Are You Really Getting It?

These past few weeks I’ve been paying more attention to how books and stories within the Bible fit together. Then I read a blog post over at King’s English that sparked some important thoughts. First I’ll rehash a bit of what the author pointed out.

Proverb’s 1:1 says it was written by King Solomon of whom it is said was the wisest man to ever live. 1:8 then tells us who he is addressing;

My son, hear the instruction of your father, and the law of your mother.

The words, “my son” are repeated 20 times in the book. The king is addressing the prince saying in 1:6 that he is offering “words of the wise and their dark sayings.” As the blogger at King’s English said; these dark sayings are “riddles to be chewed over and reflected on.”

This is where my mind began to wander. Remember how the life of Solomon turned out? Seems he did not listen to his own wisdom. And what of his son Rehoboam? I am confident he heard the words recorded in the book of Proverbs, but we know even from his first major decision that he did not seem to follow after what he was taught.

So hearing may be good, but is it enough?

As we study Scripture, listen to sermons and other forms of Bible teaching such as Sunday School or reading books and blogs, simply hearing is not enough.

David had the right idea in Psalm 119:9-16:

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.

It wasn’t just head knowledge, it was heart knowledge. He actively listened and studied it, meditated on it meaning he carefully mulled it over in his mind to grasp its full meaning and implications for his life. He longed for more. He delighted in what he heard and read. It truly was his passion.

So by way of encouragement; do more than simply hear the word. Listen. Think carefully about what is being said. And as James wisely stated, be doers of it.

How Can They Know If No One Tells Them

The recent anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic produced at least one surprising reaction. A number of young people tweeted their surprise that the disaster was more than just another Hollywood film.

While this did make the news, perhaps it is not quite as newsworthy as we may be inclined to think. Another blogger wrote a fine piece on what this really demonstrates in American culture here.

But there is something else this helps demonstrate; The importance of education and the ease which knowledge can be withheld. I am in particular thinking about the Gospel. Americans live in a “Christianized” culture, but how many Americans know the Gospel? How many can tell us just what the mission of Jesus time on this earth was all about? I even wonder how many in our churches could tell us.

This just demonstrates the importance that we take the time to learn the Gospel ourselves, then go and share it with others. We cannot assume that because a person says they go to church or that they are Christian means they know and have accepted the Gospel message. I guarantee these people would have said they knew about the Titanic before this past month, but there source was only Hollywood (and we know how historically inaccurate they can be). So true is it that people may claim to know Jesus, but not really know him. And the only way they will hear is if we go and tell them.

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Gospel.”

A Reminder to Remember

A reading from Deuteronomy 9:

"Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out before you, 'It is because of my righteous-ness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,' whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you. (vs. 4)

"Know, therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteous-ness, for you are a stubborn people. Remember and do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD. (vs. 6-7)

You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you. (vs. 24)

Moses is speaking to the nation of Israel just prior to their entering the promised land at this point and is giving his final admonition to them to remember who the are, whose they are, from whence they came, and to where they are going. Most important in this message is to remember that their esteemed position with God has nothing to do with they as a people. If anything, based on their merit, they should have long before been destroyed. But there they are, sitting along the Jordan River opposite of Jericho. It will become as history shows very important for the people to spend time reminding themselves of how they got there.

This is truly a message of grace. God is  bringing them into the land based on His character, not theirs. God made a promise to Abraham and now his is fulfilling it (in part at least).

In the same way it is with us. We are a sinful people, at war against God and yet he still brings us deliverance from ourselves and our bondage to sin. Our salvation is based on no merit of our own righteousness, for as Isaiah says; they are but filthy rags (64:6). Instead our salvation is brought to us solely based on the grace of God. To him alone belongs the glory, honor, and praise.

A Celebration and Sobering Reminder

Today is known as Palm Sunday. It is the day Jesus arrives at Jerusalem, and as he comes down off the Mount of Olives, people lay their blankets before him and cry out praises for the arrival of a new king. All this is a fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9;

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The salvation he bore though was not what Israel desired. They wanted deliverance from Roman rule, to be their own kingdom again. The salvation Jesus brought was much greater and something we should celebrate on this Palm Sunday.

But in the midst of this great celebration comes a sobering reminder – the nature and gravity of our sin. In just a matter of days the people who are proclaiming and celebrating the arrival of Jesus will desert him. Others will turn against him. And many will call out “crucify him.” It is an important reminder of how our sin and selfish desires can blind us to the mind, will, and love of God.

May this day be one of celebration and thanksgiving to God for saving us, for opening our eyes to see his salvation, and our minds for understanding it, and our hearts for responding positively to it.

