The Cycle

"When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely."  Judges 1:28

Reading the book of Judges makes me think of a roller coaster because the Israelites had so many ups and downs during that era.  God had given them the land of Canaan and had apparently told them to drive the Canaanites out of the land.  The Israelites defeated many of the Canaanites but not all of them, and God warned His people that the Canaanite's gods would become snares to them.

The Israelites served God as they had promised through the lifetimes of Joshua and those who had led the people under him.  But after their deaths a cycle began.  They forsook God and worshiped the gods of the Canaanites.  Then God allowed their enemies to overtake them and plunder them.  In their distress they cried out to God for help.  God would send a judge to rescue them, and they would serve God during the lifetime of that judge.  But when that judge died, they would fall into idol worship again.  This happened over and over and over. 

Sometimes we can be like those Israelites.  We can go our own way and do our own thing, ignoring God and chasing after worldly gods like power, wealth, and fame.  Then we get into trouble, and in our distress or desperation we cry out to God for help.  We may make some promises to God of what we will or will not do if God will just rescue us.  When He hears our cries and saves us, how do we react?  With gratitude or indifference?  Do we keep any promises we have made, and/or follow God and His will, or do we turn our backs on God again?  Is there an up and down cycle of obedience and disobedience in our lives?  Hopefully we will learn from the lives of the Israelites in Judges to always follow and worship God and Him alone.

Father, thank You so much that You hear and answer our prayers.  Thank You for the many times You have rescued us when we have cried out in helplessness to You.  May we follow You and Your plans for our lives, walking in obedience to You and worshiping You and You only.  Amen.

We Reap What We Sow

"Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the leaders who outlived him--those who had personally experienced all that the Lord had done for Israel."  Joshua 24:31

After Joshua died, the Israelites continued to take possession of the land that God had given them.  They did well, because they asked God what the battle plan was, and they followed His instructions.  All too often I find that I make my plans and then ask God to bless them.  I need to follow this example of the Israelites and ask God to show me His plans for me and then carry those plans out.

The Bible tells us very clearly that we will reap what we sow, and nature bears this law out.  We find this truth reinforced over and over,  especially in farming.  If we sow beans, beans come up.  If we sow squash, we don't get corn or okra--we get squash.  If we have sown some wild oats and dread to see the plants from those seeds, it doesn't do any good to pray for crop failure.  Those seeds will sprout and bear their harvest.  If we want our lives to have good fruit, we must plant good seeds.

There is a very interesting example of the law of the harvest in Judges 1:6-7.  In this case a king named Adoni-Besek reaped very specifically from an act he had sown.  The Israelites fought against his army and defeated them.  Adoni-Besek escaped, but the Israelites  captured him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.  This was a practice which prevented warriors from being able to fight.  Adoni-Besek recognized the poetic justice of this act, because he said,  "I once had seventy kings with thumbs and big toes cut off, eating scraps from under my table.  Now God has paid me back for what I did to them."  Joshua 1:7a

Some people will have gardens full of weeds and thistles.  Others will have gardens filled with beautiful, fragrant blooms and luscious fruit.  What are you planting in your garden by your attitudes and your daily habits?

"Although the wicked flourish, like weeds, and evildoers blossom with success, there is only eternal destruction ahead of them.  But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow like the cedars of Lebanon.....Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green."  Psalms 92:7, 12, 14

Sin in the Camp

“One sinner destroys much good.” Ecclesiastes 9:18

God had clearly explained all His instructions about Jericho.  Everything in the city was to be devoted to God.  Joshua 6:18-19, 24,  “‘But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury’...Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house.”  Prior to the destruction of Jericho the Israelites were allowed to take the spoils of victory for themselves, and they were also permitted to do this after the battle at Jericho.  But Jericho represented the first fruits of the land of Canaan, and the first fruits belonged to God.

The great victory at Jericho gave the confidence of Joshua and the Israelites a big boost.  They were ready to invade the town of Ai next.  But there was a problem of which they were unaware.  There was sin in the camp.  One person had disobeyed God’s instructions.  His sin caused defeat at Ai and the deaths of thirty six soldiers, his family, and himself.  Achan paid a very high price for things he never had the opportunity to enjoy.

Joshua sent some men to spy out Ai.  They advised Joshua to send only 2,000 or 3,000 men because there weren’t many people in Ai.  Three thousand men were sent, but they were defeated and thirty six were killed.  Joshua took the situation to God.  God told Joshua the reason for the defeat was that one of the Israelites had disobeyed God and taken some of the devoted things for himself.

God gave Joshua a plan for discovering the sinner.  On the following day, the Israelites were to present themselves by tribes.  The tribe the Lord selected would then come forward by clans.  The selected clan would come forward by families, and then the man who had sinned would be discovered.  Joshua did exactly as God instructed.  Imagine how Achan must have felt as the finger of God came closer and closer to pointing him out.  How foolish any of us are if we try to hide anything from an all-seeing God.

Achan, his family, and their animals were stoned to death.  We cannot sin without adversely affecting other people.  Wiersbe, “Never underestimate the damage one person can do outside the will of God.”

Father, may I never forget that no person sins unto himself.  Help me to obey You.  Amen.

God's Everything

"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness."  Colossians 2:9-10a

The Reverend Ron Dunn used to say,  "Jesus is God's everything!"  The earmarks of our Christmas celebration highlight some of the major needs of man, and they are fulfilled in Jesus.

