"Is the Lord among us, or not?" I've asked that question a time or two in my ministry, and with at least as much petulance as God's people revealed in the Desert of Sin (speaking of which, has there ever been a more apt name?). I wonder, however, if that question is not so much a complaint as an attempt to manipulate or goad God into action. The Israelites were aware of the many, many ways in which God had miraculously provided for them prior to their arrival in this place. Like Moses and the elders, they were witnesses to the fact that God had never failed them. And yet they had the audacity to ask the question, "Is the Lord among us or not?" They knew the answer to that question, I think, but they chose to quarrel, to pick a fight with God, rather than to be still and trust Him to provide for their needs. It is this anxious arrogance that leads us down that same path, seeking to test God, to provoke the Lord so that He will prove, once more, that He is among us. Like the Israelites, however, we already know the real answer to that question. So how has the Lord recently demonstrated, without even being asked, that He is with you?
Remembering the past helps us cope with the present and prepares us for the future. In Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16 the psalmist reminds God's people of the ways in which the Lord delivered them as they made their way to the Promised Land. They were "things we have heard and known,things our ancestors have told us." It was their history, which they were tell the next generation so that they would know "the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done." Knowing that God has been faithful in the past helps us when the present is not working out the way we had hoped. It also reminds us that, even in the midst of our trials, God is with us and at work, preparing our future. In what way is that sure knowledge of help to you today?
A suggested theme: The Power of God Exodus 17: Water from the Rock, showing God’s power in providing for thirsty people Psalm 78: Review of God’s power in His timely meeting of each need of the Israelites Matthew: 21: Evidence of God’s power in the Scriptures and the reality of the Resurrection Philippians 2: God’s power in exalting Christ to the highest place of honor and exaltation
Another suggested theme: Slow learners Exodus – more grumbling, bad memories; miracle of water from the rock Psalm 78 – In case you forgot – here’s the list Matthew – ignorance of Sadducees; given clear evidence of Resurrection truth Philippians – with the rumors of some disharmony -- selfish ambition and vain conceit -- among the Philippians, Paul reminds them of the example of the humility and self-emptying of Christ
Possible thematic statement: "Although we can be (willfully) slow learners, the Father patiently provides for us while graciously prompting us to return to Him through His Son Jesus, who presents the pattern we are to follow in order to learn how to follow God as we are equipped to do so through the Holy Spirit."
Paul's cautionary advice about promoting ourselves echoes Jesus' advice in Luke 14:10. This passage is not meant to tear us down or put us in our place. It is meant to remind us that the Lord's will for our lives supersedes our own. Most of us like to think that "I am the boss of me." And yet we know from our own experience that being the boss of me tends to end in disaster. The only way to be of use to the Lord, Paul wrote, is to understand that you are in fact not the boss of you. Our responsibility is to obediently step aside and allow the "God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose." In that way we bring glory to God, and hence to ourselves. I do not advance the Kingdom of Heaven by making my name great; I do so by making God's name great, by exalting and glorifying Him, as I obediently serve in whatever capacity He has prepared for me beforehand and calls me to in the present. The key to greatness lies in obedient service, which allows God to do the exalting, as was His plan all along. How, then, will you exalt God through your service today?
Here's an idea to help us "remember": Samuel set up a pile of stones, called it "Ebenezer" (So far has the Lord helped us.) Review your life, and list -- in your "Documents", or on "Hard Copy", incidents where God has intervened one way or another to help you or loved ones; kept from (or through) accident or illness; "mountain top" experiences; special sense of His closeness and presence. This can provide, from time to time, comfort in some new trial. I've done it, and it works.
