course of their life for the better. By looking at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word I hope we’ll all take comfort, courage, and hope in the fact that, despite the mess we’re presently faced with, we can still turn things around. A lousy past or dismal present doesn’t have to give us the same future. By God’s grace, our future and life can be changed for the better…if we only make the right decision today. May God help us do that on a daily basis!

A MOTHER’S CHOICE

Many of you are familiar with the story of Samuel, the renown prophet, priest, and judge of Old Testament times. He was one of the most important transitional figures in the Bible. Transitional because he was the last of the Judges. After him, and ever afterwards, the nation of Israel would be ruled be Kings.

In fact, when the people asked him if they could have a king to rule over them, Samuel at first objected (1 Samuel 8). He saw it as the people’s rejection of the Lord as their ruler. As far as the prophet was concerned, Israel was asking to be like the rest of the nations of the world. Every other nation had kings and it just seemed natural to the Israelites to have a king also. But to Samuel, Israel wasn’t like the rest of the world. She wasn’t supposed to be like everyone else. She was unique. She alone worshipped the one true God. God was her Ruler. Israel was a theocratic nation and that’s the way Samuel wanted it to remain.

But God intervened and persuaded Samuel to accede to the people’s request. The people wanted a king and that’s exactly what God would give them. So God had Samuel begin the search for the man who would be Israel’s first king. This man, it turned out, would be Saul (1 Samuel 9). He was truly a handsome man. Head and shoulders taller than any man in Israel. He came from a fine stock and was a marvelous specimen of manhood. He would be a good military commander and king. So Samuel summoned the entire nation to Mizpeh, which was the ancient capital of Israel at that time, and there in the sight of the people he anointed Saul to be King over Israel.

Well, Saul was doing great as a King and General of the Army. For a time it seemed as if the nation had done good by getting themselves a king. But the honeymoon would eventually end. It always does when you’re outside of God’s will.

God told the King to utterly destroy the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15). No one was to be spared alive. Not even the women and children. Even the Amalekites’ animals and livestock were to be killed. God wanted that entire race of people to be extinct from off the face of the earth. The Lord’s instruction was pretty clear and straight forward. There was no mistaking the Lord’s order.

But the King failed to obey the Lord. The army wanted to keep some of the spoils of war for themselves. Besides, we could use all these sheep and oxen and sacrifice them to the Lord! We know what we’re doing! Let’s not kill them, Saul. So the King listened to the army. He even went one step farther and saved the King of the Amalekites alive.

Well, it wasn’t long before the man of God came along. The bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen told him the story: the King had disobeyed the Lord’s order. It was this single act of disobedience that spelled the end and downfall of the King. God would henceforth reject him as Israel’s King. So God told  Samuel to go out and search for a new King for Israel.

The prophet’s search ended with David (1 Samuel 16). Of course, you know the rest of the story. The entire nation was changed by David’s Kingship and Israel became a regional superpower.

So, in hindsight, Samuel was a truly pivotal and landmark ruler in Israel during his lifetime—both politically and spiritually. He galvanized the nation behind him. The people looked to him for guidance. And even in an hour when the nation turned its back on God, Samuel continued to serve God’s people and direct them in the knowledge and obedience of God. Israel’s history was forever changed by the lone and solitary voice of God speaking and working through this one man named Samuel.

Like I said at the start, many of you know the story of Samuel. He got his start in the priesthood because his mother, a woman by the name of Hannah, was barren. She was so distraught with her inability to conceive and have children that she finally had a meltdown with God at the Tabernacle in Shiloh (1 Samuel 1). She made a deal with God. God, if you give me a child, a boy, I’ll give him back to you. I’ll bring him back to this Tabernacle and leave him here for you, to serve you all the days of his life. You can have him, dear Lord. Only let me have him first for a few years, then I’ll give him back to you (1 Samuel 1:11).

Well, God heard her anguished cry and gave her a son. She named him Samuel, which means asked of God. Hannah asked. And God gave.

As you can imagine, Hannah cherished every day with her son. Samuel was the answer to her heart’s cry. He filled a void in her life that only a child could fill. She was thankful to God and you can be very sure she savored every moment of every day with her son. She knew a day would come when she would have to give him back to God. After he was weaned (which most scholars believe took place when a boy was 3 to 5 five years old), she’d have to take him to Shiloh and leave him there for the rest of his life—just like she vowed to God.

Samuel is now weaned and it’s time for Hannah to make this dreaded trip to Shiloh. But in the years since her vow, conditions in Israel have deteriorated badly (1 Samuel 2). Eli the High Priest was too old. And inept in the priesthood. His sons, also priests, were sons of Belial. Which is to say, they weren’t the holy men they were supposed to be. They were as heathen as the priests of a false god. They robbed from the people. They even had the audacity to have sex with women at the Tabernacle! Their sins were so flagrant and irreverent that the whole idea of worshipping God was a mockery. Anytime you came to the Tabernacle you’d be raped or robbed. So, quite understandably, you can imagine how God’s people really hated showing up at the Tabernacle at all.

Now, knowing these things and the despicable conditions in the Tabernacle, place yourself in Hannah’s sandals. You made a vow to God to give your son back to Him if He gave you a son. God keeps His part of the bargain. Now it’s time for you to keep yours. But, quite clearly, the Tabernacle is no place to give your son, much less raise him. God, these sons of Belial are going to teach my son to be a rapist and robber. He isn’t going to be priest of God. He’s going to be corrupted. He can’t serve you if I give him over to these wicked, despicable priests!

