Fooling Ourselves - 9/1/10
September 2, 2010
September 1, 2010 Fooling ourselves In the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel are some incredibly revealing sections, shedding insight into one of humanity’s greatest skills – the ability to fool not others, but ourselves. Here’s the context – the land and nation promised to Israel from all the way back into the time of Abraham, reaffirmed through Moses and David – that land has now been lost, the nation of Israel defeated by the king of Babylon. God had clearly warned them that this would happen: “Again and again I sent my servants, the prophets, to plead with them, ‘Don’t do these horrible things that I hate so much.’ (Jer. 44:4)” But “to this very hour, you/they have shown no remorse or reverence. (Jer. 44:10)” Most of the Israelites were killed either in the battle or by the famine that took place during the siege against them. Of those who remained, a few of the poorest and most inconsequential were allowed to remain in the land; some chose to flee to neighboring countries; and some went into captivity in Babylon. Human reasoning would make any of those three options viable – none the first choice, of course, but all apparently rational and understandable options. However, and this regularly comes as a news flash to most of us: God does not operate under human reasoning. God clearly told them that the remnant in captivity in Babylon would be the ones under God’s continuing care and protection. And this is the hard part: not everyone else. So, people are trying to make sense of things. God was speaking through the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. But people were having a hard time discerning God’s voice from their own, “gathering around them teachers who would tell them whatever their itching ears wanted to hear”, a passage from many hundred years later (2 Timothy 4:4) that accurately describes the human condition in every generation. In Jeremiah’s case, “We will not listen to your messages from the Lord! We will do whatever we want… which included worshiping other gods and all kinds of other clearly forbidden things. (Jer. 44:16-17)” And in the granddaddy of them all, from Ezekiel 33:30-33: 30 “Son of man, your people talk about you in their houses and whisper about you at the doors. They say to each other, ‘Come on, let’s go hear the prophet tell us what the Lord is saying!’ 31 So my people come pretending to be sincere and sit before you. They listen to your words, but they have no intention of doing what you say. Their mouths are full of lustful words, and their hearts seek only after money. 32 You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say, but they don’t act on it! 33 But when all these terrible things happen to them—as they certainly will—then they will know a prophet has been among them.” Yikes! How many of us do that in our daily Bible readings? How many of us approach worship services and sermons like that? How many of us listen to Christian speakers on the radio or through our ipods or at conferences, being very entertained but changing little? Is there any antidote to this “fooling ourselves” tendency? Any virus that can eradicate the disease? Nothing external that I can think of. No quick fix or magic pill. Only genuine humility, day after day, month after month, year in and year out. Humility which expresses itself in the way we listen to and seek counsel, in the way we pray for the Holy Spirit’s discernment, in the way we confess our sins with true repentance rather than trite ritual, in the way we treat others both externally and in the secret chambers of our minds. “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jer. 17:9)?”
People-pleasing Prison - 8/17/2010
August 17, 2010
August 17, 2010 People-pleasing prison
People pleasing is prison. Being a people-pleaser is like trying to chase the wind. You can’t tell where it comes from, what it’s doing, or where it’s going next.
King Zedekiah is one of the clearest biblical examples of people pleasing. Perhaps that’s why only Bible scholars have ever heard of him. To be a people pleaser is to be quickly forgotten, making no significant mark on the world.
Jeremiah 37-38 tells the sad story of Zedekiah. It’s an unusual section of the Bible, in that Jeremiah is one of the many prophetic books in the Old Testament, and Jeremiah is as transparent as any of the prophets. He lets us know how God’s Word was affecting him personally, on many occasions. And yet this section reads more like one of the history books (i.e. 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles) than it does like a typical book of prophecy. And Jeremiah writes it in the third person. Perhaps that too is intentional – distancing himself as much as possible from the shifting sand of Zedekiah.
I present to you the chronology of People Pleaser Numero Uno.
Thumbs up - Zedekiah to Jeremiah: “Please pray to the Lord our God for us.” Jeremiah brings Zedekiah a message from the Lord so that he can be prepared for what’s coming.
Thumbs up – Jeremiah gets arrested, falsely accused of being a traitor for telling people what they didn’t want to hear. Jeremiah pleads with Zedekiah for his life, and Zedekiah treats him well.
Thumbs down – Scoundrels come to Zedekiah, asking him to put Jeremiah to death. Zedekiah agrees.
Thumbs up – a court official comes to Zedekiah, asking him to set Jeremiah free. Zedekiah agrees.
Honesty, finally – Zedekiah admits to Jeremiah his tremendous fear in a secret meeting that he doesn’t want anybody else to know.
