Manna

The state of life I’m in now is a situation I’ve likened to the children of Israel being provided bread from heaven in Exodus 16:4.  My needs aren’t being provided in a way I’d like them to be –which admittedly is out of pride.  But I’m also thankful that God is blessing me with my daily bread (Php 4:19).  I understand the importance of worshipping God joyfully, regardless of how I’m being blessed.  So, the test for me (and many of us, I’m sure) is will I continue to trust God at his word and bless his name, no matter how things look (v.4)?  (I’m reminded of my own words in a previous blog post after typing that statement.)  God despises the proud, so in his love for us, he puts us in humbling situations –not to ever harm us, but in order to keep us under his loving protection and so that we may recognize and glorify him, and I’m thankful for it (Pr 3:12; 16:5). 

Also, like Israel, I’ve stepped out on faith trusting in God according to his word, and I’ve looked at my past situation compared to the one I’m currently in, and I’ve sometimes thought that things were better.  But of course, like Israel, I also groaned when I was in ‘Egypt’ (Ex 16:3). 

Not to justify it, but I can honestly say that my grumbling is not in doubt of God and his plan for me, nor is it motivated by ungratefulness, but it’s out of sheer impatience (Jer 29:11).  I’m constantly needing lessons in patience, which is just God perfecting me, and shaping me to look more like him, because love is patient and God is love (1 Co 13:4; 1 Jn 4:8). 

So, I ask that you all pray that we all learn to be content (-although never settling.  I’m convinced that the Lord has not called us to accept mediocrity.), and stand on God’s promise that he will provide for us as over comers through Jesus Christ (Php 4:11, 19; Rev 2:17).  And also pray that we be more patient as God works it all out.

In Our Own Eyes

This post was inspired form my pastor’s message this past Sunday on the Israelite leader’s report on their Canaan exploration (Nu 13:25-33).  There were some things that stood out to me from that scripture. 

First of all, an overview:  The Lord told Moses to send out men to explore the land of Canaan, which he was giving them.  Moses sent twelve, representatives of the various tribes to report.  He told them what look for:  type of land, strength of the people, whether the towns were walled, check the fertility of the soil and whether there were trees or not.  And they were also to bring back samples of the land’s fruit.  They came back, and told the people how plentiful the land was and showed them all of the fruit they’d collected.  It was flowing with milk and honey!  But they continued with a ‘but’, telling the people that basically the people living there were giants.  Caleb (and Joshua) attempted to put an end to what were clearly expressions intended to frighten and dishearten the people.  It may’ve been inhabited by large people, but Caleb expressed faith in God in saying, ‘We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.’   

Then the other men continued saying, ‘We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are’.  They even then changed their report about the land saying, ‘The land we explored devours those living in it.’ And exaggerated by adding, ‘we saw Nephilim there...’  The reference to the Nephilim seems deliberately intended to evoke fear (NIV note).  And finally, the truth of the matter, ‘We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.’

·         First of all, the land had already been set aside for them by God (Nu 13:1-2).

·         God didn’t want them to be ignorant of the situation they faced, but faithful enough to trust him.  The land was rich and the people may’ve been giants, but ‘faith never denies reality, but leaves room for God to grant a new reality’. (Jim Cymbala, from ‘Praying God’s Word’ by Beth Moore). It was for them to speak and act based on faith in God.  God always does his part. The question is:  Will we do ours?

·         It was the leadership’s responsibility to instill confidence in the people based on God’s ability, not their own.  Instead they expressed doubt based on their own ability (or inability), which is nothing more than pride.  There own so-called ability had never been a factor in any success they’d experienced in the past, so why should it be then?

·         Caleb and Joshua’s report came from faith in God, which is an expression of love, while the other’s report came from fear.  The two are always in opposition (1 Jn 4:18).

