Ancient Prophecies, Peoples, and Promises

‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts,great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.You have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day.You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror.And you gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.And they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them.Behold, the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and because of sword and famine and pestilence the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it.Yet you, O Lord GOD, have said to me, “Buy the field for money and get witnesses”—though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.’--Jeremiah 32:17-25 (ESV)

Why would Jeremiah prophesy that Israel would be defeated by her enemies, all her people carried into exile, and the land overrun with foreigners, and then turn around and buy some real estate in that same area?  Think about it.  If we knew that war was imminent, and that our home town would be destroyed in that war, would we want to invest in real estate at pre-war prices?  Yet that is what Jeremiah did.  He paid 17 silver shekels, or a little over two month's wages, for land that in a few months' time would be worthless.

The answer is found later in the 32nd chapter of Jeremiah

“For thus says the LORD: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them.Fields shall be bought in this land of which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’Fields shall be bought for money, and deeds shall be signed and sealed and witnessed, in the land of Benjamin, in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD.”--Jeremiah 32:42-44 (ESV)

It was meant as an encouragement to the people.  Their land would be taken from them (because of their sin), but it would be restored to them later (because of God's love, grace, and mercy.)  God had given His word that the land would belong to the descendants of Abraham until the end of time.  God still honors that promise.

I think this passage is also an encouragement to us.  Even if we do not have a Jewish heritage, we are promised God's love and mercy and grace forever.  If we love Him, He may put us through trials and tribulations.  Our churches may be battlegrounds (literally), and we may see more and more bloodshed in places of Christian worship.  But God is greater than ISIS, just like he was greater than the Chaldeans in Jeremiah's time.

Who were the Chaldeans?  Chaldea was in the southern part of the Babylonian empire, roughly in the area of southern Iraq today.  The term also refers to sorcerers, magicians, and charlatans.  In the second chapter of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that he could not remember, much less interpret.  He called together all the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to help him.  They were all dumb-founded.  "There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean." (Daniel 2:10, ESV, emphasis added).

Today it may seem that Christians are attacked from all sides.  On the cultural front, there are those who challenge faith in Jesus using astrology, who equate Christ's miracles with cheap magic tricks.  On the world stage, there is no greater threat to Christians than ISIS.  These religious terrorists are getting more and more bold in not only capturing, torturing, and killing Christians, but also video-taping and broadcasting drownings and beheadings of their enemies.

Do we cower in fear?  Do we succumb to the terror they are trying to instill?  No, for "greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world."  We know that God has invested in us, and that His investment will not return void.  He gives us a peace that surpasses all human understanding.  We know that even in the middle of persecution, our God reigns.  We are assured of His imminent return.  Whether we live or die in this world, we are assured of living in His presence for eternity.  And if we are still alive when He returns for His church, all the better!  Praise His holy name.

I wouldn't advise you to invest long-term in my country's real estate, as we could be overrun at any moment (militarily, or culturally).  You might consider, like Jeremiah, investing in land in Israel, however, because although it will be a war-torn region until the battle of Armageddon, God has promised that land to His people forever.

A Father to the Fatherless

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A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation.                   --Psalm 68:5

Not long after Mother's Day last month, I saw a heartbreaking internet posting from a college classmate of mine.  She said she always finds herself mourning on Mother's Day each year, because she is childless.  She has had multiple miscarriages through the years.  Her husband left her, she said, because she could not bear him children.

Well-meaning people have tried to comfort her, telling her that all of her babies are waiting for her in heaven.  It's for the best, they tell her.  God's will, and all that.

Like Job said, "Miserable comforters are you all!" (Job 16:2).

So with Father's Day approaching tomorrow, I am sensitive.  By and large, men do not mourn being unable to sire children.  Not like women do.  But millions in our culture and in our world have no father.  Many have grown up in homes without fathers.  Some, like me, have lost their fathers later in life.  Still others may carry a father wound so deep that they have written their paternal parent out of their lives.

For these people, Father's Day is meaningless at best.  At worst, it is a reminder of the Dad they imagined, but who walked out on them, or maybe was in prison, or perhaps has passed away.  There is a Dad-shaped hole in their hearts that is almost impossible to fill.

Almost.

