Deuteronomy 8 – Disciplined toward our calling

Deuteronomy 8:2-7 “You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. 4 “Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5 “Thus you are to know in your heart that the LORD your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. 6 “Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. 7 “For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land

I believe that God has a Promised Land for each of us. God has a place (not necessarily physical) that we have been promised and to which we are being led. It is the place that fulfills your purpose in life; the place for which God made you.

But I know very few people who can enter their promised land without first going through a season (or many seasons) of discipline.

We are not disciplined because God hates us. We are not disciplined because we are evil. We are not disciplined because we are incompetent. We are disciplined to bring us to a point where we can bring out the best in our promised land.

It is a tough thing to admit that admit that you may not yet be ready for the thing God has called you to. But it is important to remember that the season of discipline your find yourself in, is part of the journey toward your promised land.

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Deuteronomy 1 – Following God’s will

Deuteronomy 1:28-45 “The people are bigger and taller than we; the cities are large and fortified to heaven. And besides, we saw the sons of the Anakim there.”‘ 29 “Then I said to you, ‘Do not be shocked, nor fear them. 30 ‘The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes…32 “But for all this, you did not trust the LORD your God, 33 who goes before you on your way, to seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go. 34 “Then the LORD heard the sound of your words, and He was angry and took an oath, saying, 35 ‘Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers, 36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and to his sons I will give the land on which he has set foot, because he has followed the LORD fully.’ 37 “The LORD was angry with me also on your account, saying, ‘Not even you shall enter there. 38 ‘Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter there; encourage him, for he will cause Israel to inherit it…42 “And the LORD said to me, ‘Say to them, “Do not go up nor fight, for I am not among you; otherwise you will be defeated before your enemies.”‘ 43 “So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. Instead you rebelled against the command of the LORD, and acted presumptuously and went up into the hill country. 44 “The Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do, and crushed you from Seir to Hormah. 45 “Then you returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD did not listen to your voice nor give ear to you.

The childlike attitude of the Israelites amazes me. First, they say “no God, we don’t want to go.” Then, God tells them that they are being disobedient and will be punished. Then, they say “oh, our bad God, we didn’t really mean it, let’s go kick some Amorite butt.” God says, “no, you had your chance and blew it”; but they decide to go ahead and attack without God. Surprise, surprise, they are defeated. How many times can you be unfaithful to God at one sitting?

The Israelites may be acting like children, but that does not mean that we act much better. How often do we ignore God’s leading, or push God off until later, with the excuse “that would make me uncomfortable”, “I can’t go out of my way”, or “I don’t have enough time.”

Only recently have I become some what consistent on faithfully following through on God’s leading in my life. To obey God you have to do three things.

1) Be aware of God in everyday life. I have come to recognize the leading of God as the unexpected thoughts that entery my head such as “you should go talk to him”, “you should help her out”, “you should go ask this question”.

2) Take the time to do what God asks you to do. It’s easy to brush God off; God is not usually overly-persistent and seldom begs. It’s easy to ignore the situation, to drive on by, to pretend you did not see. It takes effort and time to actually do what God is asking of you.

3) See it through to the end. Don’t wuss out half way through. If your going to follow God down his rabbit trail, follow God all the way. Make sure you accomplished what God was calling you to do.

It takes time, effort, emotional will-power, and a willingness to put yourself into some uncomfortable positions. But when God calls you to do something, do it.

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Weekly Meanderings

Here’s some stuff I came across this week…

Have a great weekend!

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Numbers 21 – Numbers, Jude, and Idols

Numbers 21:5-9 The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.” 6 The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. 8 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” 9 And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.

This passage always confused me because it seems to go against the whole “no graven idols” thing (also, how do you make a sculpture of a “fiery” serpent?).

It’s still a great story. It comes up in several New Testament passages, including one of my favorites, Jude. In fact, I think Jude uses more per verse references to Numbers than any other book.

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Numbers 12 – God treats us all differently

In Chapter 12 Aaron and Miriam go to God and say, “hey, we’re prophets too; don’t just talk to Moses, give us something to say to the people.”

God was not happy with this attitude so he told them that he had a special relationship with Moses and would speak to him differently than he spoke to Aaron and Miriam. Then he gave Miriam leprosy.

Moses prayed for the leprosy to go away, but God said “not yet,” and Miriam had to wait outside of the camp for a week while she was unclean.

There are a couple important takeaways from this passage:

1) God interacts with each of us differently. Do not be jealous of how God interacts with someone else. God chooses the best way to interact with you. We need to trust that God is working for our good and knows what kind of interaction we need. So don’t look at a great spiritual leader and wish you were them, look to God and how he is interacting with you.

2) Just because someone is outside of God’s community does not mean that God has rejected them. God has prepared a place for them, just as God had a place and a role prepared for Miriam. Sometimes God makes us wait on him. It’s okay to wait on God.

