Pray As If Your Life Depended Upon It

Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.  To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.  --Ephesians 6:18

We had a great sermon yesterday at our church.  The message was entitled, "Don't look back," an appropriate message for the New Year.  A lot of us look back on past mistakes and get discouraged.  We get overwhelmed by past sins, when God wants us to look forward to future victories.  The Bible says,

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it on my own.  But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.  Only let us hold true to what we have attained.  --Philippians 3:13-16

What about those sins that keep us awake at night?  Scripture says that God has removed them "as far as the east is from the west." (Psalm 103:12).  How far is that?  If you walked north, eventually you would hit the North Pole and start walking south.  But no matter how far you walked toward the east, you will never be going west.  In the same way, God will never bring your sins up again once they are forgiven.  (I believe God is omniscient, so He cannot truly "forget" our sins; rather, He chooses not to think of them, placing them on His Son at the Cross.)

That's a comforting thought for the New Year, as we look forward to the goals and accomplishments we want to make going forward.  We can forget about the past.  In fact, that was one of the pastor's statements yesterday.  He asked for a show of hands, who had heard the phrase "the sea of forgetfulness".  He reminded us that this was a great thought, but it was not actually in the Bible.  God never spoke of the sea of forgetfulness, because He is omniscient, and cannot forget; also, as vast as the earth's oceans are, they do  have a limit--they can go no further than the shore line, and are only as deep as He made them.  So even this is a flawed example of God's unfailing love.  Besides, in Revelation it says that in the new heaven and new earth, there will be no more sea.

Sometimes we take comforting thoughts like that and mis-attribute them to Scripture.  Recently I was helping my fiancee prepare a Sunday School lesson.  The topic was prayer, and she had me look up scripture references.  I got to the one in Ephesians 6 quoted above, and she recognized the passage as the one describing the whole armor of God.  She began listing them off: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.  Where was prayer in that list?

It turns out that prayer is not in the list of pieces of the armor, but it is no less important.  Prayer is as vital to the Christian walk as any of the other things Paul listed.  In fact, it is so close to the description of the Sword of the Spirit that it seems to complement the word of God.  Look closely:

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. --Ephesians 6:16-18a

Many of us remember the movie A Few Good Men starring Tom Cruise, Kevin Bacon, and Jack Nicholson.  The most memorable line in that film, of course was when Tom Cruise's character was cross examining Jack Nicholson's character, who blurted out, "You want the truth?  YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH."  The cartoon above is a parody of that line, showing that too often when a phrase get's permeated into our culture, it gets corrupted over time, and the corruptions end up in our sub-conscious mind more than the original thought.

If you asked 100 Christians if prayer was part of the Armor of God example that Paul gave in Ephesians 6, I'll bet that the majority of them would say yes.  They would probably be surprised if you showed them that it was not.

There was another line in the movie that comes to mind.  When Kevin Bacon's character, the Army prosecutor, was questioning a Marine stationed in Cuba, Kevin handed him a copy of the Marine Corps Outline for Recruit Training and asked him to look up "code red".  The Marine admitted that although code reds were practiced in their platoon, the phrase was not in the handbook.  Kevin then presented a copy of the Standard Operating Procedures, Rifle Company, Guantanamo Bay.  Where in this book, he asked, does it mention a code red?  Again, the witness admitted that this was not mentioned in the SOP.  At the end of this interrogation, Cruise grabs the volume out of Bacon's hand, and asks, "Would you turn to the page where it says where the mess hall is?"  The Marine explains that there is no mention of the mess hall in this volume.  Even though the platoon is regularly fed there, the chow hall is not specifically mentioned in the handbook.

In the same way, while prayer is not listed as a piece of the Armor of God, I believe it is the fuel for the Soldier in God's Army.  Prayer is what sustains us as we wield the Sword of the Spirit.  Prayer gives us strength to stand firm against evil with the Belt of Truth and the Breastplate of Righteousness.  Prayer gives us the confidence to hold up the Shield of Faith and extinguish the fiery darts of the evil one.

My prayer for the New Year is that we would not let the evil one drag us into the pit of despair by reminding us of past sins.  I pray that we would, as Paul said, press on toward the mark of the true believer, forgetting what lies behind.  I pray that we would equip ourselves every day with the whole armor of God, not forgetting to pray without ceasing, so that our hearts would be strengthened and encouraged in our fight against evil, and that we would not falter or tire as one who has not been nourished multiple times daily.

"They call me Junior"

Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know me, Philip?  He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?  --John 14:9-10a

I have written before in this space about someone being described as "the spittin' image" of someone else, usually a parent.  I believe it is a derivation of "The Spirit and Image", a phrase that perfectly describes our Savior.

Today I want to show examples of men in the Bible who were known by their father's names.  In modern American society, someone who carries the exact name (first, middle, and last name) of his Dad would be referred to as "Junior".  We also might say that about someone who aspires to be like someone else, either intentionally or unintentionally.  For example, we might say of an aspiring football coach that he was "Vince Lombardi, Jr."  The phrase can also be negatively applied, as in calling a failed product an "Edsel, Jr." or "Son of Betamax".

In Jewish society in the New Testament times, the term used for "the son of" was not "Junior", but rather the term "bar".  (In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word was "ben"; you may have seen the Charlton Heston movie "Ben-Hur", whose name was Judah, son of Hur.  Readers of Robert Browning may recall a poem by the name of Rabbi Ben Ezra.  You get the idea.)  

One of Jesus's disciples was Bartholomew, which literally means "son of Tolmei".  Today we might refer to him as Tomei Junior.  This denotes familial connection.  In the same vein, Mark 10:46 tells of a man Jesus encountered who was blind from birth.  His name was Bartimaeus, or literally "son of Timaeus".  Today we might call him Timaeus, Jr. or even Timmy.  Again, there was a familial connection involved in these men's identities.

Honestly, I would like to be so identified with Christ that people would know me as "Jesus, Jr."  In fact, that is what we are called.  When Jesus ascended into heaven, His followers were called "followers of the Way."  Acts 11:26 says it was in Antioch where they were first called Christians, meaning followers of Christ.  Actually, it goes deeper than that:  the Roman suffix attached to the Greek word meaning "Anointed One" actually denotes ownership.  True Christians hold not only the name, but by making Him Lord they are true followers of Him, and by taking up their cross and following him "even unto death", they identify as slaves of Christ.  There is not only a familial connotation (as in, we are called children of God), but also a sense of ownership, or Lordship, in that we have committed to follow and obey Him.

When I was younger, I was known as "Rusty".  It was a reference to my fiery red hair.  Another person might be known as "Shorty" because of their stature.  Another example of a nickname using the Jewish "bar" (meaning son of) is when we are introduced to a man named Joseph who traveled with Paul.  This man was not known as Joseph, but rather by a nickname "Barnabas", meaning "Son of Encouragement". (Acts 4:36).  Rather than a familial connection, this use of the term "bar" denotes a characteristic by which someone is known.  This man Joseph was known as being calm and unflappable, a source of comfort, consolation, and exhortation.  In fact, the word translated "encouragement" in Acts 4:36 is the Greek word paraklesis.  As a reference, when Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to his disciples in John 14:16, He said, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever."  The Greek word for for "helper" or "comforter" is parakletos.

So we see that this Joseph, called Barnabas, was known by the root word that was used for the Holy Spirit.  I, too, want to be so full of the Holy Spirit that I can be a comforter and an advocate for people.  I would like to be known as an encourager, an exhorter, a consoler of His people.  God give me that ability, that mind-set, that temperament.  I could not be called by a better nickname.  I would gladly trade "Rusty" for "Barnabas."

