Life Lessons

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Nothing Worth Fighting About

Have you ever been in a “really good” fight and forgotten what it was you were fighting about?

I remember when my mom would ask my brothers and I that really hard question, “What are you fighting about?”  By the time she had interrupted our “activity”, many times we would just look at her and honestly respond, “I don’t know.”  You do know that it is not just a kid problem, right?  Adults argue and fight with one another — sometimes for days, months, and even years.  The disagreement turns into a feud and people no longer talk to one another.  They go out of their way to avoid contact unless they are planning a way “to get back at them”.  Yet when asked why they are fighting, many of the participants in these ongoing “personal wars” respond in similar fashion, “I don’t know” or ” I don’t remember”. 

I have an idea — well it is not really my idea, but it is an idea.  James writes, “What causes fights and quarrels among you?  Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?  You desire but do not have, so you kill.  You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.  You do not have because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”  (James 4:1-3) 

We have our “discussions” with people and are “at war” with them because we want something and they are not willing to give it.  Sometimes we want an actual physical object or item.  More often, we simply want our way.  When we don’t “get”, we insist.  When we still don’t “get”, we get mad and begin the plotting and scheming that is the start of the “war”.

That is when we need help.  In the midst of a war — of our making or from someone else — we need a refuge.  A refuge is more than a hide-out.  It is more than a place of peace.  It is a place of safety and protection.  In the midst of conflict that desires to consume us, where do we find a true refuge?  The Psalmist writes, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”  (Psalm 46:1)   Psalm 46 continues by describing some pretty intense conflict.  . . . Though the earth give way.  . . . Though the mountains fall into the sea.  . . . Thought the waters roar and foam and shake the mountains.  . . . Even if the earth itself seems against you, God is a refuge!  Verse 9 says, “He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.  He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.”  As I read that, I wondered, “What would make wars cease?” 

That is what took me to the passage in James that I quoted above.  To understand what would make wars cease, it is helpful to know why they exist.  God says they exist because we want and do not get.  To make wars cease we would need to remove the desire for the things we want or we would need to remove the very objects of our desire from existence.  God has the power to do both.  In the context of Psalm 46, we read of the desolation God has brought on the earth.  The desolation would have the result of leaving nothing worth fighting about.  Most of the world’s wars, conflicts, military actions, and whatever else they care to label them, would not have existed if there were nothing in any of the lands of the earth worth protecting or worth taking.  I don’t know of anyone who would wish utter desolation on the earth simply to stop wars from taking place.

There is another way for wars to cease, and that is for our desire to get to be dealt with and removed.  I believe the writer of the Psalm offers that instruction as well as we read in verse 10, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  God says, “Be still”.  Don’t simply put a lot of effort into not moving, but really be still.  He is talking about an inner stillness — a peace and calm on the inside that can exist because of who God is.  As our inside is still and we “know God”, there is no desire that can remain to get the things of someone else.  The only desire that can remain in this inner calm and peace is the desire to know God.  When we take refuge in God and are “still” before Him, we find that we have nothing worth fighting about. 

I don’t know about you, but to end wars and conflict in my life I would much rather be still before God than experience utter desolation. 

I pray that as you take refuge in the Almighty God, you will “Be still and know that [He] is God.”  May you live a life of peace with others, knowing that between you and them, there is really nothing worth fighting about.

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How Alarming!

What do you do when life comes at you 100+ miles per hour and your internal alarm bells are clanging loudly and will not be silenced? 

You’ve been there, right?  Perhaps you are there right now.  . . . Bad news just arrived from the doctor.  . . . Word has been circulating for weeks that the company is in trouble and jobs will have to be eliminated.  . . . A “good friend” has betrayed the confidence you placed in them and has begun to “share” private information with others — information that will damage, even destroy, your reputation.  . . . God has been speaking to you heavily through His Spirit and His Word about taking a stand for Him in your neighborhood and you know some people won’t like the transformation that could take place.  . . . On the list could go. 

