Joshua and the fear of falling

Even though it happened over thirty-five years ago I can still remember the feeling of panic.  Looking down the ladder, realizing my brother was no longer steadying it at the base, and then feeling the ladder begin to slide away from the tree.  My 30 foot descent wasn’t rapid enough to break any bones, but it really knocked the wind out of me.

Although I’ve since forgiven my brother (who was ten years old at the time), that moment still marks my life every time I begin to ascend a ladder.

That feeling of looking down, not seeing my brother there, and feeling my world begin to give way all at the same time.

Perhaps you have been there. As your world started to give way beneath you, you realized you were alone.  The person you were counting on to bring stability to your life was nowhere to be found. I think it was that way for the Old Testament leader Joshua (His story is told in the book of Joshua, and his fears are expressed in chapter 1). All his life he had leaned on Moses, but now Moses was dead, and he felt alone. It was in that moment that God spoke to him, and brought these words of encouragement: “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). It was a promise and it came at the right time.

It is a promise that still brings comfort to us today.  No matter how wildly life seems to spin out of control, God will not forsake those who have placed their trust in Him.

Maybe you are there today. The bottom just went out of your life, and when you looked around you found no support from the people you trusted the most.

Can I encourage you? The One who really matters is still there.  And He’s still in the business of gently lowering you to the ground when the bottom falls out of your world.

The wisdom of God

The wisdom of God means that God knows all things actual and possible in one simple and eternal act.1 

I often misinterpret the actual events, and I only guess at the possibilities. But God knows all possibilities and their implications.

This is a tremendous comfort to me. I make judgments of error every day because my knowledge is limited. I cannot possibly have all the facts. Even things I claim to know about myself are often skewed (Jer. 17:9).  But God’s wisdom is perfect; therefore, He will not make a mistake. He knows all things actual and possible.

One of the key events of the Israelites’ flight from Egypt was the Red Sea crossing (Ex. 14).  With the Egyptian army in hot pursuit, the children of Israel found themselves at the edge of the Red Sea with no way out. So God held back the Egyptian army long enough to pull back the water and reveal a road 2,500 feet below sea level.2 They couldn’t see it, but God knew what was actually there.

He also knew all other possibilities. Pay close attention to the verses that precede this story.

17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” 18 But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea (Exodus 13:17-18).

The way of the Philistines was the shortest route to the Holy Land. Head northeast out of Egypt, keep the Mediterranean Sea to your left, and just keep walking.  You can’t miss the Promised Land.   But God took them another way. Why? For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.”

But if they didn’t actually experience the war (because they went another way), how was God so sure they would get discouraged and return Egypt? Because God saw the possibility with the clarity of an actual event. He knows all things actual and possible.

Theologian Wayne Grudem gets it right,

God is infinitely wise and we are not, and it pleases Him when we have faith to trust His wisdom even when we do not understand what He is doing.3

Are you staring at a stretch of the Red Sea? Take hope. God in his sovereign wisdom brought you there. You can  trust him to make a way.

1. Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem.

2. The Exodus Revealed: Searching for the Red Sea Crossing (2002). DVD published by Questar productions.

3. Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem.

7 deadly wrongs in 28 words or less

1.
Wealth without work

2.
Pleasure without conscience

3.
Knowledge without character

4.
Science without humanity

5.
Commerce without morality

6.
Worship without sacrifice

7.
Politics without principle

AUTHOR UNKNOWN

Hey. They were only 28 words. Why not read them again?

Sometimes Acts 1:8 needs Acts 8:1

The book of Acts opens up with a very specific command from Jesus found in Acts 1:8.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Jesus wanted the good news of the Gospel to spread from Jerusalem outward. The message was to transcend cultures moving up to Samaria and out the ends of the earth. For several hundred years God had been preparing the way for the message to spread quickly using both the Greeks and the Romans.

The Greeks were all about education and culture. So when they ran the civilized world they set up universities and learning centers from Egypt to Italy. The result was a common language among the people of different nations (Not unlike the international popularity of English today). The New Testament would be written in Greek and the message could spread rapidly.

The Romans were all about military advancement. They weren’t looking to control by education. They were looking to control by force. To manage those kinds of armies you needed well-developed roads and superstructure. So Rome built them. God used those roads to create safe and rapid travel for those 1st century missionaries.

There was only one problem. The Christians liked Jerusalem and they loved their fellowship with one another (Acts 2:44-47).  They weren’t interested in leaving town.

That’s the setting for Acts 8:1. Following the stoning of Stephen we read,

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles (Acts 8:1).

It was the uncomfortable truth of persecution that would drive those early Christians from Jerusalem; they would take the message with them, and spread it to the entire world.