How could the chief priests and elders miss the fact that the Lord was not just "with" them, but really WITH them, in their midst, before their very eyes? It seems to me that the answer to that is no different than it was for the Israelites, who had a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, not to mention dozens of miraculous events, the shining face of Moses, God's voice from the mountain, and more to remind that the Lord was with them. It is a sort of willful blindness, dictated by circumstances, that all of God's people everywhere are prone to. The answer is no different for us, either, as we struggle to see what God is doing even as it unfolds before us. We have trouble seeing beyond the moment, for one thing. The question we direct to God more than any other, it seems, is, "What have you done for me lately?" We are driven to protect our turf, for another. The chief priests and elders didn't see Jesus as Lord; they saw Him as a threat. When Christ confronted them, inviting them to turn away from what they had to something far better, they resisted. We do the same thing when invited to walk away from our sin and enter the Savior's rest. On a related note, we too often see and hear the Lord and decide, "This is not the Savior I am looking for." I want power and glory for myself, but I don't want any of the self-denial and cross-bearing and following that goes with it. I find it no harder to miss what the Lord is doing, to wonder if He is with me or not, than the Israelites or the chief priests did. It is only when we are willing to look beyond our own circumstances, sin and self that we will see that the Lord is indeed with us.
The Lord is with us to will and to work His good pleasure. One of the key phrases in that sentence is "good pleasure." The Greek word that is translated "good pleasure" is eudokia. It highlights, as so much of what we have been studying over the past month, the kindness of God. The Lord's plan for us is a good one. His desire for us is also for good. The struggles the Israelites, the chief priests and elders, and the people in the church at Philippi all faced were not due to God's will, but to their willfulness. The Israelites were wandering in the wilderness because of the choices they had made. The Lord was with them, providing for their needs in spite of their choices. The chief priests and elders weren't able to spot God at work because they had become unfamiliar with who He was. The Lord was with them, in their very presence, trying to lead them back to Himself. The people in Philippi had allowed their own selfishness build walls between them. The Lord was with them, tearing down those walls. There have been times in my life when, to my embarrassment, I have wondered where God was and, if so, whether or not He knew what He was doing. When I look back, however, I can see that in those moments the Lord was in the process of repairing the damage I had done. Today, ask the Lord to show you what you might be missing; to reveal where He working His good pleasure within your life, that you might confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
"Is the Lord among us, or not?" I've asked that question a time or two in my ministry, and with at least as much petulance as God's people revealed in the Desert of Sin (speaking of which, has there ever been a more apt name?). I wonder, however, if that question is not so much a complaint as an attempt to manipulate or goad God into action. The Israelites were aware of the many, many ways in which God had miraculously provided for them prior to their arrival in this place. Like Moses and the elders, they were witnesses to the fact that God had never failed them. And yet they had the audacity to ask the question, "Is the Lord among us or not?" They knew the answer to that question, I think, but they chose to quarrel, to pick a fight with God, rather than to be still and trust Him to provide for their needs. It is this anxious arrogance that leads us down that same path, seeking to test God, to provoke the Lord so that He will prove, once more, that He is among us. Like the Israelites, however, we already know the real answer to that question. So how has the Lord recently demonstrated, without even being asked, that He is with you?
ReplyDeleteRemembering the past helps us cope with the present and prepares us for the future. In Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16 the psalmist reminds God's people of the ways in which the Lord delivered them as they made their way to the Promised Land. They were "things we have heard and known,things our ancestors have told us." It was their history, which they were tell the next generation so that they would know "the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done." Knowing that God has been faithful in the past helps us when the present is not working out the way we had hoped. It also reminds us that, even in the midst of our trials, God is with us and at work, preparing our future. In what way is that sure knowledge of help to you today?
ReplyDeleteA suggested theme: The Power of God
ReplyDeleteExodus 17: Water from the Rock, showing God’s power in providing for thirsty people
Psalm 78: Review of God’s power in His timely meeting of each need of the Israelites
Matthew: 21: Evidence of God’s power in the Scriptures and the reality of the Resurrection
Philippians 2: God’s power in exalting Christ to the highest place of honor and exaltation
Another suggested theme: Slow learners
ReplyDeleteExodus – more grumbling, bad memories; miracle of water from the rock
Psalm 78 – In case you forgot – here’s the list
Matthew – ignorance of Sadducees; given clear evidence of Resurrection truth
Philippians – with the rumors of some disharmony -- selfish ambition and vain conceit -- among the Philippians, Paul reminds them of the example of the humility and self-emptying of Christ
Possible thematic statement: "Although we can be (willfully) slow learners, the Father patiently provides for us while graciously prompting us to return to Him through His Son Jesus, who presents the pattern we are to follow in order to learn how to follow God as we are equipped to do so through the Holy Spirit."