There are people that are so evil, so wicked that even their own family does not want to associate with them.  These people might be disinherited by their fathers, so that they no longer represent the family name, and can not claim ownership to the family's possessions.  One such man in the New Testament was known only as Barabbas.  Literally, his name means "son of a father or master."  He may have been a bastard son of a slave woman.  What we do know is that he was a thief and an insurrectionist, maybe even a murderer.  He was as guilty under the Law as any man could be.  He is significant because when Jesus was condemned to be crucified, the Roman official called Pilate offered to release one of two people--either he would release Jesus, who referred to Himself as the "Son of Man" but was known by His followers as the Son of God (the Father); or, Pilate would release Barabbas, a convicted criminal, and one who was so wicked his own family disowned him. Yet Jesus died for this man as surely as He died for you and me.

Follow me here: we can identify with this nameless ne'er-do-well.  As good as we try to be, we all know in our heart of hearts that "there is none righteous, no not one." (Romans 3:10).  No matter how godly we aspire to be, "all our righteousness is as filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6).  We are all sons and daughters of a father, the slave of a master called sin.  Yet the very Son of God Himself became a substitute for our sinfulness.  The Bible says, "He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21).

What word or phrase are you known by?  Who do you identify with, to the extent that you are known by that name?  O, that we would so identify with Christ that we are known by His Name.  "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.  For this reason the world does not now us, because it did not know Him." (1 John 3:1).  Let us be known by Him, and by the world as His.

The Day of Discovery

He (Abram) went on his journey from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.  --Genesis 13:3-4

 I learned a new word today.  I love learning new things, making new discoveries. The word "anagnorisis" literally means discovery.  It is the point at which there is no more ignorance.  It is often used in the theatre to describe a Greek tragedy.  It is the point in the plot, especially of a tragedy, at which the protagonist recognizes his or her (or some other character's) true identity, or discovers the true nature of his or her own situation.  One example is when the character Oedipus learns that the king that he killed was his own father, and that the widow he married was in fact his mother.

It is the critical moment of recognition or discovery, especially preceding peripeteia; that is, a sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances, especially in reference to a fictional narrative.  We get the word "peripatetic" from this term, meaning related to walking; moving or travelling from place to place (itinerant).  It is often used in reference to Aristotle, who made his disciples walk with him as he taught them.

Long before Aristotle, however, we read of the life of Abraham, a peripatetic man who experienced peripeteia resulting in anagnorisis.  Let's look in Genesis 12 and 13 to see what I mean.  Abraham is always seen as a man of faith, who left his home country and followed God to a land promised to his descendants forever.  Before God changed his name to Abraham, however, we see how his faith was tested.

Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.  And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.  --Genesis 12:1-3

This is called the Abrahamic Covenant, a time where God made a solemn promise to make Abram's descendants into a great nation.  In the very next verse, however, we learn that "Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran."  Is it any wonder, then, that he took his nephew Lot with him on this journey?  Abram and his wife Sarai had no children of their own, and Lot was the closest male relative.  If Abram died childless, then his fortune and inheritance would go to Lot.

However, during the journey from Babylon (where Ur of the Chaldees was located) to Canaan (the future home of the nation of Israel), I believe God taught Abram some valuable lessons.  When they arrived in Canaan, the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land."

Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.  --Genesis 12:8

 Now, from here on the testings come.  Instead of settling there at Bethel, which means "The House of God," Abram traveled south to the Negev desert.  Not only did he find himself in a desert area, but the Bible says that there was a severe famine in the land.  I don't know if you've ever been to a desert and spent any time there, but during the dry season, food and water are scarce.  The vegetation could not support Abram and his family, much less his flocks and herds.  So he decides to go to Egypt.

I don't know whether God told him to go to Egypt; we don't even know that God led him into the desert.  God seems particularly silent during this period of time.  However, we do know that God was there with him all the while.  Anyway, our peripatetic protagonist makes the decision to go to Egypt, where there is water and vegetation enough for his family and his flocks.  However, when he gets there, he starts to worry.  The worry leads to a bad decision.

It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.  Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you."  --Genesis 12:11-13

Abram trusted God enough to leave his home and go to a land that God had promised to him.  However, Abram did not trust God enough to keep him safe in Egypt.  Sure enough, the princes of Egypt saw his wife, and she was so beautiful that they bragged on her beauty to Pharaoh.  She must have been a real beauty queen, because the princes thought she should be in Pharaoh's harem.  When Pharaoh saw her, he gave gifts to Abraham--sheep, oxen, donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys and camels.  God was making His word come true to Abram, fulfilling the covenant even when Abram strayed into a foreign land.

Giving gifts was a blessing, and God blessed Pharaoh for blessing Abram in that he did not take Sarai into his bed.  Stealing a man's wife was a curse, and God cursed Pharaoh and his household by sending great plagues upon them.  I find it interesting that this was a foreshadowing of events that would happen over 400 years later, when Moses called down plagues upon Pharaoh and the nation, so that when the nation of Israel left, the Egyptians sent them with gold and silver and jewels.  In the same way, Pharaoh did not ask Abram to return all the gifts he had given to Abram, but he did ask Abram to leave.

I think Abram saw God's hand in all of this, and his faith was strengthened.  Look at the first verse of chapter 13: "So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him."  Contrast that with chapter 12, verse 4, when we saw that Lot was placed in a prominent position, just behind his wife Sarai; now in chapter 13, Lot is mentioned last, almost as an afterthought.  I think that this is significant, because it showed how Abram trusted God: the promise of a great nation would be through his own seed, not through his brother's; he would share his inheritance with his own son, not with his nephew.

If we read further into chapter 13, we will see that Lot's servants and Abram's servants fought over grazing rights and water rights for their flocks and herds.  Abram brings Lot up to the altar he had built earlier, with Bethel on the west and the lush Jordan valley on the east.  Abram asked Lot to choose the place where he would go, and Abram promised that he would go the other direction, so that there would not be contention between their servants and their families.  Lot chose the blessing he could see--the green, fertile valley near the Jordan river.  Abram went west toward Bethel, the house of God.

I think that during this period, Abram's faith grew.  His trust in the Lord reached a turning point, and he shed a lot of his ignorance.  Abram garnered even more of God's blessing after he had made this choice.

The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.  I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered.  Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you."  --Genesis 13: 14-17

God walked with Abram, teaching him to grown in his faith.  Abram realized who he was, by God's grace.  This doesn't mean that Abram was perfect, that he would always trust in the Lord in all his ways.  We know that later Abraham would try again to say that Sarah was his sister in order to protect his life, not fully trusting in God to protect him.  We know that later Sarah would convince him to have relations with a servant girl in order to have a son, not trusting that God wanted the child of promise to be from both Abraham and Sarah.  Ultimately, however, we do see that God worked in all things for their good and His glory.

I hope that you are as encouraged by this as I am.  The more I trust God--trust in His promises, trust in His goodness, trust in His grace and mercy--the more He can use me to bring about His purpose to glorify Himself in me.

Damning With Faint Praise

Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer,

And without sneering, teach the rest to sneer;

Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike,

Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.

— "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot" by Alexander Pope (1688–1744)

Say to God, "How awesome are Your works!  Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to you."  --Psalm 66:3

 Many of us grew up with the sage advice, "If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all."  However, in real life nature abhors a vacuum, and when the gossipers ask us, "What do you think?" we grow uncomfortable in the silence.  We are either disingenuous and agree with the group, or we may try to hide our opposing views in clever talk.

One of my favorite stories from my late father was when he had just finished a visit with a family and their new baby.  I don't remember if it was at the hospital, where the church member had just given birth, or if the family had gathered at the new mother's home, but the question posed to the pastor was, "Isn't that the prettiest baby in the whole world?"  Truthfully, it was the ugliest child he had ever seen.  Not wanting to upset anyone with his true opinion, yet not wanting to lie outright, my father responded, "Yes ma'am, that is a baby!"