Sometimes God uses persecution (Acts 8:1) to accomplish a witness of the gospel (Acts 1:8). Sometimes Acts 1:8 needs Acts 8:1.

Are you praying for the persecuted church in places like: North Korea, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Iran? A great source to develop your prayer list for persecuted Christians is: http://www.opendoorsusa.org/

Are you considering with whom God might have you share the Gospel?

When it appears that God is silent…

Sometimes it’s easy to feel alone. We serve a God who is not seen with  human eyes, so during troubling times our faith is prone to waver (John 1:18; Hebrews 11:1). This was the situation for the Israelites when they were in slavery down in Egypt. As their lives grew increasingly difficult they cried out to God. From their perspective heaven’s answer to their pain and difficulty was nothing but silence. But two verses pulls back the curtain, and let us peek into heaven for greater understanding.

And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God saw the people of Israel—and God knew (Exodus 2:24-25).

God heard
       God remembered.
               God saw
                      God knew.

Four words that give us great hope when times are hard.

God hears the cries of your heart. He knows when you’re groaning in fear or pain. You may think you’re alone in a dark place, but God hears.

God remembered his promise to Abraham, and God remembers his promise to you. When he said he would never leave you nor forsake you, he meant it (Hebrews 13:5). When he promised he’d be faithful to complete the work he began in you, he won’t forget it (Phiippians 1:6). God remembers his promises.

God saw the injustice. He was aware that the nation of Israel was being treated poorly, and he was moving to make it right. While the Israelites couldn’t see him moving, he could see them suffering. God saw, and he was about to do something about it.

God knew. This is the word that brings the greatest comfort. The text simply says, God knew. God knew everything that needed to be done: the beginning, the in-between, and the end. When I am confused, I find hope in this truth.  God knows my challenge, God knows the best way to bring me through it, and God knows what to do.

Encouragement when you feel anxious or hopeless: God heard, God remembered, God saw, and God knew.

And he still does.

Daniel and right decisions

The Biblical book of Daniel is known for lions’ dens, fiery furnaces, and a host of prophecies. But it also tells the story of a man, and his commitment to God. That story begins in chapter one, years before the lions show up. Daniel’s people are taken captive, and he, with the best of the Israelites is transported back to Babylon, where he would be trained to work for the Babylonian government. He was a young man then, and had much growing to do, but in spite of living in that pagan culture, His commitment to God was definite and unshaken.

So much so, that when they brought forth the best of their food, Daniel asks permission not to eat it. The Bible never communicates that he was a finicky eater, but that the menu in that pagan culture violated the laws of God for the Jewish people. There were three other men with him when he made this decision. You might recognize their names from the story of the fiery furnace: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. All four men took a stand, and it’s found in verse 8 of the 1st chapter. But Daniel purposed in His heart that he would not defile himself. That commitment put into motion a whole host of supernatural events.

The Bible records that “God brought Daniel into favor and good will” of the one in charge (1:9). And a little later” “As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom” (1:17).

Remarkably, 4 men purposed in their hearts to remain committed to God, and God gave them favor and abilities that they had not previously had. You see the commitment to spend a night in a lion’s den for your faith, or a few hours in the hottest of furnaces, always begins with a “purposing in your heart” to do the will of God in the smaller areas as well. And then as the story reveals: God gave. He not only gave favor, abilities, and knowledge, but he gave a providential protection that would keep the mouths of the lions shut (Dan. 6), and keep the flames of the fire from burning flesh (Dan. 3).  Have you purposed in your heart that you’ll do whatever He askes?  God stands ready to give.

7 tools to enhance your prayer life

Dick Eastman, author of The Hour that Changes the World, shares insightfully:

Nothing I can do will please Christ more than my joining with Him in daily prayer. And when I do, something happens in the world that could not happen through any other means.

Here are seven tools that others have found beneficial in bringing consistency to their prayer life:

