Hearing Gladly

The son of Herod the Great, Herod Antipas provides a very important lesson for us about hearing and responding to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Herod Antipas was the ruler over Galilee during the time of Jesus and John the Baptist. Like most of the Roman rulers during that time, he was ruthless and without conscience, but he also showed an unusual interest in spiritual matters. Mark 6 tells us the story of how he arrested John the Baptist, but frequently listened to his preaching. In fact, in verse 20, the ESV says that Herod heard him gladly.

In other words, Herod enjoyed listening to John talk about spiritual matters including eternal life and the power of God. But he is the ultimate example of someone who listens and even enjoys hearing about the Gospel, and yet goes on to commit unspeakable evil. It was Herod who became so controlled by his lust for his stepdaughter that he made a promise to give her anything, up to half of his kingdom. It was the same Herod who enjoyed listening to John that ordered his beheading.

Clearly the enjoyment of listening to the Gospel is no sign of salvation or even impending salvation. It can be experienced by those who continue to pursue a self-centered life and even a life of ongoing evil. Each person who hears and enjoys the Gospel must come to a point when they must either reject or accept its message. That involves coming to a full understanding of the message of the Gospel. The Gospel offers salvation and eternal life to any and all who hear it, if only they place their faith in the the Lord Jesus Christ. But today, many confuse belief that Jesus is God with the idea of placing their faith in Christ. Faith requires reliance...dependence. It is possible to believe something without really becoming dependent upon it. Godly faith requires reliance and dependence upon God to the point that our lives reflect change that is recognizable by those who know us well. It is tragic that while Herod enjoyed listening to John, he never made that step of faith.

God's Loincloth

Our God loves to use graphic illustrations of His relationship to us and in the case of the Old Testament, to illustrate how the people of Israel have sinned against Him. Jeremiah 13 contains one of those illustrations and yet has profound implications for our relationship to God today. The chapter begins with God telling Jeremiah to go and buy a brand new linen loincloth. Jeremiah is told not to put the loincloth into water but instead is to wear it. Then, after a period of time, God tells Jeremiah to take the loincloth and hide it underground near a river. In verse 6, Jeremiah recalls that after many days, the LORD told him to retrieve the loincloth from it's hiding place. Of course, by that time, the new loincloth is ruined and not good for anything. The purpose of this charade is to illustrate how the sins of Israel and Judah have ruined those nations and just like the loincloth, they are no longer good for anything.

But in verse 11, we are told something so profound and potentially life changing, we must be careful not to miss it. God tells Jeremiah that He had made Israel to cling to Him, just as the loincloth clings to a man. What is astounding is the article of clothing that God has chosen to illustrate man's relationship to Him. God could have chosen another piece of clothing such as the outer robe which is so critical in keeping people warm at night, protecting them from the cold. But God purposely chose the loincloth, the most intimate article of clothing we wear. It is the equivalent of our underwear. It is the article of clothing that covers the most intimate part of our body. God tells Jeremiah that He made Israel to cling to Him like a loincloth!

What is God telling us through this illustration? I believe He is letting us know just how intimate a relationship He desires to have with us. He chose the MOST intimate piece of clothing to describe how He made Israel and Judah to be to Him. In the New Testament, He uses the most intimate human relationship to describe how He wants to relate to us by telling us that we are the bride of Christ. There is no more intimate relationship than husband and wife.

I know that I have very little idea of just how intimate God wants to be with me, but I suspect that it is far more intimate than anything I could imagine. He is waiting for me to respond to that invitation...He is waiting for all of us to respond to that invitation...