So what do you do? Do you keep your bargain? Or do you find a way to conveniently postpone or delay it until conditions improve in the Tabernacle? Surely God would understand! He wouldn’t want a boy growing up in that kind of deplorable, immoral environment!

Hannah’s got a choice. She’s got a difficult decision to make. She’s a mother. And a mother, by nature, isn’t wont to hand over her son to immoral men who would only teach her son the ways of sin. What good would that accomplish? So you keep your side of the bargain, but your son doesn’t become the man of God that you always imagined he would become. He’d be a robber and rapist like the rest of them. So what good is a bargain kept if it’ll only result in a godless priest? Hannah doesn’t have it easy. Not by a long shot.

Of course, you know what Hannah ends up doing. She takes her son to Shiloh and, tearfully I’m sure, she leaves him there just as she promised the Lord she would do. Not an easy thing to do, especially when you’ve got pictures of a beloved son becoming a rapist and a disgrace to the family name. Hannah left her son in God’s hands. God gave him to her. He belonged to God. And Hannah somehow must have found the grace, and courage, and faith, to believe that God would watch over her son and keep him in spite of the deplorably sinful condition of the priesthood.

As it turned out, this was Hannah’s best decision ever. She gave her son to the Lord. And in doing so, she gave the nation the hope of change. The nation was changed—and remarkably so—because her son was preserved by the Lord and he cleaned house. He started with the Tabernacle. He restored the true worship of God. Then he ventured forth out of the Tabernacle and went throughout the nation, teaching God’s laws and bringing God’s people back to the worship and obedience of God. Israel was forever changed—all because a mother kept her promise to God.

So you’ve got a thousand and one reasons not to keep your promise to God. You made Him a promise. God kept His end of the bargain. Will you keep yours? Think of Hannah. And let your promise kept be the beginning of a change that will change your life forever and the lives of those around you.

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ONE BAD DECISION: A GOOD IDEA GONE AWRY

June 18, 2012 at 3:12 PM (Christian Living, One Bad Decision)
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In the course of a twenty-four hour period we make gobs of decisions. Some of these we make with a serious amount of forethought and prayer. But, if you’re like me, we make many of our decisions spontaneously with little or no thought as to the consequences or impact our decisions will have—not only for ourselves, but also for the many others whose lives are intertwined with  ours.

Have you ever thought much about how a single decision can change your life forever? Sometimes a single decision will change us for the better. And sometimes a single decision will change us for the worse.

In these blog posts I’d like to look at the singular decision that some people in the Bible made that changed their lives forever…for the worse. By looking at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word it’ll give us reason to stop and think about both the long-term and short-term ramifications of the decisions we make. Lots of forethought and prayer, I’m convinced, will save us from the pain and regret of a hastily-made decision for the worse.

A GOOD IDEA GONE AWRY

We all have good ideas. Sometimes they really are good. Other times, they just seem good to us at the time, but really they’re not. The hardest part to understand or accept is the fact that SOMETIMES GOOD IDEAS CAN HAVE TOTALLY UNFORESEEN, REALLY BAD, CONSEQUENCES. Here’s a case in point.

The Israelites have journeyed out of 400 years of bondage and slavery in Egypt. They’ve trudged wearily through the hot desert sands and finally arrived at a place called Kadesh-barnea. It’s the last desert town. Beyond it lay Canaan, the land of promise. It was their destination and home. Excitement was in the air as the travel-weary Israelites finally got within sight of home.

Moses, the leader of the Israelites, called for a nation-wide assembly. You’ve finally come to the land of promise. This is the land that the Lord your God has promised you. It’s yours. And it rightfully belongs to  you. Unfortunately, there are people living in this land. The natives aren’t going to hand over their lands and vineyards to you. You’re going to have to take it from them. This means war. But don’t be fearful or disheartened. We’ve got a huge fighting force here. With God on our side and with your prayers, we’re going to go in and take possession of the land, one acre at a time, one city at a time, one step at a time. With God’s help we will take possession of the land!

It really was a rousing speech. You’d think the Israelites would be all pumped up and ready to launch their invasion. In hindsight, that’s what they should have done right away. God had given the marching order. The battle cry had been sounded. It was time to go in and fight and take possession of the land.

But the fearful and unbelieving have a way of making things more difficult and complicated. They have a way of making themselves heard. They weren’t convinced that the war was going to be a piece of cake. They had an idea. And, quite honestly, at first sound, the idea was a really good one. It made perfect sense. Whoa, Nelly. Let’s not be so hasty and get ourselves into something we don’t know anything about. We have no idea what lies ahead of us. We don’t know where the enemies are or how strong their city walls or forts are. Let’s send a scouting party out so that they can spy out the land, know the terrain, know the enemy’s strongholds, strengths, and weaknesses. We don’t have cameras. But at least they can draw us a map and show us where we need to attack. Let them see what’s ahead of us so that we’ll know where and when to start our invasion (Deuteronomy 1:22).

The idea made good military sense. Joshua used it when he launched his invasion of Canaan forty years later. Every nation under the sun, even to this very day, reconnoiters the land before launching an invasion or attack. That’s how things are done. That’s how wars are fought. And won.

The only problem was, that’s not what God told them to do. Yes, it may have been a good idea. But GOOD IDEAS AREN’T REALLY GOOD WHEN THEY CONTRADICT OR DISOBEY GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS. God’s instructions were, Go and take possession of the land. Don’t be scared or intimidated by the enemy. I will give the enemy and their lands into your hands (Deuteronomy 1:20-21).