·         Real power is in faith, and faith comes by hearing the word of God (Ro 10:17).  The Canaanites were faithless pagans, so imagine how much more powerful the Israelites would’ve been had they just stood on God’s word?  They would’ve been the real giants (Ro 8:31)!  But since they seemed like grasshoppers in their own eyes, they looked the same to their opposition (v. 33).  

Those Who Wait

As much as I like blogging, starting next week I’ll post only once per week, as I have other priorities that require more of my attention.  But considering I’ve been posting three times a week for about three months, I have quite a few posts in my archive.  So, I’ll encourage readers read them and comment on them still.

There are many benefits to being patient, which is something I’ve been struggling with lately.  My grandmother suggested I write a blog entry on this topic every week.  We have encouragement through scripture in patience, as well as restoration through patience.  And patient people promote peace and enjoy harvest (Pr 15:18; Isa 40:31; Ro 15:4; Jas 5:7-8).

We should be patient because it’s commanded (Mt 22:37-39; 1 Co 13:4; Ro 12:12; 1 Th 5:14).  It shows trust and wisdom (Ps 40:1-4; Pr 19:11).  And God himself demonstrates patience (1 Ti 1:16; Nu 14:18).  Thank you for it Lord!  The hope Christians have is a byproduct of salvation (Ro 8:24-25,NIV note on v. 24).  Although we may experience momentary discouragement, a person who is saved is never hopeless, and doesn’t live a life that is characterized by hopelessness. So patience during suffering must also result.

In Hebrews 6:12, faith, patience, and the inheritance of the promise is juxtaposed with laziness.  Faith and patience are not passive, but active (see also Heb 7; Jas 2:17).  Faith must be proven by action.  Just as the farmer waits for the land to yield its crop, he continues to tend to the land and provide a healthy environment where crops will flourish (Jas 5:7-8).  And see how grumbling and complaining are also counter-productive and not indicative of one who is saved.  Complaining brings about judgment, not a harvest (Jas 5:9).  Bless us Lord!  Patience is also juxtaposed with pride (Ecc 7:8).  Patience says wait on the Lord.  Have wisdom and trust.  Recall past victories.  Surely God has even greater in store!  Pride says, do things your own way.  It ain’t comin’ fast enough.  And don’t you know that God will not reward impatience (Heb 11:6)?   

The things that I believe God want for me require me to be patient and faithful and work as one who is waiting for a promised harvest, not work as one who’s at it all alone.  My promise is in the seed of God’s word, not manmade devices!   

All My Fountains Are In You

The Lord provides for us all, but how much more when we trust in him.  As a result of his faith, Abraham came to know God as his provider after he obediently and faithfully laid his only son on an alter of sacrifice, and was supplied with a ram in a bush (Gen 22:1-13).  Abraham had earlier asserted that ‘God himself will provide the lamb’, and he was later able to confirm that the Lord would, no doubt, provide (calling him Yahweh-yireh or Jehovah-jireh in Hebrew; Gen 22: 8, 14).  Surely God has rewarded Abraham for his faith, and blessed him with (spiritual) descendants as numerous as stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore (Gen 22:17-18; Gal 3:29).  Although we may not be Father Abraham, similar blessing are available to those who trust in God.   

We need to constantly be reminded that nothing is impossible for God.  Forget the former things; don’t dwell on the past.  Watch God do a new thing (Isa 43:19-19)!  The Lord is a provider in the desert, in the wasteland.  He gives drink to his people, his chosen, the people he formed for himself that they may proclaim his praise (Isa 43:20-21)!  So, go ahead and praise him in advance having faith that he will provide for you!  (That is, if you are his own.)

God is the source, and everything else is merely a resource.  Trust in the source!  David recognized God as the source of all life by referring to him as his fountain (Ps 36:9; 87:7).  Jesus speaks about the futility of worrying, reminding us that the Lord feeds the birds that do not reap or store, dresses lilies better than Solomon ever was, and even provides for the pagan.  But we are to seek God’s kingdom first, and everything else is guaranteed to fall into place (Mt 6:25-34).   Believe, trust, hope in his sustaining and powerful word (Heb 1:3).