Small steps

A frequent theme in the teachings of Jesus is for us to follow Him. In Mt. 4:19, Jesus tells Peter and Andrew to come follow Him, and He will make them fishers of men. Then, 4 chapters later in Mt. 8:22, he tells the disciples to "...follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead." I used to think that whenever we made the decision to follow Jesus, it would consist of huge steps in directions I had never been. This is always scary and I'm sure holds many of us back from taking that step. Occasionally, God may be calling us to take a big step in an unknown direction, but in my life, the steps to follow Jesus have been small ones that slowly lead me in a slightly different direction than where I had been headed. For a time, the path following Jesus has almost been parallel to the way I had been going, but slowly, almost imperceptibly, it begins to turn in a different direction. Then, as I have walked along that path, I have come to streams, creeks, and rivers that require a larger step of faith to be made. But for me, the initial steps were small. It is only after looking back over 5-10 years that I notice how far off the original path I have come.

Obedience is certainly found in taking the large steps of faith that God requires of us. But, most of the time, obedience is found in taking the small everyday steps that consist simply of taking time to be with Him, and avoiding that which we know He doesn't want us to do. Small steps of using our time, talent and treasure for His glory. Small steps of taking the time to listen to His Spirit within us leading us in the small decisions of the day. After all, if we are going to run a marathon, it is not accomplished with one large step, but with many small ones.

Today's Church

What would Jesus say about today's church? In my work on human trafficking, I was giving a presentation the other day and someone asked me how the church was responding to the issue of human trafficking. I had to stop and think for a minute and then gave an answer that basically said that the church response is mixed. There is definite interest in the issue, but when it comes to translating that interest into action, that's where the response is mixed. I've actually seen much more interest in action from individual church members than from church leadership. There have been a few churches that have asked me to come and speak...and then they have been supportive from that time forward. But they are the exception, not the rule.

As a result of this question, I decided to look back at the letters Jesus wrote to the 7 churches in Revelation, and study again his criticisms of the churches he wrote. The first letter was to the church of Ephesus in which Jesus pointed out that they had lost their first love. Presumably, He meant that they had lost their love for Him. But what is interesting is what Jesus tells them to do in order to restore that love. He didn't tell them to seek Him, or enhance their emotions in some way. Jesus told the church of Ephesus to resume the works that they did at first. In other words, Jesus correlated love with works. It certainly fits well with the first Epistle of John where in several different ways, the Apostle John tells us that true love is expressed in action.

Christians can talk about how they care about various issues and concerns, but unless those words are followed up with some form of action, in the eyes of the Lord, they are meaningless. It is my hope and prayer that with each passing day, the church as a whole will take increasingly more action around the issue of human trafficking following the example of the one church taking the lead on the issue...the Salvation Army.

Job 42- Seeing God

When I think of the life of Job, my usual thoughts are along the lines of His faithfulness to God before all the bad things happened, or the horrible tragedies that struck him through the actions of Satan. But what I don't often remember is the reaction he had upon seeing God. In fact, I often forget that he saw God. But we learn in chapter 42 of his account that Job actually saw God, or at least some form of God. His reaction is instructive. Prior to seeing God and hearing His voice, Job had been challenging God to give an account of what had happened to him. Job's attitude had been that he had lived a righteous life (which in comparison to most of us today would be true), and therefore God had no right to cause the many tragedies that fell upon Job.

But in Job 42:5,6 Job states... "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore, I despise myself and repent is dust and ashes." Job went from self-righteousness and pride to despising himself... all after encountering God.

I think it's safe to say that would be the response of all of us if we were to have an encounter with God. Deep within all of us is a level of self-righteousness and pride that allows us to go forward in our lives and do what we do. But should we have an encounter with God, we would see true holiness and righteousness, and the depth of our sin would be exposed. We would have no choice but to despise ourselves in comparison.

While we can't orchestrate a face to face encounter with God, we can still encounter Him through His word. I have to admit that the result of a solid time within the Scripture is always a level of humbleness, that while temporary, adjusts my view upward rather than inward.

Outward vs. Inward

I was reading through 2 Corinthians Chapter 5 this morning and a verse caught my attention just beyond the one that usually causes me pause. The verse that always gives me pause is of course the well known verse found in 2 Cor. 5:10 which refers to the judgment seat of Christ. It is a reminder for all believers that we will give an account to Him who has saved us for everything we have done, whether good or bad.