DeletePaul's cautionary advice about promoting ourselves echoes Jesus' advice in Luke 14:10. This passage is not meant to tear us down or put us in our place. It is meant to remind us that the Lord's will for our lives supersedes our own. Most of us like to think that "I am the boss of me." And yet we know from our own experience that being the boss of me tends to end in disaster. The only way to be of use to the Lord, Paul wrote, is to understand that you are in fact not the boss of you. Our responsibility is to obediently step aside and allow the "God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose." In that way we bring glory to God, and hence to ourselves. I do not advance the Kingdom of Heaven by making my name great; I do so by making God's name great, by exalting and glorifying Him, as I obediently serve in whatever capacity He has prepared for me beforehand and calls me to in the present. The key to greatness lies in obedient service, which allows God to do the exalting, as was His plan all along. How, then, will you exalt God through your service today?
ReplyDeleteHere's an idea to help us "remember": Samuel set up a pile of stones, called it "Ebenezer" (So far has the Lord helped us.) Review your life, and list -- in your "Documents", or on "Hard Copy", incidents where God has intervened one way or another to help you or loved ones; kept from (or through) accident or illness; "mountain top" experiences; special sense of His closeness and presence. This can provide, from time to time, comfort in some new trial. I've done it, and it works.
ReplyDeleteHow could the chief priests and elders miss the fact that the Lord was not just "with" them, but really WITH them, in their midst, before their very eyes? It seems to me that the answer to that is no different than it was for the Israelites, who had a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, not to mention dozens of miraculous events, the shining face of Moses, God's voice from the mountain, and more to remind that the Lord was with them. It is a sort of willful blindness, dictated by circumstances, that all of God's people everywhere are prone to. The answer is no different for us, either, as we struggle to see what God is doing even as it unfolds before us. We have trouble seeing beyond the moment, for one thing. The question we direct to God more than any other, it seems, is, "What have you done for me lately?" We are driven to protect our turf, for another. The chief priests and elders didn't see Jesus as Lord; they saw Him as a threat. When Christ confronted them, inviting them to turn away from what they had to something far better, they resisted. We do the same thing when invited to walk away from our sin and enter the Savior's rest. On a related note, we too often see and hear the Lord and decide, "This is not the Savior I am looking for." I want power and glory for myself, but I don't want any of the self-denial and cross-bearing and following that goes with it. I find it no harder to miss what the Lord is doing, to wonder if He is with me or not, than the Israelites or the chief priests did. It is only when we are willing to look beyond our own circumstances, sin and self that we will see that the Lord is indeed with us.
ReplyDeleteThe Lord is with us to will and to work His good pleasure. One of the key phrases in that sentence is "good pleasure." The Greek word that is translated "good pleasure" is eudokia. It highlights, as so much of what we have been studying over the past month, the kindness of God. The Lord's plan for us is a good one. His desire for us is also for good. The struggles the Israelites, the chief priests and elders, and the people in the church at Philippi all faced were not due to God's will, but to their willfulness. The Israelites were wandering in the wilderness because of the choices they had made. The Lord was with them, providing for their needs in spite of their choices. The chief priests and elders weren't able to spot God at work because they had become unfamiliar with who He was. The Lord was with them, in their very presence, trying to lead them back to Himself. The people in Philippi had allowed their own selfishness build walls between them. The Lord was with them, tearing down those walls. There have been times in my life when, to my embarrassment, I have wondered where God was and, if so, whether or not He knew what He was doing. When I look back, however, I can see that in those moments the Lord was in the process of repairing the damage I had done. Today, ask the Lord to show you what you might be missing; to reveal where He working His good pleasure within your life, that you might confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
ReplyDelete