Ps 78:68-72 "Mount Zion, which he loved. 69 He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever. 70 He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; 71 from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. 72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them." NIV
Where does God find a leader? Does God look in the palaces of the rich or the classrooms of the elite schools of the earth? No, God looks in out of the way places, places such as the little town of Bethlehem, or a village called Nazareth. He looks in the fields amongst the sheep or the carpenter’s shop along the road or maybe at the seaside amongst the fishing boats where the men are repairing their nets. Maybe even amongst the corrupted business men of the city or the violent haters of Christ. God is perplexing for His ways at times because He chooses the weak things, the base things of the world to put to silence the wisdom of the wise. God takes the lowly and imparts His Holy Spirit to them, transforming them into men and women of a different kind than the world can understand. God constantly chooses those that the world overlooks. His eye is searching for the perfect vessel for personal transformation and then He molds them into vessels of Honor.
Could God be searching for you today? The Lord found a man amongst the sheep. He was a young man, a man overlooked by his own father, a man who spent more time alone than amongst the great. The Lord found a man who knew how to worship. The Lord found a man who knew how to serve faithfully with no audience, no praise of men. The Lord found a man who faced his fears and took a stand against the lion and the bear because of his faithful commitment to protect the sheep under his charge. True greatness is found in the character of a man’s heart, not the extent of his talents. God’s delight in His servant David was centered around the fact that David’s heart looked a lot like God’s heart. God even said so in Acts 13:22 “After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'” You see men with great ability are able to do great things but they are not always willing to do the right things. David’s qualification was that God saw in Him a man who would do the right things with the position of influence He had been entrusted with.
Many men use their positions of power and influence to serve their own agendas. God is looking for those who will live submitted to His will and obedient to His purposes. In David the Lord found such a man. What will He find when He looks at you. II Ch. 16:9 teaches us that the eyes of the Lord are ever searching the earth to find those whose hearts are truly devoted to God. He is searching for that man or woman who will live yielded, that person whose primary agenda is to live pleasing to the Lord, and when He finds such a man He places His Spirit upon them and begins to shape a train them for His purposes. He takes them from the most unusual places and molds them for His purposes. Did David know what He was getting into? Did Joseph understand that slavery and imprisonment were part of the plan God had ordained for him? Did Moses realize that raising his sheep and his family in the desert was not the end but in reality the beginning? God’s means of shaping a leader is contrary to our understanding. Perhaps the wilderness that you are in is really God’s bible college and the trial you are facing is just your next lesson on the path to great things in God. Trust in Him and know that He is shaping you for His purposes and for His glory. Yield to Him today and embrace the work that He is doing in you to make you a vessel of honor!
Friday
John 20:21-22 - August 14, 2009
Jn 20:21-22 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."
God wants to give us more power….TODAY!
In the last couple devotionals, we have looked at the dialogue between Jesus and Peter in John 21, and considered how the Lord works in each of us to reach and empower our true identity, freeing us from lack of trust, sin and rebellion, so that we can live in full loyalty and allegiance to Jesus Christ as he leads us each in our personal lives. Do you truly love me more than these? This is the question we are faced with everyday of our lives. Once we have settled our answer in our own spirits and in response to the Lord, the working out of this is a lifelong process. But it is in such a process, our daily lives, that we have to remember that God is right alongside us, and has every resource we need to live lives “loving Jesus more than these.”
As it is a process, God knows we simply need his power in our lives continuously, like the air we breathe. Especially there are moments and seasons in life when we simply need a super boost of power from the Spirit to carry us forward. Some mornings that extra shot of espresso is exactly what the barista ordered! We need the breath of Jesus (John 20:22) causing us to come alive, to be reinvigorated with hope and possibility. I am not simply talking about the continual dependence upon the breath of God, nor am I simply talking about the moment of re-birth of the Spirit (John 3:3-8), though when Jesus breaths upon his disciples he clearly has in mind the background of the first creation when God breathed into the first man, to show that he is breathing into the new humanity, re-born by his Spirit. That wonderful reality assures us that in Christ we are children of God (Romans 8:9-17), and we can live in freedom and joy, and, Oh Hallelujah, there is power in that knowledge alone!