But the verse that also caught my attention this morning is found in 2 Cor. 5:12 where Paul writes about those who "...boast about outward appearance, and not what is in the heart." I started to wonder how someone would boast to the Lord about outward appearance. I thought back to Luke 18:9-14 where Jesus talks about the Pharisee and the tax collector each praying to God. The Pharisee is thankful that he is not a sinner and talks about what he has done for God. But the tax collector doesn't even try that approach. He simply begs for God's mercy. Of course, Jesus condemns that Pharisee and encourages the approach of the tax collector.

But then my next thought is how we today mimic the Pharisee rather than the tax collector? Whenever we become proud of something we do for God, or for that matter, something we don't do because of God, we are focusing on outward things rather than the condition of our heart. The Lord knows how my heart can vacillate between the things of this world, and devotion to Him. The problem is...when I'm focused on what I've accomplished for Him, or what sinful activity I've avoided for Him, I'm not necessarily getting to the level of the heart. When we have the heart right, the outward activities follow. But we can be deceived into thinking that when the outward activities are right, the heart will naturally follow...and that isn't so.

Paul is pointing out that true self evaluation must occur at the level of the heart by asking the question..."What is my heart seeking?" Is it to look good on the outside from all my activities, or is my heart truly seeking the Lord?

Job- Misunderstanding tragedy

I've often struggled to understand the book of Job. It is a long book...almost too long...and the vast majority is frankly depressing. I don't need to go over the story because most know the story, but I'm certain that I'm not alone in my questioning of the purpose of Job. I'm currently reading through the book for the umpteenth time...and finally it's occurred to me that perhaps one purpose of the book is to illustrate a common mistake that we all make on a regular basis.

It all revolves around the particular piece of information that every reader has about Job that he doesn't possess. That little tidbit of information is that the direct cause of his woes is not God, but rather Satan. We as the reader know that, but Job doesn't, and it makes all the difference in how he responds. Without that critical awareness, Job is angry at God and naturally blames him for all that he is currently suffering. If only Job knew what the reader knows...we can only imagine how different his response would be...and his ability to trust in God would be strengthened.

The lesson for us is that when tragedy strikes our lives as it inevitably will, there is a difference between God causing an event, and God allowing it. God allows tragedy to strike Job by giving permission to Satan to do as he desires. Now, not all tragedy that occurs in our life is a direct result of the actions of Satan. However, we can all too commonly forget that the tragedy that strikes us is also not the direct action of the God who loves us. Yes, there is no tragedy that can strike us without the sovereign Lord of the universe allowing it, but there is a big difference between God allowing something, and God causing it.

God allows tragedy in our lives in order that we grow, depend on Him more, and many times for reasons that we will never know or understand in this life. As difficult as it may be in the midst of tragedy, we need to work hard at avoiding Job's mistake...blaming God as the direct cause of the tragedy rather than understanding that though He allowed it, that doesn't mean that He wanted it to occur. Maybe, just maybe, if we allow Him, he can turn the tragedy into something of eternal impact and worth.

Judging others

What does it mean to judge someone else?

There are several Scriptural references that prohibit judging, including Romans chapter 2 and James chapter 4. But the confusing thing is that there are also Scriptural commands to confront and rebuke others when needed. Examples are Luke 17:3, 1 Tim. 5:20, and Titus 2:15. The question I'm wrestling with is how do we rebuke without first judging?

Clearly there must be a difference between the discernment and pronouncement of sin in another, and the wrongful action of judging as prohibited in Scripture. But Scripture itself does not elaborate on the distinction. We must seek it out ourselves before we approach someone else to rebuke them for their sin. Here are some principles that I've come up with to this point:

1. The decision to rebuke another for sin should be motivated by a call from God, not a self-centered desire for revenge.

2. The motivation for rebuke should lie in what is best for the one being rebuked, rather than what feels good for the one doing the rebuking.

3. The one giving the rebuke should be very aware of his/her own sinful nature.

4. The rebuke should be administered in love

5. The sin should be self-evident and not debatable.

Thinking through these principles, I realize that the sin of judging lies not so much in action as in attitude because the wrong attitude will bring about the wrong kind of action.