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John 15 – So this is how grapevines feel

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.”

If you are a Christian, if you have a faith in Jesus, then I can guarantee that God is pruning you. How is God pruning you? It is very healthy to regularly look at your life and assess how God is pruning you.

The unfortunate part of pruning is that it is usually somewhat painful. God is using people and situations to smooth out your rough edges and make you better able to be a productive member of the family. It is no fun to be pruned, but it is a constant reality.

To use good technical seminarian words, God is sanctifying us; He is leading us toward perfection. None of us are going to reach perfection anytime soon, but it is the end point.

Sin is not usually something we want to give up. It is usually something that gives us some feeling of pleasure, security, comfort, etc. But it is a false feeling. Giving up our crutches and fully relying on God is difficult.

How is God pruning you? What can you do to help the gardener prune you?

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John 14 – The leading of the Holy Spirit

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.’”

We need to be responsive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives. By listening to the Holy Spirit we are able to keep Jesus’ word. However, we have to actually pay attention to the Holy Spirit. We can easily ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit; we can easily convince ourselves that we know better than the Holy Spirit. We need to practice quieting our hearts and minds so that we can hear God speaking to us.

When was the last time you intentionally quieted your heart and mind? When did you last spend time listening to God, without speaking? How can you train yourself to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit?

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Joshua 23 – To whom do you cling?

“You are to cling to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day. For the LORD has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day. One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you. So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the LORD your God. For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that the LORD your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you.”

With these words Joshua instructs the nation of Israel as he nears death.

Joshua offers two options for their future: they can cling to God or they can cling to “the rest of these nations”. The Israelites can live in fellowship with God or they can live in fellowship with the world around them. One of these options offers prosperous life and one offers death and destruction. Who will they choose to cling to?

Who do we cling to? Do we cling to Jesus? Do we cling to comfort? Do we cling to God? Do we cling to man?

With apologies to Robert Zimmerman you “Gotta serve somebody”.

You may be a construction worker working on a home,
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome,
You might own guns and you might even own tanks,
You might be somebody’s landlord, you might even own banks

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride,
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side,
You may be workin’ in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair,
You may be somebody’s mistress, may be somebody’s heir

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

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Joshua 22 – A blessing

“‘Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.’ So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.”

This is very similar to the commandment in Deuteronomy and the Gospels to love God with all you heart, mind, strength, and soul. Let’s break it down:

Love the Lord your God and…
1) Walk in his ways
2) Keep his commandments
3) Hold fast to him
4) Serve him with all your heart and soul

With this instruction the Joshua blessed the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

This weekend may you walk in the ways of Jesus, keep his commands, hold fast to Jesus in all your circumstances, and serve Jesus with all your heart and soul.

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Joshua 10 – Allowing God to move

“So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.”

Don’t get caught up in trying to explain this scientifically; just enjoy the image of God being willing to stop the earth for God’s people.

“Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.”

God is able to accomplish more than we can imagine if we don’t insist on doing everything ourselves.

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Joshua 9 – Short term gain, long term loss

“So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did not ask for the counsel of the LORD.”

And because Israel did not seek out the Lord’s counsel, they were forced to share a portion of their land with a people that God would have driven away. Eventually this will cause the people to disobey and fall away from God.

When we do not seek out God’s counsel we make mistakes. The consequences of those mistakes can be harsh and long lasting.

I now I can get impatient and start to make assumptions, but taking the time to talk to God will always benefit me and will always help me make a better decision.

Don’t risk a short term gain for a long term loss. In everything you do seek out the counsel of the Lord.

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Joshua 7 – Making an enemy of my savior

“So the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things. Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst.”

I have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, but I still make God my enemy when I disobey.

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Joshua 3 – Waterways into walkways

“Joshua said…’Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan. Now then, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. It shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap.’”

When we allow God to go ahead of us God will turn the waterways into walkways.

Joshua and the people could have gone swimming ahead of God and gotten to the other side. Joshua and the people could have stopped to build boats to make sure they would stay dry. Either of these options would have gotten the people to the other side. But God had a plan of how to get the people across the waterway, and the people followed it.

When we allow God to go ahead of us the barriers are removed; the waterways become walkways.

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Leviticus 10 – Strange Fire

“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.”

Strange fire is an offering that was probably intended for good, but was out of line with God’s expectations for us.

I’ve seen “strange fire” place before the Lord. Strange fire is when words of hate are preached under the guise of holiness. It’s when offerings are given with the ulterior motive of gaining favor or power. Strange fire is when a musician’s heart is focused on the show and not on worship. It’s when we meet the needs of people, but fail to show them Jesus. It’s also when we show people Jesus, but fail to meet their needs

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Psalm 26 – Perfectly in balance

Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, And I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. Examine me, O LORD, and try me; Test my mind and my heart. For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth. I do not sit with deceitful men, Nor will I go with pretenders. I hate the assembly of evildoers, And I will not sit with the wicked. I shall wash my hands in innocence, And I will go about Your altar, O LORD, That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving And declare all Your wonders.