Moses should have listened to God. But, unfortunately, He listened to the fearful and unbelieving. So twelve spies were chosen and sent to scout out the land.

After forty days of reconnoitering the land, the spies came back with a mixed report. We went to the land where you sent us. It really is a land flowing with milk and honey. Here’s some of its fruit.  (28)  But the people who live there are strong, and the cities have walls and are very large. We even saw the descendants of Anak there.  (29)  The Amalekites live in the Negev. The Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the mountain region. And the Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and all along the Jordan River  (Numbers 13:27-29).

Turned out, the land itself was good. But the people in it weren’t. They were militaristic and militarily equipped. They lived in walled cities. Impregnable fortresses more like it. The land was well populated with many different races of people. And worse of all, the giants, the sons of Anak, lived there.

Naturally, the news was dismal and it caused quite a ruckus among the people. Joshua and Caleb tried to calm the people and get them to focus on the God who would lead them into battle and to the victory. But nothing doing. The fear and unbelief of a minority spread like wildfire until it consumed the entire nation.

Numbers 13:30-33  tells the story. Caleb told the people to be quiet and listen to Moses. Caleb said, “Let’s go now and take possession of the land. We should be more than able to conquer it.”  (31)  But the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people! They’re too strong for us!”  (32)  So they began to spread lies among the Israelites about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored is one that devours those who live there. All the people we saw there are very tall.  (33)  We saw Nephilim there. (The descendants of Anak are Nephilim.) We felt as small as grasshoppers, and that’s how we must have looked to them.”

Long story short, the Israelites refused to go to battle. The Lord punished them by making them spend forty years wandering aimlessly in the desert until an entire generation of murmuring, fearful, unbelieving Israelites perished in the desert sands.

So what began with a good idea ended up killing hundreds of thousands of people, if not a million or more, over a forty-year span of aimless, senseless desert travel. I dare say, they lost more people in the desert than they would have had they obeyed the Lord and launched an immediate invasion. The desert—not the war nor Israel’s enemies—ended up killing the great majority of the Israelites.

So you’ve got a good idea, huh? As long as it agrees with God’s ideas, that’s mighty fine and dandy. But you’d better make sure first before you follow through on what you think is the best or the right thing to do. Learn from the Israelites, dear friends. IF GOD TELLS YOU TO DO SOMETHING, THEN DO IT. DON’T LET YOUR BRIGHT IDEAS, OR ANYONE ELSE’S FOR THAT MATTER, FOOL YOU INTO DISOBEYING GOD. GOOD IDEAS CAN GET YOU KILLED IF YOU DON’T LISTEN TO GOD AND OBEY HIM. In this sad and tragic way, what parades as a really good idea is anything but good for you. A GOOD IDEA THAT INSPIRES FEAR, UNBELIEF, AND DISOBEDIENCE IS REALLY A BAD IDEA. Any dead Israelite buried in the sand will tell you that.

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GOD, IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT! REALLY?

May 24, 2012 at 8:19 PM (Christian Living, It's Your Fault)
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We all have a tendency to blame other people when things go wrong or when bad things happen. To be sure, there are indeed times when other people are to blame. People make mistakes. And when they do they need to assume responsibility for their decisions and actions, accept the blame, and work to clean up the mess they’ve made. Not everything, I repeat, not everything is our fault!

But when we’re the leading characters in a tragedy, when we’re at the helm of a sinking ship; then passing the buck just isn’t cool. It doesn’t make us look good. We can find creative ways to look at an error or a disaster and make a scapegoat of others. But people aren’t dumb. They can smell a skunk when they see one. And they don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know who shot who when they catch us with a smoking gun in our hand.

In the anger and panic of the moment we seldom take the time to look at ourself and see if we bear any blame for the nightmare that we’re faced with. We’re so busy blaming others because it makes us look good. It makes us look innocent. But are we?

In these series of posts I’d like to step into the sandals of several Biblical characters. They were human like you and me. You can be dead sure they passed the buck, or were tempted to do so, when they found themselves in hot water.

By looking at these familiar Biblical figures I’m hoping we’ll learn from the mistakes and examples of our forebears. I hope we’ll learn not to pass the buck, but accept the guilt and blame that are rightfully ours. 

Why is that so important? Because assuming responsibility for our actions is the necessary first step towards fixing the mess we’ve made. We can’t fix something that we’re not willing to fess and face up to. It begins with summoning the courage to be honest with ourselves, with others, and with God. With the help of the Biblical characters, I believe we can be honest and say, God, it’s not your fault! It’s mine. And I’m sorry I fingered you for the bed that I made and slept in.

KILLED BY A GOOD DEED & INTENTION

Hello. My name is David, King of Israel. I’d like to tell you about a time in my life when I was really ticked off at God. Through an unfortunate series of events, our enemies, the Philistines, captured the sacred Ark of the Covenant in battle (1 Samuel 4).

Well, it turned out, after seven months of nothing but misfortunes, the Philistines put two and two together and decided that the Ark was bad luck for them. So they put the Ark on an ox cart and sent it back to Israel (1 Samuel 5 and 6).

The Ark stayed in an Israelite village called Bethshemesh. But, there again, bad luck fell upon the townsfolk after some of them decided to take a peek into the Ark. This was something that you just couldn’t do. The Lord ended up killing over 50,000 men in that town because of this unfortunate peekaboo (1 Samuel 6). 50,000!