Contrast Zedekiah with Ezekiel. God tells Ezekiel that he’s supposed to bring the people a similar message as Jeremiah’s, and lets him know up front that the people will reject it. God also tells Ezekiel that he’s giving him courage and the ability to stand up to their “dark scowls” and threats like “stinging scorpions.” He even tells Ezekiel the secret to not being a people pleaser – let God’s Word feed you first, before you take it to the streets. Let it penetrate deep within you, to prepare you for what is to come. (Ezekiel 3:1-11)
So, we can be people-pleasers or God-pleasers. We can be imprisoned, trying to guess which direction the wind is blowing. Or we can be set free, directed by the Wind of the Spirit, following One whose ways are consistent.
Horse Races - 8/12/2010
August 12, 2010
“If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses?” (Jeremiah 12:5) I’ve got a question in response – why would you want to? It’s never been one of my life goals to line up alongside a horse and try to outrace him. When I went to a Navigators Bible Camp right after graduating from college, my small group leader chose this verse as our group verse. We were the “horse-men.” I thought it was an odd verse then, too, but took away the point that we wanted to train ourselves for bigger, better things. As I re-read the verse this morning, it took on new relevance. If little things in life wear me out, how will I handle bigger tests? Many of the irritants in my life, as well as some of the things that discourage me, are really pretty petty in the big scheme of things. If I hope to pass bigger tests when they come, I need to train spiritually by handling the smaller ones with grace and prayer and perseverance. That’s my prayer, my desire, for today.
A Consistent Message Through the Whole Bible - 7/21/2010
July 22, 2010
Ready? Here it is: people are messed up. And the Bible doesn’t hesitate to show us. Want proof that there’s divine inspiration behind the authorship of the Bible? How about this: the very people who wrote it, to a person, have no difficulty painting themselves with breath-taking honesty, warts and all. Abraham had a faith/fear problem. Moses had an anger problem – and a self-consciousness problem too. David had a lust problem. Saul had an impatience problem. Job had a “everything should fit in a neat box, and why doesn’t it” problem. Peter had a foot-in-mouth problem. Paul had a pride problem. People are fickle; God is faithful. That’s a consistent message throughout the whole Bible. I thought maybe I’d come across someone in the Bible with several pages written about them, and no warts. Hezekiah. The picture painted of the kings of Israel, especially after the first three (Saul, David, and Solomon) is more ugly than beauty. With precious few exceptions, “so-and-so committed the same sins as his father whatchamacallit”. Hezekiah is a bright shining light in the midst of lots of darkness. He’s one of the few (the only one?) whose story is told in three places simultaneously: 2 Kings 18-20, 2 Chronicles 29-32, and Isaiah 36-39. That section in Isaiah is totally unique – biography in the midst of a book of prophecies – because Isaiah was a contemporary of Hezekiah’s. Hezekiah starts off well, and it seems, never leaves the path. In the very first month of the very first year of his reign, Hezekiah puts first things first, and makes worship the main thing. His first action as king is to reopen the Temple and repair it. He trains the priests and musicians, reopens the temple in a fabulous scene of worship, and helps the Israelites celebrate the Passover like most of them had never experienced before. While paying careful attention to the letter of the law, he also shows a remarkable ability to not let the letter of the law cancel out the spirit of the law, wisely discerning how to apply God’s Word to a unique situation (2 Chronicles 30). His reforms cleansed the whole land, and “Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly. As a result, he was very successful. (2 Chr 31:21)” When he was threatened by an enemy nation, Assyria, he responded with bold confidence in God, great wisdom, and prayerful humility. When he became deathly ill, he grieved and prayed, showing tremendous transparency. And yet that ancient foe snuck up and got Hezekiah, too. God healed him miraculously, adding 15 years to his life. “But Hezekiah did not respond appropriately to the kindness shown him, and he became proud. (2 Chr 32:25)” His pride was evident in the way he responded to guests from neighboring nations, who came out of their respect for all God had done for Israel. He showed them all his amassed treasuries, and it’s not hard to imagine the kings peacock behavior from those “see what I’ve got” tours. So, is “people are messed up” the end of the story? Not at all. “Then Hezekiah humbled himself and repented of his pride, as did the people of Jerusalem. (2 Chr 32:26)” People are fickle, but God is faithful, and repentance is always an option, always the best option. Thank God that we have examples to turn to on nearly every page of the Bible.