When Jesus was on this earth, He established His own Sonship with the Father.  He taught that God can be our Father, as well, if we let Him.  Remember our Lord's Model Prayer?  He taught us to address God as "Our Father in Heaven." (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2).  In this way, He calls us to relationship with God.  To a culture that had been raised "in the fear of the Lord," the petitions in the Model Prayer would have been thought of in a different light than maybe we think of them today.

• "Your kingdom come." They thought God would come on a white horse with the sword of righteousness in His hand, to deliver His people from oppression.  Jesus taught them that a loving Father manifested Himself as a baby born in a manger, who preached a message of love, forgiveness, and peace.
• "Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven."  They thought God's will was that His enemies would die by the sword or live as servants of His people.  Jesus taught them that a loving Father had a message of hope and salvation to the Gentiles, so that all who call on His name shall be saved.
• "Give us this day our daily bread."  They knew that God had fed their forefathers with manna in the wilderness; they also knew what the Psalmist had written: "I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread." (Psalm 37:25).  Jesus taught us to share our bread with those who need it, as we would share it with our brothers and sisters in the same house.
• "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  They approached God with fear and trembling, hoping He would show them mercy.  Jesus taught us that we can approach God with confidence, knowing that He loves us and wants to remove our sins from us "as far as the east is from the west."

In my quiet time today, I read the 10th chapter of Mark.  It is striking to me that the chapter begins with teaching about divorce, and is immediately followed by His command to "let the little children come unto me."  The order and proximity is the same in the companion passage in Matthew chapter 19.  The Pharisees sought to trap Jesus.  They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"  Jesus answered with the ideal that had been put in place since the Garden of Eden: "At the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'." 

We see in our culture today that men will divorce their wives for any and every reason.  This ought not to be.  God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16).  When confronted with this truth, men today will go back to what the Pharisees told Jesus.  "Moses said that a man could give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away." (Matthew 19:7).  Look, Jesus, they were saying.  Everybody does it.  Even Moses said in the law that it was permissible.  Today we hear that everybody does it--even the Church allows it.  Even so, Jesus said it is not God's perfect will, or even His plan for us.  He said our hearts are hardened, and we call evil good.

Immediately following this passage, it says

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.  When Jesus saw this, He was indignant.  He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  I tell you the truth, anyone who will no receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."  And he took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them.  --Mark 10:13-16

I might be going out on a limb here, but isn't it possible that the children being brought to Jesus were the children whose parents had divorced?  Jesus had just rebuked the Pharisees for teaching that a man could abandon his family for any and every reason.  This may have emboldened the divorced mothers to bring their now fatherless children into His presence.  When the disciples tried to shoo them away, Jesus corrected them.  He blesses the fatherless; He scoops them up into His arms and shows the love of the Father to them.

Many times, Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law.  Moses' Law had special provisions for the widows and the fatherless.  They were to be fed and clothed (Deuteronomy 26:12).  They were to be protected (Deuteronomy 24;17).  Justice was not to be denied them (Isaiah 1:17).  "Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let your widows trust in me." (Jeremiah 49:11).

If you have not known your father, if he abandoned you, or is imprisoned, or has passed away, let Jesus heal your heart.  Let God be your Father.  Trust Him to be your Protector, your Provider, your Peace.

A special message to Men of God who may read this:  if you know of a fatherless child, step up and be a godly example to her.  Share God's truth and His wisdom with him.  Do what you can to stand in the gap for that child.  God will bless you for it.

 

The Light of Love, not Finger Pointing

If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.  --Isaiah 58:9b-10

Fellow Christians, I want to remind you of a great truth.  We have seen Jesus!  The Son of God Himself was made manifest to us, and we responded humbly and gratefully.  We knew His mercy, and were prompted to act.  "If we confess our sins," wrote the disciple whom Jesus loved, "He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9).

We were not drawn to Christ by facing a list of our sins and trespasses.  We were drawn to Christ because of His great love for us.  "Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us that we should be called the Sons of God." (1 John 3:1).  Romans 5:8 says,

1. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!

Brothers and Sister, hear me.  If this is true (and it is), then why in the name of sense do we point the finger at people because of things they do?  We love to lump people together and label them all with a broad brush.  

There is a trend on the internet that speaks to this problem.  It is called "animal shaming."  A family pet, usually a dog, is told to sit while a sign is hung around its neck and a picture is taken.  Usually the sign says something like, "I stole a half pound of block Parmesan cheese off the counter and ate it.  No pizza for me!"  The dog looks confused, and the people who see the photo laugh at the joke.  

