Monday, June 30, 2008

You Are a Dead Dog!

In 1 Samuel 9 David suddenly wants to know if there is anyone of Saul's line that he can "show kindness for Jonathan's sake?" This is odd in one way, in that Saul tried to kill David on many occasions and now that David is sure in his kingship why would he want to show kindness to the grandson of his enemy? Wouldn't he want to make sure that no one could come along and claim the throne?

But that wasn't David's character. And good for us, it isn't God's either. David called Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son, to him. David first let Mephibosheth know that he meant him no harm and in fact invited him to eat at his table - just like adopting him as a son.

Mephibosheth replied, "What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?" (8) In many ways, we are just like Mephibosheth, lame because of sin, related to a dethroned king (Lucifer) who deserve to be put to death for the evil in us. But when we come before the King of Kings, He doesn't destroy us but desires to show kindness to us for the sake of a beloved Son. He adopts us as His own and invites us to sit at his table forever.

We too should react like Mephibosheth, "Lord why are you treating me kindly when I am but a dead dog?" Then we should receive that love and that invitation to fellowship and rejoice in the love of the king!

Pastor Tom

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Have It Your Way

Science has shown us that the mind is an amazing thing. It is self-justifying. In other words, what your mind wants to do it will find a way to justify. That's how Hitler could kill millions of Jews - his mind was able to justify the action.

Saul, king of Israel, employed some justification too for sinning. In 1 Samuel 13 he was supposed to wait seven days for Samuel to arrive and perform the sacrifice. When Samuel didn't come Saul performed it anyway.

When Samuel came on the scene he said "what have you done?" Saul then launched into this big defense, saying that the people were scattering, you didn't come, the Philistines are upon us and I need to give a nod to God.

In Saul's mind these were four reasons or justifications for not doing what God had commanded.

Samuel simply answered "You have done foolishly."

Do you ever find yourself finding reasons that you should not obey God? They might sound pretty reasonable to you. Just remember that the mind is a self justifying thing. Don't use your own thoughts as viable reasons. Use instead the objective command of God.

Pastor Tom

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Are People Surprised at You?

In 1 Samuel 10 the prophet Samuel anoints Saul to be "prince" over Israel. They no longer wanted God as their king but wanted to be like all the nations around them. That's a whole story in and of itself, of course.

I just wanted to point out a little thing that happens to Saul after Samuel anoints him. Verse 10 says "and the Spirit of God rushed upon him and he prophesied among them. 11 And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, "What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"

When it says Saul "prophesied" it basically means he broke out in praise to the Lord. Apparently this was something strange for Saul and it doesn't surprise me based on how he lived the rest of his life. For Israel's next king, David, no one would be surprised at him breaking out in song and praise. In fact they'd be surprised if he didn't!

So what about you? Would those that know you be surprised to hear you talk about the Lord or identify your life with Jesus? Or would they be surprised if you didn't act differently than the world around you because you have the Spirit of God living inside you?

Just a thought.

Pastor Tom

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

What Did Hannah Get?

Do you remember the story of Hannah in 1st Samuel? She was one of two wives of a guy named Elkanah. She couldn't have kids and that really grieved her. She so much wanted to have kids that even Elkanah got a little upset with her prayers to God saying "Am I not more to you than ten sons?" (1 Samuel 1:8)

She prayed so hard about it than Eli, the priest, thought she was a drunk mumbling. But God answered her prayer and she had a son: Samuel. Oddly, though, the thing she wanted so much she didn't get to keep. She had told the Lord that if He would give her a son that she would "give him to the Lord all the days of his life." (11).

God gave her what she wanted more than anything but she didn't get to keep it. So what did she get out of the deal?

At first blush it seems like she didn't get anything. But if you read her prayer as she leaves Samuel off at the Tabernacle you get a little clue. Her prayer here is not silent or mistaken for drunkenness. Instead it clearly states that God is holy, God is sovereign, and God is in charge of protecting the "faithful" and cutting off and breaking the wicked. He will do this through "his king" and "his anointed."

Hannah was prompted to pray for something she got no direct benefit from. The benefit was her part in God's overall grand plan for good.

