Periodic Trips to Mt. Moriah

Periodic Trips to Mt. Moriah

Periodically, God reminds us of the importance of the first and second commandments.  “You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath of in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, …” (Exodus 20:3-5) God insists upon being the number one priority in our lives.  His holy jealousy will not allow anyone or anything else to displace Him in our affections and allegiances.

God’s test of Abraham in Genesis 22 vividly depicts this divine command.  After proving His faithfulness through the birth of Isaac, God requires that Abraham offer Isaac as a sacrifice on Mt. Moriah.  Perhaps, Abraham’s love for his son, Isaac, began to supersede Abraham’s love of God.  To ascertain the depth of Abraham’s love for Him, God instructs Abraham to unequivocally demonstrate his love for Him by sacrificing the son, Isaac.  In order to fulfill his providential role as the “knight of faith” and “father of many nations,” Abraham had to be unquestionably devoted to the Lord. 

In Isaac, Abraham finally had an heir.  You can only imagine his excitement!  Abraham’s love for Isaac probably totally consumes his heart and being.  It might even surpass his love for Sarah.  However, if it exceeds Abraham’s love for God, then it is problematic.  Although Abraham lives four hundred years before the Law was written, his experience of the Lord necessitates that he abides by the spirit of the previous commandments.  Nothing usurps the Lord.

As a consequence, Abraham travels to Mt. Moriah and shows his undying love for God by offering to the Lord his most prized earthly possession, Isaac.  Amazingly, Abraham does not question the Lord.  He incredibly renounces the disobedience and recalcitrance that must lurk within his heart.  Abraham shows the Lord that he loves Him more than anyone or anything in the world.  Abraham obeys to the point of lifting the knife to slay Isaac.  The Lord then intervenes and blesses Abraham because he did not withhold Isaac. 

Like Abraham, we occasionally journey to Mt. Moriah and offer the “Isaac” of our lives on the altar of holiness and divine love.  Our love for others and devotion to causes cannot exceed our love for God.  We place every desire of our hearts on the altar of Mt. Moriah.  If we resolve that true happiness is found in being with a significant other, then we must put our love for that person on the altar.  All of our prized possessions (talents, degrees, titles, relationships, material acquisition, jobs, social status, etc,) also belong on the altar of God’s countenance.  We subject each desire to the test of determining whether it coheres with God’s will.

When God’s will does not correlate with our desires, then we must accept that His will is best.  Often, we will not understand His will.  We feel that God makes a mistake.  We want Him to bend His purposes to meet our wishes.  Yet, as believers, we trust without reservation that God’s will is “good, pleasing, and perfect.” 

I suspect that God would have permitted Abraham’s disobedience.  Had Abraham not loved God enough to pass the test, then he would have lived an average life.  We would never know him.  God would have found someone else whose love for God was unconditional.  Similarly, if we refuse to love God with our whole hearts, possibly we miss His will for our lives. 

Conquering the Circumstances

Conquering the Circumstances

Many passages in Scripture assure us God will not allow life’s circumstances to overwhelm us.  Levels of anxiety and fear often rise to unbelief, disillusionment and cynicism.  Yet, God never leaves nor forsakes us.  In every challenge, His abiding love and sustaining presence empower us to defeat threatening situations.  Moreover, He transforms our dilemmas into tests.  I comment briefly on several verses that contain promises of victorious living.  I encourage you to commit these passages to memory; recite them as your daily meditation and affirmation.

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)  What a relief to know that God guarantees our victory regardless of the conditions!  This verse reaffirms Christ’s infinite love for us.  His atoning sacrifice and redemptive consideration of humankind ensures we triumph over all adversity.  Christ conquered the evil of the cross.  His victory empowers us to crush the daily difficulties.  In everything, Christ’s unfathomable love sanctions our conquest.

The prophet, Isaiah, comforts the people in the midst of exile with a picturesque reminder of God’s compassion.  He says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”  (Isaiah 43:2)  What a wonderful image of the comforting presence of Almighty God!  We marvel at God’s amazing grace which simply will not allow situations in life to overtake us.  God promises, “I will be with you.”  His enduring faithfulness enables us to meet the constant changes of life with confidence that yields victory in every instance.  Come what may, we can unquestionably rely upon the grace and truth of God.  Therefore, we do not lose our heads in the throes of challenges. 