The purpose of being pure is to be a trustworthy witness for God. If we are living lives filled with wrong actions, thoughts, or words then we are not capable of being a witness to the glory of God. We are called to walk in truth, lovingkindness, innocence, and far from evil doers so that when we sing praises to God we can be seen as reliable witnesses.

There is a careful balance that must be maintained in our lives: we are to live with the goal of being perfect while recognizing that we will never achieve our goal and not being discouraged by our failure. When we get out of balance we get in trouble.

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Psalm 13 – Purposefully changing my negative attitude

How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

But I have trusted in Your loving kindness; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

When I read this Psalm it is almost as if David is saying the last two sentences grudgingly. He has spent the whole prayer asking where God is and why God is allowing the enemy to succeed. Then the Psalm ends with a week couple of lines about the Lord’s dealings with David in the past. I read this as David convincing himself that God is still there and will continue to love and care for David.

I see this as a very healthy thing to do. If we are confused about the seeming absence of God in our lives we need to go directly to God and ask why? Then we need to begin to refocus ourselves on what God has done, what God is continuing to do, and what God has promised to do in the future.

For the most part we each control our own attitude. If I am aware of my heart being in a wrong place then I need to work on correcting my heart. Are you self aware enough to realize when you are thinking negative thoughts? When you realize it do you take the initiative to correct your attitude without involving other people? Attitude correction is best done between me and God.

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Psalm 11 – A history of violence

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

In the LORD I take refuge; How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain; for, behold, the wicked bend the bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; the upright will behold His face.

Two thoughts:
1) Everyone is tested by the Lord; the difference between Christians and non-Christians is that a Christian can take refuge in the Lord during times of testing.

2) David, a man who was not allowed to build the temple because there was too much blood on his hands wrote: “the one who loves violence [the Lord's] soul hates.” I am a bad pacifist sometimes because I do occasionally see violence as unavoidable (its part of living with sin). However, the love of violence, in all its forms, is always wrong.

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Psalm 6 – God’s spanking

For the choir director; with stringed instruments, upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David.

O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger, Nor chasten me in Your wrath. Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am pining away; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are dismayed. And my soul is greatly dismayed; But You, O LORD– how long? Return, O LORD, rescue my soul; Save me because of Your loving kindness. For there is no mention of You in death; In Sheol who will give You thanks? I am weary with my sighing; every night I make my bed swim, I dissolve my couch with my tears. My eye has wasted away with grief; it has become old because of all my adversaries. Depart from me, all you who do iniquity, For the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping. The LORD has heard my supplication, The LORD receives my prayer. All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly dismayed; they shall turn back, they will suddenly be ashamed.

I spanked my kids today. We do spank in my household; we don’t beat, we don’t whip, but we do occasionally apply a firm swat with the hand to their bottom. There are three ways my kids can earn a spanking. The first is if I tell them “do X before I count to three or I will swat your bottom” and they don’t do it. The second is if they go where they have been told not to go (e.g. outside alone, or mom and dad’s room). The third is if they hit someone else. My kids do other bad things but usually we sit and talk with them or put them in their rooms. Overall punishment is rare but relatively consistent.

Just as I discipline my kids in hopes of developing them into mature human beings, God occasionally disciplines each of us in hopes of developing us into mature spiritual beings. I don’t like it when God spanks me, but there are times when I fail to do what God asks me to do, there are times when I go where I’m not supposed to go, and there are times when I hurt other people.

My desire during times of discipline needs to be for healing and grace.

After I discipline my kids, I usually sit and hold them for a little bit. I love them and wish that they would never experience the pain of discipline; but, I also want them to eventually become mature. Discipline and expressions of love must be interwoven for either to be effective. God is there to discipline; God is there to love.

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A Sermon

“Friends: The one with the gardener”

- John 15:9-17

The intended audience is a rural Friends church of about 65 in eastern Illinois. The Society of Friends (more commonly known as Quakers) was founded by George Fox in seventeenth century England. It was founded on the principle that all persons had the ability to directly experience God; a priest or other church officiant was not required to communicate with God.

The Society of Friends took their name from John 15:14. In that passage Jesus says, “You are my friends if you do what I command.” Friends would later be branded with the name Quaker. This pejoratively intended name was first used in 1650, when George Fox was brought before Justice Bennet of Derby on a charge of blasphemy. According to Fox’s journal, Bennet “called us Quakers because we bid them tremble at the word of God.”

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