Unfortunately, there are times when our culture demands obeisance beyond potentially awkward social situations.  Standing up and speaking truth to power could be fatal, or at the very least unlawful.  It is in these situations that faith is severely tested.

When needs he must, yet faintly then he praises,

Somewhat the deed, much more the means he raises:

So marreth what he makes, and praising most, dispraises.

— "The Purple Island" by Phineas Fletcher (1582-1650)

I can imagine when Daniel and his friends were exiled out of Jerusalem in Babylon in about 610 BC, the pressure was immense for the Jewish exiles to conform to their new culture, including the religion of the king.  Thank God that Daniel did not pray to the king (see Daniel chapter 6).  I am certain that other Jewish exiles lavished false praise upon Darius in accordance with the law, hoping that God would see their hearts instead of their words and their actions.  Thank God that Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah did not bow to the image of Nebuchadnezzar (see Daniel chapter 3), although it would appear that they were alone in this conviction.  Other Jewish exiles must have either converted to the false religion, or haltingly, awkwardly bowed to the idol with much fear and self loathing.

There are regions in the world today where Christianity is outlawed.  Christians cannot openly gather in worship, sing hymns or spiritual songs, or evangelize.  Those who do are arrested, and might face beheading, being burned alive, or at the very least torture and imprisonment.

I believe the time will come when Christ reigns on Earth for a thousand years.  Yet even then, some who are alive during this time will not truly love Him.  They may outwardly submit.  Maybe they say all the right things, but their heart will be against God.  When Satan is loosed again after the millennium is over, these people will wage war on Christ-followers, even as the devil and his demons will wage war against heaven itself (Revelation 20:3, 7-9).  These, I believe, are the ones Jesus referred to in Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter."  Actions speak louder than words.

Today's culture teaches us to go along to get along.  Anyone who stands up and makes waves is ridiculed, derided, and shunned as a fundamentalist extremist zealot.  Very few of us are brave enough to stand up and influence the culture for Christ.  Right now, especially in America, the consequences are relatively minor--we risk our reputation, or a few friends.  The time will come when we would be risking our very lives.  This may be what Jesus meant when He said, "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much." (Luke 16:10).

Stand up for what is right.  Don't use clever words to try to dodge the question that the culture throws up at you every day.  Go all in, with your whole heart.  After all, that's what Jesus did.

He loves us so much

The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom he had formed.  --Genesis 2:8 

Do you ever think of Eden?  I would have loved to have seen it.  Maybe it was a taste of what Heaven will be like, or the New Earth spoken of in Revelation 21.  Maybe I somehow want to see what might have been had sin not entered into the world.  Perhaps I desire to see what Adam gave up in exchange for disobedience.

In our weekly men's Bible study, one of the leaders read Genesis 2:8 and then asked whether we thought that God spoke the garden of Eden into existence, or if he actually planted it, as in growing the trees from seeds or seedlings, taking the time to cultivate, putting in the effort to fertilize and weed it.  He said this was something he had always wondered.  It is a good question.  Ontologically, God is powerful enough to have spoken the words, "Let there be a beautiful garden," and it would have been so.  Positionally, God had the authority to delegate this task to a subordinate, so He could have commanded the angels to plant it for Him.  Educationally, He could have mentored Adam, the first man, on the finer points of gardening, showing him how to grow the perfect garden so he would know later (for God is omniscient, and surely knew that man would fall and would be banished from Eden eventually).

The Bible, however, does not say anything like this.  It says God took the initiative, that He did the work, and that He completed the task.  How He must have loved the man that He had made in order to go to so much effort, to make this beautiful new home for him and to present it as a gift.

This got me started thinking about the whole creation process.  When we read the first two chapters of Genesis, we see a progression, a series of verbs that gets progressively more labor intensive.  Today I want us to look at this progression.

Create

The first verb used in the Bible is the word bara, to create.  Some definitions of the Hebrew word bara (according to Strong's): to create; to cut down (as a wood); select or choose; dispatch; make fat.  (According to Genesius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon): To cut out, to cut or pare down, to plane and polish.  To create, to produce; to make smooth, to polish--hence to fashion, to create; to beget (as a son); to eat, to feed, to grow fat--so called from cutting food.

I think we have this misconception of God as some kind of master magician, a kind of Grand Wizard that points a bony finger and something appears or disappears.  I think this sells God short.  The act of creation took more effort and forethought than we sometimes realize.  God had an eternity past to think of how to make a self-sustaining, self-regulating, self-propagating world.  That is, He figured out how to make a tree, for example, that would begin in a seed and grow tall and strong, providing vegetation (leaves), sap, wood pulp, sometimes fruit, but always more seeds so that other trees could come into existence when the first tree was gone.

A better metaphor for the creative process is a master craftsman.  Some of you may have seen someone conceive of a project, then take a tree and cut off the bark and branches, then shape the wood into a rough block.  From there, he or she may tool it, cut out pieces from it, and then shape it into something  utilitarian.  Once it takes shape, the craftsman will plane it, pare it, and polish the wood until it shines.  After all that work is done, you have something both useful and beautiful.  That's the effort God put into creating the universe, and the Earth, and you.

Genesis 1:2 says the Earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon it.  God created light, then an atmosphere to surround the Earth.  He created land and sea, then plants to grow in both of those places.  He created stars to shine at night, and a moon to influence the tides.  He calculated a tilt in the poles and an orbit around the sun so that seasons would change during the year.  He created animals of all kinds to make their homes in the plants and trees and vegetation, and to manage growth by consuming the vegetation so that the plants would not overtake the earth or the seas, choking out the ecosystems.  Do you see how each step He took made the earth better, more useful and more beautiful?  It was like he was polishing it, adding value to it with each step in the creation process.

Make

For the first five days of creation, God spoke everything into being.  By His word all things came into being.  However, on the account of the sixth day, the verb form changes.  Instead of saying, "Let there be man," it says that God made man in His own image.  This suggests to me that God took more care, more interest in the creation of man than that of the beasts, or of the plants, or of the heavenly bodies, or of the atmosphere, or even of light itself.

Genesis 2:7 says that God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into him the breath of life.  Much like a potter makes beautiful vases and useful vessels out of clay, God got His hands dirty when He made us.  Unlike the animals, who were created by a word, God was more hands-on when he made us.  The animals were created with the ability to breathe on their own; God Himself breathed life into us.  Whether this was literally a life's-breath, or if it figuratively refers to the soul, in either case it sets us apart from the animals.  We are the pinnacle of God's creation, and we would do well to remember that.  Psalm 139:14 says, "I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well."

A secondary meaning to the term "made" or "fashioned" or "formed" used for the way God created us is the word "purposed."  We are made for a purpose, each of us individually and all of us corporately.  So many people are lost, going through life without purpose.  When we truly seek our purpose, it is God who reveals it to us.  He truly has a purpose for every one of us.  We are precious in His sight, not merely because we are all God's creatures (yes, He created us all), but that He made us in His image, in His likeness, for a specific purpose.

Planted

Immediately after Genesis 2:7, where it says God formed man out of the dust, and breathed into him the breath of life, Genesis 2:8 says, "The Lord God planted a garden."  When you create a masterpiece, the first thing you do it find a place to display it.  A true artist does not create a work and leave it in the studio or workshop.  There must be a fitting place to display it.  Much care is taken to properly display the piece, with just the right lighting, and space, and context.

In the same way, God went to a lot of trouble to create a space for His masterpiece.  He didn't speak the garden into existence; He didn't delegate it to someone else.  He made this special homestead for the human He had so lovingly made.  It was a place where all man's needs could be met.  It was a place where the two of them could walk and talk in the cool of the evening.  It was a very special place.