There are times when the intensity of our circumstances prevents us from seeing God’s “good, pleasing and perfect will” in our affairs.  In fact, we may fall for the temptation of believing that He abandons us to depths of despair.  Isaiah again depicts a compelling image of God’s care.  “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.  These are things I will do; I will not forsake them.”  (Isaiah 42:16)  Truly, God’s grace is wonderful and amazing!  He changes the details of our lives into tools of learning.  He utilizes our hardships to teach us about His character and love.  Furthermore, God uses our ordeals to build His character within us.  In so doing, He demolishes the fallacy that He abandons us and reveals His mysterious interworking within our lives.  Similarly, Isaiah assures us that the Lord will send the dawn of a new and brilliant day!

 The waters of life and flames of circumstance engulf us when we lose sight of the Lord.  Matthew 14:22-36 records the story, “Jesus Walks on the Water.”  The disciples are on a boat in the lake during the fourth watch of the night.  The period between 3:00 am and 6:00 am is the darkest and coldest part of the night.  Imagine the waves fiercely pounding the boat.  The temperature of the lake definitely chilled their bodies.  Yet, Jesus appears when death seems near.  He encourages them with the greeting, “Take courage!  It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”  Likewise, God appears mysteriously, miraculously and majestically in our dilemmas.  He sustains us with the power of His presence. 

Almighty God, the "Kardia Gnosis"

Almighty God, the “Kardia Gnosis”

The Lord God Almighty is the supreme “Kardia Gnosis.”  He is the “heart knower.”  In 1 Samuel 16:7, the Holy Spirit rebukes the prophet Samuel.  Under the guidance of God, Samuel traveled to the house of Jesse to find and anoint King Saul’s replacement.  Initially, Samuel interviews the older sons of Jesse.  The prophet allows himself to be seduced by their attractive physical statures, handsome features, fine clothing, impressive voices and commendable external qualities.  With each son, the Holy Spirit tells the prophet that he is not the Lord’s chosen.  As you recall, the Spirit eventually leads the prophet to the youngest son, David, a ruddy, muddy, befreckled, smelly and plain shepherd boy.  The Spirit reminds Samuel, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

God examines the heart to determine whom He uses to spread His gospel and build His kingdom.  He does not consider the resume items of degrees, titles, experience, position, pedigree, salary scale, etc.  In fact, I honestly think that the Lord laughs when we exaggerate our accomplishments and expect Him to be impressed by them.  Really, it is “much to do about nothing” in the eyes of God.  After all, He is the source of “every good and perfect gift.” Frankly, we who are creatures actually insult the Creator by informing Him of talents, gifts and abilities He graciously gave to us.  Talent without faithfulness, commitment and discipline are essentially meaningless.  Therefore, He looks into the closets, corners and crevices of hearts to ascertain whether we possess the requisite spiritual attributes to build His kingdom.

Mainly, God looks for faithfulness in our hearts.  That characteristic distinctly qualifies us for service in the Church, God’s chosen instrument for the transformation of the world.  Some gifted people allow fear, laziness, and procrastination to paralyze them.  They rarely achieve anything substantive in life.  Nonetheless, I posit the Lord bypasses such people when He seeks persons to utilize as the instruments of His peace and the vessels of His love.  Yet, the Lord specially calls people with faithfulness.  The grand “heart knower” looks for this trait in our hearts.

Ancient Israelites considered the heart to be the essence of personhood.  That fact remains to this day!  “Out of the heart flow the issues of life.”  The contents of our hearts more straightforwardly define us than anything we say.  We cannot lie to our hearts.  Additionally, we cannot betray our hearts.  I know people who passed up several chances for advancement because “they did not have the heart” to pursue them.  Recently, a former U.S. Senator from a Southern State retired because he did not have the heart to serve another six-year term.  Likewise in the kingdom of God and the Church, some persons do not possess the right heart for leadership, ordination or promotion.  We face the challenge of acquiring hearts after God’s own heart

God promises to give us a spiritual heart transplant should we be in need of one.  If our hearts wrongly desire the things of the world rather than the things of God, He completely changes our hearts.  He rids them of the self-centered fear.  God assists us to become “other-centered” as we focus upon Him and serve others.  We learn to renounce the acceptable narcissism of the dominant culture.  In Ezekiel 36:26, the Lord offers this grand promise, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

As the “heart knower,” God looks deeply into our character.  More significantly, the Lord looks in our hearts to ascertain whether we really love Him or not.  “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength.”  The “Kardia Gnosis” sees us for who we are!  He does not settle for the external impressions.  Summarily, faith, the combination of belief and trust, is fundamentally a matter of the heart.  It is most clearly evidenced in the actions that emerge from the heart rather than the words that pass our lips. 