As you would expect, the Bethshemeshites got the holy fear of God. They didn’t want the Ark in their midst. They couldn’t afford to have any more of their menfolk dying because of the Ark. So they sent a message to their neighbors and the men of Kirjathjearim came and got the Ark. They put it in Abinadab’s house and there it remained for twenty years (1 Samuel 7).

Well, it didn’t seem right to me that a national treasure should be tucked away in someone’s house. It needed to be brought to Jerusalem, our capital city. So preparations were made for the move and on the appointed day, the Ark was brought forth out of Abinadab’s house, placed on an ox cart, and away we went. There was a huge procession of Israelites as we celebrated this momentous event. There was a band and music and dancing. We were in a really celebratory mood that day. You can read all about it in 2 Samuel 6.

Unfortunately, the merriment was cut short soon enough. As the ox cart was moving along, one of the wheels went over a huge rock. One of the drivers, a man by the name of Uzzah, saw the Ark starting to slide off the cart. So he stretched forth his hand to keep the Ark in place and that’s when the Ark’s infamous bad luck struck again. The Lord struck Uzzah dead right there on the spot!

In an instant, from the mirth and merriment of the moment, I was ticked! I was incensed! Uzzah had done a good thing. He was trying to keep the Ark from falling off the cart. He was doing his part to preserve a national treasure. He acted nobly with the best of intentions. I couldn’t understand why God would kill Uzzah for doing such a good deed.

For days after that, I was really riled up at God. It looked as if everywhere the Ark went nothing but bad luck happened to people around it. God, this is all your fault! You had no right killing Uzzah for doing a good deed!

It seemed to me that no one was safe around the Ark. Not even God’s chosen people! God was gonna kill everyone who dared to tamper with the Ark. So I left the Ark right then and there in the house of a fellow by the name of Obededom. I went back to Jerusalem, along with all the celebrants, downcast and afraid to have anything more to do with the Ark.

I was still fuming with God for some time after that until the priests and the Lord started talking to me. Come to find out, it wasn’t God’s fault that Uzzah got killed. Yeah, he was acting with the best of intentions. But THE BEST OF INTENTIONS DON’T AMOUNT TO MUCH WHEN YOU BREAK THE RULES. The rule was, no one was allowed to touch the Ark, plain and simple.

The Ark wasn’t supposed to be transported on a cart. It was carried about on the shoulders of the Kohathites. They were descendants of one of Levi’s sons named Kohath. Anyway, God chose the Kohathites to be the only ones authorized to pack, unpack, and transport the contents of the Holy Place, which is our Tabernacle. But even the Kohathites themselves couldn’t touch the Ark! There were rings in the Ark through which long wooden poles would be inserted. The Kohathites would grab each end of the poles and lift them up on their shoulders. That’s how the Lord ordained the Ark to be transported—on the shoulders of the Kohathites and not on an ox cart (see Numbers 4:1-15).

The Lord’s instructions for the transporting of the Ark were contained in the Book of the Law and they hit me like a ton of bricks. Here all along I was blaming God for killing kind-hearted Uzzah. But it wasn’t God’s fault that Uzzah was killed. It was mine! I was to blame because I was the one who ordered the Ark to be put on an ox cart. I had unknowingly violated God’s Law and Uzzah paid for it with his life. So when the dust of my anger settled and reason returned to my mind, I had to admit that Uzzah’s death wasn’t God’s fault. It was mine…because I didn’t do things God’s way.

So take it from me, dear friends, and don’t make the mistake I made. DO THINGS GOD’S WAY. DO IT THE WAY HE WANTS IT DONE. You might think you know a better way; you have a better idea of how things ought to be done. They may sound good and right to you (Proverbs 14:12, 21:2). But if your ideas don’t line up with God’s ideas, then, believe me, you’re all wet and wrong. God’s way is the only way to do things! So don’t listen to Frankie boy, the ole crooner with baby blues. And don’t let the burger joint fool you into thinking it’s alright for you to have it your way. It’s not. Uzzah’s death stands as an eternal, painful reminder to me that THERE’S A PRICE TO BE PAID FOR DOING THINGS YOUR WAY INSTEAD OF GOD’S WAY. I hope there won’t be an Uzzah in your life to remind you of the same.

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BEST DECISION EVER: THE ERRAND

May 16, 2012 at 3:59 PM (Best Decision Ever, Christian Living)
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In the course of a twenty-four hour period we make gobs of decisions. Some of these we make with a serious amount of forethought and prayer. Others we make spontaneously with little or no thought as to the consequences or impact our decisions will have—not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives are intertwined with ours.

Have you ever thought much about how a single decision can change your life forever? For better or worse?

In these blog posts I’d like to look at the one good decision that some people in the Bible made that changed the course of their life for the better. By looking at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word I hope we’ll all take comfort, courage, and hope in the fact that, despite the mess we’re presently faced with, we can still turn things around. A lousy past or dismal present doesn’t have to give us the same future. By God’s grace, our future and life can be changed for the better…if we only make the right decision today. May God help us do that on a daily basis!

THE ERRAND

I’m a father of young adults. I’m a grandpa. And I’m a Christian. The heart and prayer of a father for his children is that they turn out alright in life, make the right choices, be healthy, keep safe, have a good life, and most of all, give their life to Jesus. Life will eventually disrupt the family. Once the kids leave home the family will never again be the same. Life will separate the family by miles. And death will eventually rob us of the loved ones we hold most dear in life. Jesus alone holds the key to an eternal family reunion in Heaven. And that’s why I pray fervently that my children will love the Lord as I do, even more, and serve Him faithfully to the end of days. Having given you a father’s perspective on his children, let me put this train of thought on hold and let’s take a whirlwind tour of David’s life.

