Plentiful Success = Vulnerability. Deuteronomy 7-8; Luke 14

May the mumbling commence!

When are we at our most vulnerable?  That is an interesting question – with an interesting answer.  Read from Deuteronomy chapter eight:

"So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him.  For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with springs that gush forth in the valleys and hills.  It is a land of wheat and barley, of grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, olives, and honey.  It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills.  When you have eaten your fill, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 

But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and laws.  For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, that is the time to be careful. Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.  Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock!  He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good.  He did it so you would never think that it was your own strength and energy that made you wealthy.  Always remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you power to become rich, and he does it to fulfill the covenant he made with your ancestors. (Verses 6-18)

Hard times can be difficult, to be sure.  But hard times often draw us closer to the Lord.  We are not most vulnerable in times of distress, though it may seem to be the case.

We are most vulnerable when we have plenty… when we have success, because we may easily become deluded that we are the source of our own success and plenty.  We must be extremely careful when we enjoy success and plenty.

What is the remedy for this peril of success?  Remember.  Remember where you have come from.  Remember what God has done for you.  Remember who you belong to – the Lord God.

God is the source of all strength and energy and wealth.  So praise the Lord and give thanks!  Don’t forget.  Be careful when times are good.  Otherwise, we may get caught up in our own good fortune and miss the incomparable Kingdom of God.  Read the parable that Jesus told about the Great Feast, as recorded in Luke chapter fourteen:

Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, "What a privilege it would be to have a share in the Kingdom of God!" 

Jesus replied with this illustration: "A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations.  When all was ready, he sent his servant around to notify the guests that it was time for them to come.  But they all began making excuses. One said he had just bought a field and wanted to inspect it, so he asked to be excused.  Another said he had just bought five pair of oxen and wanted to try them out.  Another had just been married, so he said he couldn't come. 

The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was angry and said, 'Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the city and invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.'   After the servant had done this, he reported, 'There is still room for more.'   So his master said, 'Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.  For none of those I invited first will get even the smallest taste of what I had prepared for them.'" (Verses 15-24)

Don’t get caught up in your property values… or the worth of your vehicles… or the joy of your marriage.  If you do, you may miss the call to the greatest feast of your life – entrance into the Kingdom of God. 

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

The "Do's" of our Relationship with God. Deuteronomy 5-6; Luke 13

May the mumbling commence!

After the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy chapter five, several points are hammered home.  A couple of them are don’ts the other two are do’s.  I would like to focus my thoughts on the two do’s.  Read a couple of passages from Deuteronomy chapter six:

"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.  And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.  And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today.  Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again.  Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead.  Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Verses 4-9)

The Lord God is the only Lord – the Lord alone.  Remember that.  Love the Lord with all you have.  This love is made real by obedience to the commands that God puts on our lives.

Repeat these laws and commands early and often.  Make sure your children hear them.  Make sure you explain the commands to the children.  Wear these commands on your sleeves – so to speak.  Tie them as a string around your finger or a headband around your forehead.  Engrave them on your doorposts and your gates.

Repetition is a part of remembering and a part of loving.

When your children ask you why, explain to them your past history with the Lord.  Read further from Deuteronomy chapter six:

"In the future your children will ask you, 'What is the meaning of these stipulations, laws, and regulations that the Lord our God has given us?'   Then you must tell them, 'We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with amazing power.  Before our eyes the Lord did miraculous signs and wonders, dealing terrifying blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his people.  He brought us out of Egypt so he could give us this land he had solemnly promised to give our ancestors.  And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these laws and to fear him for our own prosperity and well-being, as is now the case.  For we are righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us.' (Verses 20-25)

Recite the past history of Israel.  Add your own faith stories.  Anticipate with your children the new faith stories to come.

Living with the Lord is the only true living!  Living with the Lord as our guide is a guarantee of love over Law.  Jesus makes this point to the religious leaders of his day – who were too didactic with their observance of the Sabbath.  Read from Luke chapter thirteen:

One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight.  When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are healed of your sickness!"  Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised and thanked God! 

But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. "There are six days of the week for working," he said to the crowd. "Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath." 

But the Lord replied, "You hypocrite! You work on the Sabbath day! Don't you untie your ox or your donkey from their stalls on the Sabbath and lead them out for water?  Wasn't it necessary for me, even on the Sabbath day, to free this dear woman from the bondage in which Satan has held her for eighteen years?"  This shamed his enemies. And all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did. (Verses 10-17)

The Sabbath is to serve us in our relationship with the Lord.  If man-made rules get in the way, they must be jettisoned.  If the need to stay ahead of our neighbors, then we must lay this perceived need down to rightly observe the Sabbath. 

