Page 53 of 67

Posted on

The Sorrow of Sin

So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” (Ruth 1:19 ESV)

Sin disfigures. Sin destroys. Sin devastates. When Naomi returned to Bethlehem she was hardly recognizable. As an Ephrathite she was among Bethlehem’s elite, a member of the aristocratic class. Well respected when she left town, she comes home stripped not only of her self-respect but also visibly bearing the wear and tear of her stay in Moab. Naomi’s former friends didn’t even recognize her. As soon as they saw her the whispering began. “Is this Naomi?”

William Paul Young said, “Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside.” Paul’s now famous words in Romans 3:23 echo Young’s statement: The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Paul used very familiar imagery so that his audience would get his point. Sin always writes you a paycheck and always pays you the same wage: death.

If sin is so deadly, then why do people do it? Why do people choose to live their lives in perpetual sin? Remember the hall of fame of faith? Moses demonstrated both the danger of sin and the delight of God.

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. (Hebrews 11:24-28 ESV)

Moses shows us how to avoid sin. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh. There will be times you will simply have to say “no.” Moses also chose. He chose one option over another. Option #1 was to be mistreated with the people of God. Option #2 was to enjoy the fleeting pressures of sin–indulge the flesh one more time. Third, Moses considered. Moses had to weigh his options. He was set to inherit the treasures of Egypt. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt. In other words, Moses valued God above his own selfish desires.

Sin is serious. 3 quick questions:

1. What are you allowing right now that you need to refuse?

2. What decision (choice) do you need to make today?

3. What (or who) do you value more than God?

Posted on

The God Who Connects the Dots

Steve Jobs said…

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

Tucked in Steve Job’s convoluted idea of whom to trust are some kernels of truth: you can’t connect the dots looking forward. Ruth looked back at Moab and saw a comfortable past–she looked ahead to Bethlehem and saw an uncertain future. God did not allow her to connect the dots. He seldom does.

Steve Jobs’ second kernel of truth: You have to trust in something. He’s right. Everyone trusts in something. Even if you don’t believe God exists, unbelief in God is a belief system. You are trusting that your lack of faith in God will have no dire consequences. The assertion that there is no God reduces life to the here and now and eliminates the possibility of heaven and hell. You are still trusting something: unbelief.

So here’s a question: as you look back over your life, where do you see dots connected now that seemed nothing more than fuzzy lines at the time? This is the story of Ruth.

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” (Ruth 1:16-17 ESV)

Ruth moved forward trusting that God (whom she had not known before now) would somehow make crooked lines straight. After all God promised Israel this is what He would do:

And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them. (Isaiah 42:16 ESV)

God kept good on His promise to Israel and little did Ruth know that God would keep good on that same promise to her–and she was a foreigner! John the Baptist preached about this characteristic of God:

As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” (Luke 3:4-6 ESV)

It is likely that many of you reading this are dizzy from trekking down the crooked road of the last 24 hours of your life. You don’t know why things are happening the way they are. You don’t understand decisions being made around you. God seems strangely silent. Life isn’t fair. In those moments trusting God is paramount. You cannot connect the dots looking forward. One day you will. I remind you of John Oxenham’s poem:

He writes in characters too grand
For our short sight to understand;
We catch but broken strokes, and try
To fathom all the mystery
Of withered hopes, of death, of life,
The endless war, the useless strife,–
But there, with larger, clearer sight,
We shall see this–His way was right.

Posted on

I Will

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.” Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” (Ruth 1:6-15 ESV)

Naomi was determined to dissuade Ruth from coming to Bethlehem. Four times in this soliloquy she demands that Ruth return. Her words are forceful: return, turn back, turn back, return. She’s angry at God. She’s mad at the world. Life has dealt her an ugly blow and she’s looking for someone to blame. She feels she has already put Ruth and Orpah through enough. You can hear it in her language: No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me. In other words, “It’s my fault you’re where you are–widowed and following a bitter old woman to her homeland.  Turn back!”

One must wonder why Ruth would ever want to continue the long trek from Moab to Bethlehem with a woman compelling her to go home. Ruth has no intentions of caving to Naomi’s pressure. Notice her answer:

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” (Ruth 1:16-17 ESV)

Her language is anything but that of a quitter. She answers Naomi’s repeated commands to turn back with her own mantra: I will.

  • For where you go, I will go.
  • And where you lodge, I will lodge.
  • Where you die, I will die.
  • And there will I be buried.

Ruth’s language is the language of determination.

Some of you are staring down a road you’ve never traveled down before. You have no idea where it will lead, what you will find or even who you will be at the end of the road. In those times, focusing on what you don’t know will stop you dead in your tracks. Yours must be the language of “I will.”

I will trust God…no matter what.

I will pray….no matter what.

I will worship…no matter what.

I will.

I will.

Posted on

The Irony of Running From God

In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. (Ruth 1:1-5 ESV)

Bethlehem. We know the town well today because it was the birthplace of Jesus. In Naomi’s day it was a little-known spot on the landscape of southern Israel. However everyone knew what the name meant–the house of bread. Ironically enough Elimelech and Naomi were from the aristocratic Ephrathite clan living in the House of Bread and they couldn’t find anything to eat. There was a famine in the land. When God decides He’s going to send a famine, the house of bread isn’t exempt from his disciplining hand.