Christian Integrity

Christian Integrity

As Christians, we face the challenge of protecting our personal and collective integrity.  The Pauline and general epistles in the New Testament address with the struggle of Christian and holy living.  All believers confront daily tests of making choices consistent with their identities as followers of Jesus.  Relying upon the oral tradition of Christ’s teachings, the early Christians had to define practically a holy and Christian lifestyle.  Central to that task is cultivating honesty, faithfulness and integrity.

Colossians 3:1-15 details the “Rules for Holy Living” and “Rules for Christian Households.”  It appears that very little has changed within the last two millennia.  The apostle exhorts the church at Colosse to “put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed which is idolatry.”  Furthermore, the apostle instructs them: “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.”  Dealing with surrounding social, economic and political pressures of their city and region, how would Colossian believers maintain integrity of their Christian witness?  The Colossian epistle apostle clarifies the difference between the dominant culture and their faith.

Recently, a Christian pastor refused to accept a financial gift from a gentleman who won the Powerball lottery.  You can appreciate the divergence in opinions among believers about this gift.  Some disciples argue there is no express biblical prohibition against gambling.  Some see that money as filthy lucre and a tool of the devil.  They submit that gambling is an act of faithlessness; it excludes God.  The pastor refused the gift because he had recently counseled a family who had lost their home due to gambling addiction.  The pastor could not reconcile accepting gambling money while he was combating its unfortunate effects.  Believing the pastor lived in accordance with his principles, other disciples compliment the pastor for being true to his convictions.  They argue, “You have to protect your own integrity.”

Should a “Christian” lawyer represent drug dealers or murderers?  Should a church accept money from a drug dealer?  The answers to those questions are straightforward morally and nonnegotiable to some persons.  However, the circumstances are far more complex than they appear initially.  How do we reconcile refusing money from a street drug dealer and receiving it from the pharmaceutical industry, which forces senior citizens to choose between medication and food; limits drugs supplies to keep high prices; and arbitrarily extends patents to prevent the distribution of generic drugs?  What about the tobacco industry, which preys upon our children?  If a person is not a chain smoker by age twenty-one, chances are he will not become one.  Therefore, teenagers remain the target of the industry.  These hypothetical situations do not lend themselves to easy resolution. 

Immediately, you may jump for the simplicity and comfort of a black or white position.  Either permit all of these possibilities or none of them.  Rather then being simple, I argue that one would be simple-minded.  In contrast, we have the dilemma of Colossians.  We strive to maintain Christian character regardless of our situations.  A Christian lawyer must clarify his morals, ethics and professional standards in accordance with the norms of scriptures and his relationship with God.  The Bible reveals the holy, just and loving character of the God.  Christians have the priceless privilege of directly knowing and relating to Almighty God.  For that reason, we view our personal and professional choices through the prism of this incomparable and sacred relationship.  Will a Christian lawyer’s relationship with God permit him to defend a pedophile?

A fundamental question remains.  What does it mean to be Christian in today’s world?  The answer is not any easier for us than it was for the church at Colosse.  They did not have the benefit of the canon of Old and New Testament scriptures.  Yet, they accepted the apostle’s directives as they deepen their knowledge of the Lord’s teachings and strengthen their relationship with Him.  We still cope with the daily test of elucidating practicalities of Christian principles, behavior and integrity.

Personal Liberation - The Art of Folrgiveness - Part IV

“Personal Liberation - The Art of Forgiveness – Part IV”

Esau’s personal accountability yields his forgiveness of Jacob.  As Esau straightforwardly admits his shortcomings, he sees that Jacob exploited them.  Equally, Esau reflects upon his choices and sees the ways in which he could have made better decisions.  Perhaps, he discovers that he would have committed the same deeds as Jacob did had he been Jacob?  Nevertheless, the combination of a vibrant relationship with God and an increasing understanding of God’s incredible love enable Esau to forgive his brother.  Esau appreciates God who loves him and also loves Jacob. Esau admits that God’s heart is big enough to love him and his betraying and deceitful brother.  Esau new appreciation for God’s indescribable love empowers Esau to love Jacob and totally forgive him. 