There needs to be a balance based upon relationship with the Lord and with our brothers and sisters.  If we stray one way of the other too much, we upset the balance God is calling us to have in our lives.  Indeed, Sabbath is a way of living.

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

Much Responsibility = Much Reward or Much Punishment. Deuteronomy 3-4; Luke 12

May the mumbling commence!

Sometimes, it is amazing the myopic vision we have.  When we look at the sins of other people, we tend to blame them for their own sin.  However, when we look at our own failings (notice I did not say sins), we tend to blame them on outside contributing factors.  Moses was no different.  Read from the end of Deuteronomy chapter three:

"At that time I said to Joshua, 'You have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. He will do the same to all the kingdoms on the west side of the Jordan.  Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the Lord your God will fight for you.' 

At that time I pleaded with the Lord and said, ‘O Sovereign Lord, I am your servant. You have only begun to show me your greatness and power. Is there any god in heaven or on earth who can perform such great deeds as yours?  Please let me cross the Jordan to see the wonderful land on the other side, the beautiful hill country and the Lebanon mountains.' 

"But the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he would not listen to me.  ‘That's enough!' he ordered.  ‘Speak of it no more.  You can go to Pisgah Peak and view the land in every direction, but you may not cross the Jordan River.  But commission Joshua and encourage him, for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He will give them the land you now see before you.'   So we stayed in the valley near Beth-peor.” (Verses 21-29)

We would hope that our spiritual leaders would be immune to our faults… our sins.  But they aren’t.  Moses pleaded with the Lord to be allowed to see the Promised Land.  Moses was not even confident enough to call it the Promised Land.  He called it the wonderful land.  “Please,” Moses said.  I can almost hear him say, “Pretty please, with sugar on top.”

But the Lord did not change His mind.  God had already told Moses that we would not enter the Promised Land (Numbers 20:12).  Moses tried to blame it on the people of Israel, but that was not the reason that the Lord forbade Moses and his brother Aaron from entering into the Promised Land. 

Yes, Israel was complaining about the lack of water.  Yes, Moses and Aaron went to the Lord for the answer.  The Lord gave them the answer.  They approached the people of Israel with the answer, but Moses, in his frustration with the people, struck the rock twice.  So?  The Lord had commanded him to speak to the rock, and Moses did not.  It was this lack of faith that prohibited Moses from entering the Promised Land – not the people.

Our spiritual leaders are important.  There is no doubt in my mind.  These leaders are given much responsibility and knowledge.  They are held to a higher level of accountability.  They have climbed high, so they have much further to fall than other Christians.  But that doesn’t totally make the entire body of Christ accountable.  Read from Luke chapter twelve:

Peter asked, "Lord, is this illustration just for us or for everyone?" 

And the Lord replied, "I'm talking to any faithful, sensible servant to whom the master gives the responsibility of managing his household and feeding his family.  If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward.  I assure you, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.  But if the servant thinks, 'My master won't be back for a while,' and begins oppressing the other servants, partying, and getting drunk – well, the master will return unannounced and unexpected. He will tear the servant apart and banish him with the unfaithful.  The servant will be severely punished, for though he knew his duty, he refused to do it. 

But people who are not aware that they are doing wrong will be punished only lightly. Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given.” (Verses 41-48)

Jesus told us to be ready for the return of our Master – of Lord Jesus.  And this time in the church year is all about waiting – Advent.  Will we use our knowledge and the responsibility that it brings well?  Or will we decide the Lord is late in coming and have fun at the expense of other people? 

If we do well, nothing that is the Lord’s will be held back from us.  If we do poorly, our punishment will be severe.  

So, let’s turn our myopic inaction into faithful and active waiting.

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

No Really - Don't Be Afraid! Deuteronomy 1-2; Luke 11

May the mumbling commence!

What does it take for us to learn?  What does it take for us to trust the leading of the Lord?  Doubt and fear have always been a part of the faith equation – at least when it comes to the human part of the quotient.  Read from Deuteronomy chapter one:

"But I said to you, 'Don't be afraid!  The Lord your God is going before you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt.  And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you again and again here in the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.'   But even after all he did, you refused to trust the Lord your God, who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you by a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud by day. 

When the Lord heard your complaining, he became very angry. So he solemnly swore, 'Not one of you from this entire wicked generation will live to see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see this land because he has followed the Lord completely. I will give to him and his descendants some of the land he walked over during his scouting mission.' 

And the Lord was also angry with me because of you. He said to me, 'You will never enter the Promised Land!  Instead, your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will lead the people into the land. Encourage him as he prepares to enter it.  I will give the land to your innocent children. You were afraid they would be captured, but they will be the ones who occupy it.  As for you, turn around now and go on back through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. ‘(Verses 29-40)

There it is again.  Don’t be afraid.  It is one of the most often repeated thoughts is the Bible.  Don’t be afraid. 