We’re all familiar with the story of David. He bursts on the scene in the Valley of Elah where he kills Goliath and leads the once fearful, demoralized Israelite army to victory in the ensuing battle against the Philistines (1 Samuel 17). From this point on, David is pretty much stuck by the King’s side: King Saul isn’t letting go of this young warrior and hero. He promotes him to General of the Army and David’s valor and victories in war become the stuff of legend. David’s so successful that King Saul gets really jealous of him and tries to kill him on many occasions. One of the King’s murderous plans, however, backfires on him and, as promised, the King gives David one of his daughters to marry as a reward for a successful expedition against the Philistines. So now, David is a member of royalty and that, as you can imagine, really infuriated the jealously-demented King.

Well, David was a good man and there was no way he was going to lift sword or spear against his King. So he goes on the lam and for the next several years he lives in exile in, of all places, the land of his enemy the Philistines (1 Samuel 19-30).

King Saul gets killed in battle against the Philistines (1 Samuel 31). David returns to his homeland of Judah. And there he is crowned King by his tribe (2 Samuel 2). He’s King for 7½ years in Judah.

During this time, in the aftermath of Saul’s death, his son Ishbosheth becomes King of Israel (2 Samuel 2). Ishbosheth reigns as Israel’s King for 7½ years. He eventually gets assassinated and that’s when all Israel came together and asked David to become their next King (2 Samuel 4-5). So altogether, David is King for 40 years. Under his military prowess he enlarges Israel’s Kingdom to its greatest extent ever. His enemies fear him. And Israel is established as a regional superpower.

All this began in the Valley of Elah when David pretty much came out of obscurity and dumbfounded the cowardly Israelite army. He made quick work of beheading the giant, then just as deftly and decisively, he went on to rout the Philistines in battle. In the Valley he emerged as a national hero. Became General. Then son-in-law of the King. Eventually King. And master of a regional superpower. Imagine all the good things that happened to David and all Israel just because he came to the Valley of Elah! If David had not come to the Valley, the course of history would have been drastically different! We would not be amiss at all in saying that the course, future, and destiny of the nation of Israel were forever altered when David showed up in the Valley of Elah!

Friends, do you know how David found himself in the Valley of Elah? What brought him to Elah? Well, David was a young shepherd boy living in Bethlehem with his family. He was tending his father’s flocks of sheep when, one day, his dad sent him on an errand. 1 Samuel 17:17-19 tells the story of how it went.  One day, Jesse told David, “Hurry and take this sack of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers at the army camp.  (18)  And here are ten large chunks of cheese to take to their commanding officer. Find out how your brothers are doing and bring back something that shows that they’re all right.  (19)  They’re with Saul’s army, fighting the Philistines in Elah Valley.”

Dad Jesse was getting worried about his sons. They were in the army. And, being the soldiers that they were, dad was all the time worried about them. He had every right to be. The Philistines were the most feared army in the world at this time and, realistically speaking, the Israelites weren’t much of a match against them. Pictures of death and defeat are probably racing through Jesse’s mind. Are my sons alive? Did they get killed in battle? Are they coming back home safe and sound? So, being the worried father that he was, Jesse sent his son David to Elah to see how his sons were doing. You’d be totally right to say that Jesse was checking up on his sons. Unbeknownst to him, Jesse sending David to Elah would change David’s life forever and alter the course of Israelite history. A worried father’s decision to send David on a domestic errand turned out to be his best decision ever!

As a mother or father, we make all kinds of decisions that impact and affect our kids for life. It’s not always the big decisions that affect them the most. Sometimes, it’s the smallest decision we make—like sending them on an errand—that starts a chain reaction that will change their lives forever. So, parents, pray for your kids. Pray about the decisions you make. With God’s guidance and help, like Jesse, you can make the best decision ever! God bless you with Jesse’s care and success!

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ONE BAD DECISION: AN EARTH-SHATTERING DECISION

May 4, 2012 at 12:07 PM (Christian Living, One Bad Decision)
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In the course of a twenty-four hour period we make gobs of decisions. Some of these we make with a serious amount of forethought and prayer. But, if you’re like me, we make many of our decisions spontaneously with little, or no, thought as to the consequences or impact our decisions will have—not only for ourselves, but also for the many others whose lives are intertwined with  ours.

Have you ever thought much about how a single decision can change your life forever? Sometimes a single decision will change us for the better. And sometimes a single decision will change us for the worse.

In these blog posts I’d like to look at the singular decision that some people in the Bible made that changed their lives forever…for the worse. By looking at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word it’ll give us reason to stop and think about both the long-term and short-term ramifications of the decisions we make. Lots of forethought and prayer, I’m convinced, will save us from the pain and regret of a hastily-made decision for the worse.

AN EARTH-SHATTERING DECISION

Moses had it hard. The desert heat, travels, and deprivations were bad enough. But to make matters intolerably worse, he was constantly having to deal with people who didn’t like his decisions; people who questioned his leadership and his wisdom.