The purpose of the Church

I've been reflecting a great deal lately on the issue of the purpose of the local church. Looking at Scripture in order to find a mission statement for a local church, the closest reference I'm drawn to is found in Ephesians 4:11-13 where Paul gives the mission statement of a pastor/teacher. In verses 12 & 13 he writes that the pastor/teacher is "... to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the fullness of the stature of Christ."

In short, the pastor/teacher is to equip the saints so that they in turn build up the body of Christ. There is an overall goal and purpose that each local church should have, and that is grow in maturity of the members so that they in turn are involved in some ministry that builds up the body of Christ.

That's a different mission than building and organizing the church around the comforts and needs of the congregation. If a church is not constantly looking outward and involved in ministry outside the walls of the church building, it automatically begins to become ingrown. I'm convinced that the natural tendency of all churches is in this direction, seeking to meet the needs and wants of those who complain the loudest. It must be resisted by those in leadership so that the words of Paul can be fulfilled.

Those who are the chronic complainers need to be moved to greater maturity and a servant attitude, and I believe the best way to do that is through service to others. While the words from the pulpit are important, they are often not enough. There is nothing quite as humbling as helping those who are in great need, living in circumstances beyond their control. This is simply known as outreach, and a church without significant personal outreach is a church becoming ingrown.

There is nothing quite like experiencing and understanding the reality of...there but by the Grace of God go I...to help move us along in our maturing process.

Principle 4- It is about God's plan

As I write this, fresh snow has fallen, covering all important landmarks that tell us things like the location of our driveway, the roads, and more important, just where the ditch begins at the entrance of our driveway. Carefully placed stakes that rise up out of the snow would be helpful on mornings like this. These principles are like those stakes...rising up out of the clutter, noise and distraction of the world to help us believers know when we're on the road, and when we're about to go into the ditch.

Principle 4 for me is the positive affirmation of just what God is trying to accomplish in this world. If His overall goal is not our happiness, then just what is His goal? His goal is revealed to us in the life of Jesus. God the Father sent His Son Jesus into the world to pay the penalty for our sins so that we may spend eternity with Him. Jesus Himself summarizes this in John 12:47 when He says, "... for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world."

Jesus completed His part, but left some of the work to us. That's why we have the Great Commission in Matthew 28 and why the work still continues today. God is still in the process of saving the world, one soul at a time. He has given us the honor to participate in this grand adventure, which is His overall goal.

Principle 4 is simply that our lives must in some way reflect the fact that we are participating in God's grand adventure to bring those lost souls around us from darkness into light. If we're not in some way involved in that, we've gone off the road and not really living the Christian life.

Principle 3- It's not about our happiness...

We live in a world that is constantly bombarding us with the message that our lives should be focused on our own happiness and pleasure. This message streams from every commercial we are exposed to...in an effort to induce us to buy whatever product is being featured. We are all impacted by that message, no matter how hard we try to ignore it. For us as Christians, we may seek to avoid overt materialism, or we may unwittingly fall prey to it. But even if we are somewhat successful is putting off materialism, we still subtly begin to get the idea that God's plan should revolve around us and our happiness. As we seek to work out God's will for our lives, we usually begin with the assumption that God wants us happy, healthy and successful. It's not that God doesn't want those things for us, rather, it's just not His number one priority. This means that there may be seasons of our life during which blessings pour forth, but we may also experience seasons of difficulties and trials.

During those trials, it is critical to reflect on what God's priorities are for us. James gives us a clue when he tells us to "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." The good news is that God's priority for us is faith in Him that produces spiritual perfection and completeness. The bad news is...it takes trials and tribulation to achieve those things.

Principle 3 recognizes that God's priority for us is spiritual growth and maturity, not our happiness and pleasure. Therefore, if we are Christians who truly desire to grow spiritually, we must be Christians who are ready to face difficulties in order to grow our faith. When we face those difficulties with the knowledge that spiritual growth will result, not only do the difficulties make sense, but we can more easily move toward counting it all joy!