But no, I am talking about those times when we simply need the Spirit of God to work in our lives in a fresh and revitalizing way, giving power to believe again, giving power to apply the truth of God’s Word experientially to our lives, and empowering us to move forward at critical junctures. Maybe it is that we have begun to doubt that we are really children of God. Well, my friends, this is where we need that fresh clothing of the Spirit, who affirms the truth in our inner beings, “You truly do belong to God!” With that re-affirmation, the accuser is silenced, and we are freshly energized and re-charged to go out and pursue the dream God has sung over our lives. Hallelujah! At other times, we might subtly begin to depend on our own strength until we become like a car running for too long on little or old oil. We need that divine oil change and tune up! And then at other times we notice that we are moving forward in our lives, yet we find that it appears we don’t know how to anymore, and our once-fresh vision begins to collect dust, being out of answers and frustrated as to how to make into reality the dreams we know are from God.
Though God ordains every season in his perfect and wise plan of maturing and refining us, there comes those time when simply we put up our sails and say, Lord you must blow a fresh wind if this boat is going to move! My turbo engine is in idle and it’s time to rev that engine up and accelerate! Jesus never expected us to move in inch in the right direction “apart from me” (John 15:5) and he doesn’t expect us to live without a fresh work of his Spirit for specific times and seasons we may find ourselves in. We all come to those points where we need such divine boosts – whether it is like Jehoshaphat calling upon the Lord as his only hope in battle (2 Chronicles 20:9), or like the early disciples who had special moments of need from the Spirit to pioneer the course God has set before them (Acts 2:1-4; 4:31). And you know what, God wants to give us that boost more than we could imagine. Would you ask the Lord today for that empowerment from on High that you need? And he breathed upon them…
God wants to give us more power….TODAY!
In the last couple devotionals, we have looked at the dialogue between Jesus and Peter in John 21, and considered how the Lord works in each of us to reach and empower our true identity, freeing us from lack of trust, sin and rebellion, so that we can live in full loyalty and allegiance to Jesus Christ as he leads us each in our personal lives. Do you truly love me more than these? This is the question we are faced with everyday of our lives. Once we have settled our answer in our own spirits and in response to the Lord, the working out of this is a lifelong process. But it is in such a process, our daily lives, that we have to remember that God is right alongside us, and has every resource we need to live lives “loving Jesus more than these.”
As it is a process, God knows we simply need his power in our lives continuously, like the air we breathe. Especially there are moments and seasons in life when we simply need a super boost of power from the Spirit to carry us forward. Some mornings that extra shot of espresso is exactly what the barista ordered! We need the breath of Jesus (John 20:22) causing us to come alive, to be reinvigorated with hope and possibility. I am not simply talking about the continual dependence upon the breath of God, nor am I simply talking about the moment of re-birth of the Spirit (John 3:3-8), though when Jesus breaths upon his disciples he clearly has in mind the background of the first creation when God breathed into the first man, to show that he is breathing into the new humanity, re-born by his Spirit. That wonderful reality assures us that in Christ we are children of God (Romans 8:9-17), and we can live in freedom and joy, and, Oh Hallelujah, there is power in that knowledge alone!
But no, I am talking about those times when we simply need the Spirit of God to work in our lives in a fresh and revitalizing way, giving power to believe again, giving power to apply the truth of God’s Word experientially to our lives, and empowering us to move forward at critical junctures. Maybe it is that we have begun to doubt that we are really children of God. Well, my friends, this is where we need that fresh clothing of the Spirit, who affirms the truth in our inner beings, “You truly do belong to God!” With that re-affirmation, the accuser is silenced, and we are freshly energized and re-charged to go out and pursue the dream God has sung over our lives. Hallelujah! At other times, we might subtly begin to depend on our own strength until we become like a car running for too long on little or old oil. We need that divine oil change and tune up! And then at other times we notice that we are moving forward in our lives, yet we find that it appears we don’t know how to anymore, and our once-fresh vision begins to collect dust, being out of answers and frustrated as to how to make into reality the dreams we know are from God.