We each have our list of alarming events, don’t we?  I remember (somewhat clearly) being so sick twenty some years ago that I often struggled just to get out of bed each day.  The doctors were coming up with no answers and I was alarmed — so afraid that the worst of the worst must be happening to me.  I think that may have just been preparation because it was even more alarming when the Mayo Clinic doctor finally said, “You have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  There is nothing we can do for you.  Goodbye!”  So long and have good life.  I hope it works out for you.  Wow!  If they couldn’t do anything to improve my physical health, then I was in bad shape.  How alarming!

I also remember, even more clearly, a month my wife and I spent at the Ronald McDonald House at the University of Chicago Children’s Hospital.  Obviously not a normal vacation spot for most families.  No, this was a visit brought about by a trip with our daughter to a local ER for an ongoing seizure that ended with her kidneys and liver shutting down and a quick ride to Chicago.  Alarming enough?  I thought so.  Then, as the doctor worked methodically to discover the reason for her body shutting down and the ensuing coma, he finally calls us into a conference room and says, “There is nothing more we can do.”  Okay, now we’re at alarming.  Five-alarm alarming!  How do you respond to that?  What do you do when life seems to be all stacked up against you and you are afraid?

How about when you are under attack?  . . . When the enemy is coming at you full force and nothing can stand in its way?  . . . When an army is coming out to destroy you and take everything you have — an army so vast that its reputation strikes fear into everyone long before it arrives?  . . . Oh, wait.  . . . That sounds familiar.  . . . That was yesterday’s text in our “A View From The Top:  What Does God Say” study.  In 2 Chronicles chapter twenty, we find that very scenario laid out before us.  It was a frightening time for Judah and its king, Jehoshaphat, as reports arrived of this “vast army” coming to attack.  So, what did Jehoshaphat do?  What can we learn from his actions? 

Jehoshaphat began by recognizing his fear and dealing with it appropriately.  We read in 2 Chronicles 20:3-4, “Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah.  The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.”  Yes, Jehoshaphat was alarmed.  He had every reason to be.  Yet in his fear, he made a decision that he would not waver from.  He resolved to ask God what was up.  He wasn’t approaching God with his list of demands, rather he was “resolved to inquire of the Lord”.  His resolve gathered the whole nation around him to fast and seek God — that He would be heard and listened to.  As the nation gathers in prayer and fasting, Jehoshaphat leads them in seeking God and calling on Him to take care of this situation as only He can.  Jehoshaphat lays out before God their trust in Him, their obedience to Him, their reliance on Him as their deliverer.  He acknowledges that on their own, they are helpless before this invading force.  So, as the nation gathers before God, they say, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”  We don’t have an answer, but we trust that you, God, have one.  We’re not going to make up a solution on our own rather we will fix our eyes on God and expect Him to give the plan.  And so it is in this time of expectation that, “All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.”  (1 Chronicles 20:13) 

As the nation stands before the Lord seeking His instructions, God speaks through the Spirit of the Lord on a man, Jahaziel.  God’s message in the midst of this alarming situation was, “Don’t worry about it.  I’ll fight this one for you.”  God instructs the people to take up their battle positions and to stand firm.  Stand firm — not to fight, but to be spectators and worshippers as God wins the victory and defeats the enemy army.  And so they do.  The people go out to their positions singing, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”  2 Chronicles 20:22-23 says, “As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.  The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men of Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them.  After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.”  . . . They helped to destroy one another?  . . . Helped who?  . . . Whose battle was it?  . . . Who would be claiming the victory?  . . . God had said the battle was His.  He had fought the battle and the victory belonged to Him.  As God’s people sang and praised Him, He enlisted the enemy to help destroy one another.  What a powerful, Almighty God!

Now, back to you and me.  I’ve seen this power, how about you?  In those alarming times of life, I am getting better at seeking Him but have room for improvement.  I can look back and see times of growth.  Twenty-some years ago as I struggled with the attack on my physical health, I tried to deal with the fear and unknown on my own.  It took a gentle and loving God to draw me to the point of seeking Him in the midst of my battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  It’s funny, but somewhere along the journey I learned to seek Him and trust Him with that and it slowly and gradually became a non-issue.  I learned a lot through it and it definitely helped prepare me for the things God was calling me to do and somewhere in that process of learning and preparing, it lost its power over me. 