Korah was one such person. He was a rather influential Levite. A big shot as far as Levites went. Anyways, he was disenchanted with Moses’ and Aaron’s leadership. He felt like he needed to be a part of the upper echelon leadership team.  He wanted to be a priest which, by lineage, was not his right or prerogative to pursue. He wanted the laws of priesthood to be changed so that he could become a priest. And if changing the laws meant getting rid of Moses and Aaron, then, by God, that’s what Korah set out to do. So, he gathered 250 of the nation’s most powerful princes and they had themselves a very public showdown with Moses and Aaron.

Numbers 16:1-3 tells the story.  Now Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On, took men:  (2)  And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:  (3)  And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?

As you can imagine, Moses was rather disheartened by this rumbling of revolt. The rights of the priesthood and leadership were not his to make, but God’s. So here’s what God told Moses to tell Korah and his insurrectionists. “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him, who is holy, and who it is that he will allow to come near him. Only the person the Lord chooses will be allowed to come near him.  (6)  Korah, you and all your followers must do this tomorrow: Take incense burners,  (7)  and put burning coals and incense in them in the Lord’s presence. Then the Lord will choose the man who is holy. You’ve gone far enough!”  (8)  Moses also said to Korah, “Listen, you Levites!  (9)  Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the community of Israel? The Lord has brought you near himself to do the work for his tent and stand in front of the community to serve them.  (10)  He has brought you and all the other Levites near himself, but now you demand to be priests (Numbers 16:5-10).

The burning of incense was the priests’ prerogative. Only they could do it and no one else, not even a Levite. So here was Korah’s chance to at least taste a little of the priestly rights and prerogatives that he coveted for himself.

Well, morning came and Korah and his insurrectionists showed up at the Tabernacle as instructed. In fact, the whole nation showed up. Moses then took them on a walk and led them to the tents where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram lived. Moses wanted these men to be with their families. Once there, Moses told the people what to do.

Numbers 16:26-30, Move away from the tents of these wicked men. Don’t touch anything that belongs to them, or you’ll be swept away because of all their sins.  (27)  So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children.  (28)  Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord sent me to do all these things and that it wasn’t my idea:  (29)  If these men die like all other people-if they die a natural death-then the Lord hasn’t sent me.  (30)  But if the Lord does something totally new-if the ground opens up, swallows them and everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive to their graves-then you’ll know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.

The scene is emblazoned in my mind. It’s a sad, tragic picture that I cannot erase or forget. Its horrors haunt me. I can see Korah, Dathan, and Abiram at the door of their tents. I can see them gathered with their families. The men have one hand around their loving, beautiful wife; the other, tenderly holding on to the children. A smug look of defiance is on the face of each man, as if to say, Bring it on, Moses. Let’s see what you’ve got. But the women and children look with alarm, eyes enlarged with fear, as the authoritative voice of Moses thunders through the crowd.

Like standing beside the tracks as a train goes whizzing by, the earth begins to rumble. Softly, at first. Then, as the people begin to yell hysterically and run in fear, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram hold their families with both hands, as if to protect and shelter them from a coming calamity. The earth violently shakes and yawns, opening her mouth wide, and swallows the insurrectionists. Entire families, tents, and livestock—everything that belonged to these rebels—were sucked into a black hole. The earth closed her mouth. And the rebels—and everything they owned, the families they loved and held dear—were gone (Numbes 16:31-33).

What a sad, tragic, and dreadful end! It all began with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram moping around one day, wanting to know how they should do about righting a perceived wrong. After some deliberation, a decision was made. Let’s get a bunch of Israel’s most powerful and respected princes and let’s stage a showdown with Moses.

Unbeknownst to them, the decision would be a debacle. It would literally be an earth-shattering decision that would not only kill them, but kill their wives and children also. The insurrectionists saw what they wanted to see: they saw themselves forcing Moses’ hand and forcing him to cede more power to them. But what they didn’t see is what killed them. WHAT THEY WANTED, WHAT THEY COVETED, KILLED THEM. AND THOSE THEY LOVED.

Brethren, think slowly and think twice before you create a scene. Clear your mind and get God’s mind on the matter. YOUR DECISIONS AND ACTIONS AFFECT THE LIVES OF THE ONES YOU LOVE THE MOST. IN SOME WAYS REAL, THEIR LIVES AND WELL-BEING ARE IN YOUR HANDS. If not for yourself, then think of them. And don’t let your foolishness kill them.

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God, It’s All Your Fault! Really?

April 9, 2012 at 8:14 PM (Christian Living, It's Your Fault)
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We all have a tendency to blame other people when things go wrong or when bad things happen. Naturally, there are indeed times when other people are to blame. People make mistakes. And when they do they need to assume responsibility for their decisions and actions, accept the blame, and work to clean up the mess they’ve made. Not everything, I repeat, not everything is our fault!

But when we’re the leading characters in a tragedy, when we’re at the helm of a sinking ship; then passing the buck just isn’t cool. It doesn’t make us look good. We can find creative ways to look at an error or a disaster and make a scapegoat of others. But people aren’t dumb. They can smell a skunk when they see one. And they don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know who shot who when they catch us with a smoking gun in our hand.

In the anger and panic of the moment we seldom take the time to look at ourself and see if we bear any blame for the nightmare that we’re faced with. We’re so busy blaming others because it makes us look good. It makes us look innocent. But are we?

In these series of posts I’d like to step into the sandals of several Biblical characters. They were human like you and me. You can be dead sure they passed the buck, or were tempted to do so, when they found themselves in hot water.

By looking at these familiar Bible figures I’m hoping we’ll learn from the mistakes and examples of our forebears. I hope we’ll learn not to pass the buck, but accept the guilt and blame that are rightfully ours. 