Yet fear is something we struggle with thousands of years later.  We have even more history with God – beyond the Exodus and the wilderness miracles.  Sure – the Lord no longer goes before us in a pillar of cloud and fire.  But, still, we have the miraculous work of Jesus to remember.  We have the gift that has been given to us.  We have the example of how to live a faithful life.

Yet still we fear.  In Deuteronomy chapter two, the Lord points Israel to the faith that other people had in God.  They were successful against odds that seemed to be stacked against them.  Why would it be any different for us?

Holding ourselves back from the call of the Lord is always disastrous.  Read from Luke chapter eleven:

"Anyone who isn't helping me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me. 

When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, 'I will return to the person I came from.'   So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and clean.  Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before." (Verses 23-26)

Sitting idly by is opposition.  Sitting idly by is working against the Lord.  Set fear aside.  Don’t be afraid.  Follow the call of the Lord despite the mountainous obstructions that seem to loom in that path.  Welcome the Spirit of the living God into your life.  God will provide.  Our Lord always has.  Why would this time be any different?

No, really – don’t be afraid.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Land and Blessings are to be Dealt Only by the Lord. Numbers 35-36; Luke 10

May the mumbling commence!

Land is a moral issue.  Oh, what it is to have a place for yourself!  That is why it is so important to keep land distribution fair.  To deny someone a place to be is to make them the most vulnerable person possible.  Read from Numbers chapter thirty-six.

Then the heads of the clan of Gilead – descendants of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph – came to Moses and the family leaders of Israel with a petition.  They said, "Sir, the Lord instructed you to divide the land by sacred lot among the people of Israel. You were told by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.  But if any of them marries a man from another tribe, their inheritance of land will go with them to the tribe into which they marry. In this way, the total area of our tribal land will be reduced.  Then when the Year of Jubilee comes, their inheritance of land will be added to that of the new tribe, causing it to be lost forever to our ancestral tribe." 

So Moses gave the Israelites this command from the Lord: "The men of the tribe of Joseph are right.  This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: Let them marry anyone they like, as long as it is within their own ancestral tribe.  None of the inherited land may pass from tribe to tribe, for the inheritance of every tribe must remain fixed as it was first allotted.  The daughters throughout the tribes of Israel who are in line to inherit property must marry within their tribe, so that all the Israelites will keep their ancestral property.  No inheritance may pass from one tribe to another; each tribe of Israel must hold on to its allotted inheritance of land." (Verses 1-9)

When exceptions are made, they also need further attention.  Such was the case with the daughters of Zelophehad.  The tribe of Manasseh was afraid that these women would marry out of their tribe.  If they did, then the land once given to the tribe of Manasseh would forever be transferred to the tribe of her husband.  The land for Manasseh (or whatever tribe was in a similar situation) would see their inheritance decrease.

Moses stepped in.  He commanded all women who inherited land from their fathers to marry only within their tribe.  For the daughters of Zelophehad, the command was not burdensome.  They married within their tribe… and continued the name of their father, as originally intended.

Yes, the way we deal with land and with one another is fundamental.  The land after all belongs to the Lord.  Just as the blessing of the Lord is offered to everyone – regardless of their response to it.  Read from Luke chapter ten:

The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them on ahead in pairs to all the towns and villages he planned to visit.  These were his instructions to them: "The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. Pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest, and ask him to send out more workers for his fields.  Go now, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.  Don't take along any money, or a traveler's bag, or even an extra pair of sandals. And don't stop to greet anyone on the road. 

Whenever you enter a home, give it your blessing.  If those who live there are worthy, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you.  When you enter a town, don't move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide you. Don't hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay. 

If a town welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you and heal the sick. As you heal them, say, 'The Kingdom of God is near you now.'   But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 'We wipe the dust of your town from our feet as a public announcement of your doom. And don't forget the Kingdom of God is near!'” (Verses 1-11)

The Lord Jesus sends us ahead.  We represent Christ to the people we come across.  We are to bring God’s Good News to the people wherever we go.  Whether or not they accept that message is immaterial.  The Kingdom of God is near.  Will we seek to enter the Kingdom or will it pass us by? 

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Giving God a Blank Check. Numbers 33-34; Luke 9

May the mumbling commence!