Oh, I left a little bit out earlier in describing our alarming news at the University of Chicago Children’s Hospital.  The doctor did come in and say, “There is nothing more we can do.”  But he also continued by saying, “We can pray.  It’s the only thing that keeps some of our patients alive over at the county hospital.  Here, we rely too much on our technology when we ought to pray.”  Wow!  The five-alarm alarming comes and the reminder to seek God comes from a very unexpected source.  And so we do.  We seek God and acknowledge our trust in Him and His ownership of our daughter.  We stand before Him and watch, knowing that He cares for our daughter even more than we do and He can see the results of her life continuing just as clearly as He can see the results of it ending.  So, as we waited — as we praised God for His presence — our daughter began to improve.  Over then next few days and weeks, her condition began to stabilize; allowing the doctors to do work and procedures that her frail body would not handle when we first arrived.  For weeks, her condition was back and forth.  Then she finally woke up.  Her kidneys and liver began their return to normal function.  Dialysis was ended and we left that hospital with a daughter that needed physical therapy and rehab, but with normal functioning kidneys and liver and we had a renewed reminder that this precious child was indeed a gift from God. 

Wow!  This post has gotten long, but once I get started on how God has taught me — and continues to teach me — to be resolved to seek Him during alarming times; I have a hard time stopping. 

So, when life comes at you and me 100+ miles per hour and the alarm bells are clanging loudly and refuse to be silenced, God calls us to seek Him as the Almighty One.  When we are alarmed, may you and I be resolved to inquire of the Lord.  May we stand firm and watch God deliver us in, through, or around, the alarming situation in our life.

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Let There Be Light!

Salt Lake Sunset I love sunsets! 

I probably wouldn’t mind sunrises if they weren’t so early, but sunsets are one of “my favorite things”.  

They are beautiful and inspiring. 

 

I’ve always been fascinated by the sun.  Perhaps it is connected to my love of fire. 🙂  I remember, as a young boy, watching the sun; intrigued by its journey through the sky providing warmth and energy to all in its path.  One year, I even did a science fair project on solar energy.  I was interested in researching the possibilities in harnessing the power and energy from the sun.  As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned much more about how critical light is — not only to life, but to our actual sense of well-being. 

In contrast to that, I also enjoy journeys into caves.  You want to talk about contrasts!  To walk from a bright sunny day into the depth of a cavern and have the lights turned out — now that is darkness.  This is the point where the contrast fails to really be a contrast.  I don’t like the cave trip when they turn the lights out.  I love the cave formations — the stalagmites and stalactites — as they are illuminated throughout the cavern.  To use lighting sources to highlight various formations in the cave gives a sense of beauty and wonder.  Without the light . . . well, without the light there is little point in even being in the cave.  If you’ve never been in a cave with the lights out, the term “utter darkness” is probably a bit too mild for what it is like underground.  It is also the one place where it is very easy to see the power in even a small amount of light. 

Yet the more that I understand the power of light, I’m drawn to an even greater power — the power that brought light into existence.  In Genesis 1:3, God says, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  Out of nothing . . . out of a formless and empty darkness, God speaks the word and calls light into being!  An Almighty God that says so, and “so” exists.  This is a power that is unequaled and unrivaled.   It is impossible to authentically duplicate this power of calling something into existence out of nothing. 

Every time I watch a sunset and enjoy its beauty, I am drawn to a single thought; “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”  All of this beauty, creativity, and power I am observing is because God spoke light, and everything else, into existence.  Our culture seems to be built around a concept that our power can be measured by our words.  Not so much by the words we speak, but by what happens when we speak.  I remember an investment firm, probably in the 1980’s, which used the advertising phrase, “When E F Hutton speaks, people listen.”  Their marketing strategy was designed to portray power and authority.  The idea was that if this guy talks you had better be listening, everyone else was.  On the other side of the coin, we probably all know someone — we’ve probably all been someone — who has felt powerless in a variety of situations simply because, “No one is listening to me.”  You see, we do translate on a daily basis the effectiveness of our words into a measurement of power.

