May 31, 2023

II Kings 18: 4-7 He[Hezekiah] removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. . . . Hezekiah trusted in the Lord . . . There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the Lord had given to Moses. (NIV)

To be free in Christ, our high places will have to fall. We must be willing to take a stand against idolatry.*

The Bible tells us that among all the kings of Judah, there was not another one like Hezekiah. What was so special about him when we are also told that Jehoshaphat, Joash, Amaziah, Azariah, and Jotham were all kings who “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”? The problem lies in a small but mighty exception to their exemplary lives. 

As king, Hezekiah didn’t just worship God and abstain from idolatry – he demolished the places and symbols of idol worship, seeing to it that they were no longer accessible to the young, the impressionable, and the weak of faith. He couldn’t force the people to worship the one true God but he had the power to erase idolatry’s aura of respectability. The other kings – the ones who “did what was right” - they had a more relaxed attitude and allowed the people to keep their “high places.” 

Freedom of religion is a sacred philosophy in America. Our founders wanted to ensure that their new country had no official religion and that everyone was free to practice the religion of their choice. That’s all well and good for a secular nation, but Judah and her religion were intertwined. They were God’s people. And “live and let live” is not a good policy when it comes to sin. 

The high places and the Asherah poles are not issues for us today, but they represent any area of disobedience that we allow or promote. In our homes, we have the power to remove, cut down, smash any form of idolatry. In society, we are free to avoid and to speak against idolatrous practices. Anything that comes between us and God has the potential of becoming an idol. 

As Christians, we should do more than just what is right in the eyes of the Lord. We should confront sin and take a stand against sinful behavior. There is no room for tolerance when it comes to sin.

When we make something other than God an absolute priority – even something good – we have made an idol.*

May 30, 2023

Matthew 28: 19, 20 “Therefore go and make disciples . . . And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (NIV)

Not only does he send us but he goes with us.*

Just before Jesus delivered the Great Commission, Matthew tells us that when the eleven remaining disciples saw him, they worshipped him. But, he adds, some doubted. Put yourself in their sandals. Would doubt be the worst thing you would be feeling at that moment? What’s going to happen to us now, they had to be wondering. What happens next is that Jesus gives them their marching orders. As Max Lucado puts it, “He sent men into all the world, yet equipped them with only bended knees and memories of a resurrected carpenter.”* 

Except that’s not quite accurate. Sure, they weren’t given procedure manuals or brochures to pass out, but Jesus didn’t just tell them where to go and what to do. He made a promise to them – and ultimately, to us – that he would be with them to the very end. It was the reiteration of the promise he made to them before his arrest: “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14: 26) 

Remember the benediction uttered by the characters in the Star Wars movies? “May the Force be with you.” Jesus doesn’t just send us out with good wishes – he is the Force that goes with us.

Power always goes with a commission.*

May 29, 2023

Luke 10: 36, 37 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (NIV)

A lot of people want to open up a conversation just to tell you you’re wrong.*

In this passage, we see once again how deftly Jesus dealt with difficult people. Even those who refuse to acknowledge him as God could learn from his skilled and compassionate handling of people. An expert of the law has prompted a parable – the Good Samaritan – by his specious question, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus doesn’t call him out on his insincerity; instead, he turns it into a teaching moment – not just for this man, but for all mankind. 

After listening to the parable, the man could not not know the answer when Jesus asked him, “Now, who was the neighbor to this man?” But it wasn’t enough for this law expert to admit that the neighbor was the one who showed mercy; Jesus confronts him with a challenge. “Go and do likewise,” he said. Neighborliness is reciprocal: If a person is your neighbor, then you are his neighbor, with all the rights and responsibilities thereof. Now the question becomes, not “who is my neighbor,” but, “To whom will I be a neighbor?”*

People never felt belittled by Jesus for their focus on the unimportant. They felt challenged.*

May 28, 2023

Matthew 20: 1-15 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. . .” (NIV) [read the entire parable in your Bible]

Muttering is the native language of a sad soul.*

In this parable, a man offers a denarius for a day’s work in his vineyard and he gets some takers. Throughout the day, he goes out to the parking lot at Home Depot (well, the equivalent of it!) and hires more workers for the same wages as those who started out first thing in the morning. Everyone gets what they agreed to but at the end of the day there was grumbling among those who had put in the most time. When we read this story, we tend to identify with the grumblers. It doesn’t seem fair that someone who put in an hour of labor should get the same pay as one who had been there since early morning.