Forgiveness means relinquishment of your right to punishment.  It is synonymous with a pardon in which the original offense is eliminated from the record as if it never occurred.  Absolutely no punishment is given because a crime was never committed.  Additionally, one agrees to allow God to handle the punishment.  God requires our forgiveness of others in order for us to receive His forgiveness.  This spiritual principle of reciprocity runs throughout the Bible. 

Over the course of twenty years, God miraculously works within Esau’s heart.  He transforms it from the heart of a bloodthirsty murderer to a pure channel of love and forgiveness.  In Genesis 33:19, Esau runs to his brother, embraces him, kisses him and weeps with him.  The tenth verse of that passage depicts one of the most powerful portraits of love and forgiveness in the Bible.  Jacob tells Esau that seeing his face is like seeing the face of God.  A man who twenty years previously deeply desired to kill his brother now freely loves him.

I ask “Can anyone say that he or she has looked into your face and seen the face of God because you have forgiven them?”  Esau’s incredible journey to interpersonal healing and spiritual wholeness demonstrates the blessings and liberty that awaits the people who follow his example.  Esau achieves the ultimate freedom because he discards years of negativity.  He becomes a channel of the love, mercy, forgiveness, grace and peace of God.  In addition, he is able to more greatly receive all of those divine attributes.  Accordingly, we stand to obtain the same inner healing and wholeness if we willingly travel Esau’s path to forgiveness.

Personal Liberation - The Art of Forgiveness - Part III

“Personal Liberation - The Art of Forgiveness – Part III”

The end result of blaming God and others is isolation.  I visualize Esau spending lots of time alone.  He might have gone on numerous hunting trips.  Each one of them undoubtedly reminds him of his victimization at the hands of his duplicitous brother and acquiescent parents.  Each time he relives this experience, it drives him further away from all of them.  Moreover, it expands the chasm between God and Esau.  Practically speaking, resentment means to relive hurtful experiences.  Each remembrance re-ignites our anger and quest for revenge.  Like Captain Ahab in Melville’s Moby Dick, resentment and vengeance poisons the mind and hearts of their barrier.  Isolation is a natural result because nothing matters but the fulfillment of one’s thirst for personal satisfaction. 

Interestingly, total isolation allows one to reach for the one Person who is always there.  We utilize our spiritual imaginations when considering the Esau discourse.  Over the course of the twenty years, Esau finds God in a powerful way.  He realizes God did not abandon him.  Esau’s illimitable material blessings infer the depth of his relationship with Almighty God.  This relationship ensues because Esau’ anger dissipates and he turns to the God of his grandfather, Abraham, and his father, Isaac.  Esau eventually understands God’s love extends to everyone including his deceitful brother, Jacob.  He realizes its mercy and forgiveness particularly for persons who are most undeserving.  Esau recognizes the power of God’s love to overcome the greatest personal transgressions.  More significantly, he acknowledges the ability of God’s love to restore broken relationships.  Esau grasps the power of God’s love to repay those who have been harmed.  Time, patience, and nature set the stage for the end of Esau’s isolation and his reach for God.

A very necessary part of re-establishing a relationship with God and ending personal isolation is willingness to assume responsibility for your role in any dilemma.  I posit that Esau was able to accept his role in creating the circumstances of Jacob’s deceptive deeds.  In spite of everything, it is Esau who spit on his birthright and relegates its worth to a bowl of lentil soup.  Esau fails to appreciate the value of the birthright until he loses it.  Esau cannot continually blame his parents for his unwillingness to educate himself about the Laws and blessings of Almighty God.  Why should Esau condemn Jacob for studying the edicts of God while he, Esau, plays tirelessly?  At some point within the twenty-year period of Esau’s isolation, he accepts his character flaws and spiritual immaturity.  This process of self-acceptance empowers Esau to re-establish his relationship with God. 

Personal Liberation - The Art of Forgiveness - Part II

Personal Liberation - The Art of Forgiveness – Part II

I imagine Esau did not trust Isaac and Rebekah for many years.  I doubt very seriously he trusts anyone else for an even longer period of time.  His underlying skepticism arose from Esau’s distrust of Almighty God.  Not able to assume responsibility for any of his actions in the midst of Jacob’s deceit and his parents’ betrayal, Esau looks to God.  Esau ponders why God allows his misfortune to occur.  Esau recalls that the laws of God establish the birthright and blessing.  Should not God have ensured that His divinely ordained system be followed?  Why did God allow this to happen?  Why did not God intervene to stop Jacob’s schemes?  These and other penetrating questions possibly consume Esau. 