What to do When What You’re Doing Doesn't Appear to be Working - 7/19/2010
July 22, 2010
Psalm 105: 4 “Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.” In my chronological Bible, the section I read today included material from 2 Chronicles 32, 2 Kings 18, and Isaiah 36, all about King Hezekiah of Judah. The king of Assyria was laying siege to Judah, making threatening and blasphemous statements not only to the officials but to all the people, mocking God and attempting to instill fear and despair. He cites examples of other nations and their gods who he has destroyed, and even makes the claim that the God of Israel instructed him to come, attack, and destroy Judah. How do you stand up against such relentless assault, intended to cause you to doubt the very One who can save you? Further, it’s not as if Judah was being punished because of the faithlessness of their king. Hezekiah’s faithfulness and whole-hearted devotion to God are unrivaled in Israel’s and Judah’s history. And this is the thanks he gets?! Wouldn’t it add insult to injury to have fully repented, faithfully cleaned up the land, inspired your people with the promises of God, only to find yourself in a worse situation than you started with? “Continually seek Him,” from Psalm 105, is not just advice for the good times. It isn’t just a recommendation for the times when it’s easy to continually seek Him. In fact, the times that we need Psalm 105:4 the most are the times when we’re least inclined to do so, and more inclined to look elsewhere because it doesn’t seem to be working. Our strength is no match for God’s strength. No other strength, from any other source, is a match for God’s strength. Those statements are true 100 percent of the time. We need to remind ourselves of those truths when temporary experience would lure us to believe otherwise. There is never a time when there’s a better idea than to search for the Lord and His strength, to continually seek Him. When things are going well, that’s still the recipe. When things are going poorly, that’s still the recipe. Anything else, at any other time, is a recipe for disaster.
Why Refugees? - 7/7/2010
July 7, 2010
Honestly, I wasn’t really thinking about the family from Somalia that arrives in Tucson next week. But here’s what I read in my morning devotions. “O people of Tema, bring water to these thirsty people, food to these weary refugees. They have fled from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and the terrors of battle.” (Isaiah 21:14-15) Next Tuesday, we welcome a family of 11-13 (9 kids ranging in age from 5 to 19, and 2-4 adults.) Our responsibilities to this family lie in the area of friendship, not finances. We’re welcome, of course, to help them in any way we’re able, but the only commitment asked of us is relational, which will include acts of service like time and transportation. Truthfully, refugees haven’t been on my radar screen until the last year or so, when God brought us a family. As a result of city ministry leaders praying together for our city on the city’s birthday, I learned of a program where refugees are paid jointly between a church and a citywide ministry. Needs met opportunities, and as a result, a dear family has come into our midst. Now, another opportunity has presented itself. In many ways, playing ostrich is much simpler. And in many ways, we’ll always play the role of the ostrich, unintentionally if not intentionally. There are so many huge problems in the world with devastating affects on real people with real mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, sisters and brothers. It’s easier not to know about them, not to think about them: meth addiction, sex trafficking, political prisoners, victims of famine, those still recovering from earthquakes in Haiti and tsunamis in Asia, those with large bank accounts but no relationship to Jesus, single parents, victims of abuse, child laborers, and on and on. If our hearts were truly broken by the things that break the heart of God, as we sometimes pray, we’d never sleep at night. Only God, with infinite compassion and limitless resources, can have a heart for all the hurting all the time. When needs meet opportunities, we pray for discernment. Is this an area in which God is moving and calling us to join Him there? All signs would seem to point yes. Welcoming the stranger, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, healing the sick – all are godly things to do, all are places where we meet Jesus, and all roll into one package when next week we welcome a Somalian family straight out of Isaiah 21.
We Become Like Who We Worship - 7/2/2010
July 2, 2010
Is 1:27 “Those who repent will be revived by righteousness.” 2 Kings 17:15 “They worshiped worthless idols, so they became worthless themselves.” When we worship (give our love and attention to) things that are worthless, we become worthless. It saps our time and energy, our motivation, our life, our vigor, our ability to love God and love others and at the end of the day say, “It’s been a good day.” On the other hand, when we repent from worthless things, we experience revival. We are brought to life again, resurrected. We have new energy and new motivation, a new fervor to serve the Lord. Old temptations still exist, but we have a new strength to fight them. Challenges may still abound, but the Lord is our refuge. Righteousness revives us, because it is a righteousness that is imputed, given to us undeserved, from the outside. But this same righteousness truly becomes ours. It isn’t merely something external that we put on like clothing. We take it inside and it truly becomes a part of us, Christ living through us. We become a new creation; the old has gone, and the new has come.