Principle 2- Heaven is our true home

Building from the first principle laid out in my last post, if we are to live in this world as exiles, it brings up the natural question of where is our true home. Therefore, principle #2 is that heaven is our true home.

It is one thing to agree with that statement, but a completely different matter to actually live your life that way. A life lived with the knowledge and belief that heaven is our true home is a life dominated by an eternal perspective. In other words, it is a life that is constantly weighing priorities on the basis of what will matter in the light of eternity versus what is important now and in the moment.

It is a life that will have several characteristics including caring less about what other people think and more about what God thinks. It is a life that values relationships and the soul condition of those around us rather than our own image in the world. The life that is lived with an eternal perspective cares less about the accumulation of things and more about meeting the needs of others. It is a life that is open to sacrifice for others and less about self preservation than about truly following God's will for our lives.

Frankly, the life lived with an eternal perspective should be puzzling for those living only for this world. It should not make sense...it should be radical and easily misunderstood. It should stand out and draw questions rather than blend in with the everyday lives of those living only for themselves.

It will be a life that bears eternal fruit. That is, at it's end, the person will be able to look back and see in small ways, lives that they have touched and changed, souls that have been won to the Lord, and disciples that have grown under their influence. The only thing that will last eternally is our works that have impacted another soul, by helping them in their time of need, by leading them to Christ, or by helping them grow closer to their Lord. That's it! Gold, money or treasure will not pass into eternity. Cars, houses, yards, boats, gadgets and all other possessions will all disappear one day. They will not pass into eternity. Only people will pass into eternity, and yes, probably animals as well.

The life lived with the view of heaven as our true home, will be a life focused on helping the lives of those around us, sacrificially, spiritually, and always with God's help.

Principles for Today's Christians- Living as an exile

I've been a follower of Jesus Christ for over 35 years, and during that time, I've spent a great deal of time thinking through what it means to be a Christian and walk with the Lord in today's world. Just recently, I've been thinking about condensing those thoughts down to a set of principles that come out of the Bible...principles that are thus Biblical and should be remembered by every believer if they truly want to follow the Lord in this life.

These principles are grounded first of all in the belief that God exists and has revealed Himself to the form of the Trinity, i.e. the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This revelation has been through not only creation, but more specifically the Bible, which I believe to be inspired (literally God breathed) and thus inerrant. These principles pre-suppose that those who would follow them have true faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, and have submitted their lives to Him, seeking to live the life that God has prepared for them.

With this background, the first principle that I must daily remind myself of is that this world is not my home. It requires daily remembrance because I am created in such a way that where I am, I want to make my home. It is a natural response within me that where I am currently existing should be my home. But Scripture in many places reminds us that the world around us is different than when it was created, thus it is fallen and should no longer be the desire of my heart. Probably one of the best Scripture references is 1 John 2:15-17 where John writes do not love the world or the things in the world.

Thus true Christians must abide in this world not as natural citizens of the world, but rather as living in exile and many have put it. This naturally brings up the question of what it means to live in exile as opposed to living as a citizen. A citizen has an ultimate focus of improving their life in this world, while an exile lives with a focus beyond this world. The success or failure of a citizen's life is based solely on success and failure within this world, while the exile it looking for success in the eyes of the One who made this world. Two very different things, and thus two very different lives.

Leaving everything and following Him...

In Luke 5, we receive a more full account of the call of James, John and Peter. Unlike what has often been portrayed out of Matthew Chapter 4 as an isolated call of Jesus and immediate response by the disciples, there is background to that call which is given more fully in the accounts of Luke and John. But to me, the issue is that they were once employed in a honest hardworking profession, and were called from that position to something very different. We are told they left everything!