Though God ordains every season in his perfect and wise plan of maturing and refining us, there comes those time when simply we put up our sails and say, Lord you must blow a fresh wind if this boat is going to move! My turbo engine is in idle and it’s time to rev that engine up and accelerate! Jesus never expected us to move in inch in the right direction “apart from me” (John 15:5) and he doesn’t expect us to live without a fresh work of his Spirit for specific times and seasons we may find ourselves in. We all come to those points where we need such divine boosts – whether it is like Jehoshaphat calling upon the Lord as his only hope in battle (2 Chronicles 20:9), or like the early disciples who had special moments of need from the Spirit to pioneer the course God has set before them (Acts 2:1-4; 4:31). And you know what, God wants to give us that boost more than we could imagine. Would you ask the Lord today for that empowerment from on High that you need? And he breathed upon them…
Thursday
John 21:15-17,20-22 - August 13, 2009
John 21:15-17, 20-22 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.” . . . . Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them . . . . “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered him, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”
In Yesterday’s devotional we looked at the brief conversation between Jesus and Peter in John 21:15-17. We pondered how the Lord works in our lives and uses our hopes and disappointments to mature us and make room for his personally-tailored question that probes to the core of our identity, “Do you Love me?” Today, let’s continue looking at how the Lord reaches the core of our being in order to empower us to be who he created us to be.
What is amazing about Jesus is that he is masterful in reaching us each where we are at and causing us to address the very root of the issues that cause us to stumble. When Peter denied Jesus three times, he did so in the fear of man. This was a manifestation that at this specific point he had an allegiance higher than to Jesus in his heart – an allegiance to the thoughts of man and what man could do. These things Jesus explicitly taught his disciples not to fear (Mt. 10:28). Of course, Jesus knows such fear does not disappear by the “that was easy” Staples' button! Instead, as we looked at yesterday, Jesus must take Peter on a journey, like all of us, of facing his own lack of trust and sinfulness, in order to reverse that power. It’s the way of the cross before resurrection.
Now consider Jesus’ “personally tailored” probing of Peter to bring about this reversal. John’s Gospel records that it was in the context of warming himself by “burning coals” that he denies Jesus (Jn. 18:18). This original word behind “burning coals” occurs only twice in the whole New Testament, and both times in John’s Gospel. It occurs at Peter’s denial and, you guessed it, when Jesus restores Peter. A few verses prior (v.9) Jesus had prepared the burning coals with fish on them in Chapter 21. Jesus is setting the table, not just for breakfast!, but for restoration and healing, which will require Peter going back to that moment of lack of trust, denial, and allegiance to the fear and thoughts of man.
With Peter’s emotions rushing back to the moment of his denial, Jesus asks him, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” (v.15) What could “these” refer to? I think immediately he was referring to the fish that he had just provided for Peter – the fish that would have represented Peter’s life and vocation before Jesus had called him. What’s more is that Jesus does, after all, address Peter not by “Peter” the name Jesus gave him when he called him (Jn. 1:42), but as “Simon, son of John,” the name Peter’s father had given him prior to his call. It is no wonder that Peter was hurt even as Jesus persisted in asking him if he loved him. Maybe Peter had been tempted to sulk in his own guilt and depression and retreat to his former life of fishing. In 1st century Palestine, the old saying holds true, “like father, like son.” Peter was to be a fisherman. And if we are honest, at some point, we have all wanted to run to a safe place in our past out of fear and not wanting to face ourselves and our deep-rooted failures and insecurities. Was Jesus testing him? I think so, but redemptively as always.
But it really wasn’t the fish that Jesus was getting at. Jesus was getting at Peter’s wholehearted allegiance. Even after Jesus restores him in this passage, and proclaims his shepherdly commission, Peter still finds himself being concerned with others in a competing manner– “well Jesus, that’s nice, but what about him?” (vv.20-22) But Jesus responds, “O Peter, what about him? You must follow me!” Wherever we have competing allegiances in our lives, the Lord Jesus will persist in gaining our total allegiance to him. It matters not that my circumstance is different than yours, or that they have it easier than me. No. What matters is in that place, “Do you love me more than these?” He will pursue us in his personally-tailored way, because he loves each of us with that love that drove him to the cross on our behalf, shedding the blood by which he purchased us, and he will stop at nothing until we are the free, God-glorifying, joy-filled, kingdom bringing people that we were created to be.
And, Peter, who once denied Jesus in the fear of man, who even while being restored focused not on the One restoring him but on comparing himself to another, would write with passion of the overcoming grace of Jesus (1 & 2 Peter) and who would give his life in supreme allegiance to Jesus, there nailing on his own cross all the other allegiances he once held dear, and thereby glorifying God in the utmost way that still reverberates throughout the heavens to this day (v.19). Will you allow Jesus’ probing question to go even deeper, and have its way today, “Do you truly love me more than these? You must follow me!"