Totally voluntary writing for me is one of those discretionary things that I enjoy when time and emotional energy allow. Hopefully, my nearly two month sabbatical from this blog is now over! Today in my devotional reading I finished up the book of Hosea. There certainly are things in it that cause you to say, huh? Hosea 9:15 The Lord says, “All their wickedness began at Gilgal; there I began to hate them.” Many parts of the book are highly disturbing, especially when verse after verse describes the horrific punishment about to get unleashed on the “chosen people.” The one unmistakable impression from the book, for me, is that we worship a passionate God. There is no possible way that a person can square the book of Hosea with a God who’s emotionally disconnected and distant from His creation. Has God forgotten us, we might ask? Read the book of Hosea and you might wish for that as a step up! In the end, though, Hosea 11:8 seems to capture the overall sentiment of the book for me. “Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go? ... My heart is town within me, and my compassion overflows.” God is more heartbroken over our sin and its consequences than we ever are or will be. The primary symbol of our Christian faith, the cross, points to a passionate God, a God who hates sin because sin hurts people and God loves people. A God who can’t tolerate the notion of just giving people up to their own wayward and foolish behavior. A God who may at times appear to disappear from the horizon, allowing us to sow every last thing we’ve reaped, but a God who in the end says, “I’m back, with yet more love, with yet another effort to reach you before it’s too late. A God who says in Hosea 14:4, “Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever.”
Heads Held High
May 5, 2010
Psalm 3:3 “But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.” In David’s moments of deepest despair and trial, like when he left Jerusalem in shame, while his own son led a revolt against him, David experienced his Lord as a shield, his glory, and the one who lifts his own head high. God can lift our heads high, can give us something to hold on to in honor and pride, even in our moments of deepest humiliation. Because even in our moments of deepest success, the Lord is really our only reason to boast. So if we can take pride and joy in the Lord in our moments of success and faithfulness, why not also in our moments of despair and unfaithfulness? When we’ve served the Lord well and can rightfully hear the commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” we know that it’s only the Lord’s strength and grace that enabled us to hear his call and follow in his footsteps. So we boast in the Lord. But when we’ve blown it, and badly, and are reaping the results of what we’ve sown, we can still boast in the Lord, because one, our sin didn’t catch Him off guard and tie his hands. He’ll still find a way to bring good even out of our failures. And second, his mercy is new every morning. We can hold our heads high at all times, if at all times we remember that it’s about Him, not about us.
To Judge or Not to Judge: That is the Question
May 1, 2010
All in favor of being judgmental, say “aye”. Anyone? Any takers?
Nobody likes being around someone who’s judgmental, someone who’s holier than thou. It’s obnoxious, arrogant, and repulsive. Judgmental attitudes tear down, divide, and destroy.
But we all make judgments, deciding that we’re right and the other one’s wrong. Every one of us. Want proof? Tell me how you reacted to that sentence. If you agreed with me, then that means you agree. Deep, huh? But if you disagreed with me, then that means you think you’re right and I’m wrong, thereby proving my point. Judging, making judgments, thinking that we’re right and something or someone else is wrong – that’s all inevitable. Can’t possibly be avoided.
Quick aside: There’s a major chasm developing within Christianity in America. It’s not on the basis of denomination, because this chasm cuts through every denomination. On the one side you’ll commonly hear arguments against being judgmental. We need to be inclusive, welcoming to everyone. What right do we have to judge someone else? Ever heard that? Maybe you absolutely believe that.
I believe parts of it. Jesus left heaven to show his love for everyone, no exceptions. He died for those who were far from him. He forgave those executing him, while they were doing it. That’s incredibly inclusive, incredibly loving, incredibly non-judgmental. Far more than tolerant, which can still be pretty passive, Jesus’ love is active, pursuing, self-sacrificing, etc. It isn’t, however, mushy and sentimental. The cross is far from “Can’t we all just get along?” It’s a declarative statement that there are things so horrifically wrong as to both deserve and cause death, and that our only hope is the love of God which is demonstrated by His absorbing our “wrongness” fully and completely.
I believe that the following statement, taken from Hebrews 4:12, is the Word of God, and therefore true: “For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Meaning that God judges both thoughts and attitudes as either right or wrong. And the Bible contains his verdicts – this is right, that is wrong. God does that.
So what should we do? Declare us right and God wrong? “God’s wrong to make such judgments.” Meaning that we’ve just staged an impressive coup, dethroning God and taking His place on the throne. That’s one choice – we can try to argue that God has no right to say such things, which normally comes out more like this: “Well, there are many ways of interpreting the Bible, and who’s to say that one is better than another.” The blind spot in that argument is that the maker of it just did what s/he said shouldn’t be done – declaring that his/her approach is preferable to mine. The other choice is to recognize that judgments get made all the time. God is the only truly just judge, always more than fair, always filled with love. And therefore our task is not to avoid making judgments, but to make sure that the judgments we do make align to the best of our abilities with God’s. It requires humility, a teachable spirit, and a life goal of living like Jesus lived, which was full of both truth and grace.
[ Older Posts ]
|
