Learning from history . . .

Which one is the wiser statement: “Study the past if you would define the future.” (Confucius) or “Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.” (Edmund Burke)?

Our ‘home group’ is studying the kings of Israel. I came away with one question. They recorded the activities and outcomes of their kings. Clearly, those who followed God prospered and those who did not did not. Each one of them made their own decisions. If they knew the historical patterns, why would any of them choose to worship idols and disobey God? These ‘evil’ kings knew yet repeated the past. It seems all they learned from any study of the past was how to replicate it in their own lives.

My conclusion may come across as crude, but it seems that sin tends to make people stupid. As we discussed this during the Bible study, we agreed that the laws of God are true and He never changes, but even the good kings occasionally pushed against the boundaries and got themselves into trouble. That is, we are doomed to repeat history even when we know it, and unless God intervenes, the past cannot help but define the future.

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:7–9)

This is a spiritual law that could be called cause and effect. It is illustrated in the physical realm of agriculture. If I plant a carrot seed, I will get carrots, not peas or corn. In my spiritual life, if I plan, plant and spend my energies in activities that are self-focused and driven by my old nature, I will reap a spiritually dead crop that amounts to nothing of eternal value. If I live according to the Spirit, the results will last forever.

The ‘evil’ kings were all about power and doing their own thing. They were not measured as evil by their building programs, achievements, battles, etc. but by their response or lack of response to God. The good kings were also not measured by any accomplishments as we might measure our leaders. They were measured by their faithfulness to God and His commands.

I look back at my own history and cannot make an accurate list of “this I did for God” and “this was fleshy junk.” However, I know both will be determined at the bema judgment seat of Christ:

“According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:10–15)

Because of Jesus Christ, my eternal destiny is not shaped by mistakes or rebellion, but by faith in Him. What is affected by the law of cause/effect is eternal rewards. Some of life’s efforts will go up in smoke while some will shine like gold.

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Lord Jesus, Your Word motivates me to think about motivation and about the power behind everything on my to-do list. Some of it is obviously useless. Open my eyes and keep them open to see and obey the Holy Spirit that the resulting work not only pleases You but will pass that final test.

What holiness isn’t . . .

Last night we were told that someone we know is seeing a medium. Her father abandoned the family when she was a baby and has since died. She wants the medium to connect her with the father that she never knew.

This is sad for two reasons. One, if the man was still alive and she was able to connect with him, she would likely be very disappointed. A father who leaves his family and never again contacts them is not usually the daddy that will please his little girl who is looking for him.

Secondly, turning to mediums puts a person in spiritual danger. In the Law of God, this is forbidden. The result is separation from the living family that that person already has . . .

“If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you. For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.” (Leviticus 20:6–9)

This passage is in a longer section that describes holiness. In these verses, God points out that holiness is being set apart and unlike other people — because God is God and He has set His people apart. This makes us different from the rest of the world. To define what that means, He gives many examples. In these three verses, those who are set apart will not mess with mediums or any ‘spiritualists’ who claim to be able to connect the living from the dead. While this practice is an illusion or actual is not the issue so much as it indicates a disregard for the holiness and lordship of God.

The other indication of lack of holiness is an extremely negative attitude toward parents. Here the example is cursing them. The punishment is death. While those who believe in God are no longer under these ‘laws’, they reveal the extreme nature of lacking respect for mother and father.

Much of our world has shaken their fists against the laws of God and have the attitude ‘I will do what I want’ only to experience consequences. Not only that, many cannot connect the dots between cause and effect. We who believe in God through faith in Jesus Christ ought never forget that God is holy and because we are His children, we are also expected to act like it.

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Dear Lord Jesus, as Tozer says, holiness depends upon contact with You. Sin is a barricade that breaks or impairs that vital contact. Slight or enormous, disobedience to You interrupts my communion with You and brings defeat instead of victory into my life. I’m extremely thankful for the Holy Spirit who helps me connect the dots. As painful and as humiliating that may be, it is the only way to keep my way clear. Without Your grace, the holiness You call for becomes totally impossible.

Creating ripples?

Our oldest son dropped by on his way home from a shift up north. We had a great visit. He told me that the people he works with do not know what to do with him because he says the truth, tells it like it is, and that makes some of them extremely uncomfortable. 

We also talked about the power of sinful motivations, how they can drive people into making illogical and even dangerous choices. This happens in his environment, but also all over the world. Those who are driven this way may have no idea of the trouble they cause for themselves and others. If they do, they rationalize or make excuses rather than being honest about their behavior. 

Not so with Johah. This man was told by God to go preach repentance to the people in Nineveh. In an attempt to escape the presence of the Lord (and His commands), Jonah took off in the other direction. He wound up in a ship that soon was direly threatened by a great storm. The sailors asked his identity and he told them he was a Hebrew who feared God, but he admitted that he was fleeing God’s presence.

Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” (Jonah 1:11–12)

Today’s devotional comment is short. It says, “Sin in the soul is like Jonah in the ship. It turns the smoothest water into a tempestuous sea.”

The effects of sin may begin as a ripple. Something as seemingly mild as gossip can even begin as, “Pray for so-and-so because she….” But in no time, the words about so-and-so’s problems become a tale told, a device used by the tellers to build themselves up by tearing down others. The ripple becomes a wave and in many cases even a tempestuous sea, all because of selfish motives.

Some suppose that God sits in heaven tossing out rules just because He can. However, He loves us and wants the best for us.

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? (Deuteronomy 10:12–13)

Part of that good that God wants is that His people live in harmony and peace. Paul wrote to Timothy,

I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1–4)

The first part gives reason for an attitude of prayerful concern for those with clout. We are to pray for them (not bellyache about them) that we can have that peaceful life we desire. These verses show that God’s reason for this command is that He wants that for us too!

The last phrase tells how. It is not by our own efforts or by what drives us. Sinful or seemingly good motifs will not produce that inner peace and a godly life. Instead, it is available with salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) 

To know Jesus is to have knowledge of the truth. It is the only way to stop the ripples caused by sin, ripples that turn into deadly tempests. Once we have that knowledge then we have the desire and the power to obey God.

I’m glad that our son is a person of truth. As he admits, he does not always hit it right, but he has discovered there is a peace from God that is beyond understanding. He also knows that telling the truth puts sinful motivations out in plain sight where they can be resisted and defeated. I suspect that his attitude is creating ripples of a different kind.