Testing and Rebelling

     How do we handle ourselves when we find ourselves in a place we don't understand? How do we approach the Lord when it seems like times are too hard, or we don't feel that we have all we need, or things just could not get worse. Exodus 17:1-7 shows the nation of Israel in a place similar to that, and I think they give us an excellent model of how not to approach such times:

The entire Israelite community left the Wilderness of Sin, moving from one place to the next according to the Lord’s command. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So the people complained to Moses, “Give us water to drink.”

“Why are you complaining to me?” Moses replied to them. “Why are you testing the Lord?”

But the people thirsted there for water and grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you ever bring us up from Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 

Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? In a little while they will stone me!” The Lord answered Moses, “Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take the staff you struck the Nile with in your hand and go. I am going to stand there in front of you on the rock at Horeb; when you hit the rock, water will come out of it and the people will drink.” Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. He named the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites complained, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” 

-- Exodus 17:1-7 (CSB)

     The Israelites were travelling, as the Lord commanded, but there was no water where the Lord sent them. So they got mad at Moses, which then prompted Moses to remind them that it was God who had brought them to this place in life in the first place. That's the same as us; wherever we are currently in life, it is because God brought us there or allowed us to wander there ourselves. Nothing is beyond His scope or His vision; we are never apart from His presence and never blocked from His guidance.
     This didn't stop the Israelites from grumbling and complaining about the situation, though. I get it; there's not any water, and water is necessary for life to continue. It had to have felt like Moses was leading them out into the desert to dehydrate and die of thirst. They even started to long for the "good ol' days" when they were enslaved by the Egyptians, where they at least had access to water. I guess they figured that a terrible life with water was better than no life at all. So they kept complaining at Moses, and Moses did not know what to do. How was he to handle this situation?
     He turned to the Lord. He called out for God to help, knowing that God was totally aware of their plight and that it was God Himself who had lead them there. They had no rebelled and gone somewhere they were not supposed to go; it was totally through Moses's faith in God and His guidance that they had ended up in this predicament. God's people were on the verge of literally dying out, but God had no intention of that happening. He was not going to allow His covenant people to die out. His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would not be coming up short, and certainly not in a place that God Himself had led them. He led His people to a place of testing, and they responded by testing Him. They failed His test of faith.
     So Moses called out, and God answered with a plan. It wasn't the assumed, normal plan either. I'm sure Moses assumed that God would lead them to a place with more water, like a river or a lake. We often assume that God's plans will be pretty predictable, too. I know that I often think I can plot out God's answers and next steps for my life, and yet time and time again, I am proven wrong. God almost always surprises me with the next step on His journey with me, and He surprised Moses here, too. God brought their salvation in an unexpected and unforeseen way: He brought water from a rock.
     There is a ton of parallel here with Jesus in the New Testament. He's the Rock we stand on (1 Corinthians 10) and our source of living water (John 4). He is the salvation that came to us in an unforeseen way, as a baby in a boondocks town that grew up to be a street-preaching rabbi that literally died in our place to provide salvation to us. We do not have to go find our living water and our salvation; just like the Israelites, our salvation came to us in our hour of need, and we simply need to trust Him for salvation.
     This is not a one-time deal, though. We do not trust Jesus to save us once, and then live the rest of our lives. Trusting in Jesus as our salvation may be initiated and secured when we place our faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord, but our daily walk with the Lord is meant to be a daily step of faith. We daily find ourselves, like the Israelites, confused and frustrated. We don't always understand our circumstances and we don't always see how it will work out for good. Yet, we always have a choice to make: to grumble like Israel, or trust that our Savior is the Rock of salvation every day in everyplace. We must not test (Massah) or rebel against (Meribah) the Lord; we must trust Him.
     Hebrews 3:7-4:2 puts this Old Testament passage into a New Testament context; we cannot allow a sinful, unbelieving and distrustful heart to turn us away from God. We must have confidence in Christ. We must encourage our fellow believers to keep the faith. Hebrews 4:2 clearly shows that Israel had heard the gospel, same as us in the church today; they simply did not combine the good news with daily, practical faith in the moments of everyday life. When they did that, they rejected the rest available to them: both in the immediate rest we find in placing our burdens on Christ and in the future rest we have in eternity with Him. Their lack of faith showed a lack of heart change by the gospel, and revealed them to be frauds in the faith.
     Will we trust our Lord daily, while we still have time to walk with Him and rest in Him, or will we doubt and test Him until the end of our days? The choice is ours to choose faith, and I pray that we will each do just that.

Maybe (Just Maybe) We Have Hope

We all have days where we feel a bit less ourselves, ya know?

Maybe we haven't been having a great time at work.

Maybe we were out of strawberries at the house when we made our morning smoothie.

Maybe we're afraid of failing those we love.

Maybe we have failed those we love.

Maybe we can't find Pikachu on Pokemon Go. 

Maybe we didn't get the job or the acceptance letter.

Maybe we didn't get that second date.

Maybe we didn't get a first date.