"Shaming" has been tried on cats, too, but they always look bored in the photo, like they don't care.  And that's just the point.  The pets are not truly "shamed" by this.  It's not like they can read the signs hung around their necks.

Unfortunately, this has escalated to children.  There have been photos posted online of small children, middle schoolers, and even older teens who have been made to hold a sign listing their offenses while the parent takes their picture and posts it online.  I read a story this week about a 14 year old boy who committed suicide after being "shamed" like this on the internet.

Have these parents never done anything stupid when they were kids?  We know they have.  They probably got away with worse things than what they are shaming their kids for.  "All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23).  Matthew 7:1-5 says

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Is this the way we try to evangelize the world, by pointing out their faults?  If so, it is little wonder, then, that we are failing to reach this generation for Christ.  We must first show them Jesus, then disciple them to become more like Him.  Unfortunately, many of us become very legalistic, saying that people are going to hell because they're gay, or because they are transgender, or because they engage in pornography.  News flash: people go to hell because they reject Jesus and His love.  We are all sinners--even those who don't engage in lewd, lascivious behavior; in the Greek,  πόρνη (pornē).

Does that mean that I support the sins that people get engaged in?  Not at all.  But people aren't shamed into heaven.  They aren't wooed by the spirit of legalism.  Legalism sets up stumbling blocks. We are called to be a light in the darkness, but so many times we set up stumbling blocks that cast big shadows, hiding the light of Truth.  We are called to be the salt of the earth, but instead of seasoning and preserving the Faith, we mount an assault against evil deeds.  We may be well-meaning, but we fall into the same trap of shaming.

We must remember that legalism does not get people into the Kingdom of God.  Jesus showed us that the path to God is paved with love.  We just need to show them Jesus, and let them respond by faith.  One of the most memorable lines from any movie was the line from A Few Good Men where Jack Nicholson shouts, "You can't handle the truth!"  Nobody can.

The only sinless man was Jesus. Yet He was called the Friend of Sinners.  Being their friend does not condone the sin.  It does, however, make the Truth easier to face.  Paul wrote this to the Ephesian church:

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.  From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.  So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.  They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.  You, however, did not come to know Christ that way.  Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.  You were taught, with regard to your former life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.  Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. --Ephesians 4:15-25

Truth.  Love.  Be righteous and holy.  Shine His light into a world of darkness.  "So that the world may know."

 

 

God's Secretary

You ever stopped to think about what your praying for when you pray? Take my mother for instance; she is lying in the hospital with a bad heart, fluid on her lung and a staph infection. It would appear in its simplest form that you would simply need to pray for her to get well but every aspect of her recovery is completely dependent on the actions of all of her care takers. You have to pray the cardiologist got enough sleep last night and is on his A game. You have to pray the RNs are loving their jobs today and aren't busy posting on Facebook so mom is getting their undivided attention. You have to pray the guy/girl drawing blood is competent and attentive and not worrying what they are going to do for lunch. You need to pray that the lab tech is in as big of a hurry to find out what is wrong with mom so she can start getting the right drugs for her particular infection. You have to worry whether or not the X-Ray tech gets the exposures done quickly so the doctor can read them. Lastly you have to pray for these 5 different people to communicate effectively to intimately come up with the right course of action. There are 7 billion people on this planet and this many people are involved in one persons well being. Hope God has a secretary.--Jason P.

When I first read Jason's Facebook post, I immediately thought about how big God is.  Luke 12:6-7 puts it into perspective.  "Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?  Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered; do not fear, therefore: you are of more value than many sparrows."

There are seven billion people on this place called Earth.  And God knows us all by name.  God knows Jason's mother and father, and Jason's grandmother and grandfather, and Jason's two aunts, and Jason's daughter, all of whom were in the ICU waiting room praying and worrying together.

God knows the doctor, and the doctor's ex-wife who is suing him for child support while he is trying to pay off his student loans.

God knows the day shift RN, and her son who is in the military overseas.  If she is taking a break on her phone, it is to see if he is safe.

God knows the night shift RN, who had to leave her two pre-school aged children at home with their father.  If she is stealing a few minutes on her phone, it is to say good night to them, and to remind her husband to give the younger one his medicine.