Twenty years elapse between Jacob’s escape from Esau’s murderous anger.  That interim period finds both men in their individual wilderness experience of reflection, refinement and renewal.  The Genesis narrative reveals very little about Esau’s happenings.  I find this omission rather regrettable, although I recognize the author’s purpose in detailing God’s use of Jacob to expand His covenant with Israel.  Nevertheless, that period of twenty years is as miraculous in Esau’s life as it is in Jacob’s.  Esau finds genuine forgiveness for his brother.

However, Esau must travel the tough emotional terrain that begins with righteous indignation and ends with personal peace.  Esau justifies his murderous anger toward his brother by insisting upon the correctness of his position.  Jacob broke the Law of Almighty God in his two deceptive deeds.  Rightly, Jacob should suffer the consequences of his actions.  However, does that mean Esau must be the divine agent of punishment?  Esau falls prey to the temptation of cloaking his anger in divine commands.  He confuses his fiery emotions and potential misdeeds with the righteous character of God.  The greatest danger of this mindset is its proclivity to justify sin in the cause of honoring God.  Esau would have killed Jacob had not God intervened through the merciful acts of Isaac and Rebekah.  Anger that results in a greater harm than the original offense does not equal the righteousness of Almighty God.

Righteous indignation produces plots of revenge.  “Principled” anger usually insists upon an equally “principled” punishment.  The one who determines the principles of anger always wants to see the punishment.  Because “anger shuts off the light in the mind,” its intensity always causes some form of blindness.  Esau’s justified rage toward his brother blinds him to the fact that he would leave his parents without a son.  His thirst for vengeance did not allow him to see the consequences of his plans. 

Esau’s refuses to allow for the possibility that Almighty God will adjudicate Jacob’s dastardly deeds.  In his prideful righteous indignation, Esau considers his personal judgment as better than that of Almighty God.  His dismisses the possibility that an all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present and all-kind God is most capable of delivering judgments proportional to the offenses.  What if God fails to use the “right” punishment?  To prevent that possibility, Esau takes matters into his own hands.

Blaming others is a necessary component of righteous anger.  Had Isaac and Rebekah done their part as conscientious parents, then Jacob could not have deceived his brother.  I imagine Esau spent a considerable part of the twenty years blaming his parents.  The text insinuates that he displeases them as a way of repaying them for their complicity in Jacob’s schemes.  Whereas Jacob heads toward his uncle Laban, Esau runs to Ishmael and chooses a wife among his people.  He probably does not speak to his parents for quite some time.  He presumably holds them in contempt for this passive acquiescence of Jacob’s deeds and their direct role in letting this fugitive escape the wrath of Esau’s punishment.  Uncritically reproaching others for our shortcomings is a distinctive feature of righteous indignation.

Personal Liberation - The Art of Forgiveness - Part I

Personal Liberation - The Art of Forgiveness: 

Esau’s Incredible Journey to Personal Wholeness Through His Forgiveness of Jacob Genesis 33:1-19

Quintessentially, forgiveness is a selfish act; necessary for personal liberation.  Esau, the eldest son of Isaac and Rebekah and the twice-cheated brother of Jacob, demonstrates the bountiful blessings, holistic healing, and indescribable peace that awaits people who freely forgive.  Ordinarily, we cite the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who incredibly forgives humankind, past, present and future, as He dies on the cross.  Honestly, it is hard to emulate such a perfect example of forgiveness.  Yes, it is the right thing to do in all instances.  Yet, it is most difficult to practice this way of life.  Gratefully, we also have the more personally applicable example of Esau’s incredible journey to personal wholeness through his forgiveness of Jacob.  Chances are we can relate more directly to Esau. 

Esau travels through the full complement of emotional stages: murderous anger, contempt toward Almighty God, righteous indignation, plots of vengeance, blaming others, depression, isolation, seeking God, acceptance of personal accountability, and living out the principles of forgiveness.  His willingness to relinquish righteous anger and retribution liberates him to enjoy life’s blessings.  Esau’s forgiveness of Jacob greatly rewards Esau rather than Jacob.