Why is that so important? Because assuming responsibility for our actions is the necessary first step towards fixing the mess we’ve made. We can’t fix something that we’re not willing to fess and face up to. It begins with summoning the courage to be honest with ourselves, with others, and with God. With the help of the Biblical characters I believe we can be honest and say, God, it’s not your fault! It’s mine. And I’m sorry I fingered you for the bed that I made and slept in.

PARADISE LOST

Hi there. My name is Adam. You all know me even if you’ve never met me. I’m the guy who got you into all the mess you find yourselves in as far as sin, suffering, sickness, and death. Sorry about that! I really didn’t mean for it to happen. I had no idea that this is how everything would turn out!

When you live in a perfect, sinless, peachy world like I did, you have no idea how life can possibly be different from the paradise you live in. Once outside of Eden, I learned soon enough how sin was going to make life a deplorable hell. Wow! Am I ever so sorry for what I did!

I wish I could turn the hands of time back and relive that fateful day in the Garden and not make the mistake I ended up making. But it’s too late and there’s no going back.

Honestly, at the start of it all, I didn’t think any of this was my fault. God gave me a woman to wife. She was the most beautiful thing in the world. I would have done anything for her—well, actually I did. She took a bite of the forbidden fruit, then gave it to me to try. In hindsight, I should have never listened to my wife. But when you’re crazy in love you just don’t ever think about crossing your wife. So I took a bite and that was the bite that changed the world and the course of human history.

When God showed up later that same day and asked us if we ate the forbidden fruit, I promptly told Him the truth, Genesis 3:8-12. God, this is all your fault! After all, it was You who gave me the woman to wife. If I didn’t have her around I’d never have taken that bite. I only ate it because she egged me on. So it was her fault. And Yours too! But definitely not mine!

When God questioned my wife about what she’d done, she blamed it on the snake. It’s all the snake’s fault! He fooled me into eating the forbidden fruit!

Well, God promptly pronounced a curse on the snake. Then He told my wife what her punishment would be. I blew a sigh of relief. I thought for sure I was off the hook. But God wasn’t done. He started talking to me and that’s when I knew my world was about to come to an end: Because you gave ear to the voice of your wife and took of the fruit of the tree which I said you were not to take, the earth is cursed on your account; in pain you will get your food from it all your life.  (18)  Thorns and waste plants will come up, and the plants of the field will be your food;  (19)  With the hard work of your hands you will get your bread till you go back to the earth from which you were taken: for dust you are and to the dust you will go back (Genesis 3:17-19).

His tone of voice told me there was no use arguing the point. God had spoken and that’s the way it was going to be. He told me not to eat the fruit (Genesis 2:16-17). I didn’t listen. I ate it. It didn’t matter if my wife, or anyone else for that matter, suckered me into it. I knew I wasn’t supposed to eat it. And when I ate it I disobeyed God. I had never done that before and it was a hard, bitter lesson learned—namely, DISOBEDIENCE HAS CONSEQUENCES AND THE CONSEQUENCES AREN’T PLEASANT. All of history proves it, as you all very well know.

I tried to pin the blame on God. But I found out God’s no fool. He isn’t taking the blame when it’s we who messed up, not Him. Paul puts it this way in Galatians 6:7, Don’t delude yourselves: no one makes a fool of God! A person reaps what he sows. Take it from me because I know what I’m talking about. I blamed God just like you! But God gave me all the time I needed to change my tune and admit the truth. Believe me, God knows how to get even you to change your tune!

So don’t fool yourself. You’re not fooling God. IF YOU HAVE A PART IN MAKING A MESS, THEN YOU’RE TO BLAME. AND THE SOONER YOU ADMIT YOUR GUILT THE SOONER YOU’LL SEE THE UTTER USELESSNESS OF BLAMING GOD FOR SOMETHING HE DIDN’T DO.

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BEST DECISION EVER: THE INFORMANT

April 3, 2012 at 5:22 PM (Best Decision Ever, Christian Living)
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In the course of a twenty-four hour period we make gobs of decisions. Some of these we make with a serious amount of forethought and prayer. Others we make spontaneously with little or no thought as to the consequences or impact our decisions will have—not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives are intertwined with ours.

Have you ever thought much about how a single decision can change your life forever? For better or worse?

In these blog posts I’d like to look at the one good decision that some people in the Bible made that changed the course of their life for the better. By looking at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word I hope we’ll all take comfort, courage, and hope in the fact that, despite the mess we’re presently faced with, we can still turn things around. A lousy past or dismal present doesn’t have to give us the same future. By God’s grace, our future and life can be changed for the better…if we only make the right decision today. May God help us do that on a daily basis!

THE INFORMANT

We all are probably familiar with the story of Mordecai and Queen Esther. The preservation of the Jews in Persia has largely been attributed to the good and beautiful Queen. And rightly so. But I’d like to look at the story from Mordecai’s perspective.

What were the Jews doing in Persia in the first place? Here’s the scoop. Mordecai’s and Esther’s forebears had been carried into captivity in Babylon (part of the Kingdom of Persia). That was over a hundred years ago  in Mordecai’s time. Many of the captive Jews subsequently returned to Judah when the Persian King Cyrus gave the Jews their freedom and released them from captivity. But Mordecai’s dad and granddad decided they were going to stay in Persia. Esther’s parents decided to stay too. They lived in Shushan, the capital of Persia. Anyways, both of Esther’s parents died when she was still young. So Mordecai, her cousin, being much older than her, took her in and treated her as if she was his own daughter.