Elimelech and Naomi ran–to Moab. Moab was a stretch of land east of the Dead Sea. It wasn’t part of Israel–as a matter of fact it was settled by the descendants of a tragic incestuous relationship between Lot (Abraham’s nephew) and his daughter. The Moabites’ heritage wasn’t anything to write home about. However, it isn’t the Moabites’ family tree that is most surprising in light of Naomi’s plight–it is the meaning of the word “Moab” itself. Moab means “seed of father.”

Think about it. Naomi left the House of Bread because she couldn’t find bread. She went to the “Seed of Father” and lost both her sons. You can run but you can’t hide. Bethlehem starved Naomi and Moab robbed her of her sons. The House of Bread and the Seed of Father came up empty.

Corrie Ten Boom said, “There are no ‘if’s’ in God’s world. And no places that are safer than other places. The center of His will is our only safety – let us pray that we may always know it!”

Posted on

Selfless Saints

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. (1 Peter 1:10-12 ESV)

For the past week we have seen the faith of Old Testament saints. Hebrews 11 lists them and their accomplishments–all a result of great faith in God. Peter adds additional insight into the plight of these Old Testament prophets. Don’t miss this–you will be surprised that you were on their minds. They prophesied about the grace that was to be yours. They knew a better day was coming–they just didn’t know when.

They wanted to know who the Messiah would be and what time He would come. God did not reveal that to them. God did reveal to them what kind of Messiah he would be, so that when he appeared, New Testament saints would know it. In other words, they lived not for themselves or their own satisfaction, but for the fulfillment and satisfaction of a future generation. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you. While Peter was certainly writing to persecuted Christians spread throughout the greater Middle East in his day, his words are just as applicable to us today.

Consider Isaiah.

  • In Isaiah 52:13 Isaiah predicted that the Messiah would be raised, lifted up, and exalted. In Philippians 2:9-11, Paul writes that God exalted him and that one day every knee will bow.
  • In 52:14 Isaiah said that Jesus appearance was “marred beyond human semblance.” Matthew 26:67 records the merciless beating of Jesus.
  • In 53:3 Isaiah describes him as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. John confirms Isaiah’s prophecies in John 11 by describing how many rejected Jesus, especially the religious leaders.
  • In 53:9 Isaiah predicted his grave would be with the wicked and the rich. He was crucified between two thieves and buried in wealthy Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb.

God revealed “clues” about the Messiah to the prophets, not for their benefit, but for yours. They faithfully wrote down what God told them and you benefit from it today. Their faithfulness builds your faith. How remarkable is this? So phenomenal that angels long to look into these things!

What should this encourage you to do?

Read the Old Testament with gratitude for imperfect saints who put their faith in a gracious God.

Ask yourself: what are you doing today that does not serve yourself, but others; that does not build your faith but someone else’s; that does not help your cause, but another’s.

Posted on

Puritan Prayer for Faith

This prayer is taken from The Valley of Vision, a compilation of Puritan prayers. This week we have been encouraged by the faith of Moses, Rahab and a host of others. Ask God to create in you a faithful heart. Pray this prayer to Him from a sincere heart.

My God,

I bless you that you have given me the eye of faith,
to see you as father,
to know you as covenant God,
to experience your love planted in me;

For faith is the grace of union
by which I spell out my entitlement to you:
Faith casts my anchor upward
where I trust in you
and engage you to be my Lord.

Be pleased to live and move within me,
breathing in my prayers,
inhabiting my praises,
speaking in my words,
moving in my actions
living in my life,
causing me to grow in grace.

Your bounteous goodness has helped me believe,
But my faith is weak and wavering,
its light dim,
its steps tottering,
its increase slow,
its backslidings frequent;
It should scale the heavens, but lies groveling in the dust.

Lord, fan this divine spark into glowing flame
When faith sleeps, my heart becomes
an unclean thing
the fount of every loathsome desire,
the cage of unclean lusts
all fluttering to escape,
the noxious tree of deadly fruit
the open wayside of earthly tares.

Lord, awake faith to put forth its strength
until all heaven fills my soul
and all impurity is cast out.

Amen.

Posted on

Take Heart

Read this slowly and deliberately.

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11:32-38 ESV)

The great lie of the 21st century is that if you have faith all will go well with you. Authors suggest you can actually have your best life now. When tempted to believe this lie, Hebrews 11 is your goto reading. In this list 22 scenarios are described: 10 have good outcomes, 12 end dismally. Some stopped the mouths of lions while others were flogged. Some quenched the power of fire while others were killed by the sword. Some were made strong out of weakness while others were destitute.

This proves that faith cannot be measured by outcomes.

Faith does not mean changing your outcome. Faith is changing your outlook. Martin Luther said, “Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.” Sometimes the greatest faith is demonstrated in the most difficult circumstances.