So, do you know of anything greater being done by the spoken word than that of calling light and life into existence where there was none?  Not starting with something and putting elements together to form a “new” thing, but having nothing and saying, “Let it exist”.  How are you applying that incredible power of creation in your life?  So often we look at our lives — I look at my life — and conclude that there is not even anything here to work with.  I really can’t expect God, or anyone else, to do much with what and who I am.  We need to think again.  This same power that spoke light into existence is the power that raised Jesus from the dead and is ready to work in your life and mine. 

I’ve seen God do it in my life; when I’ve examined myself and concluded I have nothing that qualifies me to do what needs done.  It has been at these times that God has said, “I’m glad you notice that.  Now I will speak into existence in your life what I need in you to accomplish what I am calling you to be.”  My guess is that some of you have been there as well and could testify to this Almighty God working His “let there be light” in your life.

May you and I recognize that we serve an Almighty God who has the power to transform us from what we were and from what we are, into what He calls us to be.

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Mighty In Power, Today?

How often do we see God’s hand at work in mighty, incredible, and powerful ways, then quickly forget; living as if God has no power — past, present, or future?  What is it that you or I are facing alone; afraid God has no power in our situation?  Or worse, we’ve convinced our self that He doesn’t even care.  How quickly we forget!

You do know it’s not just you, don’t you?  A large section of Exodus 15 is a song to God praising Him for His mighty power.  The song describes God as the writer’s strength, defense, and salvation.  We read of a majestic God.  Not just a showplace, seated on a throne, ahh . . . that looks nice, kind of majesty.  No, we’re talking a majestic display of power.  Greatness in action.  Incredible results that the Israelites didn’t see coming.  You know, the knock your socks off, WOW, kind of power that could convince you that this God can do anything.  As a matter of fact, the song came out of the Israelites witnessing God opening up the Red Sea so that they could walk across on dry land.  Following their journey across the dry sea bed, they were also able to witness God destroying their enemy — the Egyptian army who were in pursuit to recapture or kill them.  Just prior to this written song, we read in Exodus 14:31, “And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him and in Moses his servant.”

What a start!  These people could face anything now, right?  Witnessing this great event and being involved in the “pep rally” for the journey ahead would surely set this nation of people on the right track for a smooth journey of following and trusting God as He led them to their destination.  We read Exodus 14 and 15 and we say, How could it be otherwise?  The people have seen God’s great power.  They have responded with a commitment of trust and obedience.  This is going to be one incredibly smooth road trip to the promised land.

But wait . . . something is wrong with the written story.  We don’t even get out of Exodus 15 before we read, “So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What are we to drink?'”  Then just a short six weeks after their miraculous departure from Egypt, we read in Exodus 16:2, “the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.”  Wow!  Talk about hero to zero.  What a fast trip from everyone fearing God and putting their trust in Him and in Moses, to the entire community grumbling about their situation and the leadership that has brought them to where they are.  As you finish reading Exodus, you find that this entire journey is led by God’s presence in a cloud.  But while the cloud of God’s presence determines the direction each day, the cloud of the people’s grumbling sets the attitude for the entire trip.  Somehow they had forgotten quickly the God that was their strength, defense, and salvation in leading them out of slavery.

We would never do that, right?  We see God’s power deliver us.  His mighty hand rescued us from the bondage of sin.  We recognize the freedom that we have once He has broken the chains of disobedience that has held us captive for far too long.  We had tried in the past to break free on our own, but to no avail, so we know just how powerful God has to be.  God’s power has brought fear, trust, and obedience into our life and our walk each day shows it.  Nothing comes our way that is too hard for God to handle.  We know it and we live confidently in our pursuit of God knowing that He will never leave us or forsake us.  What a life!  What peace!  What joy!  What contentment!  What reality?

Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way.  Okay, it rarely, if ever, works that way.  We are far too much like the Israelites than we want to be, or care to admit.  We need the blood of Jesus to cover our sins and disobedience on a continual basis.  We need to know the power of the resurrection on a daily basis to remind us “that greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”  We need the whole of scripture to show us that God understands and is patient in His love and leading us to maturity.  We need the presence of the Holy Spirit living in us to teach us and convict us regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment.

Will you recognize God as Almighty in your life today?  God is mighty in power — not just in written stories from the Bible, not just in the past as He saved you from the bondage of sin, not just in the future when He will return in power and glory, but right now, today, God is mighty in power.

May you and I live today remembering the deeds of our Mighty God and knowing He is still that same Mighty God right now.

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What’s In a Name?

A Rose 

“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
  By any other name would smell as sweet”
(Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, 1594)

 

Shakespeare said it long ago, but is it true?  Can you and I honestly say it doesn’t matter what we call something?  Is the name really unimportant?  We recite the old playground rhyme — “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me” — to build this shell around us, all the while knowing that it isn’t true.  Words do hurt.  What we are called makes a difference.  The name we have, and use, for our self and for others says a lot.  If you don’t believe it, just go back a few short months to the whole Don Imus incident where he chose a “name” to describe a women’s basketball team; a name that said a whole lot more about him than it said about any of the team members.

In a previous post, we saw where God introduced Himself to Moses with a new name.  He was saying something about Himself that was new. He was revealing Himself to Moses in a way He had done to no one before.  In Revelation 19:11-21, we see a depiction of Jesus returning to bring judgment to the earth.  In this word picture given, we see a variety of names given to Jesus — names that have meaning and purpose. 

This section of scripture opens with John seeing “a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.”  Verse 12 goes on to state, “He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.”  And then in verse 13, “his name is the Word of God.”  And finally, verse 16 tells us, “On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:  KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” 

John begins this description of what he saw by proclaiming the returning Jesus is both Faithful and True.  To call something by either, or both, of these names is saying a lot.  To be named Faithful and True, speaks of a God who can be trusted in all things.  There is no hint of deceit or falsehood to be found in Him.  What He says is, and what He proclaims will be.  As this “Faithful and True” rider comes, He comes revealing even more of Himself as he has written upon Him a name that no one else has known until now.  He comes as a revealer of Himself to mankind.  A quality we have seen in God throughout scripture.  A quality that we see evident as John states this rider’s name as “the Word of God”.  The revealer, the faithful and true one; is none other than the Word of God!  John stated this very fact earlier in his writings as he wrote in his gospel account, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  (John 1:1)  As the Word of God, He comes with authority.  It is in this authority that He has the name written on Him of the Sovereign God.  He arrives carrying the name of “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”.  This is a name that speaks loudly of His sovereign nature.  He is not just king and he is not just lord.  Kings and lords are plentiful, and even “common” compared to this rider.  He comes with a name clearly announcing that He is sovereign — the complete authority — over all other kings and all other lords.

So, where does that leave you and I?  What name do we give Jesus?  Okay, look deeper.  I’m not talking about the name we verbally give Him.  That should be an easy question to answer.  I’m talking about the name we give Him by the way we live.  Do we give him the name “Faithful and True” by trusting Him with the details of our life and circumstances?  Do we give Him a name only He knows as we pursue and listen to Him; allowing Him to reveal Himself to us?  Do we give Him the name “Word of God”, allowing His leading and direction in our life to take priority as being leading and direction from God?  Do we give Him the name “King of me and Lord of me”, submitting to Him as our King and Lord in everything?

It’s easy to use the right words.  It is much better to live the right life!  May you and I give the names of God meaning in our life by responding to Him as a faithful and obedient servant who has been called into His family as a son or daughter.