In Yesterday’s devotional we looked at the brief conversation between Jesus and Peter in John 21:15-17. We pondered how the Lord works in our lives and uses our hopes and disappointments to mature us and make room for his personally-tailored question that probes to the core of our identity, “Do you Love me?” Today, let’s continue looking at how the Lord reaches the core of our being in order to empower us to be who he created us to be.
What is amazing about Jesus is that he is masterful in reaching us each where we are at and causing us to address the very root of the issues that cause us to stumble. When Peter denied Jesus three times, he did so in the fear of man. This was a manifestation that at this specific point he had an allegiance higher than to Jesus in his heart – an allegiance to the thoughts of man and what man could do. These things Jesus explicitly taught his disciples not to fear (Mt. 10:28). Of course, Jesus knows such fear does not disappear by the “that was easy” Staples' button! Instead, as we looked at yesterday, Jesus must take Peter on a journey, like all of us, of facing his own lack of trust and sinfulness, in order to reverse that power. It’s the way of the cross before resurrection.
Now consider Jesus’ “personally tailored” probing of Peter to bring about this reversal. John’s Gospel records that it was in the context of warming himself by “burning coals” that he denies Jesus (Jn. 18:18). This original word behind “burning coals” occurs only twice in the whole New Testament, and both times in John’s Gospel. It occurs at Peter’s denial and, you guessed it, when Jesus restores Peter. A few verses prior (v.9) Jesus had prepared the burning coals with fish on them in Chapter 21. Jesus is setting the table, not just for breakfast!, but for restoration and healing, which will require Peter going back to that moment of lack of trust, denial, and allegiance to the fear and thoughts of man.
With Peter’s emotions rushing back to the moment of his denial, Jesus asks him, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” (v.15) What could “these” refer to? I think immediately he was referring to the fish that he had just provided for Peter – the fish that would have represented Peter’s life and vocation before Jesus had called him. What’s more is that Jesus does, after all, address Peter not by “Peter” the name Jesus gave him when he called him (Jn. 1:42), but as “Simon, son of John,” the name Peter’s father had given him prior to his call. It is no wonder that Peter was hurt even as Jesus persisted in asking him if he loved him. Maybe Peter had been tempted to sulk in his own guilt and depression and retreat to his former life of fishing. In 1st century Palestine, the old saying holds true, “like father, like son.” Peter was to be a fisherman. And if we are honest, at some point, we have all wanted to run to a safe place in our past out of fear and not wanting to face ourselves and our deep-rooted failures and insecurities. Was Jesus testing him? I think so, but redemptively as always.
But it really wasn’t the fish that Jesus was getting at. Jesus was getting at Peter’s wholehearted allegiance. Even after Jesus restores him in this passage, and proclaims his shepherdly commission, Peter still finds himself being concerned with others in a competing manner– “well Jesus, that’s nice, but what about him?” (vv.20-22) But Jesus responds, “O Peter, what about him? You must follow me!” Wherever we have competing allegiances in our lives, the Lord Jesus will persist in gaining our total allegiance to him. It matters not that my circumstance is different than yours, or that they have it easier than me. No. What matters is in that place, “Do you love me more than these?” He will pursue us in his personally-tailored way, because he loves each of us with that love that drove him to the cross on our behalf, shedding the blood by which he purchased us, and he will stop at nothing until we are the free, God-glorifying, joy-filled, kingdom bringing people that we were created to be.
And, Peter, who once denied Jesus in the fear of man, who even while being restored focused not on the One restoring him but on comparing himself to another, would write with passion of the overcoming grace of Jesus (1 & 2 Peter) and who would give his life in supreme allegiance to Jesus, there nailing on his own cross all the other allegiances he once held dear, and thereby glorifying God in the utmost way that still reverberates throughout the heavens to this day (v.19). Will you allow Jesus’ probing question to go even deeper, and have its way today, “Do you truly love me more than these? You must follow me!"
Wednesday
John 21:15-17 - August 12, 2009
John 21:15-17 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."
The Lord’s Loving Summon
Oh what a loving Lord we serve! Sometimes in the trials and delays of life, we often wonder where the Lord is. What are you doing Lord? Lord, I didn’t expect things to unfold this way. I didn’t know it would be so hard. And I didn’t really believe that I was actually this weak! (I can somehow hear the echo of ‘amen’s’ while I type!) But it is in such seasons where the Lord is making room to ask us afresh “Do you love me?” Let’s just consider Peter for a moment. Peter was zealous for the Lord. From the very beginning he leaped at the opportunity to follow Jesus. “Yes!” Peter thundered in his spirit, “this is who John the Baptist proclaimed. I will follow you!” And later, with his lips, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God!” Peter with full sincerity believed that through Jesus, God was finally going to overthrow the wicked Romans, and that Peter would have his hand fighting in God’s army! In his zeal without knowledge, Peter even declared that he would never deny Jesus at the cost of his own life.