You recall Jacob cheats Esau out of his birthright and blessing.  Famished after a long and unsuccessful day of hunting, Esau despises his birthright by accepting a rather costly bowl of lentil soup, from Jacob.  Plotting in his tent, Jacob schemes and takes advantage of Esau’s impulsive behavior and ignorance of the rights and wealth of being a firstborn son.  A trickster in name and character, Jacob exploits his brother’s weakness.  Esau’s acceptance of Jacob’s offer equates with sixty-six percent of Isaac’s estate. 

Jacob, with the complicity of his mother, Rebekah, deceives Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing that Esau should rightly receive.  Returning again from a hunting expedition, this time at the behest of his father, Esau discovers that Jacob has cheated him a second time.  It is hard to calculate the sum that Jacob steals from Esau.  Genesis details lucrative spiritual, financial, and geographical benefits to this blessing which Esau loses in addition to his birthright.  It appears that he will be a pauper, practically speaking.

Understandably, Esau’s emotions erupt like lava.  He determines his anger will only abate with the annihilation of Jacob.  Esau unflinchingly decides upon the course of fratricide.  He does not question the moral implications of his plans.  Jacob’s two-tiered duplicity justifies his murder in Esau’s estimation.  Moreover, Jacob would never be able to harm Esau again.

I imagine we are able to agree with Esau’s state of mind.  When people harm us, we thirst for revenge and punishment.  We desire they feel the same pain that we feel.  We want to see their agony so that we may ask, “How does it feel?”  Our anger might also grow to the point of wishing someone dead.  When we resolve people have gotten away completely free and have not paid for their dastardly deeds, we rationalize our determination to be an agent of divine vengeance. 

Meanwhile, these boisterous feelings and turbulent thoughts consume us.  They transform into a poison of the mind and acid of the heart.  Naturally, we become very cynical.  We find danger everywhere;  conspiracies and potentially dangerous people lurk within the crevices of our minds.  Additionally, our hearts are distrust others.  We assign adverse motives where there are no reasons to do so.  Essentially, we become small-minded and bitter people who operate with ulterior motives of revenge, resentment and punishment.

Don't Forget Your Gifts - 2 Samuel 15:13-27 - Part IV

Don’t Forget Your Gifts – 2 Samuel 15:13-37 – Part IV

Steadfastly and unequivocally, David continues up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot.  The biblical writer vividly portrays David’s destitution.  His physical barrenness symbolizes an even greater psychological and spiritual dilemma.  How could the King of Israel find himself in such a dire predicament?  How could Almighty God whom David had served faithfully allow this horrific circumstance to emerge in David’s life?  David’s eldest son had already killed one of his brothers, one of the king’s sons.  Now, Absalom is maniacally hungry for power; he appears willing to kill his very own father and the rest of his family if it is necessary for him to assume the throne.  Consider the perplexities of David’s thoughts.  How could his oldest son, Absalom, who represented the future of the monarchy to David, be capable of such dastardly deeds? David probably looked forward to the day when he would transfer the reins of authority to his son.  Nevertheless, the great and mighty king of Israel, who personally fulfilled the enduring promises of God’s covenant with Israel by settling the people into the cities of Canaan and developing their cultural institutions, finds himself fleeing from the sword of his own son!  As he escapes this danger, he cries bitterly and weeps loudly with the humiliation of parental sorrow.  The caravan of people accompanying the King also cover their heads and weep along with him. 

The Mount of Olives borders the garden of Gethsemane.  There, the Lord Jesus Christ’s soul is exceedingly sorrowful even to the point of death.  His sweat, symbolizing His grief, compassion, forgiveness, anxiety and sacrificial love, resembles drops of blood.  The Mount of Olives is on the east side of Jerusalem, separated from the Holy City by the half-mile wide Kidron Valley.  It stands 2,680 feet above seal level, meaning that it stands 200 feet higher than the temple area in Jerusalem.  In accordance with Exodus 27:20-21, olives were pressed in the ancient world for oil which was used to provide light in the lamps of that day.  The Israelites had to bring clear oil pressed from olives to keep the lamps in front of the Tent of Meeting where God fellowshipped with humankind.  Aaron and the priests were commanded to keep the lamps burning from evening to morning.  Also, see Exodus 20:42-46 and Leviticus 24:1-4.