We know from the book of Acts and other extra-Biblical accounts that except for a short period of time after the death of Jesus, they did in fact leave their profession of fishing and devoted themselves completely to following Jesus and His ministry. In fact, both Peter and James were killed as a result of their ministry, and John was imprisoned for a period of time on the island of Patmos. In other words....they suffered greatly! The concept of following Jesus and suffering for Him is not often talked about is Western Christianity. In fact, usually the opposite is proposed. Follow Jesus and you will be blessed! While this is certainly true, as the life of Paul makes clear, these blessings are usually non-material and eternal. Here in the West, we have assumed the blessings are material and present today.

We need to return to that thinking. We need to remember that our life in this world is fleeting and temporary. We need to remember that what truly matters is how we impact eternity by bearing eternal fruit in the form of new disciples who are themselves getting ready to follow Jesus. We need to take our eyes off of the present distractions of our materialistic world, and keep them focused on Jesus...who for our sake, endured the pain and suffering of the cross.

God's Glory

I've been thinking a lot lately about God's glory. I head up a Christian non profit and it's mission is to help young girls who have been exploited. As a non profit, we are always in the process of raising funds and dependent on donors to be able to do our work. The issue of God's glory comes up because I want to raise funds in such a way that whatever success we achieve, brings God glory. The problem is, there are many secular non profits with profound success in raising money for causes that have nothing to do with God. It raises all kinds of questions, such as... does God bless the work of a non profit even if they are secular simply because they are working to help the poor? Does God desire a Christian non profit to raise funds in a certain way so that it is clear He is behind the success in fundraising? If so, what would that certain way look like? These are questions for which I do not yet have answers. However, it has caused me to look into the Scriptures to learn more about God's glory.

First of all, the Bible tells us clearly that God deserves glory. One of the better known verses is 1 Chronicles 16:29- "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name...". We are to give the glory to God that He deserves. In fact, 1 Chronicles 29:11 tells us that ALL glory ultimately belongs to the Lord. "Yours, O LORD is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours." Psalm 8:1 tells us that God set His glory above the heavens, while Psalms 19:1 reminds us that the heavens declare the glory of God. Psalm 24 talks about the King of Glory, and in Isaiah 6:3 the cherubim are crying out that the whole earth is filled with His glory. Finally, Isaiah 40:5 reminds us that everyone...everyone will eventually see the glory of the LORD.

What concerns me is that God is also jealous for His glory. Isaiah 48:11 tells us "...my glory I will not give to another." Yet Paul tells us in Romans 2:10 that everyone who does good will receive glory.

My conclusion at this point is that God is in charge of His glory. He has put everything in place within creation to bring Him glory. He has created us for His glory. He created the angels for His glory. The whole earth is full of His glory. His glory is evident all around us. Therefore, He is in charge of His glory, not us. In addition, He has chosen to share His glory with us if we are obedient to Him and following His path. In other words, He is responsible for how His glory is manifested and revealed, and we are responsible for being obedient to Him. Part of that obedience is that we should also be careful that we ascribe to the Lord the glory He deserves. I do believe that extends to fundraising. Perhaps it's as easy as pursuing the fundraising techniques that He has chosen to bless, and then making sure that we ascribe to Him the glory and honor He deserves by establishing that blessing.

How Great a Salvation- Hebrews 2

Have you ever wondered why there is such a difference between the way God portrays Himself in the Old Testament and the New Testament? After all, there is a clear difference, and you don't have to go very far to find examples of it. Take for example Hosea chapter 13. Written around the time of the Assyrian capture of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Samaria in 723 BC, the words of the LORD are instructive. In verses 7 and following, God compares Himself to a lion that will devour Israel because of their unfaithfulness. He says things like "...I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs...I will tear open their breast..." in verse 8. As if that is not enough, in verse 16 God says "...Samaria shall bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by their sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open." It's hard to imagine a more graphic description of rage expressed against a group of people. It's even more meaningful when we realize that these events actually occurred against the people of Israel.