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I Find No Fault

I like to figure things out.  I want to know as much as possible about the how and why of things happening.  I drive by an accident scene and my analytical mind jumps into high gear.  I quickly survey the area for where the vehicles are at, what damage they have, and any other potential clues as to what really happened.  Someone did something wrong and I’m curious — almost compelled — to try to figure it out so that the scene makes sense in my mind.  Some people have said I would have made a good CSI agent.  There is a need to have the answers and the ability to look at a situation with a detailed and logical point of view.  It is fun, but somehow I think that passing out at the sight of blood would probably disqualify me from most crime scene investigator positions. 🙂

What is it like to be in a position where you determine fault?  . . . Where you decide guilt and innocence?   . . . Where you reveal the motives and hidden agendas of others?  . . . Where you must sort through the evidence and statements and come up with factual and orderly account of what really is or what really happened.  There are times it could be an overwhelming task.  Details and facts become sketchy and hard to find.  Opposing sides weigh in on the matter, each armed with convincing “evidence” designed to sway you to their side.  You may begin to wonder, to question, “Do I have all the evidence needed to make a fair and accurate judgment?  If you are not sure, how do you decide?  A decision must be made!

We see this dilemma in the life of Pilate as Jesus is brought to him by a crowd demanding that He be found guilty.  Pilate is forced to make a decision under very unusual circumstances.  Those bringing charges against Jesus come to Pilate with no credible evidence to support their accusations.  Pilate seems to recognize that and tries multiple times to make a ruling that would be against the accusers.  On the other hand, Jesus — the accused — seems to give little argument in defense of His innocence.  In fact, as the accusations get narrowed down to the core of their complaint, “he claimed to be the Son of God”, Jesus has no defense because He did claim to be — and was — the Son of God.

As you read the account of Jesus before Pilate in John 18:28 – 19:16, you see a man wishing he could do the right thing but feeling pressure from all sides.  Three times Pilate listens to the accusations and after talking to Jesus comes to the conclusion that there “is no basis for a charge against him.”  During one of the final exchanges between Jesus and Pilate, Pilate pleads for Jesus to explain Himself so that He would give Pilate reason to set Him free.  It is at this point that Jesus reveals His sovereign nature to Pilate as He states, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.  Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” 

I think Pilate at least began to get it.  The recorded response is, “From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting”.  Pilate had listened to the opening and closing arguments and to all the witnesses and evidence in between.  He had done the “crime scene investigation” and determined there was no fault in this man, Jesus.  Yet what do you do when the accusers are saying this man claims to be King of the Jews, the very Son of God, and the defendant seems to be agreeing that it is more than a claim –it is so?  Yet even if it is so, “I find no fault deserving of death.” 

We know how it ends.  The crowd finally brings up the name of Pilate’s boss.  In a public scene, they demand that Pilate choose.  The choice sounds a lot like a question Jesus would have asked if the crowd had not beaten him to it.  It all came down to the crowd’s statement to Pilate, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar.”  It forced Pilate to choose, right there on the spot.  The real question being asked that day was this, “Are you a friend of Caesar, or a friend of Jesus?”  Pilate’s decision was Caesar and he had Jesus handed over to be crucified.

How about you?  How about me?  It really is not that hard for many people to reach the point of finding no fault in Jesus.  We examine His life, His teachings, His claims — all He said, did, was, and is — and we agree with Pilate, “I find no fault in Him.”  Yet what do we do with the pressures in our life?  It’s not the same crowd, be we still have the crowds accusing Him of not being who He says He is.  The crowds are still screaming at us to “crucify Him”, to put Him out of existence in our life.  The question is still asked, by both the crowd and by Jesus, “Are you a friend of the world or a friend of Jesus?”  How will you answer?  Will you move beyond not finding fault and into submission to the sovereign God who calls you to choose to be a friend of Jesus?

I pray that we would not dismiss Jesus as some nice, faultless guy we read about and then end up crucifying Him in our life because we fail to see Him as sovereign.  I pray that we would examine our allegiance and realize that friendship with the world is not worth the cost. 

May you and I live as friends of Jesus on a daily basis — friends that acknowledge and submit to the sovereign nature of our God.

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Large and In Charge!

Large and In Charge or Small and On The Crawl? 

“The tree that you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds –Your Majesty, you are that tree!  You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.”  Daniel 4:20-22

Reading about King Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel can be a short study of human nature.  I say this because I can look at my life and easily see how he does the things that we read about.  His journey from greatness to being under the bottom of the barrel and then back to greatness was an incredible lesson for him — and ought to be a convicting lesson for us.