In the midst of your own dreams, your own failures, and rebellion, have you given up on the call of God? Do you want simply to throw in the towel, look back on your former days of zeal as simple childhood enthusiasm and nonsense? If you do, you are not alone. But, before you go that route, jump back into the narrative and walk along side Peter once again. Hear the Lord’s summons afresh: “Peter, do you love me?”
Tuesday
Psalm 78:38-39 - August 11, 2009
Ps 78:38-39 "Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath. 39 He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return." NIV
If only we understood the measure of God’s patient mercy! The opening words of verse 38 are striking in context to the list of offenses that Israel had committed against the Lord. Great transgressions, inconceivable degrees of unbelief following unprecedented measures of God’s supernatural assistance would seem to call for a swift and severe response of judgment if simply viewed from the level of human reaction. Our natural tendency in the face of such callousness would almost certainly be to “throw them to the lions” as they say. But the psalmist confidently declares “And yet He was merciful…” What a statement of God’s patience and character. The typical human reaction would be centered in a personal offense at how our kindness and provision was disdained and neglected but God’s way is so far above that of mankind! When faced with such a response He chooses to display the measure of His mercy not the measure of His wrath. The psalmist continues, “He forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time He restrained His anger and did not stir up His full wrath.”
Jesus taught His disciples a lesson on forgiveness. When asked how many times they should forgive someone who transgresses against them He instructed them to forgive “70 x7”. This same patience is displayed in the response of God. The psalmist reports that time after time God restrained His response of anger and wrath. Oh that we would live with such self- control. How many of us are so ruled by our spirit instead of our human emotions that we can repeatedly restrain our responses when faced with the sinfulness of others in our lives? “And yet He was merciful!” May our hearts be shaped by that mercy that always triumphs over judgment. May our words be molded by the patience of God.
How can God express such patient mercy in the face of such neglect and disrespect for His kindness? What is the secret to His restraint? It is simply understanding. Because God knows man for what He is: fallen and in need of a savior, God is able to reach out a hand of love to call him back to himself. Even though His holiness calls for justice, His love calls for mercy because He is mindful of us. In verse 39 the psalmist reflects on God’s conscious response to man’s humanity! “He remembered that they were but flesh.” What a powerful key for compassion; the remembrance of man’s condition. What a contrast between a Godly response and a carnal response. Our tendency is typically to respond based on what has been done to us or to others. God’s response includes a sincere consideration of man’s weakness and nature before He responds to their deeds. This is the secret of true compassion, awareness! When we look beyond the deed to the driving forces behind the deed, it doesn’t make the deed acceptable but our response is now tempered with mercy instead of judgment. It is as simple as the old saying, “don’t judge a man until you walk a mile in his shoes.” God walked more than a mile for us… He walked all the way to Calvary. Will you follow Him to a heart
of mercy?
If only we understood the measure of God’s patient mercy! The opening words of verse 38 are striking in context to the list of offenses that Israel had committed against the Lord. Great transgressions, inconceivable degrees of unbelief following unprecedented measures of God’s supernatural assistance would seem to call for a swift and severe response of judgment if simply viewed from the level of human reaction. Our natural tendency in the face of such callousness would almost certainly be to “throw them to the lions” as they say. But the psalmist confidently declares “And yet He was merciful…” What a statement of God’s patience and character. The typical human reaction would be centered in a personal offense at how our kindness and provision was disdained and neglected but God’s way is so far above that of mankind! When faced with such a response He chooses to display the measure of His mercy not the measure of His wrath. The psalmist continues, “He forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time He restrained His anger and did not stir up His full wrath.”
Jesus taught His disciples a lesson on forgiveness. When asked how many times they should forgive someone who transgresses against them He instructed them to forgive “70 x7”. This same patience is displayed in the response of God. The psalmist reports that time after time God restrained His response of anger and wrath. Oh that we would live with such self- control. How many of us are so ruled by our spirit instead of our human emotions that we can repeatedly restrain our responses when faced with the sinfulness of others in our lives? “And yet He was merciful!” May our hearts be shaped by that mercy that always triumphs over judgment. May our words be molded by the patience of God.