I found myself in similar circumstances after I had been at a job for about a year. When my boss hired someone else to fill a vacancy, she chose a woman who had been in another department for a few years and whose salary was already more than mine. I probably would never have known that fact but my boss felt she needed to explain to me that she couldn’t ask her new employee to take a cut in pay. I told her I didn't care as long as she didn't take anything away from me. Unlike the workers in the vineyard, I just wanted what I had already been promised.

As for the eternal implications of this parable, Jesus doesn’t really provide an explanation. We gather that the landowner represents God and the workers represent us. It seems that he wants us to understand that God has the right to be generous to whom he chooses, and that he keeps his bargains with us. Instead of identifying with the grumblers, let’s put ourselves in the work boots of the latecomers. Whether we have been Christians for decades or whether we are babes in the faith, our reward is the same: eternity.

Our eternal reward will not be based on how long or how hard we worked. We are saved by God’s gift of grace - we can’t earn it, we don’t deserve it, we can’t take credit for it. What right would any of us have to demand less for those whose faith is new? What would that attitude say about the condition of our heart?

God dispenses gifts, not wages.*

May 27, 2023

Exodus 20: 7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” (NIV)

The name of God is holy beyond any comparison.*

I see how disrespectful it is to use the name of the Lord in profane and idle utterances,* but even more, it is considered “the most godless of sins.”* The Jews went to such extremes to avoid taking God’s name in vain that they completely replaced his name with another word. But, I wonder: Is a nickname really more respectful than actually uttering the most sacred name?

We should be aware that we can be diligent to be obedient to the third commandment and still be disrespectful of that name. It is good that we don’t use God or Jesus as swear words; and we should not swear false oaths in the name of the Lord.  But, as someone has pointed out, the notion that God should be mentioned “seldom and with bated breath” is not so much proof of our reverence for his name as it is evidence of our failure to think of him “aright.”* In other words, in our zeal not to use God’s name improperly, do we actually even use it properly?

Don’t be afraid to call on the name of the Lord – in praise and worship; in times of distress; in daily conversation. We can't praise or proclaim his name if we can't say his name!

To treat Yahweh’s name with disrespect is to treat his gift lightly, to underestimate his power, to scorn his Presence, and to misrepresent to the family of humankind his very nature as "The One Who Always Is."

May 26, 2023

Luke 18: 9-12 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed . . . “God, I thank you that I am not like other men - robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” (NIV)

Instead of fixing your eyes on those points in which you excel, fix them on those in which your neighbor excels you: this is true humility.*

When I worked in the church office, I was often the first to hear someone’s plea when they called to ask for assistance from our benevolence fund. Many times, I would want to say to the person, “Stop talking!” because the more they talked, the more convinced I was that they were lying about their need. The Pharisee in this parable was another person who needed to know when to stop talking.

We might give him the benefit of the doubt if he had stopped at being thankful that he was not a robber, evildoer, or adulterer – if my life had begun differently, I might have turned to a sinful lifestyle, so I often thank God for my Christian home which laid the foundation for my life choices. We might even allow that the Pharisee's reminding God of his personal good deeds was not so awful – his point could have been, “I am trying to be obedient.” But . . . to stand there, looking at the other man, and say (with a shudder, no doubt), “Thank you that I’m not like him!”

This was just a story, not a true event, but what could a person in the Pharisee’s position have known about the other man? He knew that the man was a tax collector and he knew the reputation of other tax collectors. But could he know if this one was just like all the rest? He could not have known the man’s heart, even if he knew how he lived. Turns out, the tax collector – this sinner – is the one who left the temple that day justified before God because his prayer exemplified humility. “God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” he said.

He knew who to compare himself to – and he knew when to stop talking!

Nothing is more inscrutable than the human heart, and . . . no act, great or small, righteous or wicked, can be so named by one who stands outside the actor’s mind.*

May 25, 2023

Luke 10: 25-29 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. . . . He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God . . .’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. . . . But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (NIV)

The best questions aren’t mere curiosities. They are catalytic.*

I went to high school with a boy who liked to begin a conversation by saying, “Tell me something. I’m curious.” It was a meaningless expression accompanied by little or no actual curiosity. The expert of the law who asked Jesus a series of thought-provoking questions wasn’t really curious either. He just wanted to justify himself, Luke writes. Perhaps he just wanted the chance to show off how smart he thought he was. 