What we read in Daniel 4 is simply a continuation of  life as Nebuchadnezzar had been living it in the first 3 chapters of the book.  The book of Daniel begins with Nebuchadnezzar adding to his greatness, at least in the eyes of the world, by attacking Jerusalem and carrying off not only the treasures of the city, but the brightest and best of the people of Israel.  As Nebuchadnezzar added to his kingdom and increased his portrayal of greatness, he wasn’t doing it alone.  He likely thought these victories were all of his doing — we usually do, don’t we? — but the second verse of Daniel tells  us that the Lord delivered these things into his hand. 

In the second chapter of Daniel, we see Nebuchadnezzar brought low.  Oh, he still sees himself as great and in charge, but he is living in fear and anxiety because of a dream that he knows is filled with meaning that he simply doesn’t understand.  It is at this time that Daniel is given the opportunity by God to explain to the king that there is a God who is sovereign and both knows and can reveal the mysteries that are troubling the king.  As God uses Daniel to tell the king the dream along with its meaning, Nebuchadnezzar begins the journey back to greatness as he recognizes God for who He is.  Nebuchadnezzar says to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”  He acknowledges that God indeed is sovereign and has ultimate authority over nations and over kings — including him.

So far, so good.  But as happens so often in life, being brought low only humbled Nebuchadnezzar before God for a period of time.  Daniel chapter 3 finds the king back to his old ways; tooting his own horn and having others toot it as well.  It is here that we find the famous account of Nebuchadnezzar setting up a national idol — an image of gold some 90 feet tall for the people to worship.  It is in this incident that we read of three Israelites who refuse to bow down and worship the image because they are faithful and committed servants of God; so He alone will receive their worship.  After God rescues them from their sentence of death, Nebuchadnezzar again recognizes that the God Almighty, the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is a sovereign God who alone can rescue His people as He did.  He proclaims about the Most High God, “to the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth  . . . How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders!  His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation.” (Daniel 4:1 & 3)

It is following this proclamation that God gives Nebuchadnezzar another dream that Daniel interprets as describing Nebuchadnezzar’s greatness and his being brought low once again.  A year after this dream, Nebuchadnezzar seems to forget his previous lessons in humility and in God’s sovereign power.  As he walks on the roof of his royal palace, he begins to survey all that he has built and done.  He is so impressed with his handiwork that he congratulates himself on his mighty power and glorious majesty.  Whoops!  Wrong answer!  God announces with a voice from heaven that Nebuchadnezzar’s previous dream was about to be fulfilled.  He goes from being “large and in charge” to being “very small and on the crawl”.  He would be driven out from among the people and live with the wild animals.  For seven years, he would eat the grass of the fields.  “His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.”  Eww . . . That definitely sounds like he sank even below the bottom of the barrel. 

When you are under the bottom of the barrel, there are very few places to look but up.  We read that at the end of the seven years, Nebuchadnezzar looks up to heaven and his sanity is restored.  His humility has returned as he praises the Most High God who lives forever.  In the end, Nebuchadnezzar concludes that he will “praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just.  And those who walk in pride He is able to humble.” (Daniel 4:37)

Nebuchadnezzar is not alone, you know.  There are times that you and I are seen walking down that same path.  We are pursuing God in obedience and humility and He is winning the victories in our life.  It feels so good, and at times even so easy, that pride begins to slowly crawl into our life.  Before we know it, we are all over the place taking credit for the work God has done, and is doing.  Look out!  Just as God is able to lift up the humble, he is effective at bringing down the proud. 

Rather than continuing to go through this up and down cycle, wouldn’t it be better to learn the lesson once and “walk humbly with our God” on a continual basis?  Could we immerse our self in God’s presence through His Word and His Spirit to serve as “pride detectors”, keeping us from exalting our self so that there is not a need for God to have to bring us low?  Will we surround our self with godly counsel who will have the courage to warn us when pride begins appearing in our life?