God loved mankind that much.  He still does.  When sin entered the world, He went to extraordinary lengths to restore that fellowship.  He longs for the fellowship with us, the time when we can walk along with Him and discuss our day, or ask Him questions, or thank Him for His mercy and grace.  He still loves us that much.

Ever felt like giving up?

But he (Elijah) himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down  under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers."  --1 Kings 19:4

Have you ever felt like just giving up?  I think we all have, at some point or another.  There comes a time when you feel like it's not worth it any more, and you simply want to throw your hands up and walk away.

Sometimes walking away may be the best thing you can do.  If you are involved in sinful, immoral, or unethical/illegal behavior, turning away from destructive behaviors is not quitting, it is called repentance.  God will honor that, if He is guiding you to walk in a different direction.

Unfortunately, we do not always go to God with those decisions.  In hindsight, quitting may not have been the best thing for us.  I can think of some examples in my family history.

The story goes that my grandfather heard of a government land grant program in the 1930s or 1940s.  The US government was promoting agriculture, especially in the Western states.  If an applicant would stay on the land for four years, then the land would become theirs; the government would deed it to the grantee.  So my grandfather moved to eastern New Mexico, and took up residence on about 400 acres of land there.  He tried farming it, but the yields were quite low.  Three and a half years in, he took stock of the situation: the land was no good for farming, it wouldn't support him and his family, it was costing more in maintenance and upkeep than it was bringing in.  Furthermore, he had no real friends or family there, he was isolated.  Finally, there was an upswing in demand for factory workers in the cities as the US began its military buildup leading into World War II.  Given all this information, it seemed good for him to abandon the claim, move to San Antonio, and get a factory job.

I don't know if my grandfather prayed about this decision.  I do know that within 10 years of his giving up those 400 acres, they discovered oil on that land.  My grandfather could have been filthy rich if he had found a way to stay on the land for another six months.

My father wanted to move out of the house and go out on his own at a very young age.  He convinced his parents to sign a waiver so that he could join the Marines as a 17 year old.  Over the next four years he was promoted to Sergeant, and was for a time a drill instructor.  He told me that he was approached by his CO about enrolling in Officer Candidate School.  They thought he might have a good shot at becoming a commissioned officer.  Unfortunately, the next OCS class would not start for another six months, and my dad was scheduled to end his initial four-year stint in just a couple of months.  He said he did not think he wanted to re-up in the Marine Corps, then just hang around for four more months waiting for OCS training.  He decided to pass on an extended military career as a potential Marine Corps officer.  He could have retired after 18 years will a full military pension, and at age 35 he could have gone on to a second career.

I am pretty sure my dad did not pray about this decision.  It may not have been God's will for him to continue in the military--the conflict in Viet Nam had not yet started, and he might have been sent over there.  He may have been a war hero, we'll never know.  His thinking, though, was that he did not want to wait another four months for the opportunity to come to fruition.

I was a music major in college.  I loved to sing, and I could read music pretty well.  I did have some trouble learning piano, and that was a requirement.  Also, my original voice teacher retired after my sophomore year, and the new voice teacher to whom I was assigned did not like my vocal technique, and I was forced to repeat a semester.  The news came as I was signing up for classes my senior year that I would not have enough credits to graduate from the School of Music by the end of four years.  I had the choice of sticking with it, fulfilling all the requirements as a "fifth year senior"; or I could change my major, go with a "General Studies" curriculum, and graduate with my class.  I chose the latter.  I didn't want to endure undergraduate work one more year.  I was pretty sick of living in the small college town I had been in for four years.  I was engaged to a pretty young Sophomore, and I was anxious to support her and perhaps start a family.

I don't remember praying about this decision.  I thought it was the logical thing to do--everything I wanted to do next I could do with a General Studies degree.  I could go on to graduate school, I could get married, I could get a full time job.  As it turns out, I never used my graduate degree for anything.  The marriage didn't last--she went back to school and left me for a graduate assistant.  The full time job I got did not turn into a career for me.  Things might have been different if I had stayed with my original degree plan for one more year.

You may have a similar story in your background.  In hindsight, things definitely would have been different had you chosen another path, maybe for the better.  Thankfully, God is able to make all things (including our bad decisions or our quitting too soon) work together for our good and for His glory (see Romans 8:28).  Never lose sight of that.

Many people do lose sight of that fact.  In the examples I cited from my own family history, the decisions had a bearing on potential wealth, glory, or even happiness; but in all those situations, life continued on.  For many, the struggles are not just life altering, but potentially life-ending.  According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, there are at least 123 suicides in the United States each day.  That's an average of one every eleven and a half minutes.  For every "successful" suicide, there are 25 unsuccessful attempts.

Last Sunday, the Associate Pastor of my church cited statistics that said the highest rate of suicide in our county occurred within a three mile radius of our church building.  That's staggering!  As we come together for fellowship and worship, praising God and enjoying communion with other believers, the people around us are losing all hope, and are literally dying.

What can we do?  We can go and find hurting people in the highways and hedges.  We can combat isolationist tendencies, and share hope and healing where we can.  We can identify those whose depression is deep-seated, and try to get them professional help.  Most of all, we can pray.

What would you say to someone who came to you at a vulnerable moment in their lives, and admitted to having suicidal thoughts?  The Bible speaks to this very situation, and it would be beneficial for us to be aware of it.  I know of two people in the Bible who actually committed suicide.  One was King Saul, who found himself overrun by the Philistine army.  1 Samuel 31 tells of Israel losing this battle, and of Jonathan (Saul's son) being killed on the battlefield.  Saul and his lieutenant came under fire from the enemy archers, and Saul was wounded.

As an aside, this chapter comes right on the heels of chapter 30, where we learned of David's successful campaign against the Amalakites, another of Israel's enemies.  David had God's blessing; Saul did not.  David inquired of the Lord before engaging in battle; Saul had not.  David was victorious; Saul was not.  So Saul, having lost his son and half his army, seeing himself wounded and defeated, fell on his own sword and killed himself.  He told his lieutenant that it would be better to die there than to have the Philistines "make sport of me."  Perhaps if he had called upon God, as David had, God might have heard him and had compassion.  God could have turned the battle around, but He was not invited.  I don't want to simplify things too much here, but God will not intervene where He is not welcomed.

The other suicide in the Bible is the disciple Judas.  After Judas betrayed Jesus, he went to the Temple and tried to undo it.  The Jews had given Judas 30 pieces of silver to show them where Jesus was;  Judas tried to give the money back, as if they would release Jesus and things could go back to the way they were before.  That didn't happen, and Judas lost all hope.  He died before he could witness the resurrection of Jesus.  Perhaps if he had waited three more days, Jesus might have forgiven him personally, in bodily form.

I think, though, that people who have lost all hope don't like to deal in "what-if's".  They can't see potential like those of us can who do have hope.  They can't relate to suppositions about what might have happened if someone had not gone through with self destructive behavior.  I think that's why the Bible also includes stories about real people who lost hope, but did call on God, and who had their lives spared from self-harm.  Two immediately come to mind.

The first was Elijah, the great prophet of God. 1 Kings 18 tells of a mighty miracle God performed through Elijah.  The king and most of the Israelites worshiped the false god Baal.  Elijah proposed a test: they would set up two altars, one for Baal, and another for the true God.  Whichever deity that would answer prayers by sending fire from the heavens would be shown to be the true God.  You can read the story.  Baal didn't answer.  God sent fire, and consumed not only the altar before Elijah, but also consumed the altar set before the prophets of Baal.  This resulted in many in Israel returning to the true God.  Not the king, however.  The king sent threats that he would have Elijah killed.  Elijah was deathly afraid, and literally ran for his life.

