Bible Studies and Devotional Thoughts

February 15, 2017

"Cultivating Humility"

I’ve been slowly and contemplatively reading a small book by Milton Vincent entitled, A Gospel Primer for Christians; Learning to See the Glories of God’s Love.   The book is broken down into small sections, and I read one of them each day so that I can focus on its contents and really think about it.  Each section talks about an aspect of the Gospel – a facet that is easy to miss in our “death, burial, resurrection” definition.  Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with that definition, per se – just that so much is encompassed in those three words and sometimes it’s good to unpack exactly how that “short-hand” definition impacts us in it’s particulars.

Today’s section was called “Cultivating Humility.”  Already, there’s an “ouch,” isn’t there?  I’d like to quote this section for you.

According to Scripture, God deliberately designed the gospel in such a way so as to strip me of pride and leave me without any grounds for boasting in myself whatsoever. (Eph 2:8-9; I Corinthians 1:27-29)  This is actually a wonderful mercy of God, for pride is at the root of all my sin.  Pride produced the first sin in the Garden (Genesis 3:4-6), and pride always precedes every sinful stumbling in my life (Proverbs 16:18).  Therefore, if I am to experience deliverance from sin, I must be delivered from the pride that produces it.  Thankfully, the gospel is engineered to accomplish this deliverance. 

Preaching the gospel to myself each day mounts a powerful assault against my pride and serves to establish humility in its place.  Nothing suffocates my pride more than daily reminders regarding the glory of my God, the gravity of my sins, and the crucifixion of God’s own Son in my place.  Also, the gracious love of God, lavished on me because of Christ’s death, is always humbling to remember, especially when viewed against the backdrop of the Hell I deserve. 

Pride wilts in the atmosphere of the gospel; and the more pride is mortified within me, the less frequent are my moments of sinful contention with God and with others (Proverbs 13:10).  Conversely, humility grows lushly in the atmosphere of the gospel, and the more humility flourishes within me, the more I experience God’s grace (James 4:6) along with the strengthening His grace provides.  Additionally, such humility intensifies my passion for God and causes my heart increasingly to thrill whenever He is praised (Psalm 34:2).

This gospel reminder was so rich for me today.

PRIDE…I have so stinking much of it!  It’s so silly – comical actually. Many years ago in a live radio address at Focus on the Family, Frank Peretti (prolific writer and author of This Present Darkenss and Piercing the Darkness) told a true account of how actress Shirley McClain’s spiritual guide directed her to go to the ocean and shout out “I AM GOD!” over and over at the top of her lungs.  Mr. Peretti, in his own unique way, then demonstrated how ridiculous that must have sounded to God by squeaking out in a small, quiet, mouse-like voice, “I am god…” 

As Christians, we laugh at that story.  But I wonder; how often do I shout out the same thing? 

“I’m tired of being treated this way; I don’t deserve this…I AM GOD!”

“Life’s not fair…I AM GOD!”

“I deserve better than this…I AM GOD!”

“How dare he ______…I AM GOD!”

BEEP, BEEP “Get out of my way stupid, driver!…I AM GOD!”

“I can’t take this anymore…I AM GOD!”

“Poor me; nobody recognizes by strengths…I AM GOD!”

“How dare you ‘dis’ me…I AM GOD!”

“I hope he gets a taste of his own medicine…I AM GOD!”

“I refuse to talk to her until she apologizes…I AM GOD!”

“If they think they can treat me like that, they’ve got another thing coming…I AM GOD!”

“Love my enemies? Surely not this one…not in this circumstance…I AM GOD!”

“He’s treated me this way for 30 years; I’m done…I AM GOD!”

“God how could You let this happen…I AM GOD!”

I’m preaching to myself here, and I could go on…I’m sure you could too, if you let yourself think about it.

But what does the gospel teach us?  It teaches us that by nature, God is infinitely holy and we are infinitely unholy.  Do you realize that by mathematical definition, that means we are all equally far removed from the holiness of God?  Not one of us is closer to it than another – it doesn’t matter if your Republican or Democrat, Conservative or Liberal, Baptist or Lutheran, Christian or Muslim, black or white, straight or LGBTQ…yikes, did I say that?  Yes, I did.  None of have ANYTHING about ourselves to boast of!  NOTHING!!!  It is only the righteousness of Christ that matters!  It is only as we realize our pride, and seek forgiveness by submitting to God’s holy authority and accepting His great sacrifice of His Son on our behalf so that we are clothed in His righteousness that we have fellowship with God!  It is our PRIDE that makes us forget this and starts us thinking that we are somehow better or more deserving than someone else.  Obedience born of pride is simply pride.  Only obedience born of worship is true obedience.