This will take another 7 minutes and 38 seconds. Worship God by listening to this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MfBQ30Ta9w. Let the words soak into your very being.

Take heart.

Posted on

The Ripple Effect

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. (Hebrews 11:24-25 ESV)

Early decisions can have a lasting impact. Moses grew up in the lap of luxury. He was prince of the most powerful country in his day. Servants did his bidding, women swooned when he entered a room, leaders wanted his attention. He was the Prince of Egypt. He wore the latest styles, rode the newest model camel, and ate the finest food.

Then one day he made a decision. He had no idea the ripple effect this one decision would have on his life. Decisions are like that. They are the proverbial pebble thrown in the pond of life, creating a ripple that becomes a tidal wave. These decisions don’t seem significant when they’re made–but their ramifications are far reaching.

Decisions like this are seldom made under pleasant circumstances. Moses’ decision forced him to the backside of the desert for 40 years. A fugitive, he wandered into obscurity. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He had a mother–her name was Jochebed. When Moses was a helpless newborn, she trusted God with his little life. Now he had learned to trust God with his grown up life.

Moses chose to say no to the fleeting pleasures of sin. It’s sometimes hard for us to believe that decisions we make today will impact five or especially twenty years from now. The teenage girl who says “no” to the repeated sexual advances of the boy in her Algebra class is grateful on her honeymoon night. So is her new husband. The young professional who refused to participate in the shady business deal–and faced ridicule from his fellow employees–is thankful when he is promoted. The college student who decided not to go to the party is relieved when he hears of the arrests of several students and their subsequent dismissal from school. Graduation is a sweet day for him.

Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences.”

What one decision will you make today that will change your tomorrow forever?

Posted on

Turning Messes Into Messages

By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. (Hebrews 11:31 ESV)

I love the honesty of the Bible. If I were making a list of the Who’s Who of the Old Testament I would be tempted to leave some people out. Rahab is surely one of them. She was a prostitute. She made her living by selling her body. She lived on the city wall and watched for lonely passersby who might want her company. She had no discretion, no self-respect. The writer of Proverbs has a stern warning about women like Rahab:

My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways. For a prostitute is a deep pit; an adulteress is a narrow well. She lies in wait like a robber and increases the traitors among mankind. (Proverbs 23:26-28 ESV)

Rahab was a deep pit. She waited like a robber and made traitors out of otherwise honest men. Then one day Hebrew men showed up. They didn’t come looking for Rahab, they came needing cover. Sent by Joshua to scout out the great city of Jericho they hid on Rahab’s roof. The king of Jericho caught wind that the feared Israelite spies were inside the city walls. He sent his soldiers to find them. Rahab covered for them and sent the soldiers on their way. She found the Hebrew spies on her roof and spilled her guts:

Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. (Joshua 2:8-11 ESV)

For we have heard how the Lord…Some in Jericho heard about what God had done and tried to resist Him. Rahab heard and embraced Him. Notice how she finishes her confession to these men: For the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens and on the earth beneath. Rahab believed! Rahab, the prostitute became Rahab the protector. Rahab who was accustomed to wrecking men’s lives, saved their lives. Rahab who usually sold her body for sex, offered her house for safety. She believed. And she made it into Faith’s Hall of Fame!

Only Christianity would celebrate a prostitute turned protector and tout her as a defender of the faith.

And you think Jesus can’t turn your mess into a message to the world!

Posted on

God the City Builder

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:13-16 ESV)

We measure success by accomplishments, by wins and losses, by money in the bank. God doesn’t. He measures success by faithfulness. Failing does not disqualify you from the race–quitting does. Finishing matters more than achieving. In a world dominated by World Series and Super Bowls we struggle to embrace God’s definition of success.

Hebrews 11 opens with a list of people who lived their entire lives never fully receiving what they believed. They believed promises that were never realized, preached messages that were never fulfilled, wrote prophecies that never came to fruition. They lived and died believing what many thought was a lie. How did they do it? The writer answers that question:  they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. They never expected life on this earth to be ultimately fulfilling. They lived here with another place in mind.

Think about it. If this is the only place you will ever enjoy life, then you will be compelled to do everything you can do, go everywhere you can go, and experience everything you can experience. Make all the money you can. Capture every memory. Exploit every adventure. Win every game. Take advantage of the latest technology. Why? Because when you die, there will be no joy, no pleasant memories, no money to advance your cause, no adventures. For those who do not believe in eternity, a sure eternity awaits. It is void of the presence of God and filled with the memory of every missed opportunity to know him. When the rich man died he looked into heaven. He saw Lazarus and begged him for a drop of water. He saw his brothers headed to Hell and begged God to warn them. Imagine an eternity where you wouldn’t want your closest family to join you. Some people are experiencing the only “heaven” they will ever experience now.

Not those mentioned in Hebrews. They desired a heavenly country. In other words, they lived on earth with heaven in mind.

Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. God, the architect of the universe, is also the architect of Heaven. For those who desire Him, he has prepared a city. He’s not ashamed of you. He’s proud to call you his, proud enough to build a city–for you.

Plant your feet on the earth. Fix your eyes on the sky.