Exhausted, he sat under a Juniper tree and prayed that God would kill him, or give Elijah permission to kill himself.  Elijah fell asleep, and when he awoke, he saw that God had sent an angel. The angel was preparing food for him to eat, and encouraging him to keep going.  After his physical needs were met, Elijah heard God's voice.  God gave him a kind of object lesson: Elijah's complaint was that he thought he was the only one left in Israel who feared God.  What can one man do?  What difference can one lonely voice make in a world of chaos, in a cacophony of opposing messages?

God's answer is interesting.  He set Elijah up on a mountain, and sent an earthquake.  Elijah knew that God was not in the earthquake.  God sent a mighty, rushing wind, like a hurricane.  Elijah knew God was not in the wind.  God sent fire and smoke, but Elijah knew God was not in the fire.  Finally, God spoke in a still, small voice, and Elijah knew that it was the Lord.  The lesson was that God can work in the smallest, most quiet way, even in the midst of noise from the fire and wind and earthquake.  So Elijah should not worry that he is only one man, with one small voice speaking against kings and princes and prophets and priests, all with a bigger megaphone than he.  Besides, God told him, there were still 700 people in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal, who were faithful to the One True God.  He was not alone.

The other story is from Jonah chapter 4.  Jonah had tried to run from God, but God sent a storm to slow the ship sailing the opposite direction.  Jonah had spent three days in the belly of a great fish, who took him back to where he started and vomited Jonah back onto the dry land.  Finally, Jonah brought the word of the Lord to Nineveh, however begrudgingly, and the people heard the message and repented.  Jonah, however, sat on a hillside wishing that God would send fire from heaven to consume the people.  The sun became unbearably hot, and Jonah wished he was dead.  His mortal enemies had been spared by God; the message that he had preached, a message of destruction, had not come to pass.  What good was he?  He hadn't been obedient to God.  He had prophesied one thing, and something totally different had actually happened.  So what good was he?  He might as well be dead, because his identity and purpose had been irreparably compromised.

Again, God saw to his physical need by sending a plant to shade Jonah.  Then He gave Jonah and object lesson: he sent a worm to destroy the plant.  God listened to Jonah complain about the plant dying, then He made this point--Jonah was more concerned about a stupid plant than he was about people.  One plant died, and Jonah had a fit.  Why didn't he care as much about the 120,000 people in Nineveh that had been spared?

If you or I come upon someone in a crisis, who is crying out for help and seems to be longing for death over life, we can do the same three things that God did for both Elijah and Jonah.  First, we can see to their physical needs.  If they are tired, we can encourage them to rest; if they are hungry, we can give them food; if they have a need, we must do whatever we can to meet that physical need.  Jesus encouraged His followers to treat needy people as if they were Christ Himself: "For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited me in; naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me." (Matthew 25:35-36).  James 2:15 and 16 encourages us to reveal our faith through actions: "If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warm and filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?"

Second, we can listen to them.  People are crying out, yet no one truly hears them.  That is why they feel alone.  Isolation kills relationships, yet when people feel alone they tend to isolate themselves even more.  They stop talking if they feel like no one is listening.  In our examples from the lives of Elijah and Jonah, God listened to those men, and He heard their hearts.  If we are the Body of Christ, then we must listen as He listened.  We must hear the heart-cry of the helpless and the hopeless.

Third, we must bring a message from God's heart.  Not a message of "be warm and filled", not "hey, get over it," but rather a message that says God has sent someone to meet their unique need at this point in time. We may not be able to preach a sermon to them, but we can show them God's hand in other real-life situations.  Remember, God used object lessons to reach Elijah and Jonah.  He took things they knew, experiences they'd had, and drew spiritual truths out of them.  We can encourage other broken people by being vulnerable, by sharing our own brokenness and showing how God has healed us, how He has made Himself real to us.  God may have brought us out of a very similar situation to the one that our friend who has lost all hope is going through.  All we have to do is share what God did for us.  First-hand experience with loss, with poverty, with abuse, with illness--whatever we have gone through, others are going through it, too.  If God can bring you through your crisis, He can certainly do the same for others that we meet, that we are called to minister to.

We don't have to be perfect.  Thankfully, God can use broken vessels.  We just need to be available.  If God can use a worm to teach Jonah, he can sure use us.

Uniquely equipped for the work of the ministry

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.  --Ephesians 4:11-13a

My father would have been 81 today.  He was a pastor/teacher with a heart for evangelism.  He always taught, however, that it was not his job to be a professional Christian--that we are all called to ministry in whatever capacity God gifts us for.  It is only the job of a pastor to teach us, train us, and motivate us to do the work of the minister.

See, we all have this pre-conceived notion that since we are not Ministers by profession (that is, we are not all called to be pastors or evangelists), that we should leave the work of real ministry to the professionals.  I believe that this is a misinterpretation of the word "ministry".

Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:6-8)

Nowhere in that scripture does Paul ever say that all of these services are reserved exclusively for the clergy.  In fact, the terms "clergy" and "laity" are mentioned nowhere in the Bible.  Each of us is given a spiritual gift, and each one of us is encouraged to use it for God's glory. "Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs all glory and dominion forever and ever.  Amen." (1 Peter 4:11).

Let me give an example here.  I am a big fan of professional football.  Apparently I am not alone, because hundreds of thousands of fans flock to stadiums all over the U.S., and millions more tune in on television.  Really good players get paid huge sums to play this game in front of all those fans.  But notice this: whenever one of those well-paid players is injured on a play, who is it that comes out to see about him?  Is the one of the other players?  Surely the quarterback would know what to do; does he go to see about his teammate?  No.  What about the coach--isn't his job to look after the health and well-being of all of the players?  No, because the coach and the quarterback are not equipped for this work.

When play is stopped on the field because of an injury, there are two types of people who trot out on the field.  One is a trainer, the other might be a doctor.  And although the doctor makes more money, he isn't the first responder in most on-field injuries.  No, the first one on the field is a trainer, someone equipped with the knowledge of how to assess and deal with sports injuries.

I know some pretty rabid NFL fans.  They know the names and salaries of virtually all of the players, and most of the coaches.  I would venture to say, however, that none of them knows the names of the trainers.  Yet when an injury occurs on the field, who is the most important person in that situation?  Is it the highly paid player?  No, it is the trainer, the one who is uniquely equipped and qualified to offer first aid and medical assistance.

I have to laugh every time an NFL game is broadcast, because the professional broadcasters make a mockery of the English language. Invariably, they will say something like, "The team trainers are administering to" the injured player.  They may be trying to say "administering first aid" or "administering medical assistance."  But that is not what is being done at all.  In this situation, the trainer is ministering to the injured player.  What he (or she) is trained to do is ministry, pure and simple.

We may not have the calling or the training or even the opportunity to minister to someone's physical needs.  Our calling may be to minister to their mental, emotional, spiritual, financial, social, or professional needs.  We may not be well known outside of our circle of influence, and we may not think we are that important since we do not have the salary or title or position of someone else in our circle.  However, our calling is to do the work of the ministry that God has equipped us for, in the place and time He has put us in His sovereign plan.

Because the world does not value ministry (or actively tries to re-define the term--see above--or even devalue it in order to make us ineffective), we may shy away from ministry opportunities.  We may hear the enemy saying, "Don't get involved," or "It's not your problem."  One of my favorite objections is this: "Who died and made you a (fill-in-the-blank)?"  Are you following me here?  The question goes to identity and purpose.  If you are trying to defend the weak, someone may ask "Who are you (identity) to stand up for the rights of this person (purpose)?"