We string lights on our Christmas trees and our houses in an effort to counter the darkness of a sinful, painful world and the starkness of our everyday existence.  Jesus is the Light of this dark, evil world, and He brings goodness, brightness, and cheerfulness to our day-to-day lives.  Just as we use bright colors in ribbon, wrapping paper, and decorations, Jesus colors our lives with hope, peace, and joy.

Think of the wonderful, familiar music of Christmas.  Jesus brings music to the souls of those who walk closely with Him.

We give gifts in an effort to express recognition, appreciation, and love in a tangible way.  God has given us the greatest Gift ever given to show us how high and deep and wide His love is for us.  At Christmas we give generously to those who are less fortunate materially, and God gives to us, not only generously, but lavishly.  In fact, all good gifts ultimately come from God.

During the holidays we gather with family and friends with a desire to be loved.  Just as we are born into a physical family when we are babies, when we become Christians, God places us into His forever family with many brothers and sisters.  The fatherhood of God presupposes the brotherhood of man.  And Jesus is our Best Friend who sticks with us through all the parts of life.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the supernatural, the miraculous entered this natural world.  When we light the Christ candle on the Advent Wreath, or as we ponder how we have celebrated the coming of Christ into the world, let us remember always that He is our Light, our Hope, our Peace, our Joy, our Love, our Gift, our Best Friend, and our Miracle--our Everything.

Father, thank You for the gift of Jesus and everything You have given us with Him.  Amen.

Love in Action

"Greater love has no man than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."  John 15:13

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8

The world thinks of love as a sentimental, mushy kind of feeling.  Often worldly love is love because--you are attractive, etc., or love if--you do what pleases me, etc.  But Biblical love is love in spite of.  I loved my husband in spite of the fact that he was messy.  He loved me in spite of my tendency to pout when I was not pleased.  We loved each other in spite of all our shortcomings.

Biblical love is an action verb.  Biblical love forgives.  Proverbs 10:12 says,  "Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs."  Ephesians 4:32 instructs us to "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."  Notice the actions, both what to do and what not to do, in the familiar passage of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7,  "Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."  Biblical love is tough.  It hangs in there when the going gets rough.  If you want to know how you are doing in loving Biblically, put your name everywhere these verses say "love" and read this passage.  Are all these things true of you?

Biblical love encourages.  There are givers and there are takers in life.  Those who love Biblically are primarily givers.  Love is unselfish.  It focuses on others and sincerely cares about them.  Jesus told us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  1 Corinthians 8:1b says, "Knowledge puffs up while love builds up.” Hebrews 10:24-25a has this message,  "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another..."

Biblical love sacrifices.  "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8.  The highest expression of love man has ever known occurred when Jesus left heaven with all his glory and honor there to come to earth in the form of a man, subjecting His deity to humanity's limitations and dying on the cross for us.  That's what love looks like in action.

Father, since You have loved us, make us willing to allow You to love others through us with Your love.  Amen.

Jesus Gives Us Joy

"But the angel said to them,  "Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people."  Luke 2:10

The coming of Jesus into the world is an event which brings us joy deep within our hearts. Jesus told His disciples,  "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11) What did Jesus tell His disciples that brought them such joy? The verses that precede John 15:11 answer our question. They say,  "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in His love." (John 15:9-10)  This is great good news--the omnipotent God who created and sustains this vast universe loves us. These words of Jesus are for us as well as for His disciples.

How should we respond to such a great love from God Himself? Scripture gives us direction. Psalm 47:1 says, "Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy..."  Verses 1-2 in Psalm 66 say, "Shout for joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious." Isaiah 12:5 exhorts us to "Sing to the Lord, for He has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world."

Not only do we rejoice and worship and praise God, but we pass the wonder of it all on to others. Paul said to Philemon, "Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord's people." (Philemon 1:7) Is there someone who needs your encouragement today?

We walk in obedience to God's commands because He loves us and we love Him. John wrote in 2 John 1:4, "It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.”

The book of Jude closes with a beautiful doxology of praise which stems from the joy Jesus gives to those who are His. May it lead us in our worship of the Lord today.

Jude 1:24-25, "To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore.  Amen.”

Maintaining Peace

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful."  Colossians 3:12-15

Peace is an elusive commodity in this old world.  From suicide bombers and all the other terrorist acts overseas to fractured relationships with other people to the tragedies of life that may befall us, it seems that the disturbance of peace lurks around every corner.  Is there anything we can do to keep peace in our lives?

There are several aspects to peace.  For instance, there are many calamities of life which we are helpless to prevent, but trusting God through the ones that come to us helps us go through them with peace in our hearts.  God promises to give His perfect peace to those who put their trust in Him. We need to keep our peace with God by obeying His commands and confessing and repenting right away when we sin.

One of the most painful disturbances of our peace comes when we quarrel with someone we love.  It helps us maintain a peaceful life when we deal with love, compassion, mercy, and forgiveness to the people in our lives.  We are particularly exhorted to keep the unity and the peace which Jesus has given to His body, the church.  We have some important bonds with our fellow believers.  D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said,  "We are all equally sinners...We are all equally helpless...We have all come to one and the same Savior...We have the same salvation...We have the same Holy Spirit...We have the same Father...And finally, we are all marching and going together to the same eternal home.  It is a knowledge and appreciation of these things that will draw us together."

So, not only do I wish you a Merry Christmas, but I wish you a Christmas filled with God's peace in your heart and in your relationships.

Father, thank You for that peace that passes understanding that is available to us.  What a precious gift.  Amen.