How can God express such patient mercy in the face of such neglect and disrespect for His kindness? What is the secret to His restraint? It is simply understanding. Because God knows man for what He is: fallen and in need of a savior, God is able to reach out a hand of love to call him back to himself. Even though His holiness calls for justice, His love calls for mercy because He is mindful of us. In verse 39 the psalmist reflects on God’s conscious response to man’s humanity! “He remembered that they were but flesh.” What a powerful key for compassion; the remembrance of man’s condition. What a contrast between a Godly response and a carnal response. Our tendency is typically to respond based on what has been done to us or to others. God’s response includes a sincere consideration of man’s weakness and nature before He responds to their deeds. This is the secret of true compassion, awareness! When we look beyond the deed to the driving forces behind the deed, it doesn’t make the deed acceptable but our response is now tempered with mercy instead of judgment. It is as simple as the old saying, “don’t judge a man until you walk a mile in his shoes.” God walked more than a mile for us… He walked all the way to Calvary. Will you follow Him to a heart
of mercy?
Monday
Psalm 78:32-33 - August 10, 2009
Ps 78:32-33 “In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe. 33 So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror.” NIV
How much is enough before we believe the Lord and begin to walk in faith? God calls us to rise up in faith for our good as well as for the sake of His purposes. He is not just trying to make things difficult! He has given us His word as the primary revelation of who He is and His mighty acts as a confirming witness to establish confidence within our hearts to follow after His ways and to keep His commands. The children of Israel saw the most powerful of God’s recorded works during their exodus from Egypt and the wilderness years; waters parting, ten plagues upon Egypt, the plundered wealth of Egypt in their possession, a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to lead them, water from a rock, bread from heaven, shoes that didn’t wear out, supernatural manifestations on the mountaintops and more, yet they habitually responded in unbelief and withdrew from God’s commands in fear of the obstacles that stood in front of them.
One of the great sins of man is his tendency to forget all that God has done. We are given the scriptures to remind us of God’s mighty acts because of this very thing. Faith comes from keeping these things fresh in our hearts. It is when their memory becomes stagnant in our hearts that we tend to lose sight of faith as well. In the record of Israel’s journey they were incredibly short sighted in their ability to carry the deeds of God in their past forward to become faith for their future and it resulted in a great negative consequence in their lives.
We must understand that lack of faith is not just about disappointing God. Many people relate to disobedience simply from the perspective of letting God down again or failing Him in regard to obedience as if He was the only one affected by our doubt and disobedience, as if to say “Well, He is God and He will be able to deal with these areas another way.” It is essential that we understand that we too are affected by our unbelief and the sinful disobedience that it results in. The testimony of Psalm 78:32-33 is striking in its directness concerning the impact of unbelief upon the future of the people of God. Their sinful unbelief resulted in the forfeit of what God had intended for them. The promises that God desired for them were deferred until another generation and what could have been their joyful experience was lost forever. The phrase in verse 33 is particularly confronting when it says, “they ended their days
in futility…”
The plans that God has to bless you are hinged upon your faith and obedience and when you shrink back in sinful unbelief, yes you are stilled loved, but many things that were prepared for you are forfeited by the disobedience that flows out of unbelief. The children of Israel shrank back in fear and unbelief from the command to take the land and as a result they were passed by for another generation and instead of rising up to fight in faith they spent their years wandering instead. How much potential is wasted in fear and unbelief? How many times has a plan of God to bless been sidetracked by someone who could only see the obstacles and not the opportunities? Unbelief is a dream killer. It paralyzes your future. We must fill our hearts with the vision of what God has done and believe what He has promised He will do they throw off our fear of failure to face the battle that awaits us. Don’t spend your days in futility trying to find an alternative plan to the one that God has presented to you. Rise up today in the power of faith and confront the giants in your land! God will give you the victory!
How much is enough before we believe the Lord and begin to walk in faith? God calls us to rise up in faith for our good as well as for the sake of His purposes. He is not just trying to make things difficult! He has given us His word as the primary revelation of who He is and His mighty acts as a confirming witness to establish confidence within our hearts to follow after His ways and to keep His commands. The children of Israel saw the most powerful of God’s recorded works during their exodus from Egypt and the wilderness years; waters parting, ten plagues upon Egypt, the plundered wealth of Egypt in their possession, a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to lead them, water from a rock, bread from heaven, shoes that didn’t wear out, supernatural manifestations on the mountaintops and more, yet they habitually responded in unbelief and withdrew from God’s commands in fear of the obstacles that stood in front of them.