Maybe we won't get another date.

Maybe we can't get ourselves to the gym more than two days...a month. 

Maybe we missed our chance.

Maybe we overestimated our chance.

Maybe the doctor had something hard to say.

Maybe we finished a great show on Netflix and don't know what to do with our weeknights.

Maybe we haven't gotten a call back.

Maybe we're wondering if their phone works.

Maybe we know it does, and don't want to admit it.

Maybe we watch too much cable news and read too many Facebook posts and get discouraged.

Maybe we feel like the world is crumbling around us.

Maybe none of these sound like anything you've ever imagined, so maybe your life is peachy.

Maybe you're lying.

Maybe life has been handing you lemons, and you just don't know what to do with them because you don't have enough sugar and sweetness in your life to make this lemonade something you can drink.

Maybe you just need some hope.

The good news is this: we have hope.

I just spent the past six nights hanging out with my church family, loving on some elementary-aged kids. Let me be clear: this does not sound like an ideal week for me. Small children are not my favorite people to be around, and the idea of devoting my nights this past week to such activities kind of made me shiver. Yet, I knew before it even began that it would be a great week, and it was.

This past week was Pinckard Baptist Church's Vacation Bible School, and it was a blast. The kids had a ton of fun, and seven of them made a profession of faith! Yet, it was more than just a fun and spiritually educational time for the kids. For me, at least, it was a chance to dive deeper into my own faith.

The theme this week was "Submerged: Finding Truth Below the Surface," a theme based on Psalm 139:23-24, which says:

Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my concerns.
See if there is any offensive way in me;
lead me in the everlasting way.

This idea of God searching and testing our hearts lead to some fantastic themes each night. The points of the nights were as follows:
Jesus knows who I really am. 

Jesus knows my worth.

Jesus knows I need a Savior. 

Jesus knows my purpose.

Jesus loves and accepts me.

Maybe you need to hear one of these truths. I know that I did. The beautiful thing that God showed me this week was that Psalm 139, if you read all twenty-four verses, will lead you to each of these truths. 

It shows us that Jesus knows who we are, even when it seems like no one knows who we are or even cares to learn. Sometimes we can feel invisible, or maybe we feel like everyone knows us, but no one knows the real us. The good news of this passage is that Jesus sees deep inside us and knows exactly who we are, who we have been, and who we will be. We're not invisible to Him, and we cannot put up a fake version of ourselves. He knows us for who we really are. 

It shows us that Jesus knows our worth, even when we feel worthless. Maybe no one else sees us as valuable. Perhaps you feel used, or maybe you've done something that makes you broken. The good news of this passage is that Jesus not only knows us for who we really are, but He also knows our true worth. He made us, after all, in His precious image and in His precious, remarkable, wonderful plans. That's who we are to Jesus: preciously, remarkably, and wonderfully made.  

It shows us that, yes, we need a Savior. God has made us as His special imagebearers, but because He sees us as who we are, He knows that we're sinners. He knows we've lied, stolen, cussed, disobeyed, disrespected, lusted, and coveted. He knows we're made to worship Him and have chosen to worship our phones, our popularity, our problems, our situation, our jobs, or anything else that consumes our minds. The good news of this passage is that this isn't a mystery that needs to be figured out by Jesus; He already knows.

It shows us that Jesus knows our purpose. Maybe we feel like we don't have a purpose, or maybe we feel like our sinfulness has ruined that purpose. The good news of this passage is that Jesus has a purpose for every single one of us, and He can lead us to that purpose. How, you may ask? Why, by loving us.

Yes, this passage shows that Jesus loves and accepts us. We're His precious creation, full of purpose and worth. He knows us totally and fully. We have all sinned and failed to live up to that distinction, yes, but that does not keep Him from loving us and accepting us. He will test us and search us for anything wicked, offensive or idolatrous in us, and when He does, He is willing to root it out. He is willing to restore us to our purpose. He is willing to remind us of our worth. He is willing to save us, and that is because He knows, accepts, and loves us. In fact, He loved us so much that He died to save us from sins, if only we believe and confess Him as Savior and Lord. That's love and acceptance.

So maybe you feel hopeless today. Maybe it's been a downer of a day, week, or decade. Regardless, I want you to know that we do have hope, and that hope is found in Jesus. We have hope in a Lord that knows us fully, that knows our worth, that knows our purpose, that knows our sins, and yet also loves and accepts us as His own. 

Maybe, just maybe, this will bring you some hope.

Maybe Certainly He knows He can.

Two Criminals and Red Pictures

 

"Then one of the criminals hanging there began to yell insults at Him: 'Aren’t You the Messiah? Save Yourself and us!'

But the other answered, rebuking him: 'Don’t you even fear God, since you are undergoing the same punishment? We are punished justly, because we’re getting back what we deserve for the things we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.' Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!'
 
And He said to him, “I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise.'” -Luke 23:39-43, HCSB

Yesterday, we discussed the critics of Jesus that were underneath Him, laughing at Him and His position. Today, we look at the stance of two people, both condemned to death.