Perhaps you feel burdened to pray. Perhaps your heart yearns for something and yet you hesitate knowing that God might do something but you won't see any benefit from it.

Is it enough to see God move for something He wants? Ask Hannah. She birthed the man who chose the king who led to a Savior. What's your prayer? What's your part?

Pastor Tom

Thursday, June 12, 2008

What Gets You Upset?

I was amazed reading the accounts in Judges 16-20. It was a very low time in the nation's history typified by this phrase: "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges 21:25)

Some pretty awful things happened but was surprised me was what the people got upset about. In chapter 19 there is the story of how a Levite's concubine is raped and murdered by the men of Gibeah. The Levite cuts up her body and sends the parts throughout the land to incite Israel to fight against Benjamin. In the the end the tribe is nearly wiped out.

Now I'm not defending or belittling what happened to that woman. It was horrible and those responsible should have been brought to justice. But what amazes me is that just one chapter earlier the tribe of Dan steals a city and murders its inhabitants just because they wanted to and they could. Where was the indignation there?

And perhaps worst of all, in chapter 17 we find the people so mixed up that they think creating their own gods and a home-grown priesthood is a way to find God's blessing.

Sometimes we have our priorities mixed up when it comes to what gets to us. We wink at some sin and get outraged about others. Worst of all, when our country walks away from faith in the Lord to embrace all kinds of falsehood we think that is okay in the name of tolerance.

Tolerance of cancer will kill you. We need to be concerned with people's eternal destiny and fight to keep the truth of the love of God through Jesus Christ flowing and not be diluted by half-truths masquerading as the real thing.

Pastor Tom

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

You Want Me to Do What?

In Judges 6 we find the people of Israel in pretty dire straights. Imagine you go to work and on payday you are met at the door by a thug who steals your check and cashes it himself! That's kind of the situation Israel was in. They would raise crops and then the Midianites and Amalekites would come in and "harvest" the crops for themselves.

Then God (in the form of the Angel of the Lord) showed up to a man named Gideon (who was threshing wheat in a wine press to hide from the Midianites). God said to him: "The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor." (Judges 6:12)

Gideon answered "If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us?"

In other words, "if God is with us why hasn't He done something!"

God answers him, "Go in this might of yours and save Israel."

Gideon wanted God do it all and God wanted Gideon to understand that he had the strength to do what God wanted because "I will be with you."

When we see things that need to be done, prayers to be answered, problems to be solved, trials to undergo and temptations to overcome - do we sometimes just want God to do it for us? "If you are so great why don't you just solve all my problems?"

In reality God wants to work in and through us. We, like Gideon, are to be participants in God's mighty work. We are not simply bystanders. It is by God's Spirit making his home in us that we too can accomplish His will.

So pray for answers but don't be surprised if He says "Go in this might of yours."

Pastor Tom

Monday, June 09, 2008

Where'd It All Go?

I've often asked myself what happened to Israel after they got into the Promised Land. I mean, they had it all - a powerful God fighting on their behalf who was giving them a land of their own.

But not too many years after they arrived, Israel was in sad shape and, other than during David's and some of Solomon's reign, they never seemed to really have it together.

Judges gives us some clues.

After the death of Joshua the people of Judah were successful in battle after inquiring of the Lord. But in chapter 1, verse 19 it says "And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron."

Next, Benjamin "did not drive out the Jebusites." Manasseh did not drive out the Canaanites and they "persisted in dwelling in the land." Zebulun put the Canaanites to forced labor instead of destroying them as God commanded. The Asherites "lived among the Canaanites." The people of Dan were forced live in the hills because the Canaanites were too strong.

As believers in Jesus Christ we are in the process of being transformed into the image of God. In that process we have an enemy too: the flesh. The flesh are those habit patterns we learned that are contrary to the character of God.

In our quest to destroy the flesh by the power of the Spirit we can make errors just like the children of Israel. Don't let the tough "iron chariots" stop you - those habits that are hard fought to stay around. Don't make deals with the flesh, don't let yourself be swept up again by living among the flesh (don't let those temptations overcome you by being surrounded by them) and don't let the flesh change your ability to serve God by being driven away from fellowship or worship.