A clue for me is when the writer of Hebrews asks in chapter 2, verse 3 how we will escape if we ignore such a great salvation. After all, if God really isn't angry with our sin, than our salvation from sin is little more than a quick little reprieve that says "OK...just don't do it again". Our salvation through Jesus Christ truly is a GREAT salvation because God is truly angry at us because of our sin. The anger and wrath He expresses in the Old Testament illustrates this vividly for us.

While our God is a loving God, He is also a jealous God. He wants and deserves our worship and obedience. He also knows that the only way He could close the chasm between us and Him was in sending His son to die as the sacrifice for our sins. The penalty for sin had to be paid to show how horrific it is. We could never pay the price, only He could. When you stop and think about it, this salvation provided for us is truly great and should never be ignored.

The Future

During my devotions this morning, I was reading in Daniel Chapter 9, which of course is the chapter that contains the famous seventy sevens or weeks passage. It got me thinking about future events. Dispensationalists believe this chapter lays out the time-line for future events beginning during the time of Daniel. They also believe that there is one remaining 'seven' which has yet to be fulfilled which will be a period of seven years just prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Of course there is much debate around this issue and many different opinions as to what events will occur and in what order. The only thing that is clear about this whole debate is the reason for it...the Scriptures that deal with future events are particularly unclear. They are unclear for a reason...God doesn't want us to know too much about the specifics of the future.

But there are things of which we can be certain. First of all, Jesus is returning again. When He does return, it will be in a completely different capacity than during His first coming. He was disguised in His first coming as a lowly carpenter hailing from a city of little regard...Nazareth. But His Second Coming will leave no doubt in anyone's mind who He really is. It's manner will be such that every person alive on the earth will know immediately they are witnessing the appearance of God.

Another thing we know for sure is that once the Lord Jesus returns, things on the earth will be very different from that point on. His Kingdom will be established in a very real and evident way. Only those who submit to Christ will be allowed to remain in this Kingdom, while those who have rebelled and continue to rebel will cast into a different place so that Christ's reign and control of the earth will be complete.

This new Kingdom is what Christians today should be focused on...our hope is in Christ alone, and He will accomplish His will. The earth will be cleansed from evil, and everlasting peace and joy in the presence of the Lord will be ours. With this in mind, I'm always puzzled at the degree of acrimonious debate that goes on today about the little details of the future. Far better that we simply agree to disagree over the minors, and focus our hope and joy on the majors!

The Unnamed Prophet

There are stories within the Old Testament that when you read them, you're left with a series of questions. What does this mean? Why did it turn out this way? What is God trying to tell us? Chapter 13 of 1 Kings contains one of those stories. It is the story of an unnamed prophet to prophesies against the altar of Jeroboam located at Bethel. Not only do we not know his name, but know very little about him other than what is found in this chapter. He is told by God to come and prophesy against this altar, and then leave immediately by a different route without eating or drinking anything while in Bethel. As we read this episode, we learn that another prophet lies to the original prophet and draws him back to eat and drink in Bethel, and thus the first prophet is killed by a lion on his way home. A very strange story...but the other question that must be addressed is why does God include this unique story within the Scriptures? He has a purpose, and it is up to us to look further into this.
I'm struck by several observations. First of all, the lion that attacked the original prophet didn't eat him, nor did he run away. In fact, he stayed by the body until the second prophet came to take it, not attacking anything or anyone else. In other words, this was not a random lion attack. Second, the prior instructions to the prophet were very clear, and had he obeyed them, the lion attack would not have happened. Third, the penalty for disobedience falls completely on to the original prophet because the prophet who lied and tricked the first prophet to return to Bethel was not given any obvious punishment. My natural tendency in reading this is to feel sorry for the first prophet who is betrayed by the prophet from Bethel who lied and said that the Lord had told him to bring the prophet back to Bethel. The first prophet's disobedience to the original command occurred because he thought he had new instructions from the Lord, not out of willful disobedience. Yet he suffered the ultimate penalty for disobedience...death, while the prophet who lied and deceived received no penalty. Thus my first reaction...this is unjust. But God is not unjust. He is holy and righteous. So why did this happen this way? My thoughts...God had spoken directly to the original prophet and had given him clear instructions. His mistake was in accepting second hand instructions that were contrary to the original first hand instructions. He should have maintained his obedience to the original first hand instructions until he received contrary instructions...again first hand. We can fall into the same trap today, though thankfully we usually don't have to worry about being killed by a lion. Those who are walking close to the Lord often get a sense of a calling from Him to a certain type of ministry. It is clear, and it is first hand, i.e. something we sense directly from God. But as we share that calling with others, we may be told that the calling makes no sense, that God would never call us to something like that, or that we're making a huge mistake by following that calling. We may even get advice along the lines that a person feels from common sense that God has instead made us for a different calling. All too often, we forget the original call, and follow the advice of the many "prophets" around us, living and pursuing a calling that is different than what God had planned. What a loss and how tragic that truly is. Let us recall to mind and hold tight to any direct call from the Lord, and pursue that no matter what the prophets around us may say...