A Thought Concerning the Mega-Lottery

Consider this from Proverbs 30:8-9:

...give me neither poverty nor riches, but only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much & disown you and say,'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor & steal, and dishonor the name of God.

On the flip side we might wish someone would win the lottery who would do a lot of good with the money like give to the poor, adopt, support missionaries, etc. We may even wish that person was “me.”

But let us be honest with ourselves. If (insert your name here) won the lottery, how would I truly respond? Would I truly be generous with my winnings, or would I become suspicious of everyone around me and hoard it or spend it all on myself?

I would like to think I would be generous with it. But I know that my heart is evil, and without Christ’s empowerment I would likely fall into the second camp and perhaps end up in a short amount of time broke or even bankrupt as so many lottery winners tend to do.

Perhaps we should just rest in the wisdom of God who knows our hearts better than we do. If he sees fit to bless us with wealth, then may we be faithful stewards of that blessing. If he sees fit to withhold from us great financial wealth, then may we see that as a blessing of God keeping us from temptation beyond what we can bear.

Either way, our hope must remain in the Lord, not in commas and zeroes.

A Pebble in the Shoe

Lyrics to a song by The Diehm Project (1993), “Pebble in the Shoe":

Started as a small thing, a pebble in the shoe,

Grew into a boulder, crushing down you.

Started as a notion, knocking at the heart,

Grew into disaster, tearing you apart.

 

Started as a small word, whispered in the dark,

Grew into a rumor, seeking to attack.

Started as a needle, pricking at the skin,

Grew into a dagger, digging deep in.

 

The Devil’s pretty good, starting out small,

Taking bit by bit ‘til he’s taken it all.

 

Started as a small thought, harmless at the time,

Became an obsession, filling up the mind.

Started as a small “no”, only now and then,

Grew into rebellion, grew into sin.

I remember first hearing this song when I was at summer camp in high school. It hit home because all too often I view small sins as “no big deal.” But those small sins are footholds for Satan. The chorus is spot on: The Devil is good at starting out small, and before we know it he has mastered us in our sin.

We cannot let him get a foothold. When is the last time you’ve cleaned out your shoes?

Entering the Lion’s Den

Question, if you wanted to learn what a lion eats, would you go into the the lion’s den to watch it happen, or study them from afar?

Seems like an odd question, for it would be ludicrous to put yourself into such danger, knowing that when a carnivorous beast goes into a feeding frenzy, the best thing to do is stay away. Surely if we sat with the lion to watch, we may very well end up as an extra snack for meal time.

Yet in some certain respects, we do just that. People think the best way to defeat sin is by going to the place where the temptation is strongest, and if we come out unscathed, then we must have experienced great victory. A man prone to alcoholism enters a pub to see if he can withstand the temptation. The pornography addict walks into an adult bookstore. Is any of this wise? Of course not. The Bible tells us regularly to avoid temptation, nay, flee temptation. Remove any avenues for temptation from your midst.

This has so many applications they would be hard to enumerate them all, but I would like to focus on one particular instance. I begin by asking if it is wise to enter into a stronghold of Satan? In various college missions classes, and even church evangelism classes we take time to teach our people about the beliefs of other religions, show where their weaknesses are to demonstrate in-roads for sharing the gospel with their followers. I firmly support this endeavor, but there is one teaching method for which I strongly question; the visit to their worship services.

It seems in our American view we tend to downplay the spiritual war taking place all around us. And so in our curiosity and even fascination with things different from us, we set out to visit houses of worship for false gods to “learn about them so we can understand them better.” I wonder at the wisdom of this idea because in it we downplay the spiritual battle taking place. We do not consider the darkness that covers over these houses of worship. And too often we are like soldiers running to battle without our weapons or armor. We are like that tasty after dinner snack walking into the lions den.

The Bible does tell us to reach out to the nations, but entering into their prayer services is not the best way. Yes we can and should learn about other faith systems to better understand their worldview, but this does not require participating by observation of their worship. By doing so we are in essence giving credibility to belief in their gods.

Here is the finest example of this disconnect we make. I would be shocked to hear of a Christian desiring to observe a satanic worship service such as Wicca, for clearly this is of the enemy. But then we have no problem attending a Muslim prayer service as “observers.” I admittedly have not yet been able to make a strong argument against this problem, but hopefully it will get people thinking.

And if you should be a part of a group preparing to go, then I implore you to do two things. First, pray and ask God for wisdom before going whether you should even go or if there are other, better ways to learn about the beliefs of that particular faith group. And second, if you do decide to still attend, then pray before, during, and even after the visit, for you are entering enemy lines.