One of the great sins of man is his tendency to forget all that God has done. We are given the scriptures to remind us of God’s mighty acts because of this very thing. Faith comes from keeping these things fresh in our hearts. It is when their memory becomes stagnant in our hearts that we tend to lose sight of faith as well. In the record of Israel’s journey they were incredibly short sighted in their ability to carry the deeds of God in their past forward to become faith for their future and it resulted in a great negative consequence in their lives.
We must understand that lack of faith is not just about disappointing God. Many people relate to disobedience simply from the perspective of letting God down again or failing Him in regard to obedience as if He was the only one affected by our doubt and disobedience, as if to say “Well, He is God and He will be able to deal with these areas another way.” It is essential that we understand that we too are affected by our unbelief and the sinful disobedience that it results in. The testimony of Psalm 78:32-33 is striking in its directness concerning the impact of unbelief upon the future of the people of God. Their sinful unbelief resulted in the forfeit of what God had intended for them. The promises that God desired for them were deferred until another generation and what could have been their joyful experience was lost forever. The phrase in verse 33 is particularly confronting when it says, “they ended their days
in futility…”
The plans that God has to bless you are hinged upon your faith and obedience and when you shrink back in sinful unbelief, yes you are stilled loved, but many things that were prepared for you are forfeited by the disobedience that flows out of unbelief. The children of Israel shrank back in fear and unbelief from the command to take the land and as a result they were passed by for another generation and instead of rising up to fight in faith they spent their years wandering instead. How much potential is wasted in fear and unbelief? How many times has a plan of God to bless been sidetracked by someone who could only see the obstacles and not the opportunities? Unbelief is a dream killer. It paralyzes your future. We must fill our hearts with the vision of what God has done and believe what He has promised He will do they throw off our fear of failure to face the battle that awaits us. Don’t spend your days in futility trying to find an alternative plan to the one that God has presented to you. Rise up today in the power of faith and confront the giants in your land! God will give you the victory!
Sunday
Psalm 78:23-31 - August 9, 2009
Psalm 78:23-31 "Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens; 24 he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven. 25 Men ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat. 26 He let loose the east wind from the heavens and led forth the south wind by his power. 27 He rained meat down on them like dust, flying birds like sand on the seashore. 28 He made them come down inside their camp, all around their tents. 29 They ate till they had more than enough, for he had given them what they craved. 30 But before they turned from the food they craved, even while it was still in their mouths, 31 God's anger rose against them; he put to death the sturdiest among them, cutting down the young men of Israel." NIV
The simple message of this passage is: “Be careful what you ask for!” The book of James gives us a basic introduction to this principle when it says, James 4:2-3 “You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives,” NIV. The Israelites had just experienced miraculous deliverance from Pharaoh and from Egypt, were in the midst of an extended season of experiencing continued miraculous provision; water from the rock, bread from heaven, shoes that wouldn’t wear out, and yet they complained against the Lord. In His goodness He had provided for them in fulfillment of the verse that many of us now quote often, Phil 4:19 “my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus,” KJV and so every one of their needs were met by the Lord.
The problem was not in the Israelites’ boldness to ask God for something. He. 4:16 tells that we should come before God boldly. It was that they were asking amiss. God had provided for every need. There was no lack amongst them and yet they were grumbling in discontent. They developed a negative attitude towards God’s miraculous provision because they were bored with the kind of food He was giving them. Imagine receiving such a continuous flow of miracles and getting tired of it. “God can we have a different miracle now, this one is getting old!” The startling reality though is that this is exactly the essence of what many of us do in our relationship with God. God has faithfully provided all that we need but the voice of our wants speaks so loudly in our ears that we lose touch with a thankful heart for the things that we do have. 1 Thess 5:18 “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” KJV The children of Israel provoked the Lord to anger and brought judgment upon themselves because of their heart condition in the midst of a season of difficulty where the Lord’s provision wasn’t good enough for them.