  • Take and 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper, holding it in landscape position, fold it in half once, then again, and then third time. When you unfold the paper you will find creases that comprise 8 identical compartments. Title the first “every day”, then starting with “Sunday”; title the remaining 7 compartments a day of the week. Place the requests you wish to pray for every day in the first box, and divide the rest of your requests among the days of the week.  Folding it back up, use your pocket-sized prayer list to carry with you as you attempt to grow in your prayer life.
  • The Pocket Prayer Journal is an APP for your smart phone that allows you to record the request, mark them as answered, not answered, overdue, etc. It also includes helpful Scriptures and short prayers.
  • The Hour that Changes the World, Dick Eastman’s brief, but helpful work divides an hour of prayer time into twelve 5-minutes segments – spending a few minutes in each of these areas of prayer naturally stretches your prayer time.
  • The 29:59 Plans by Peter M. Lord and Daniel Henderson. This a prayer diary with a structure based upon the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6.
  • Drawing Near by Ken Boa and Max Anders guides your prayer time through 8 sections (adoration, forgiveness, renewal, personal needs, prayers for others, affirmation, thanksgiving, and closing prayer). This tool also provides helpful scriptures paraphrased into the second person so that you are praying the Scriptural thoughts directly to the Lord.
  • Valley of Vision is a volume of Puritan prayers. An excellent resource when desiring to move your prayer life beyond superficially bringing requests to the Lord.
  • Operation World– The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation. This is the best tool available if you wish to learn to pray for the world. Each day you are praying for a specific country of the world. The book provides critical economic, cultural, geographical and spiritual data to inform your prayer time.

A new look at the upper room

When most people think of the upper room they think of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting.  A long narrow table, with high-backed chairs, and twelve Europeans at the table. But Da Vinci was about 1600 years late to the event. What was the upper room really like? Why were the disciples arguing? How could they could they not know Judas was the betrayer? The following video will give these answers and more through 3D teaching.

This note: If you receive this blog via email you will need to go to this location to watch the video.  http://wp.me/p1ZvVJ-lS

Running time approximately 15 minutes. For additional study, after watching the video, reread John 13. As you read pay special attention to the interaction between Jesus and the disciples.

[wpvideo 7nPWXWT9]

Desiring God most of all

I enjoy reading the works of John Piper. In His book Desiring God he makes an especially excellent statement. Here it is:

Saving faith is the heartfelt conviction not only that Christ is reliable, but also that He is desirable.  It is the confidence that He will come through with His promises, and that what He promises is more to be desired than all the world.

That is a statement worth thinking back over and meditating upon.

Of course the Bible is filled with statements that faith is the only way that one attains eternal life. Remember John’s words in the opening of his gospel?

As many as received Him to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to those who believe (i.e. place their faith in Christ) in His name” (John 1:12).

And did not the apostle Paul express that same thought?

For by grace you have been saved through faith . . . (Eph. 2:8).

In fact, the word faith is used in the Bible nearly 250 times. But what Piper is talking about is the nature of saving faith, and I appreciate his clarification. He is saying that true faith is more than a ticket to heaven. We don’t place our faith in Christ only because He is reliable and trustworthy (even though He is). But we find in our moment of faith that he is desirable. To express it in simpler terms: We love Him.

Paul makes the point again,

But if any man loves God, the same is known by Him. (I Cor. 8:3).

Therefore, the Christian finds Jesus Christ to not only be reliable but also desirable. The believer will find that he not only trusts the Lord, but that he also loves the Lord.

Do we trust Him more than the things of this world?

Do we love Him more than the things of this world?

When a want feels like a need…

Addiction isn’t limited to substance abusers. The mark of an addict is when a want becomes a need – at least in his mind. This is easy to see when one struggles with substance abuse. In those cases our very body responds as if the thing we desired is an actual need. We call that process withdrawal. While it is painful to experience for the abuser, it is equally painful to watch when you love the person who is fighting for his life.

Pursuing wants as needs is not limited to what excites the physical body. It affects our thoughts, our emotions, and eventually our will. When the desire for what we want  becomes too great, we find we have no resolve to stand against it.

Eve reveals this truth, when she saw that the fruit was good for food (a need), and desired to make one wise (a want). The very thought of the fruit ignited within in her a desire. She wanted it. She hungered for it. She took it.

Think about this, she had every food imaginable in the Garden of Eden to meet her needs, but she couldn’t keep her eyes off the tree that was forbidden. She believed she would lose something of herself if she couldn’t at least try it. It felt like a need, but it was only a want. She was deceived.

Adam followed suit. Not because he wanted something that he didn’t have, but because he feared losing something that he did. Adam undoubtedly remembered his earlier loneliness. After all, even God acknowledged it was not good for man to be alone (Gen. 2:18). Adam needed God. But he wanted Eve. He would rather die with her than live without her. So, knowing what he was doing, he took the fruit from Eve’s hand (1 Tim. 2:14).

In both cases, they had wants that they perceived as needs.

What do you desire so strongly that it feels like a need? Do you believe you’d be less of a person if you had to deny yourself that pleasure?

Satan is strategic in stirring this desire within you. God defined love as giving up what you want for a brother’s need. That’s exactly what Jesus did for us (1 John 3:16-17).

So be careful. If you get your wants and needs confused, you may discover that you can love no one but yourself.