I pray that we learn the lesson repeated by God through scripture, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

He is the sovereign God, ruler and authority over all.  Will you and I live like He is the ruler and authority over us?

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But Everyone Else Is . . .

But everyone else is . . . going.  . . . doing.  . . . having.  . . . being.  . . . getting.  . . . watching.  . . . buying. . . . wearing. . . . ________.

Most of us have heard some variation of the above statement.  Actually, we’ve probably used a lengthy assortment of the above statement and filled in the blank to meet our own purposes more often than we care to admit.  How many times have you used some version of the above statement because you wanted to be like everyone else — you just wanted to fit in.  No matter how much someone has tried to persuade us that following the crowd is not always worth the consequences, we can’t be convinced.  We fall headlong into some sort of compromising situation before we realize that the consequences are greater than we expected.

I’m not the only one who has been there, right?  If that sounds familiar because we have lived it, then we ought to be able to have an understanding not only of what happens in 1 Samuel chapter 8, but why it happens.  As we look at the chapter, we see a reason given — an excuse, if you will — as to why the nation of Israel would make the request they do.  There is a growing dissatisfaction with the current leadership.  Samuel had led the nation to victories and into a time of peace.  Now he was growing old and his sons, whom he appointed as leaders following him, were corrupt.  So the people of Israel rise up and in essence state, “We don’t like the people in the position, so give us a new system of leadership.”  As a matter of fact, their actual request reveals a motive behind the desire for a change in structure.  We read in 1 Samuel 8:5 that the elders had come to Samuel and make this request or demand, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”  Later in the chapter, after Samuel has explained to the people what they are really asking for, how a king will rule and demand and take, they refuse to be swayed.  Actually, their demands become even more forceful in verses 19 & 20 as they respond to Samuel’s explanation, “No!  We want a king over us.  Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”  That’s it!  We want to be like everyone else.  We hear what you’re saying about the pitfalls in this course of action, but everyone else is having a king to lead them and we don’t want left out. 

We look at them and know their success as a nation under a king and we think, “These people were just arrogant and foolish — unwilling to listen to reason.”  How blind can they be?  This wasn’t the first time they had been faced with a poor quality of people coming into leadership, yet God had always taken care of them and led them and fought their battles for them in times past.  If they had just remembered, Samuel had been brought to leadership by God in the midst of a situation not unlike what they were currently facing.  Samuel’s rise to a position of leadership and authority came as God brought judgment to the sons of the previous leader, Eli, because they too did not follow the ways of God and were very corrupt.  It’s not like the nation reached a point of crisis in leadership and made a bad choice because they had no example of God taking care of this very problem — they just had no trust that God would and they wanted to be like everyone else.

Before we come down on them too hard, how often have you and I found ourselves in similar situations?  We don’t like the character of the person in leadership of our nation, region, locality, church, or family and so we push for a change in the entire system.  We don’t care why we have the leader we have, we want change and it sure looks like everyone else has it better than we do.  Underneath it all is the same rebellion present in Israel’s pursuit of a king.  It sounds like this, “We know God set it up this way, but things are different now.  We have a greater knowledge than God of what we really need.  If God had foreseen the way things are now, He would understand us setting aside what He said.”  That is what God tells Samuel.  God says to Samuel, “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.” 

Sound familiar?  It should.  How often have we thought, “The Bible can’t really mean that anymore?”  “Times are different now, I’m sure God would understand (if He were here).  We always say that last part under our breath, but we say it.  Or how about the infamous, “I know what the Bible says, but . . .”?  And then comes the next line.  It is really the same line used by the nation of Israel; we just reword it to fit the situation — “I know what the Bible says, but everyone else is doing it this way and look how successful they are!”  We are so good at justifying our rebellion and disobedience, aren’t we?

It is time for a change.  How about you and I adopting a new phrase and response to God?  Instead of the old excuses, why don’t we practice an “I know what the Bible says, so . . .” attitude?

I pray that your life and mine will be different as we live out an obedient “I know what the Bible says, so I will do it.”  May God lead, teach and direct each of us that we would follow Him faithfully and obediently.