Scripture addresses this, as well.  In the second chapter of Exodus we read about the birth and background of Moses.  Through a divine set of circumstances, Moses was placed in a position of influence in the Egyptian court.  He was literally raised as a prince, but never forgot his identity as an Israelite.  At that time the people of Israel were being persecuted.  Moses observed one of his countrymen being abused by an Egyptian overlord, and he took matters into his own hands.  He killed the Egyptian, and buried him in the sand.

He went out the next day, and behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the offender, "Why are you striking your companion?" But he said, "Who made you a prince or a judge over us?  Are you intending to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?"  Then Moses was afraid and said, "Surely the matter has become known." (Exodus 2:13-14)

Moses had not yet heard from God, but he was, in fact, a prince over the people.  God had placed him in this unique position in this particular time and place for a purpose.  So the answer to the man's question, "Who made you a prince or a judge over us?" is this: GOD DID.  God put Moses in that position of authority.  God Himself was preparing Moses for greatness.  Later on, God would speak to Moses directly, first from a burning bush, then from a cloud by day and fire by night, and finally "face to face as a man speaks to his friend."

The point is that God has uniquely qualified you for a specific purpose in this place and time.  If men voice objections, we must be secure in our calling.  We must remember that we were appointed by God, not elected by men.

This past week the US president has been in Brussels, Belgium for a meeting of the NATO member nations.  Afterward, he visited London and met with the Prime Minister as well as the Queen of England.  There have been quite a few news stories about different government Ministers over there, and their reaction to the President's visit.

My point here is that each government department or agency has a Ministry, with a Minister appointed to head it up.  There is a Minister of Defense, for example, and a Minister of Education, or Health, or Foreign Affairs.  These positions are important in their function and their purpose within the government, but they are not elected positions.  No one would think of approaching the Minister of Education, for example, and seriously ask, "Who elected you head of all the schools?"  The answer is obvious--the position was appointed by a person of higher authority than the one asking the question.  In the same way, whenever we get called out for exercising our spiritual gifts, we must remember that we were appointed by a Higher Authority.

A friend of mine has the gift of discernment.  When she points out doctrinal error, one might take a defensive position and ask her, "Who made you the authority on Scripture?"  Her answer is always, in the kindest, sweetest way possible, that on her own she is not an authority, but that God has given her a gift, and she is duty-bound to speak the truth in love to all kinds of error, wherever she may find it.  I believe that my gift is teaching.  However, when someone stands up and challenges me, I am often weak and wounded.  I will apologize, and back down, thinking that maybe I was in error on this issue; maybe I don't have the authority God gave me to speak truth to power.  "Maybe," I am inclined to say to myself, "I don't have the knowledge or experience at this time to address this issue to this purpose."  It is at those times that I need to reaffirm the calling of God in my life, and with Queen Esther say, "Who knows whether I was placed in this position for such a time as this?"

 

 

Pike's Peaked

If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.         --Psalm 139:8

When I was younger, my mom would often look at me and assess my well-being.  If I looked a little pale, drained, washed out, pallid, anemic, sallow, indisposed or ill, she would say, "Son, are you all right?  You look a little pekid."  (I think that is a mis-spelling, but I did it on purpose--the term as she used it had two syllables, whereas the more proper spelling "peaked" is often spoken with one syllable; and that pronunciation has a different meaning, as in "his work peaked in the 90's, and it has gone downhill from there.")

Fast-forward to this week.  I have just gotten back from a family vacation with my sister and our mother.  We spent three days in the Colorado Rockies, marveling at God's creation.  One of the sites we visited was Pike's Peak. At 14,115 feet, it is one of the tallest mountains in the Colorado Springs area.

It was my turn to drive my mother's brand new crossover vehicle--bigger than the car I drive, but not as large as some of the Sports Utility Vehicles on the road today.  Needless to say, I was trying to be very careful.  As we ascended past 11,000 feet, near the tree line, my sister commented that I seemed not to be enjoying the scenery as much as she was: my eyes were focused on the center-stripe in the middle of the road.  After she had made this observation, she laughed.  Out loud.  This was followed by some good-natured teasing.  "Don't drive too close to the edge, it's a sheer drop-off there," she said, followed by more laughter.

My grip tightened on the steering wheel, and after a few switch-backs where the road snaked up the mountain face, I started panicking.  I mouthed a prayer, "God help us."  Apparently, my sister thought I was kidding, because she laughed again.  "Mom," she said, "he's praying up here."  I was very thankful when the park rangers motioned us off the road into a parking area, and we had to ride a shuttle to the summit.  Even then, however, I could not look out the window of the 16-passenger van:  my eyes were focused on the seat-back in front of me.  I was praying for myself, my family, and the thirteen strangers in the van with me, but especially for the driver.

You could say this event brought me closer to God.

I let my sister drive down the mountain.  I was still not comfortable on the descent until we reached the tree line again.  I don't know if I thought that, in the event of an accident, the trees would break our fall, or if I felt more comfortable with evergreens in my line of vision, as opposed to only the sky and a sheer cliff past the edge of the road (mere inches from our vehicle.)  I suppose that I should be grateful that my sister felt secure enough with me behind the wheel that she could engage in some light teasing and laughter.  Unfortunately, I did not share in her revelry at the time.

You know, people sometimes talk about "mountain-top" experiences contrasted with periods "in the valley," to describe the highs and lows of their spiritual pilgrimage.  I get it.  In the modern mind trained by charts and graphs, up is always good, and down is always bad.  However, in the real world, valleys are often lush and fertile, while mountains are treacherous and steep.

Jesus said that with a little faith, we can move mountains (Matthew 17:20).  As we watched the mountain move past our vehicle, it took all the faith I had to continue the ascent.  It is the same with our walk:  if God has called us to climb the mountain, it is our duty to continue the ascent, step by step, even if our path seems unstable.  Even if the devil laughs at us, and mocks our fear, and points out the perils in our path, our God-given responsibility remains the same: to put the mountain behind us, and move past it.

There may be a time when our faith is strong enough to remove the mountain, and cast it into the sea (ref. Matthew 21:21).  I believe, however, that the only way to strengthen our faith to the point where we can remove the mountain completely is to climb it ourselves, as many times as it takes to conquer it.  The lady who was driving the shuttle to the summit of Pike's Peak was about as old as I am, but she was not afraid like I was.  She had been on that same road before, many times.  She was more familiar with the terrain because she had been over it time and again.  To her, it was like driving in the valley, but only because she had developed the skill and confidence brought on by climbing to the summit again and again.

You may think that your situation is difficult, that the climb is hard or the path treacherous.  You may wish that God would remove the mountain from your path.  However, it might be that God has placed you on that path for a purpose.  As John Bunyan wrote in Pilgrim's Progress,

“This hill, though high, I covet to ascend; 
The difficulty will not me offend. 
For I perceive the way to life lies here. 
Come, pluck up, heart; let's neither faint nor fear. 
Better, though difficult, the right way to go, 
Than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe.” 

Friend, do not think your spiritual walk has peaked.  You may feel pekid along the way, but the Great Physician is by your side. I would encourage you to read the rest of Psalm 139.

You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it.  Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Or where can I flee from Your presence?  If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.  If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me.  If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night," even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day.  Darkness and light are alike to you.  --Psalm 139:5-12

My weekly men's Bible study has been reading through the book of Jonah.  In chapter 2, Jonah said he prayed to the Lord from the belly of the fish--a cold, dark, isolated place that Jonah likened to Sheol, which means the placed of the dead.