Many Christians follow the path of the children of Israel during those hard desert seasons. Too often we become filled with a complaining spirit because our attention is focused on what we do not have rather than on what God has provided. Is there a trial in your life right now? Consider how much worse it could be before you complain about what is. You cannot see the things that God has preserved you from that could have greatly intensified this season. Examine your life for all of the little miracles that He has been doing to preserve you in this situation from a heart of thankfulness and you will see that God has been at work. Consider that every good gift is truly from above, anything that you do have He has provided. Perhaps like the Israelites many of us have allowed our wants to speak to loudly in our ears and caused us to forsake a place of contentment. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Tim 6:6 “godliness with contentment
is great gain.”KJV
What is apparent from this portion of Psalm 78 is that our lack of contentment and our lust for more is offensive to the Lord and in at least some contexts can open the door for His judgment to come upon us, perhaps even in the form of the answer to the prayer we have been asking. God gave the Israelites what they craved and it became rottenness in their bones. Instead of being the source of contentment that they thought it would be the ungrateful Israelites instead suffered great sickness as they exchanged the supernatural bread of heaven for the lesser foods of this earth. This image is also a picture of how many of us exchange the satisfactions of the spiritual life for the longings of earthly fulfillment and entertainment. Instead of enjoying the pleasures of prayer, the Word of God, and a life of loving and serving others, we crave for the excitements of the “meat” of this world. God then allows us to go our own way but these fleshly indulgences become rottenness in our inner man in the end. Each one of us would be greatly helped if we would examine hearts and stir up a thankful spirit, enjoying the provision of God in every sphere, making our requests known to God from a thankful heart rather than a complaining spirit brings so much better fruit.
The simple message of this passage is: “Be careful what you ask for!” The book of James gives us a basic introduction to this principle when it says, James 4:2-3 “You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives,” NIV. The Israelites had just experienced miraculous deliverance from Pharaoh and from Egypt, were in the midst of an extended season of experiencing continued miraculous provision; water from the rock, bread from heaven, shoes that wouldn’t wear out, and yet they complained against the Lord. In His goodness He had provided for them in fulfillment of the verse that many of us now quote often, Phil 4:19 “my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus,” KJV and so every one of their needs were met by the Lord.
The problem was not in the Israelites’ boldness to ask God for something. He. 4:16 tells that we should come before God boldly. It was that they were asking amiss. God had provided for every need. There was no lack amongst them and yet they were grumbling in discontent. They developed a negative attitude towards God’s miraculous provision because they were bored with the kind of food He was giving them. Imagine receiving such a continuous flow of miracles and getting tired of it. “God can we have a different miracle now, this one is getting old!” The startling reality though is that this is exactly the essence of what many of us do in our relationship with God. God has faithfully provided all that we need but the voice of our wants speaks so loudly in our ears that we lose touch with a thankful heart for the things that we do have. 1 Thess 5:18 “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” KJV The children of Israel provoked the Lord to anger and brought judgment upon themselves because of their heart condition in the midst of a season of difficulty where the Lord’s provision wasn’t good enough for them.
Many Christians follow the path of the children of Israel during those hard desert seasons. Too often we become filled with a complaining spirit because our attention is focused on what we do not have rather than on what God has provided. Is there a trial in your life right now? Consider how much worse it could be before you complain about what is. You cannot see the things that God has preserved you from that could have greatly intensified this season. Examine your life for all of the little miracles that He has been doing to preserve you in this situation from a heart of thankfulness and you will see that God has been at work. Consider that every good gift is truly from above, anything that you do have He has provided. Perhaps like the Israelites many of us have allowed our wants to speak to loudly in our ears and caused us to forsake a place of contentment. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Tim 6:6 “godliness with contentment
is great gain.”KJV
What is apparent from this portion of Psalm 78 is that our lack of contentment and our lust for more is offensive to the Lord and in at least some contexts can open the door for His judgment to come upon us, perhaps even in the form of the answer to the prayer we have been asking. God gave the Israelites what they craved and it became rottenness in their bones. Instead of being the source of contentment that they thought it would be the ungrateful Israelites instead suffered great sickness as they exchanged the supernatural bread of heaven for the lesser foods of this earth. This image is also a picture of how many of us exchange the satisfactions of the spiritual life for the longings of earthly fulfillment and entertainment. Instead of enjoying the pleasures of prayer, the Word of God, and a life of loving and serving others, we crave for the excitements of the “meat” of this world. God then allows us to go our own way but these fleshly indulgences become rottenness in our inner man in the end. Each one of us would be greatly helped if we would examine hearts and stir up a thankful spirit, enjoying the provision of God in every sphere, making our requests known to God from a thankful heart rather than a complaining spirit brings so much better fruit.
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