Costly Promised Land

Costly Promised Land

November 6, 2017

Numbers 13:28 "But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. . ."

Moses led the Children of Israel out of Egypt and they wandered desert for 40 years. They were on their way to a land called the Promised Land, but it took them 40 years to make a few days' trip. They were disobedient, stubborn, selfish, and insolent, which is why it took so long. The Lord disciplined them, then finally brought them to the entrance to the Promised Land. There was a caveat, though. Someone else was living in their Promised Land. Recall that the Promised Land got its name because it was sworn to Abraham hundreds of years earlier, a true promise. The Lord said He would give Abraham and His descendants this Promised Land, free of charge. It had been years since anyone had seen the Promised Land, only heard about it in stories. Now, they were there, at the gateway, ready to live the life God had for them.

Moses told them to go scope out the land before they just rushed in and attempted to take what was rightfully there. There was now a problem. Since they had wandered in the desert for 40 years (not to mention the time they were in slavery), a people group had not only taken root in the land, but were flourishing. No problem. They were told they would live in houses they had not built, and harvest crops they had not planted. This was foretold. Someone else had done all the work for them, the people who had taken root and were flourishing in the land. They scoped out the Promised Land and it was now going to cost them something. They were being given the land by the Lord, but it was going to cost them dearly. The Lord predicted all of this; none of it came as a shock to Him. The Children of Israel however, were still themselves. They saw the people who lived there, in their new land, and they became fearful of the cost. They had come this far and yet were willing to forego their Promised Land.

The cost of entering the Promised Land was not a battle with the inhabitants of the land, though that was inevitable. That was not an issue for the Lord; He saw that coming and knew He'd have to fight them off. That cost was already paid for. The Lord showed them time and time again how He fought their battles for them. This battle seemed bigger, though, the cost seemed higher. The cost of entering the Promised Land was trust. The Children of Israel were going to have to trust the Lord beyond all measure, that He was going to carry them through the hard times, the soon coming battles, to take possession of the Promise. It would require trust and faith in the One True God. The Promised Land was a given, but they still had to walk forward in faith.

As a child of God, there is a cost to following Him into all He has promised for you and for me. That cost is trust, trust that He will be there, trust that He will help you though the difficult times, trust that He will bring you through victoriously. You've probably missed out on a few Promised Lands because you were fearful just like the Israelites. Sometimes it feels easier to shrink back than walk forward in faith to take possession of your promise. The benefits of the Promised Land are amazing, but the trust required to get it is costly. Will you trust the Lord? Or will you forego your Promised Land?  

Don't take my word for it; look it up: Genesis 12:1-9, Numbers 13

Humbling Circumstances

Humbling Circumstances

October 30, 2017

Romans 12:3 "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."

Paul wrote in one of his letters, that by the grace given to him, he was able to advise us all to be humble on our own accord, by our own volition. To understand his statement, understand first what he meant when He said, "by the grace given me." This sentence was written in the 12th chapter in his letter to the church in Rome. Scholars believe this was one of his last epistle's written, about 57 A.D. Scholars also believe it was written about a year or two after his second letter to the church in Corinth. Recall in 2 Corinthians Paul talked about his thorn in his flesh. He said he prayed and prayed that the Lord would take it away after the thorn was given to him. Someone or something gave Paul a thorn in his flesh. Regardless of the literal meaning of his thorn, Paul said it was given to him to keep from being conceited, and that God's grace was sufficient for him to endure throughout all of that situation.

Paul's thorn in his flesh was meant to keep him humble and that he had to lean on God's grace to carry him during that enduring circumstance. No one knows if the thorn was every even removed throughout his life. But we do know Paul learned to lean on the Lord's grace. Fast forward to his letter to the church in Rome and he alludes to the Lord's grace in his life from the thorny circumstance. Basically he tells the church in Rome to trust him when he says you should be humble on your own accord. Paul knew from experience it was better to be humble on your own than have the Lord grant you a thorn in your flesh to keep you from being conceited. We have been warned, like a parent telling a child to learn from the mistakes of those who have experienced it already.  Humbling circumstances have a way of humbling us. Paul said to humble yourself so the Lord doesn't have to for you. Learn from Paul's experience, though few of us will.