I called out of my distress to the Lord, and He answered me.  I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice.  For You had cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current engulfed me.  All Your breakers and billows passed over me.  So I said, "I have been expelled from Your sight.  Nevertheless, I will look again toward Your holy temple."  Water encompassed me to the point of death.  The great deep engulfed me.  Weeds were wrapped around my head.  I descended to the roots of the mountains.  The earth with its bars was around me forever, but You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God.  --Jonah 2:2-6

Jonah was truly in the "valley of the shadow of death" (see Psalm 23:4), yet God was with him.  He is with you, as well.  Revelation 21:1 says that in the new Heaven and new Earth, there will be no more sea.  The treacherous oceans will no longer be allowed to swallow us up.  The pit will be there for the devil and his demons, but the mountain of Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be the throne of God.  We will be on that mountain in the presence of the Lord if we seek His face, and call on His Name.

Is it any wonder, then, that when I was feeling pekid on Pike's Peak, I prayed God's protection?

The Kindness of Strangers

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.  --Hebrews 13:2

God has abundantly blessed us.  He really has.  You may not realize it at any given moment.  You may seem overwhelmed by the pressures of a materialistic society, and only see what you do not have, what you wish you had, or maybe what you once had but don't have any longer.  But when you think about it, if you are breathing, you are blessed.

If you have everything you need, take a moment to thank God for giving you your daily bread, your job, your skills and purpose--He has uniquely placed you where you are to be blessed by Him, as well as to be a blessing to others.

The Bible is replete with stories of how God has blessed His people, both individually and corporately.  As an outgrowth or a continuation of reminders of God's blessings, we are commanded to be a blessing to others.  No less than 36 times the Old Testament records the command of being kind to strangers.  God gave the command to Moses, who in turn commanded the people.  The reason given was so that the people would remember their history, how their forefathers were oppressed in Egypt, and how God delivered them out of the land.  They were to recall how they wandered in the desert for 40 years, a nomadic people without a homeland.  They were never to forget how they were treated during this time, so that they would treat strangers and sojourners in their land with greater respect and love.

The writer of Hebrews repeats this command, but his reasoning pre-dates the Mosaic law.  He reminds his readers, who were mostly from a Jewish background, to be a blessing to all, because in so doing, "some have entertained angels without knowing it (some translations say unaware)."  I can think of two stories of men who entertained angels, and one of an angelic confrontation that might also fit the description given in Hebrews 13:2.  In each instance, the men extended an invitation to one they did not know, and it resulted in a blessing.

The first occurs in Genesis 18.  Abraham is sitting in the shade of his tent during the heat of the day.

When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, and said, "My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by.  Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that, you may go on, since you have visited your servant. --Genesis 18:2-5

I believe Abraham was a good man.  He had been blessed richly by God.  He had lived a good, long life.  I also believe that when he saw these three men travelling in the heat of the day, his heart went out to them.  He got up from the shade of his tent, and ran to the path or road as the men approached him.  Finally, I believe that Abraham had no idea who they were; to him, they were total strangers in need of rest and refreshment.

Abraham gave them more than a little water and a piece of bread.  He killed a tender and choice calf, and prepared it for them to eat.  He presented the strangers with cakes of bread, curds and milk--all freshly prepared for them.  While all of this was being prepared for them, Abraham spent time talking with the strangers, and listening to them.  At some point, he must have realized that they were not mere mortals, but rather from the heavenly realm.  Perhaps it was when one of them asked for his wife Sarah by name.  Maybe it was when they prophesied that in a year they would have a son.  It could have even been when one of them asked why Sarah had laughed at this prophecy--I can imagine she remained out of sight (but within earshot) of the men while they talked.

The point I am trying to make is that Abraham offered them hospitality first, and then discovered their identity later.  He did not offer them a Mitzvah, (a blessing, or act of kindness) knowing that he would be blessed in return.  He simply offered a meal and the shade of his tent to some weary travelers during the heat of the day.  It was only afterward that he learned of his blessing  We, too, should take this to heart.  When Jesus was on this earth, He relied on the kindness of strangers.  His message was that we should not only offer kindness to those in a position to repay, to those who can offer kindness back to us; rather, we should offer kindness to those who cannot possibly repay (Luke 6:33, 14:14).  When we do this, God will bless us, either in this life or the next.

The second story of showing kindness to angels unaware of who they are is found in Genesis 19, involving Abraham's nephew Lot.  While Abraham detained the Angel of the Lord (who I believe was the pre-incarnate Christ) and interceded for Sodom, the place where Lot lived, the other two angels walked through the city gates.  Lot was sitting at the gate, which meant that he was likely seen as an elder in the town.

Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down his face to the ground.  And he said, "Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant's house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go your way."  They said however, "No, but we shall spend the night in the square."  Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.  --Genesis 19:1-3

Again, I believe that Lot did not know who these angels were, or even that they were angels.  They did not appear in glowing white robes, they did not have visible wings, there was nothing angelic about them.  Being an elder of the city, Lot knew those who lived in Sodom, and those who frequently did business in the town.  When he saw the two men enter the city gate, he knew he had not seen them before.  He approached them and offered them rest and refreshment in his home, much like Abraham had.  I believe he would not take no for an answer, because he knew the city streets were not a safe place to be after dark.  I believe he offered them hospitality because he knew they had nowhere else to go.

I also believe that Lot did not realize they were angelic beings until after the feast had been prepared and consumed.  Perhaps it was when the wicked men outside the house were all struck with blindness by the two visitors inside his home.  Perhaps they had told Lot during the feast who they were and why they had come.  In any event, the blessing came only after he had showed them kindness.

What was the blessing?  He was given the opportunity to escape with his wife and daughters before God destroyed the city.  Interestingly, even after being given the opportunity to escape, Lot's wife looked back longingly, and was destroyed just like those within the city.  In a similar way, Jesus taught His disciples to forego the pleasures of this life and strive diligently for the next.  "Remember Lot's wife," Jesus said.  "Whoever seeks to save his life will [eventually] lose it [through death], and whoever loses his life [in this world] will keep it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God]." (Luke 17:32, 33 AMP).

The third angelic encounter to which the writer of Hebrews could have alluded is found in Genesis 32.  This is the account of Jacob leaving the land of his father-in-law, and heading home toward Canaan.  Foreshadowing the story of his descendants, he left a life of servitude, of forced labor (in that he had served Laban for 14 years for the privilege of marrying his wife Rachel, with Leah thrown in as a bonus) and was headed home, toward the Promised Land--the land of his Fathers, the land bequeathed by God to his descendants, a land "flowing with milk and honey."

Unlike the stories of his grandfather Abraham and his cousin Lot, Jacob knew that the encounter was with angelic beings.  The story begins, "Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him.  Jacob said when he saw them, 'This is God's camp.'  So he named that place Manahim (Two Camps)." (Genesis 32:1).  Some commentators cite this passage as a bookend to the story of Jacob's exile: some 20 years prior, Jacob had a dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder; and now, he has a vision of a company or encampment of angelic beings, whose purpose is unknown to us.  Other commentators say that this angelic sighting is a transition to the next adventure in Jacob's life, one in which he will encounter his brother Esau, and receive the promised inheritance.

In any case, Jacob hears that his brother Esau is heading toward his family and flocks.  Further, it is reported that Esau is accompanied by 400 men.  Jacob is deathly afraid.  He knows that he had cheated his brother out of the birthright, and that he had stolen the blessing of his father Isaac.  Now, he assumes, Esau has amassed an army and they are advancing toward him.  What to do?  They cannot retreat, as Esau's army would surely overtake them, and Laban would not likely defend him.  Perhaps Jacob could appease his brother by sending a huge gift.  If that didn't work, he separated his family into two companies, the first with Leah and her children and servants (if Esau attacked her party, perhaps the others could escape unharmed).  The second company he sent had Rachel and her family and servants.  Jacob stayed behind, isolated and fearful, worried to death about what Esau would do to him.