We, too, are often deliberately obtuse. As Josh McDowell writes, “People develop intellectual doubts in order to excuse their moral lives.”* We play dumb to disguise our lack of obedience. “I would love my neighbor if I knew who that was.” Or “I would give to the church if I knew how much I’m supposed to give.” Or, fill in the blank: “I just don’t understand ____.” Like the man with the questions, our problem isn’t with our ignorance but with our heart. 

When Paul noted similar behavior among the Christians at Corinth, he didn’t tell them that it was okay to be lacking in an area of grace. He wrote of testing the sincerity of their love (II Corinthians 8: 8); and he urged them to “finish the work” (verse 11). In other words, as someone else has suggested, if God tells you to love your neighbor, “[i]nstead of sitting around and asking, Who exactly is my neighbor? – In the name of God, pick one!”*

Sometimes our comfort zones masquerade as peace when in reality we’re just too lazy to change and grow.*

May 24, 2023

Acts 2: 43-47 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. . . . Every day they continued to meet together . . . praising God and enjoying the favor of all people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (NIV)

I worship God anywhere I choose. But the assembly is for us that we might encourage each other toward greater fidelity.*

Wouldn’t you like to belong to a church where everyone was filled with awe; where signs and wonders were performed; where everyone wanted to be together every day, praising God; and where people spoke well of you? What has happened to the church today? What are we doing wrong?

The first century church was disorganized, underfunded, and persecuted. Such a mess would send most of us on a church-shopping spree, looking for a congregation that offers programming designed for everyone in the family; music that meets our high standards; and a preacher who delivers an inspiring message every week. We would also appreciate a professional-quality parking ministry and happy faces to greet us at the door; room temperature set to our liking; comfortable seating with plenty of space between us and the people next to us; and a soothing color-scheme.

The first Christians devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2: 42). And they grew. Daily. They had not been taught to expect comfort and pleasing aesthetics in the “worship center.” No one got mad and left because no childcare was provided. There were no disagreements over music – perhaps there was no music at all!

I’m not saying it’s wrong for a congregation to offer family-friendly programs and well-organized worship services in a comfortable setting. Smoke machines and laser light shows are not to my liking but I can live with them – as long as they don’t distract us from the real purpose of our assembly. The writer of Hebrews gives us a succinct summary of why we come together: to spur one another toward love and good deeds; and to encourage one another (Hebrews 10: 24, 25). How we accomplish that is our Spirit-led prerogative.

Let’s not confuse acknowledging the church’s problems with questioning the church’s validity.*

May 23, 2023

Matthew 19: 29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (NIV)

What we invest in is precious to us.*

If your banker told you of an investment that was paying a hundred times more than you put into it, how much of your money would you be willing to invest? Perhaps you don’t completely trust the banker or the offer so you approach with caution. But what if Jesus tells you to give him everything you have and he will pay back a hundred times over?

When Jesus promises that we will receive a hundred times as much as we gave up, of course he doesn’t mean that we will someday find ourselves the proud recipient of 100 mothers or children or fields. His point is that it is impossible to give more to God than he gives back to us.* We understand that we may have to wait patiently before we can claim the heavenly return on our investment, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some benefits here and now. In rare instances, as with Job, someone might reap an earthly reward for his sacrifice; but we will all be the recipients of regular payments of joy, peace, and contentment; constant awareness of God’s love and presence; and daily provision for our needs. Oh, and then our inheritance – eternal life.

When you invest in Heaven it will multiply in value.*

May 22, 2023

Psalm 145: 21 Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever. (NIV)

Even in a world tarnished by sin, creation performs like a giant choir . . . of natural wonders that join their voices in harmonious praise, inspiring us to honor the Creator.*

We know that animals and bugs and inanimate objects don’t actually speak words of praise, but their very existence shouts praiseworthy information about God. Creation is too beautiful and intricate and precise not to have been engineered and produced by a divine mastermind.

While all the rest of creation is praising God, his finest piece of work – mankind – is often less enthusiastic than the other creatures. Nothing else formed by his hands chooses to reject him or deny his existence.* We don’t hesitate to exercise our God-given freewill to question him – and he allows it. Because, of all the wonders of the universe, God has chosen to love us and to pursue us and to save us from the poor choices we make.

Praising God should be easy: for his power, his love, his forgiveness, his holiness. Praising him "for ever and ever" will be easy for those who choose to accept him because we will spend eternity with him.

Do we hope that praising God will be the blessedness of our eternity? Surely, then we ought to make it the business of our time.*