And we are certainly not better than Christ…who was abused, abandoned, spit upon, mocked, suffered hunger, pain, humiliation, rejection, betrayed, taken for granted – oh wait…I think I do most of this TO Christ on a regular basis…especially when I consider that he said, “As you do it to the least of these my brethren, you do it to me…” Hmmm…there’s some unpleasant food for thought…

And as much as I, personally, am politically minded…it is not politics that will save the world – not picketing and demonstrating and rioting…only the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to produce this kind of humility in individuals – and it is only as individuals learn this humility that the world will change. 

God, forgive me.  Grant me – teach me humility.  Help me learn it from the truth of Your Gospel.  I have nothing to boast of; I really don’t.  Thanks for the reminder.

            “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.  But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in His presence.  But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption – that, as it is written, ‘He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.’” – I Corinthians 1:26-31

December 17, 2013

Arise and Eat, for the Journey is too Great for You.

I recently read a fascinating and exciting story in my Bible.  It’s in I Kings, Chapter 19 and it’s the story of when God’s prophet, Elijah, was running from Ahab and Jezebel, the king and queen of Israel.  You see, Ahab had turned away from the living God who had brought them out of Egypt by mighty signs and wonders, and had begun to worship Baal.  Ahab and Jezebel turned nearly all of Israel to the worship of this pagan god until one day, Elijah challenged all the prophets of Baal to a contest which showed how foolish (and really, non-existent) their gods were, and how powerful the God of Heaven is.  Long story short, the two sides of the contest set up alters, each with a sacrifice on it.  The deal was, the prophets of Baal would pray to their god, Elijah would pray to his God, and which ever god answered the prayers by sending down fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice, the people would follow that God.   The prophets of Baal cried out to him all day long, from morning until evening.  They cried and leaped about, cutting themselves with knives and lances until blood gushed out of them.  But there was no answer.  Then it was Elijah’s turn.  He had the people dig a trench around the alter and poured water all over the sacrifice until it was running down the alter and filled the trench.  Then, he simply prayed.  God answered with fire from heaven and consumed the sacrifice.  The people of Israel turned on the prophets of Baal and slaughtered them all, every last one. Jezebel, crazy mad, threatened to kill Elijah, and he fled in fear.  There’s more to it than that, but…

That brings us to chapter 19.  I’ll start in verse 4.  “But he himself (Elijah) went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree.  And he prayed that he might die, and said, ‘It is enough!  Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!’  Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, ‘Arise and eat.’  Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water.  So he ate and drank, and lay down again.  And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, ‘Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.’ So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.”

Elijah journeyed into the Wilderness and asked God to kill him. Listen to his anguish - "It is enough!  Stop!  I can't take this anymore, God!!!"  Can you hear him?  Can you feel his torment in the depths of your soul? Have you ever been there in that place of Wilderness?  I’m not talking about the bush in Kenya – I’m talking about that emotionally empty place, or that place of disaster, or that place of being buffeted, battered, pounded, and knocked around day after day after day after day after day…week after week after month…maybe after year.  Sometimes we’re so done with it all, we just want to die.  Ever been there?  I have. Elijah, the great prophet of God was.

Then Elijah laid down to sleep, but an angel woke him up to eat.  When he looked around, he saw cake and water.  He ate and drank and went back to sleep.  The angel woke him again and said, “Get up and eat.  The journey is too great for you.”  Oh, how that speaks to me.  Does it speak to you? 

Oh precious friends, how often does the journey feel too great for you?  Maybe it’s the journey of sickness; maybe it’s the journey of watching loved ones destroy their lives; maybe it’s the journey of divorce or abandonment.  Maybe it’s just the journey of life itself.  You know what? You’re right; the journey is too great for you – it’s too great for all of us.  God knows this just like He knew it with Elijah.  And just like He prepared bread and water for Elijah, He does for you and me as well!  How can I get that from this Old Testament passage of the Bible?  Because the Old Testament foreshadows – it leads up to and gives clues to – the New Testament.  And here’s what the New Testament teaches us about the Bread and the Water.  In the book of John, written by the Apostle John, Jesus tells the people, “Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world…I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”

Another interesting parallel here in I Kings is that Elijah went in the strength of that food for how long?  Forty days and forty nights – as far as the mountain of God.  Forty days and forty nights.  What does that make you think of?  The Hebrew children’s 40 years in the Wilderness of Sin, and Jesus’s 40 days and 40 nights in the Wilderness of Temptation – in which He did not sin.  But you see, God prepared bread for the Hebrew Children in their Wilderness, God here prepared this bread and water for Elijah, and he prepared the Living Bread and the Living Water for us!  He did this so that we would have strength for our journey. 