The darkness of the Mount of Olives perfectly positions us to see the will of Almighty God.  The biblical writers plays upon this powerful literary image by placing David and then the Lords Jesus Christ in the place that produces light to obtain the will of God.  Ironically, the darkness of our lives positions us to see the will of God in ways that we cannot otherwise.  We cannot see the majesty and magnificence of the stars during the day although they are out.  Only in the darkness can the natural eyes see the stars.  The brilliance of the sun interestingly blinds us to seeing the stars.  However, at night, we easily glance upward and see that the heavens declare the glory of God.

Foreshadowing the scene in Gethsemane, David undoubtedly prays through the shower of his tears.  Feasibly, he appeals to God to reverse this despicable situation.  I imagine that this experience led to the writing of Psalm 126:5-6.  “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.”  “He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.”  We shall come rejoicing bringing in the sheaves.  Additionally, I posit that the 55^th, 73^rd, and 77^th psalms materialized out of this awful experience.

Through the difficulty and the tears, David eventually sees the eternal gifts that Almighty God gives him.  David sees that his earthly love of Absalom is but a shadow of the unfailing love of God.  Second, he understands yet again the unquestionable faithfulness of Almighty God.  Regardless of the circumstances, God steadfastly preserves David.  Third, David once more marvels at the unending grace of God as the Lord returns David to Jerusalem and to his throne where David proceeds, in gratitude, to plan to build a house for God.  If you are in a bleak period of your life, you hopefully will find encouragement in knowing that you are positioned perfectly to receive a revelation of the “good, pleasing and perfect” will of God.

Each adversity ironically contains riches in the rubble.  Excessive reflection upon hardship prevents our ability to see the wealth of myriad challenges.  God redeems and strengthens us in the process.  For this reason, He reminds us, “Don’t forget your gifts,” after a difficult situation.  Look in the rubble of the disaster and discover the invaluable treasure buried beneath the debris.

Don't Forget Your Gifts - 2 Samuel 15:13-27 - Part III

Don’t Forget Your Gifts – 2 Samuel 15:13-37 – Part III

As a consequence in the twenty-fifth verse, David instructs Zadok, “Take the ark back into the city.”  They physical presence of the ark will not necessarily yield divine favor.  If David is to return to Jerusalem, it will happen because it accords with the will of Almighty God.  The timely and perfect performance of a ritual offering possesses little determining significance.  The Sovereign God of the universe may elect graciously to grant David deliverance and safe return.  The king says further, “If I find favor in the Lord’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling again.  But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you, then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.’” 

Let’s examine more closely the theology embedded within David’s pronouncement.  First, he acknowledges that his military acumen and political savvy will not enable him to succeed and return to Jerusalem.  Second, David sends the ark back into the city because he refuses to relate its physical presence with the kindness of God.  Third, David submits that God’s benevolence emerges from His holy, righteous and gracious character.  Observance of human religious rituals and obedience of commandments cannot contradict the sovereignty of God.  Hence, David recognizes whether he receives divine favor depends solely upon the unerring will and perfect providence of God.  Whether David returns to his throne or not, God remains a good and loving deity.  Fourth, David accedes to the spiritual reality that God inherently possesses the right to do whatever pleases Him regardless of whatever humankind thinks. 

David’s words and deeds vividly depict how to rely genuinely upon the will of God.  Friends of mine periodically remind me “to take an action and let go of the result.”  Notwithstanding its inherent and practical wisdom, this saying is most difficult to live.  Simply, I want what I want when I want it.  When, therefore, I take an action I do so with full expectation that I will get what I want.  Rarely, I greet denial and rejection with the calm acceptance that they too may be a part of God’s plan for my life.  Instead, I immediately bemoan yet another instance in which I was foiled in my attempts to live the life that I imagine.  In contrast, David agrees with my friends and strongly recommends that I take appropriate actions and leave the outcomes to an infinite God.

David speaks from the deep reservoir of his experience of God’s unquestionable faithfulness.  A man acquainted with trials, turbulence and myriad tests, the psalmist testifies to the goodness of the Lord in all matters of life.  There was not a single instance in which Almighty God failed to prove Himself faithful in the psalmist’s life.  Whether engaged in the blazing flames of military conflict or a natural confrontation with wild beasts, the psalmist recalls certain deliverance of God in every incident.  Possibly, he recalls Psalm 46 which contains a litany of the various dangers he experienced.  He speaks of natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, hurricanes, mudslides, volcanic eruptions, and flooding.  In the midst of these horrific possibilities, David learns to sit still and observe the salvation and handiwork of God.  In every calamity, God dependably saves the life of the psalmist and mysteriously redeems the experience.