There were three crosses standing at Golgotha on Good Friday. One, the one in the middle, held Jesus. However, the two men flanking Him to His right and left were merely common criminals.

One guy (who I will call Rafael) was also mocking Jesus, questioning His power, but also calling on Him to save him from His predicament. Rafael almost seems to buy into the truth about Jesus, yet won't totally believe in Him until Jesus proves Himself, all for the benefit of this criminal. All in all, he won't believe that Jesus is who He says He is until something happens to help himself. Rafael wants what is best for Rafael. 

The other guy (let's call him Eric), meanwhile, calls out Rafael for mocking Jesus. He even goes so far as to admit Jesus' innocence, and supports a lifestyle of fearing God. We then see Eric asking Jesus to remember him when Christ goes into His kingdom, and Jesus tells him "today you will be with me in Paradise." Eric is saved from eternal death.

As I read this story, I was also thinking about the debate over whether the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender) community should be able to marry whomever they want. Some argue that religion should have no voice in the arena of government, while others claim that we should only have the Bible. Some claim that gay rights are the new civil rights, and some claim that they are not related at all.

Many of my Christian brothers and sisters have been rebuking those who support the marriage of same-sex couples. They have essentially been playing the part of the Eric, calling out the Rafaels for failing to fear God.

There is good in this. As long as rebuke is done with grace and gentleness, it is good to call people to turn from sin. A quick reading of any one of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) will show that Jesus regularly did this. It is biblical and right to call for people to repent of their sinful lifestyles.

However, Eric did something that many Christians tend to forget in this debate. He admitted his wrong past. He told Rafael that they were both guilty and deserving of death.

Christians, we are not more righteous in our lives than any other "sinner." We are not above the LGBT community. If you would like to look through the Gospels, you'll see that Jesus regularly ate and hung out with the "sinners," the people that the over-righteous Pharisees shunned for their lifestyles.

Back then, it was tax collectors and prostitutes. Now it's lesbians and transsexuals. Same story, different roles.

I am not supporting a gay/homosexual lifestyle. I believe that the Bible condemns such a lifestyle, and that all who live like that should repent and come to God. However, Christians, we are not to cast stones and beat people down and act like we have it all together. We're sinners, too. We also once (and many still act as such) were living self-centered, self-pleasing lifestyles of the flesh.

We are a broken race, we humans. Gay, jealous, lustful, hating, drunk... the list goes on. Whichever sins have defined your life have made you just as guilty before God as anyone else. That's why we all needed grace, the undeserved gift of Christ's death for us on a cross. It was on that cross that He took the wrath of God for all sin: homosexuality or judgmentalism. Let's show love and grace to all, and show everyone the nature of God in our actions and with our words.

We must point people away from themselves and their selfish, sinful desires, yes. But if we point ourselves instead of pointing to Jesus and His greatness, we're failing at our rebuke and are sinning ourselves.

Call to repent, Christians, but in doing so, don't forget that someone once had to call you to repent. Otherwise, you'd still be dead in sin, too.

For more of my thoughts on this, check out these two posts I wrote a while back from my unChristian series, which was about how Christians are often viewed, and how Christians should act instead:

unChristian, Part Three: Antihomosexual
unChristian, Part Six: Judgmental

Filth and Truth: How Grace and Works Combine

"Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and evil, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save you." -James 1:21, HCSB

This passage is in my all-time favorite book, James. James is a short, six-chapter book toward the end of the New Testament. It was written by Jesus' brother, which is pretty cool. What makes James my favorite book, however, has nothing to do with its size or author; I love how "real" James keeps it. James encourages us to take our theology and put it to work. Jesus knowledge is fantastic; necessary, even. Yet, if you do nothing with it, you're just a filing cabinet. I'd much rather use my info to do God's work than be a spiritual file folder (even though that's not always what I do!).

This verse is classic James: a mixture of deep truth and a practical, "Just Do It" attitude. It starts off by saying that we should "[rid] ourselves of all moral filth and evil." I'll get right on that!

See, James doesn't pull punches. If I had written this, I'd have probably said "try to push all sin out of your life, continuing to get better at it as you grow." James just tells us to do it. And honestly, we cannot. There is no possible way to perfectly follow this, or even follow it at all on our own. Check out the second half of this verse:

"...humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save you." This half is the key to the first half; the truth of God's Word, His gospel, is the only thing that can save us from our sin, ridding us of all moral filth and evil. The only way that we can escape the clutches of sin is to humbly receive God's gift of grace and accept this glorious Word.

Without God's Word, we remain trapped, trying as hard as we can to fulfill the first half of the verse. But that is the beauty of this passage, and of the entire book of James: we cannot work righteously without God's working through and in us, and we cannot live out God's truth without working in response to this truth, walking in a righteous manner and following God.

This, my friends, is the gospel! A saving grace and truth, a miracle, and a changed heart that works as a result of that, running away from sin and toward holiness and righteousness. Christian, rejoice in this! It's amazing!