Do you find yourself feeling you lack strength for your journey?  Are you desperately grasping for things to make it easier?  Food?  Drugs?  Alcohol?  Spouse? Children? Friends? Are you frantically clutching at anything in the hopes of escape from your time in the Wilderness?  Are you even contemplating ending it yourself?  My dear friend, God has provided you sustenance for your journey.  That sustenance is Jesus Christ. 

I love Isaiah 55.  “Ho!  Everyone who thirsts.  Come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat.  Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?  Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.  Incline your ear, and come to Me.  Hear, and your soul shall live!”

How do we feast on Christ, you ask? How do I get a hold of this amazing sustenance? God simply says, “Come.  Turn away from the things you are trusting in; they will do you no good.  Stop trying to provide your own food!  It won’t do it for you! Come!  Eat and drink what I supply for you.  Imbibe on it!  Feast on it!  TRUST in it!  Delight in it!  It will satisfy you and sustain you!”  Come to Jesus.  Don't just think about him, don't just talk about him, don't just assent to him...Come to him.  Trust in him.  Delight in him.  Feast on him. Give up trying to do it on your own...you can't.  You'll get lost in the wilderness.  Jesus perfectly survived the wilderness of temptation on your behalf, and He will walk through your wilderness with you.  Hold his hand.  Lean on him.  Talk to him.  Cry out to him.  Daily.  Moment by moment if necessary.  He will be your nourishment.  He will be your survival, and He will lead you all the way to the very presence of God - both in spirit in this life, and face to face in the next.

August 26, 2012

Am I the fool, or the wise man of Proverbs 26?

     “*As snow in summer and rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool. *Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, so a curse without cause shall not alight. *A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the fool’s back. *Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him. *Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. *He who sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence. *Like the legs of the lame that hang limp is a proverb in the mouth of fools. *Like one who binds a stone in a sling is he who gives honor to a fool. *Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools. *The great God who formed everything gives the fool his hire and the transgressor his wages. *As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. ***Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
- Proverbs chapter 26, verses 1- 12

            Today was Sunday, and Roger being away taking Emily back to school, I chose to read and discuss this chapter of Proverbs with Amy and Josiah.  This is not an unfamiliar Proverb, but something struck me differently this time as I read it to them.  

            Scripture – specifically Proverbs – has a whole lot to say about fools.  All my life, I’ve read this passage and others like it in what you might call a “moralistic” way; don’t be like this!  These are the actions of a fool!  Be wise!  “Well, yeah,” you respond.  “Obviously.  How else do you read them?”  But this morning it was as if the Holy Spirit turned on a light bulb for me, and I want to share with you what I saw when the light came on. 

            Look back at those verses with me.  My goal is not to go into a detailed meaning of each saying about fools, but to look at them as a whole.  How many are there?  I put asterisks by each one for easy count (except my count skips the second asterisk because it doesn’t mention a fool) There are 10.  It’s quite a list, isn’t it?  Let’s see; honor or splendor on a fool is unbecoming; a fool needs a rod laid across his back to keep him on track; he says ridiculous things; a fool can’t be trusted – he brings ruin; he’s like a dog eating his own vomit – he just can’t stop himself from doing foolish, stupid things.  Really flattering.  No wonder we take our young people to these verses to try to help them not be foolish.  In fact, that was what I was emphasizing to my children as I read.  But then, something struck me: take a look at the last two sentences. After all these very unflattering statements about the fool, God says…

DO YOU SEE A MAN WHO IS WISE IN HIS OWN EYES? THERE IS MORE HOPE FOR THE FOOL THAN FOR HIM.

Wow.

It’s better to be a fool.

Hmm.

            So, this sat in the back of my brain all day, just kind of percolating.  I began to think about New Testament scriptures that talk about the wise man and the fool.  A typical one we think of is Matthew 7:24 – 27 about the wise man who built his house upon a rock; when the storms came, the foundation stayed strong –vs – the foolish man who built his house upon the sand; when storms came upon his house, it fell down and was destroyed.  Jesus said the one who hears His words and follows them is like the wise man.  BUT…that’s not the wise man we see in Proverbs 26.  The Proverbs 26 wise man is more of a wise guy. One translation of the Bible puts it this way, “Do you see a man who is wise in his own conceit?”  That’s the “in his own eyes” aspect of this wise man.  This guy thinks he’s got it all together; he thinks he’s got all the right answers.  He would never fit the description of a fool in this passage; he’s got all his “i’s” dotted and his “t’s” crossed – and he knows it.