When we are about to begin a new chapter in our lives, it is good to remember where we have come from.  In chapter thirty-three of Numbers there is a good and brief synopsis of the exodus to remind Israel of where they had come from as they were about to start claiming the Promised Land.  Read it below:

This is the itinerary the Israelites followed as they marched out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.  At the Lord's direction, Moses kept a written record of their progress. These are the stages of their march, identified by the different places they stopped along the way. 

They set out from the city of Rameses on the morning after the first Passover celebration in early spring. The people of Israel left defiantly, in full view of all the Egyptians.  Meanwhile, the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn sons, whom the Lord had killed the night before. The Lord had defeated the gods of Egypt that night with great acts of judgment! (Verses 1-4)

Israel would encounter gods a plenty in the land of Canaan.  If they remember where they came from, they would know that other gods could not stand before the living Lord God of Israel.  They had no need to fear.  They have been bought at a price.  They owe God their allegiance and their lives. 

May we be as quick to remember the work that Christ Jesus completed for us when we embark on new challenges and opportunities in our lives.  May we be willing to count the cost.  May we be willing to follow.  Read from Luke chapter nine:

As they were walking along someone said to Jesus, "I will follow you no matter where you go." 

But Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but I, the Son of Man, have no home of my own, not even a place to lay my head." 

He said to another person, "Come, be my disciple."

The man agreed, but he said, "Lord, first let me return home and bury my father." 

Jesus replied, "Let those who are spiritually dead care for their own dead. Your duty is to go and preach the coming of the Kingdom of God." 

Another said, "Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family." 

But Jesus told him, "Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God." (Verses 57-62)

Serving Jesus can mean that we will not only look homelessness in the face but we will also live that life from time to time.  It means that we are always looking for the nation that we truly belong to – the Kingdom of God.  Serving Jesus sometimes means leaving your genetic family behind.  Serving Jesus means taking the plow of the Gospel and not looking back – as Lot’s wife did, and she turned into a pillar of salt.

Let’s give God the blank check that is our life.  Do with me; do with us, what you please.  We will follow regardless of the cost, knowing that our loving Lord will always provide for our needs (but not our greed).

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Selfless Before Our Brothers and Sisters; Numbers 28-32

May the mumbling commence!

It is nice when you find a home.  But that home will not be comfortable until all of the family is settled.  The tribe of Reuben and Gad liked the land east of the Jordan River.  They wanted to settle there for the benefit of their flocks and herds, their women and children.  Read how the relationship developed in Numbers chapter thirty-two:

Now the tribes of Reuben and Gad owned vast numbers of livestock. So when they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideally suited for their flocks and herds, they came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the other leaders of the people. They said, "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon – the Lord has conquered this whole area for the people of Israel. It is ideally suited for all our flocks and herds.  If we have found favor with you, please let us have this land as our property instead of giving us land across the Jordan River." 

"Do you mean you want to stay back here while your brothers go across and do all the fighting?" Moses asked the Reubenites and Gadites.  "Are you trying to discourage the rest of the people of Israel from going across to the land the Lord has given them?  This is what your ancestors did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land.  After they went up to the valley of Eshcol and scouted the land, they discouraged the people of Israel from entering the land the Lord was giving them.  Then the Lord was furious with them, and he vowed, 'Of all those I rescued from Egypt, no one who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I solemnly promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they have not obeyed me completely.  The only exceptions are Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they have wholeheartedly followed the Lord.' 

The Lord was furious with Israel and made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until the whole generation that sinned against him had died.  But here you are, a brood of sinners, doing exactly the same thing! You are making the Lord even angrier with Israel.  If you turn away from him like this and he abandons them again in the wilderness, you will be responsible for destroying this entire nation!" 

But they responded to Moses, "We simply want to build sheepfolds for our flocks and fortified cities for our wives and children.  Then we will arm ourselves and lead our fellow Israelites into battle until we have brought them safely to their inheritance. Meanwhile, our families will stay in the fortified cities we build here, so they will be safe from any attacks by the local people.  We will not return to our homes until all the people of Israel have received their inheritance of land.  But we do not want any of the land on the other side of the Jordan. We would rather live here on the east side where we have received our inheritance." (Verses 1-19)

The fighting men of the tribes of Reuben and Gad were not allowed to stay behind.  It might discourage the other tribes.  It might banish them to the wilderness again.  The whole nation of Israel might perish.  Their choice to stay east of the River Jordan was not permissible.

Reuben and Gad replied as one: We will leave behind our wives and children, our flocks and herds.  We will go across the River Jordan with our brothers.  We will lead them into battle – even though our inheritance is already given to us.  They would not hide in the rear of the oncoming armies.  They would be on the front lines.  They were willing to give up their lives for their brothers who still needed a place to call home, a land of their own.

What selflessness!  May we be so willing to sacrifice for our Christian brothers and sisters!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out