God knows the med tech who drew blood, whose mom just passed away, but who is at work anyway. God also knows the lab tech, who just got engaged, and is planning a honeymoon with his bride-to-be, and wonders how he can possibly pay for it after he financed the engagement ring. God knows the x-ray tech, and the nightmares she has been having recently, and how she is afraid to go to sleep.

God knows that all these people need to work together to care for Jason's mom, and for the eleven other people in the ICU that day.  Oh, and by the way, God knows those eleven other people.  He knows their thoughts and fears.  He knows their hearts.  He knows their past.  He knows their future.

Just like the line from Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles parodying an earlier movie, "Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges."  When you ask, Jason, whether God has a secretary, my defense of Him might be, "Secretary?  My God don't need no secretary!"

Or does He?

When you think of what a good secretary, or administrative assistant does, it lines up pretty closely to the spiritual gifts spoken of in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12.  Read on, and I'll tell you what I mean.

Setting Appointments
If I wanted to meet with an executive in person, I might first have to set an appointment with his assistant.  The assistant would write my name in an appointment book, or in a Day Planner, or type it into a computer program designed to organize time more efficiently.  Then the assistant might remind the executive that the appointment is set, and remind again when the day arrives, and yet another reminder might go out as the appointed time approaches.  If I were sitting in the waiting area patiently waiting my turn, the assistant might announce my presence thusly: "Your two o'clock is here."  The assistant might even thank me for coming as I am walking out the door.

Those people who have a gift for intercessory prayer are like appointment setters for God.  They might mark certain names down on a list.  They might mark down important events, like interviews or planned surgeries.  Then they may from time to time "remind" God to be with that person as they go into that event.  And at the appointed time, the prayer-warrior will ask God to be with that person in a very special way.  They will thank God for the outcome afterward.

Taking a Letter
Often a person in a secretarial position might be asked to take a letter.  The executive might dictate the letter live, right then and there.  Or the dictation might be stored on a device, and the secretary might only need to type it out so that it can be mailed.  The executive might ask to sign it personally, or to check it for errors and omissions.  Or the administrative assistant might be trusted enough by the boss to sign the letter and check for errors before it is put in the mail and sent out.  If I receive a letter from a company executive, it would not matter to me whether a secretary typed it, signed it, sealed it in an envelope and mailed it.  I know that the message comes directly from the boss, even if the secretary put the idea on paper.

Spiritually, God gifts prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers this way.  Seven times in the first three chapters of the book of Revelation, John wrote, "To the church at ______ write...."  Galatians 6:11 says, "See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand."  This suggests that the rest of Galatians may have been dictated to a secretary, or amanuensis (A literary or artistic assistant, in particular one who takes dictation or copies manuscripts).  Paul may have been getting old, and his eyesight failing as he wrote the pastoral epistles, but he wanted the readers to know that he himself was writing this letter.  And we know that the message Paul wrote or dictated was one that God had placed on his heart.  There are modern-day Bible teachers who speak for God, and who might give a fresh perspective on ancient ideals or beliefs found in Scripture.  If I go to church this Sunday and the sermon really speaks to me, I could say interchangeably, "God really spoke to me this morning," or alternatively, "Pastor Robert really spoke to my heart this morning."  We see how God uses people in this way more and more as the population rises.

Doing the Work
From time to time an executive might be called out to do a sales pitch, or to conduct business in another city.  During that time, the office does not close.  The administrative assistant must field calls, pay invoices, order supplies and see that the day-to-day activities of the business all get done in the boss's absence.  Only in rare and special cases might the assistant need to contact the executive by phone or email: when important decisions have to be made, or when something unexpected happens. The bulk of the business, however, gets done just fine without the boss being there.

There is a specific spiritual gift spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12:28, which the older versions translate as "helps".  It is defined in this way.

1. Helps: The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to invest the talents they have in the life and ministry of other members of the Body, thus enabling those others to increase the effectiveness of their own spiritual gifts.

God wants to make sure that His people work together effectively and efficiently until He comes in His glory.  He has set certain people in key places to make that happen.  If you don't think you have a spiritual gift, think again.  It may be in investing in others so that they can realize their spiritual potential.

So, on second thought Jason, God does have a secretary.  Many of them, in fact.

It is us.