Anyways, you know the story. The Persian King Ahasuerus is looking for a new Queen. Gobs of young virgins from all over the Empire are brought to Shushan to serve as concubines for the King. One of these lucky concubines, whoever pleased the King the most, will be chosen as the next Queen.

Well, Esther was one of these virgins and, to make a long story short, the King immediately fell in love with her and crowned her his Queen. Of course, nobody in the Court knew she was a Jewess. That would have caused quite a scandal. Imagine a Jewess being Queen in Persia! That wouldn’t go over too well with the Persians. So Mordecai told Esther not to tell anyone in the Court her true nationality.

The next time we hear about Mordecai, we find him sitting in the King’s gate (Esther 2:19). That’s where civil trials were held. So Mordecai is probably a Judge. If not that, then he’s a royal government official. In any case, he’s probably there because his daughter pulled some strings for him and got him this gravy job in the employ of the King. (By the way, I neglected to tell you that Mordecai also told his daughter not to tell anyone that Mordecai was her dad.)

One day, while Mordecai was at the gate, he happened to overhear two of the Court officials plotting the kill the King.  They were eunuchs who stood guard at the door of the King’s bedroom. So they had easy access to the King and that made the King all the more vulnerable to their treachery and treason. So Mordecai ratted on them and told the Queen about the plot.

Of course, Esther wasn’t going to let these royal guards get away with murder. So she went to the King and informed him of the conspiracy. This she did wisely in Mordecai’s name (Esther 2:22). That is, she gave Mordecai full credit for the information. She told the King that it was Mordecai who uncovered the plot.

Well, when the truth of the conspiracy was confirmed, the two conspirators were promptly hanged. End of threat.

Now it was customary for Kings to reward their spies and informants handsomely for passing on life-saving news of this sort. After all, they did save the King’s life. But, for some unexplained reason, King Ahasuerus never rewarded or recognized Mordecai for his valuable service. I wonder if Mordecai was outraged and offended by this royal flub. If it was anyone of us, we’d probably be counting all the ways we would spend the King’s rewards. What a bummer to spend our days waiting for a recognition and reward that would never come!

Fast forward several months. The wicked Haman, who was the King’s Grand Vizier or Prime Minister, has built a gallows for Mordecai. He so despises the Jew who wouldn’t bow before him and reverence him that the wrathful Haman is fully intent on destroying what he sees is a Jewish dog. In fact, he’s not only going to kill Mordecai: he’s going to kill every Jew in the Kingdom! Haman’s hate was truly legendary! He issues a royal decree in the King’s Name and, on a certain day, every Persian is given the right to kill every Jew in sight (Esther 3). This would be the original Holocaust of the Jews.

Well, the King couldn’t go to sleep one night. So he commanded the chronicles of the Kings to be brought forth and read to him (Esther 6). That would surely put him to sleep! Or so he thought. Quite providentially, (don’t you just love the hand of God working everything out!), Mordecai’s name comes up in relation to the two conspirators against the King. At the remembrance of the event, the King’s ears perk up. What did we ever do to reward Mordecai for his life-saving information?, the King asked. Nothing, sir, replied the scribe. We never paid him a dime for saving your life.

Well, this just isn’t right! It won’t do! We’ve got to pay him back for saving my life, the King said. So, with Haman’s unwitting help, Mordecai is paraded throughout Shushan’s streets, clothed in the King’s robe, wearing the King’s crown, and riding the King’s horse. Haman himself went before the royally-honored Mordecai as a herald, shouting, This is what happens to the man who the King honors!

Haman is utterly humiliated! The guy he was planning on hanging is now honored by the King. Everyone in Haman’s house sees the handwriting on the wall. Haman’s days are numbered. Instead of you hanging Mordecai, that Jew is going to hang you, Haman!

Well, the King ended up hanging Haman. And he made Mordecai Grand Vizier in Haman’s place (Esther 8). He even gave Mordecai the royal ring with which he was authorized to issue edicts in the name of the King. It was this ring that enabled Mordecai to issue a national decree: every Jew in the Kingdom was given the right to bear arms and defend himself and his family on the day of Haman’s Holocaust. When it was all said and done, it was Mordecai’s vizierate, ring, and decree that preserved the Jews from extinction in Persia. God and the Queen placed Mordecai in the King’s good graces where he could play a pivotal role in the preservation of God’s people in Persia.

Do you know how Mordecai got in the King’s good graces? Queen Esther, in a moment of time, decided to tell the King that it was Mordecai who discovered the plot against his life (Esther 2:22). She could have kept quiet and not said anything to the King about who her informant was. She could have claimed all the credit for the conspiracy’s discovery for herself. But the good Queen gave credit where credit was due. Mordecai’s name got written in the history books. And the rest is history.

So, in a very real way, the preservation of the Jews in Persia can be attributed to Esther’s decision to name her informant. It was one little decision made spontaneously in a moment’s notice. But it was a decision that would ultimately save all the Jews in Persia. Wow! How neat is that!

Friends, don’t ever minimize the decisions you make. ONE TINY, SEEMINGLY INSIGNIFICANT DECISION CAN END UP CHANGING THE COURSE OF YOUR FUTURE—OR SOMEBODY ELSE’S FUTURE.  One “small” decision can be larger than life and end up being your best decision ever. May you be blessed with many such “small” decisions!

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