            The New Testament passage that this actually brought to my mind was the story Jesus tells of the wasteful son and the obedient son – we usually hear it referred to as the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  This beautiful story is found in Luke 15: 11 – 32.  In it, the younger, foolish son demands his inheritance from his father and goes off to squander it on decadent, sinful, lustful living to the point where he has nothing left; his “friends” abandon him, he’s starving, and he finds himself feeding pigs (considered unclean animals) and eating their leftovers.  Meanwhile, the older, wiser son stays at home working with his father and doing everything right.  He doesn’t ask for anything, doesn’t waste time and money partying with his friends; he just quietly works hard doing everything he’s supposed to do.  After who knows how long, the younger son, humbled by his circumstances, realizes the foolishness of his choices and returns home hoping only for a job that will get him out of the pig slop and put clothes on his back.  He knows he has shamed his father and that there is nothing he can do to restore the father/son relationship; he doesn’t deserve that.  So he comes, with nothing to give – nothing to offer, sincerely admitting all his wrongs and hoping for a measure of tolerance.  He gets so much more than he ever imagined.  The father sees him coming from quite far away, but recognizes him and runs out to meet him down the road.  With tears streaming down his face, he embraces the son whom he thought must have died.  He listens to his son’s confession and request for a job; his reply… let’s throw a party!!!!  My son’s home!!!!!!!!!!!!  He dresses his filthy, smelly, unshaven, bedraggled son in his own best clothes and puts a ring – maybe a family signet? – on his finger.  The son that was dead to him is now alive .

            Enter…the older son.  He’s been out working in the fields all day, thank you very much, just like he has every day his entire life!  What’s this?  A party?  For that rat who took half his father’s money and squandered it?  Boy is he angry.  Here he is – the older son, the wise one, the obedient one, the respectful one, the one who does everything right – and he’s never had a party like this thrown on his behalf.  You’d think he would deserve it more, wouldn’t you? Oh, he’s not happy.  He refuses to join in the festivities and sits outside (that’s a key word…outside) sulking.  When his father comes out to find him, he spills his guts and tells his dad exactly what he thinks of the whole situation – basically calling his father’s actions unfair and unjust.

          What’s the difference between these two sons?  I think it boils down to this: One thinks he deserves his father’s favor because he’s earned it.  The other knows he doesn’t and never could.  The younger son started out foolish, and his folly brought him to the end of himself.  It ruined him to the point of having nothing to offer as a bargaining chip for forgiveness.  The only thing he had was his brokenness.  He celebrated and basked in the goodness of his father.  The older son started out looking like the wise one but finished the fool.  Why? Because he didn’t understand GRACE: favor that is unearned and undeserved.  He’d worked hard to earn his father’s respect and to be worthy of his inheritance; it hardly seemed fair that his father’s other son (he didn’t even call him his brother) – that despicable, sinful, unholy, swine of a boy – would be received with such…love.  So while the “foolish” brother is inside celebrating, the “wise” son sits outside – alone.  We never know if he joins the party or not.

          But can’t you just feel his confusion?  It somehow doesn’t seem right to our way of thinking, does it?

          It reminds me of another passage in the New Testament.   I Corinthians 1:26 – 31 says,

  “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many   mighty, not many noble, are called.  But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.  But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God——and righteousness and sanctification and redemption——that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD."

            So, now, rather than seeing Proverbs 26 moralistically – “thou shalt and thou shalt not…” I am seeing it Chistocentrically.  More than reading in it what I should not be, I see in it what I am…what we all are…without Jesus.  There’s nothing to boast about here, nor can I see myself as better than anyone else – not when I see myself in this God-given light.  We’re all on the same level – all at the same dismal and impossible spot on the playing field.

            The hope of the “wise” man is in himself and his own abilities.  He can do this in one of two ways:  either he thinks he’s okay and that he has no need of the forgiveness of some God out there (if there even is one), or he knows he needs God’s favor and forgiveness, but thinks he can earn it by doing more good than bad.  He’s a fool but doesn’t know it, and therefore has no true hope.  The fool, on the other hand, is so bad off that he has no hope … except in the LOVE and GRACE of the Father who sent Jesus to spill his own blood on a cross as the ultimate and perfect sacrifice – paying  for the sins of the foolish, purchasing our forgiveness, and bringing us into a Father/son (or daughter) relationship with God. What a HOPE! 

            Oh, that I may be a fool.