Each of us has something in our lives to keep us from being conceited and arrogant. You think you did it on your own? Keep thinking that and the Lord will be quick to grant you a thorn, possibly permanently. For some of us, if life is easy, then we don't need the Lord. That is exactly where the Lord does not want us, on easy street. Easy street is the least path of resistance to arrogance. Jesus said it was hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven, not because they are rich but because of the tendency to lean on wealth in this world rather than lean on the Lord. Paul needed to lean on the Lord at all times and his thorn helped him do just that. 

Few of us learn from our parents who tried to warn us from their own mistakes. Paul attempted to warn us, to humble ourselves with sober judgment. It is easier to humble yourself than live with a thorn. Humbling circumstances are mean to do just that, keep us humble. There is a perfect way to avoid humbling circumstances. Humble yourself, on your own, unlike Paul, and you can avoid the humbling circumstances. Think of your situation in life right now that gives you the most anxiety, the one you spend time wishing you could avoid it. That circumstance may be there to keep you humble. If you didn't have that situation, you might think you don't need the Lord. I have one, a humbling circumstance, it keeps me grounded and forces me to depend on the Lord. Without it, I may become conceited and think I don't need the Lord, that I can do it all on my own strength. Some of you are where you are because you haven't learned to lean on the Lord or you haven't learned to rid yourself of conceit. It is only the arrogant that need humbled. Examine what is humbling you right now.

Don't take my word for it; look it up:  Matthew 19:23-24, 2 Corin 12:1-6

Unfaithful

Unfaithful

October 16, 2017

2 Timothy 2:13 "If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself."

The word "unfaithful" suggests cheating on someone, not being true to your vows of dedication. It certainly promotes vivid emotions. The Apostle Paul did not use the word unfaithful when writing to his favorite disciple, Timothy, rather the word "faithless." The choice of words used to communicate with Timothy is interesting though. In the second letter to Timothy, the tone of communication is clearly different than the first letter to Timothy. The first letter carries far more elementary topics and the second letter builds on those topics, representing the maturity of Timothy's understanding. Paul takes a break from his lengthy discourse in the second letter to Timothy and gives him a summary song to learn. The summary song, not necessarily meant to be sung, was meant to be memorized as a short collection of idioms to spark meaning when easily quoted. The full stanza is:

     "If we died with Him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself."

In the set of verses, Paul uses opposites. He juxtaposes dying with Christ as well as living with Christ. He said the opposite of owning is disowning. He says if we endure, living as powerless, then we will reign. Then Paul says if we are faithless the Lord will remain faithful, because the Lord cannot disown Himself. The Lord's portion in that line is to remain faithful, as in He cannot leave or deny or revoke His intention. The Lord does this despite someone being faithless. What does it mean to be faithless? The opposite of faithful is unfaithful, not faithless. Does it mean to doubt or deny? Does it mean to cheat, as in know the truth but not walk in it? It can mean many things to many people, but the apostle Paul used it to communicate the perfect opposite of trust or ability to acknowledging the truth. It does not mean to cheat, because that would mean being confident in the truth yet denying it. Paul was saying that when we doubt, or question the truth, or forget it altogether, that the Lord maintains that truth as an absolute.

You and I have the propensity to doubt, question things when it gets tough or the timing does not submit to our ideals. But the Lord would say that no matter how much we doubt the truth about our lives or His Word or His plan, the Lord would maintain it, standing there with the truth in His hand, ready to help us take it up again in absolute terms. You have come to the knowledge of many truths, about the Lord, about your life, and about your participation in the Lord's plan. If you doubt those truths at any time, forgetting them or wondering the accuracy, the Lord wants to help you in that unbelief. His desire is that you have clarity and peace about the knowledge you should hold dear. If it no longer seems certain than take it to Him and ask Him to re-establish its validity in your heart. It is always true and valid, but sometimes we lose heart as human beings. If you lack faith, the Lord maintains all that is true. Doubting does not make something untrue, just untrue in your heart. 

If you doubt something, it is OK to talk to the Lord about it. Ask Him to re-establish it in absolute terms in your heart. Let Him place it there again.

Don't take my word for it; look it up:  Malachi 3:6, Mark 9:24, James 1:6-7 & 17, Hebrews 13:8