We need one another

Leviticus 9; Psalm 10; Proverbs 24; 1 Thessalonians 3

Being under the restriction of ‘social distancing’ is tolerable up to a point. The family of God function well together. We don’t do as well when separated. Imagine a human body with an arm in one place, a leg in another, eyes over there and hands a mile away. We are using podcasts, the telephone, texting, ZOOM, and other technology, but it is not the same as face to face, arm in arm.

I miss praying together and hearing of answered prayers. Without this interaction, I struggle a bit like the psalmist: “Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1) But also realize that in isolation, the Liar comes to discourage me with thoughts of being abandoned, with anxiety that God is not listening to our prayers and that He is not with us in this awful situation. I keep reading until I’m encouraged by this:

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. (Psalm 10:17–18)

In my case, oppression is not from humans but from the one who tries to run things here on earth, and who tries to get me feeling sorry for myself and forgetting why God has me here. Even though all His people are citizens of heaven and destined to spend eternity with Him, we have the role and task of ambassadors. I am to be telling others about Jesus. In this virus threat, many are afraid of dying. They need to know that Jesus has conquered death.

I don’t feel up to it but alone in it, without the strength and sometimes without the desire. But today, God says this to me:

If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work? (Proverbs 24:10–12)

God knows that I know the most important thing, especially at times like this. People are dying. Those daily reports and graph charts are bad enough, never mind the photos of caskets being loaded into refrigerated trucks. I want to rescue those who remain, but I also want to shake those who think they are invincible. Eventually we all die so I want everyone, virus or not, to know that Jesus rose from the dead and that He offers eternal life to all who put their faith in Him.

I also want communion with other Christians. I want to remind them and have them remind me of the truths we know. Yet all of us are too easily side-tracked by the Liar who wants our lives and our message to be ignored and ineffective. Like Paul who was separated from a church family, I want to be with my divine family:

Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. (1 Thessalonians 3:11–13)

APPLY: I don’t know anything except to let this desire express itself — in calling my Christian family and in calling those who haven’t heard the good news — even death cannot destroy the marvelous and comforting life of Jesus Christ.

Hearing the Shepherd

This blog is my daily devotions. This year, I am reading Oswald Chambers’ “My Utmost for His Highest” but some days pay little attention to what he says. His book is a compilation of lectures given, edited by others, often insightful, but sometimes a bit disjointed.

Today he seems to be addressing those in his audience who might be playing at Christianity. They exist. They may even be taking theology and do not know the God that they are studying. His comments do not speak to my situation, although his warnings are fair. When this happens, I consider what he says, but ask God to speak to me using the daily Scripture reading and its context.

“’Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.’ This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.” (John 10:1–6)

In context, Jesus was telling the disciples that He was their shepherd and they knew His voice, but they didn’t know the voice of an imposter that He calls a stranger. He says they will not follow him because they do not know the stranger’s voice, likely a reference to a false teacher or even Satan.

This is interesting because the disciples knew Jesus, heard His voice, but they didn’t get it. They didn’t understand Him, at least not at that time.

I’m reading another book that describes hearing and understanding Jesus in terms that are easily understood. The author says that a mature Christian is one who knows the Bible well and when he hears God speak through the mysterious whispers of the Holy Spirit, he is able to evaluate what He says because it lines up with what the Bible says.

I agree with that, yet the disciples, even all the early Christians, did not have the New Testament yet. Paul wrote much of it. How did they know the voice of the Lord and how did Paul know that it was God who gave him the words to write? How did the others know that Paul’s letters were God’s instructions to them?

In my own experience, Jesus is correct; I know when I’m hearing from the Lord. His thoughts and impressions are not sensed by the ear but by the heart. Sometimes I do not understand Him, but have to admit this is likely due to a “I don’t want that” streak in me.

On the other hand, I don’t recognize Satan all the time. In fact, his suggestions and ideas seem more like self-talk. Perhaps that is why I can be duped by his lies. However, if my concentration is on Christ and the Word of God, I’m not even interested in whatever that ‘stranger’ says to me. I usually evaluate it quickly and let it fly overhead like an unwanted buzzing wasp. I might even take a swat at it as it passes.

Jesus does not put the onus on His disciples to listen, even though listening is a good idea. He says that His sheep know and hear His voice and follow Him. It happens because we are in a personal relationship and like any friendship, we know the voice of our friend.

Jesus also says we don’t know the voice of the ‘stranger’ — which is true, but also that we will not follow that voice. It seems to me a contradiction to my experience for at times the devil has lured me, yet Jesus is not making a mistake. I might be distracted, but my error is not permanent. As soon as I realize where that unknown voice is coming from, I flee from that voice and return to follow my Shepherd, the One who I know — because He has made Himself known to His sheep.

When is a Christian fit or unfit to serve God?

1 Chronicles 21:1–22:19, 2 Timothy 2:14–26, Psalm 86:1–87:7

God gently reminds me of two important truths from today’s readings. The first is in the OT reading concerning David after he became the king of Israel. “Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.” (1 Chronicles 21:1)

This was not a normal census; David numbered his army. It could be compared to me listing my strengths, particularly when I’m trying to determine the best way to serve God. It is so easy to forget that God doesn’t need my strengths, and that He wants me to serve in weakness, relying on Him.

The NT reading has a couple verses that correspond to what David did and what he needed to do after this numbering happened. It says God’s servants are to correct their opponents, which is what Joab tried to do with David. The reason for this is that “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:25–26)

David did repent, but he learned the hard way that listening to Satan and doing what he suggests had disastrous consequences for his people. Because of David’s sin, 70,000 people in Israel died.

The second truth is even more personal. When I first became a Christian, the local church didn’t want me to become a member because I had been divorced before I was saved. At the time, I didn’t not know what ‘narrow-minded legalism’ meant.

Even when I was allowed membership, they would not allow me to serve. Their reasoning was that because of David’s sin with Bathsheba, God would not allow him to build the temple. Therefore, because of my sin of divorce, I could not help in the church. Again, at the time I thought this was the ‘rules’ of being a Christian and did not protest.

Later I learned what today’s reading reveals — the real reason David did not build the temple. He said to Solomon, “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth.’” (1 Chronicles 22:7–8)

In this case, a man of war may have trouble leading in peace time, but whatever God’s reason, David accepted it. However, past (and forgiven) sins cannot disallow Christians from serving God; otherwise no one could. Some pick out David as justification for making some sins worse than others, and use that to deny other sinners opportunities to do service to God. Some of them would be better informed by these thoughts....

“Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.” (2 Timothy 2:20–21)

According to this, some may serve in a different capacity than others because of some current condition, but that condition (or sin) can be changed! If I continued to repeat a divorce/remarry pattern, or was guilty of any other sin (robbing banks, beating my children, gossiping about my neighbors, etc.) then it would make sense to tell me to sit back. Yet God is in the business of saving people from the power of sin. He can change a dishonorable person into a holy and useful person.

David was the song-writer of Israel. His prayers were put to music and sang from their psalter. Here is one of them:

“O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, and they do not set you before them. But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant. Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.” (Psalm 86:14–17)

After my early experiences as a Christian who could not be useful to God, I realized that the temple Solomon built (instead of David) is long-gone. David was not allowed to build it, but he was allowed to write the worship songs of Israel, and those psalms remain today, still used by God to bless millions of people.