With Israel, one defeat cascaded upon another. Never in that first chapter do we see a tribe seek the Lord like Judah did at the beginning. Seek the Lord constantly and don't let the flesh have a foothold!

Pastor Tom

Friday, June 06, 2008

Make a Decision!

Today the prevailing wisdom is that everyone holds a bit of the truth. If we all get together and put our pieces together a complete picture of the truth will emerge. If a different group comes together then the truth will morph depending on what pieces they bring.

What that really means isn't that each one of us holds a bit of the truth but that each one of us holds different beliefs. When we put our beliefs together a complete picture of what we think emerges.

Truth is not really relative that way. Truth does not change that way. We may have different opinions about the truth about gravity, but that doesn't change gravity, only our perception of it.

But holding on to the idea that real truth cannot be known absolutely is a convenient way of putting off making a decision about it. Pilate said "What is truth?" He'd have fit in well today.

Here's the problem. If there was a fire in your house and you put off making a decision about whether to run until you had every one's idea about the fire you'd be dead. Putting off making a decision is making a decision.

That's why I think Joshua's words at the end of his life and his book are so key for all of us to hear.

"Choose this day whom you will serve." (Joshua 24:15)

In the words of Bob Dylan "You gotta serve somebody." Don't just wait to decide whether you are going to trust that Jesus is Lord.

Listen to the eyewitness testimony of those who saw the whole thing. Not making a decision is making a decision and the house is burning.

Pastor Tom

Thursday, June 05, 2008

The Easy Route or the Best Route

Joshua 17:14 "Then the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua saying, "Why have you given me but one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am a numerous people, since all along the Lord has blessed me?"

Sounds like a reasonable request, doesn't it? During the occupation of the Promised Land, Joseph felt like they needed to get more land. But that would have required Joshua to give it to them from one of the other tribe's allotments. How fair would that be?

Furthermore, when Joshua probed deeper, it seems that they had plenty of land but were afraid of the "chariots of iron" employed by the people in the plain, and didn't want to go to the work of cutting down the forests in the hill country.

At times for us, God puts in front of us work to do. No, we aren't earning His favor by doing it, we are participating in the good works He created for us. But just because God wants us to do something doesn't mean it will be easy.

Sometimes we have to face the iron chariots and see the power of God fight on our behalf. Maybe there is a broken relationship that He wants you to mend, but it will take prayer and humbleness and patience.

In the end, Joshua didn't give Joseph the easy answer, he gave them the right answer by saying "You are a numerous people and have great power ... the hill country shall be yours ... you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron."

God asks us to difficult things, but He is the one who performs it, if we will just be willing to work hard with Him!

Pastor Tom

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Tired of Walking Around Jericho

Joshua 6:15 "On the seventh day they rose early, at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times."

If you were one of the men who got up on that day, and Joshua your leader told you to walk around the city of Jericho seven times - round about turn number three wouldn't you start to get a little impatient?

"Why can't we just go in and conquer the city now?" you might think. Then after the next time around you really might to start to tire and think "I won't have any strength left to fight and do God's work because I've spent all this time walking in circles!"

As you probably know, after the seventh time they blew the trumpets and God blew down the walls of the city and they destroyed it.

What "city" are you waiting to be conquered - what problem looms up against you that seems impossible? Has God told you to pray and to seek Him and to wait for His answer? You pray once and that seems like the right thing. You pray and wait again and that's okay. Right about prayer number three you begin to get a little impatient and you wonder why God couldn't have just answered the first time.

Yet another prayer and another day of waiting for God's wisdom and God moving and you think all of your strength has been used up praying and seeking when you could have just solved the problem yourself.

So what's the answer? When you find yourself getting impatient, remember that Israel had to walk around seven times - the number of completeness. God knows the right time to wait. He knows how long it will take to get His wisdom in you. He knows just the right time to answer. Trust Him. Wait for Him. Walk for Him.

Besides, a little exercise never hurt anyone!

Pastor Tom