God Is Love

I planned on writing about another topic today, but got to thinking about what love means -considering it’s Valentine’s Day- so that’ll have to wait.  And aside from the fact that this is Valentine’s Day, I think this message is so timely.  We need to constantly be reminded of what love is, according to God’s word (so that we can also recognize what love isn’t).  Love is characterized by patience, kindness, and endurance.  It isn’t envious, boastful, arrogant, rude, selfish, irritable (Once again, God’s talking to me.), or resentful.  It doesn’t rejoice in wrongdoing, but in truth.  It bears, believes, and hopes all things. Love is endless (1 Co 13:4-8)!

The Bible tells us that God himself is love (1 Jn 4:8).  The word’ is’ is the singular form of the word ‘be’, which means to equal in meaning, or to have the same condition as.  What’s cool is as I looked this word up, the first definition sentence example in Merriam-Webster Online was <God is love>.  The two are, indeed, interchangeable.  God is love, and love is God.  So, consider that the next time you hear a flippant testimony about what love is.  Love is a crazy game?  I think not!  God is not to be trifled with.

Enough of the commentary though.  I can’t tell it better than God can anyway, so here’s one of God’s many love letters to us from the pen of John: 

‘Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  This is how God showed his love among us:  He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love:  not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.  In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.  There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

We love because he first loved us.  If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar.  For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.  And he has given us this command:  Whoever loves God must also love his brother (1 Jn 4:7-21).

With that said. 

Love y’all!

          

Nevermind How It Looks

All throughout the Bible there are stories of how God showed himself strong in the lives of people who chose to trust in him, regardless as to how things looked.  And if we are to have any real, definite, supernatural victories in our lives, we have to follow suit.  We’re encouraged not to throw away our confidence because it will be richly rewarded.  We need to persevere so that when we have done the will of God, we’ll receive what he’s promised (Heb 10:35-36).  We’re told that the righteous will live by faith (Heb 10:38).  And faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen.  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Heb 11:1; 6).  With God, you have what you don’t see, and it’s eternal, and what you do see is temporary (2 Co 4:18; 5:7).  We have to keep in mind that we see in part (1 Co 14:12). 

Abraham was blessed with innumerable descendants after trusting that God’s way was best.  When he obeyed God’s command to sacrifice his only son, he was provided a ram instead (Gen 22:1-19).  Here’s a man that waited his whole life to have an heir, and it looked as though God was taking back what he’d blessed him with.  And as a result of him trusting in God, Abraham not only kept his son, but also gained a countless amount of (spiritual) heirs to bear his name!  God doesn’t just do it; he overdoes it! 

It looked as though the things God had showed Joseph in his dreams wouldn’t come to pass after his brothers had sold him into slavery, but they did (Gen 37-42).  Joshua, a mill worker, became a military hero after following God’s direction.  With the power of God, he and a handful of men defeated the mighty army of Jericho by basically yelling at them (Joshua 1-6).  By faith, a shepherd boy, armed with nothing but a staff, sling and the name of the Almighty God, defeated an army, to include a giant (1 Sam 17:1-58, which is my three-year-old niece’s favorite Bible story, no doubt).  Job was restored twice the amount he’d originally had after trusting in God during his test (Job 42:10).  Satan said, ‘He will surely curse you to your face’, but Job’s response to all of this was, ‘Though God slay me, I will still hope in him’ (Job 1:11; 13:15).  Throughout his test Job testified that God was faithful and just, and if there was any fault at all, it was his own.  He knew who his God was, and stood on it!  It looked as though Mary had fooled around on Joseph, but God sent the angel Gabriel to put both Mary and Joseph at ease, and they were blessed with the responsibility of raising God’s very own son, by following the word that the angel spoke to them (Mt 1:18-25). 

And it appeared as though Christ was defeated on Cavalry, but in fact, he’s the victor, and so are we through him (Mt 27:32-28:20; Ro 5:1)!