As Jacob was hiding by himself, with all these unresolved fears and worries, he sees a figure approaching.  It looks like a man; is it a messenger from Esau?  A spy sent to find his whereabouts and report back to his brother?  I can imagine Jacob pouncing on this person.  Genesis 32:24 says they wrestled until daybreak.  As dawn approached, Jacob could surely see that this man was not who he had thought.  Maybe he recognized the angel as one of those within the camp he had seen in verse 1.  Perhaps he realized that this was a supernatural agent when the angel touched his thigh and dislocated his hip.  Maybe the Angel of the Lord (the pre-incarnate Christ) identified Himself to Jacob as they fought.  In any case, Jacob's focus clearly changed.  He wanted certain assurances.  Perhaps remembering the stories he had heard from his grandfather Abraham, Jacob demanded a blessing from this encounter.  He was promised he would prevail, both with men and with God.

From that moment on, Jacob walked with a limp; he likely needed a cane or walking stick to help him get around.  Similarly, when we meet Jesus, our lives are forever changed.  Simon Peter was a gruff fisherman, profane and uneducated, and quite fearful; after he met Jesus, he became a bold proclaimer of the Gospel, a spokesman for God at Pentecost, and an eventual martyr for Christ.  Paul had been a persecutor of the early Church, but when Jesus spoke to him on the highway, he became a prolific defender of the faith and authored much of the New Testament.

In conclusion, angels are messengers from God.  Whenever we meet them, we should treat them well, with respect and hospitality.  However, angels can appear in human form, and we will not know them when we see them.  Therefore we should treat everyone we meet with respect and hospitality, feeding them when they are hungry, clothing them when they are naked, taking them in when they are destitute.  We should do this, not only because we may entertain angels without realizing it, but because Jesus commanded us to do it.  Either way, we will receive the blessing "pressed down, shaken together, and running over."

Our Purpose and Our Calling: Our Faith

I feel like I'm too busy writing history to read it.  --Kanye West

I used to love to study history.  It was so interesting to me, the things that people did that made them famous.  Some stumbled into fame, but most worked hard to make a difference in their world.  George Washington led men into battle, successfully leading a revolution by overseeing the Revolutionary War, then helped shape the new government that transitioned America from being a territory of a foreign monarch into a self-sustaining democratic republic.  George Washington Carver overcame slavery and racial discrimination to gain an education that allowed him to develop innovations in agriculture, compile and promote uses of alternative crops such as peanuts and sweet potatoes, and offer advice to such luminaries as Henry Ford, Calvin Coolidge, and both Roosevelts (Teddy and Franklin).

Some people, however, do not enjoy the study of history.  They claim it is a waste of time to remember names and dates in order to regurgitate them on some academic exam, only to forget them soon after.  The names and dates of the past, they believe, are not as important as the people, places, and things that are going on right now.  The events of today that will somehow shape the future, or will soon be forgotten, consume their thoughts and feelings, their hopes and dreams.

In my men's Bible study that meets every Friday morning, bright and early at 6:00 a.m. (before the workday kicks in and the weekend starts), we have been studying the book of Hebrews.  We have camped for several weeks on chapter 11, the Hall of Fame of Faith.  After six or eight weeks of study, we have finally gotten through that one chapter.

In a way, Hebrews 11 is a historical study, a place where the writer mentioned the names of people throughout Israel's history, with special attention given to the importance of faith to their lives and legacies.  A list of people mentioned specifically includes Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Rahab in some detail.  Other names mentioned in passing are Gideon, Barak (an assistant to the only female Judge in the Bible, Deborah), Samson, Jephthah, David and Samuel.  Each of these people made a difference in the world, and in history, through the faith that they each individually had in God.

Now, some may say, "So what?  I'm not a king like David; I'm not strong like Samson; I haven't heard God's voice like Noah, Abraham, or Moses.  What does all this have to do with me?"  Fair question, and one that I think the writer of Hebrews addresses in verses 33 and 34.  Each of these people are mentioned by name for their faithful obedience

who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.                 --Hebrews 11:33-34

If we look at our existence not just in the physical realm, but also in the spiritual, we can begin to see the purpose of our calling.  Ephesians 6:12 says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."  This is why Paul advised us to take up the whole armor of God.  We can, by faith, make a difference in the spiritual realm.

 Who by faith conquered kingdoms....  The King James Version translates the word conquered as "subdued."  The Greek term actually means "to struggle against, to overcome."  Remember, "our struggle is not against flesh and blood..."  1 John 5:4 says, "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith."  Fellow Christian, this means you!  The Ruler of this present darkness, Satan himself, comes against you with all his demonic forces to make you weak, ineffective, and demoralized.  Let me remind you, Believer, and Jesus has defeated the enemy--greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.  "Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:5).

...performed acts of righteousness....  The word translated perform is a word that actually means "work; produce; acquire."  The King James Version translated this term as "wrought"; when we think of wrought iron, we think of metal that has been shaped, hammered and twisted until it becomes something both beautiful and useful.  The word righteousness can mean two things:  In a broad sense, it is the condition acceptable to God; but in a narrow sense, it is the virtue of justice which gives each his due.  Philippians 2:12 admonishes us to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling."  Part of that work is to point out error (not in a judgmental way so as to condemn someone to hell, but rather to bring them to the knowledge of God.)  If someone will not heed our warning and mend their unrighteous ways, we are to follow Jesus's admonition in Matthew 10:14, "Whoever does not receive  you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet."

...obtain promises....   You can obtain something in one of two ways:  either you can work for it, or you can come upon it by chance.  The promises of God are outside of ourselves, and by the Providence of God (by His grace and mercy), they are available to you free of charge--you don't have to work for them.  As for the promises themselves, they are an announcement or proclamation of life in fellowship with Christ.  As a child of God, a joint-heir with Jesus Christ the Son of God, you have access to more than you know.  "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21).  Again, Beloved of God, that means you.

These divine promises do not come without peril.  There may be obstacles placed in our path. There may be persecution for doing the right thing.  Seeing the next phrase, shut the mouths of lions, I am reminded of the story of Daniel.  However, we know that 1 Peter 5:8 says, "Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." If we are faithful, we can not only ignore the growling we hear from Satan, but we can actually shut it up completely.  Be vigilant, my friend.  Never let your guard down.

Many martyrs throughout history have been burned alive for their faith.  The phrase quenched the power of fire reminds me of Joan of Arc.  Some may remember her as one who was burned at the stake for her faith.  But it was her words that are her lasting legacy.  When asked at her trial whether she believed she was in the grace of God, she said, "If I am not, may God place me there; if I am, may God so keep me."  Like the Old Testament story of Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego, the fire had no power to command them to renounce their faith.  The fire was ineffective; their faith remained.

Though many have been killed for their faith, many more have escaped death in order to accomplish God's purpose.  In the 1950's, there was a Dutch missionary who called himself Brother Andrew.  His mission was to smuggle Bibles into Eastern Europe, past what was called "The Iron Curtain."  His 1967 book God's Smuggler is a testament to one man's faith and the good that can be done for God if we are obedient to Him.  Truly we can escape the edge of the sword by God's hand.

You may be thinking, "But my faith is so weak."  In our text, we see the phrase from weakness were made strong.  The Apostle Paul got a word of knowledge from God, a divine message that he shared with us in 2 Corinthians 12.  Paul was being beset by "a thorn in the flesh."  Whether this was a physical ailment, or (as the phrase was commonly used in the Old Testament) a reference to nay-sayers, people who would follow him around and refute everything God had told him to say, we don't know for certain.   What we do know is God's response:  "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness'.  Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Do not lose faith.  Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of darkness.  Thankfully, God has equipped us with the tools to overcome.