The importance of suffering

Living in the United States, I find that there are two related characteristics of our culture here that work against us as Christians drawing close to the Lord. The first is our rampant materialism, and the second is our resulting self-sufficiency. It is expected of everyone living in the U.S., including Christians, that we will work to be self-sufficient. As Christians then, how do we learn to rely on the Lord? This was brought home to me again by a recent trip to Calcutta India, (now called Kolkata), and my ingrained need, (and at times demand), for comfort. We simply do not know how spoiled we are until we go to another culture where comfort is not so accessible. Here in the U.S., I know that most of us seek to avoid suffering, but that keeps us from experiencing what Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians chapter 1. While Paul doesn't go into detail about what his sufferings were, we can tell that they were significant, because in verse 9, he tells us that they were beginning to think they were going to die. But Paul goes on to give us the jewel in this section when he points out that the purpose God had for the suffering they experienced was to make them rely more on God and less on themselves. That's a lessen we all need desperately here in the U.S. Yes, I know there is suffering of many different types here in the U.S., but we're not surrounded by it like so many places in the world. Our suffering is isolated and insulated, so that we're less often taught that we need to rely more on God. While Paul saw suffering as a necessary tool to draw him closer to God, I'm all too quick to see it as a punishment from God. It requires a paradigm shift in how we look at suffering...one from looking at suffering in completely negative terms, to seeing it as having the ability to teach us things that can't be learned any other way. It's a slow process, and one in which I have a long way to go.

Muscle Building

We live in a busy world, occupied with all kinds of activities that drain our strength from us. Add to that the inevitable bad things that happen, and we will have episodes when we are left without strength and hope. David had that happen, and his response is instructive to us. In 1 Samuel 30, while David is off getting ready for battle, the town in which he and his men were living at the time was attacked by his enemies. All of their belongings including their wives and children were taken from them. Clearly, this was a low point for David since verse 6 tells us that he was "greatly distressed". There were several options before David at that point. He could have lost all hope and lived in defeat from that point on, or he could have pursued his enemies filled with anger and rage, risking defeat. David however made a different choice. The second part of verse 6 tells us that he strengthened himself in the Lord his God. We aren't told exactly how he did that, but we can assume that it involved spending time in prayer, and perhaps even praise to God. No doubt he also spent time reviewing in his mind the stories contained in the writings of Moses. In essence, David took his struggles and loss to the Lord, and found strength. I've noticed that as I have times during which I'm in need of strength, I will often go to things other than the Lord such as a good book, or a popular movie or TV program. Yes, it might take my mind off of things, but true strengthening is lacking. I get finished with that activity and I'm still in need of strength. I'm slowly learning that during those times, I'm far better off if I spend time in prayer and reading of the Word. True strength comes only from the Lord. Another instructive lesson from David is that when he had found new strength, he sought the Lord's direction as to his next step. He didn't arise in that strength and pursue his own agenda. He asked the Lord if he should pursue his enemies. The Lord gave him direction and David was able to recover his lost wives and children. In similar fashion, as we gain our strength from the Lord, we should be careful how we use that strength by seeking His will and direction for our lives.