A genuine reliance upon Almighty God means practically that you let go of all of your back-up plans.  You disregard the rolodex and Palm Pilot or Treo.  Instead, you commit or recommit to the process of prayer, fasting, meditation and practice of spiritual disciplines in order to know the will of God.  Furthermore, it requires you to let go of your expectations as to the best possible outcome.  In the words of the prophet, Isaiah 40:28-31, you need to allow the Lord to surprise you.  If you wait patiently for Him, He will design an end result that will supersede your wildest expectations. 

Don't Forget Your Gifts - 2 Samuel 15:13-37 - Part II

Don’t Forget Your Gifts – 2 Samuel 15:13-37 – Part II

There are times in the journey of faith when circumstances coalesce to coerce us to rely genuinely and unconditionally upon the goodness of Almighty God.  Usually, these occasions leave us with very limited options.  Not surprisingly, the available choices are not reasonable and practical opportunities as they would force us to violate spiritual principles and biblical values, equating with spiritual and intellectual suicide.  More practically, we would imprison ourselves to fear and paralysis were we to elect to abide by conditions incongruent with our fundamental common sense of justice and moral correctness. 

The object of his eldest son’s murderous rage and disdain, David flees Jerusalem casting his life upon the will of Almighty God.  The experienced and successful military general, David readily could choose to fight Absalom.  Undoubtedly, he would defeat his son’s forces.  Assuredly, this battle would culminate in Absalom’s death at his father’s directive.  Most probably, countless undeserving women and children, particularly those numbered with David’s household, would lose their lives.  Instead of this unnecessary calamity, David elects to put his life and the lives of his wives, children, concubines, servants and military forces into the hands of Almighty God.  He departs Jerusalem expeditiously; realizing he may never return to this grand and glorious city.  With complete resignation to God’s sovereign prerogative and perfect but sometimes inexplicable will, David leaves knowing he will only return if God extends His grace.

David’s action is not one of cowardice.  He does not leave because he fears Absalom.  David leaves relying upon the unquestionable faithfulness of Almighty God.  Since the days of his youth, David remembers the steadfast love and unending mercy of God.  In departing Jerusalem, David reaffirms his interdependence with the same God who demonstrates His loyal love in all situations.  Further, David avoids a deadly confrontation with Absalom hoping God’s mysterious redemptive ability will intervene miraculously to spare the useless loss of life.  Accordingly, David instructs his men to leave Jerusalem to avoid Absalom’s wrath. 

Average people learn of the magnitude of this political and military unrest.  They gather along David’s escape route to express their love, admiration, support of their beloved king and they unabashedly show their sorrow over this occurrence of familial and national disharmony.  The whole countryside weeps aloud as David’s entire family, his men and their families pass by. 

Zadok and Abiathar as well as all the Levites who were with them brought the ark of the covenant of God.  They set the Ark of the Covenant down and offer sacrifices until all the people leave.  The presence of the Ark of the Covenant and the priestly ritual sacrifices signify divine presence and an appeal for God’s protection upon the king and his family as they evade the murderous rampage of Absalom.  It is a reverential act of blessing and a prayer for survival, safety and return.  At its core, this act is religious and ritualistic.  It cannot equate with the actual presence of God who is not limited by space, time or human actions.  This scene in the countryside conjures images of the Passover and the crossing of the Red Sea.  The presence of the priests, Zadok and Abiathar, and gathering of Levites reminds one of the priests who step first into the Red Sea.  In this scene, they offer to the king and his family the assurance of the presence of God as they embark upon an unknown wilderness.

However, I contend the act of the priests result in religious superstition and ineffective ritualism.  I commend them for seeking to emulate the tradition of the tabernacle which remains with the people of Israel during their wilderness wandering.  Conceivably, they think if the king takes the Ark of the Covenant with him, then he could rest in the assurance that God remains with him.  Parenthetically, they also did not want Absalom and his servants to take possession of the Ark of the Covenant.  Nevertheless, the priests appear to err in their thinking that the physical ark actually equated with the presence of the Lord.  Contemporarily, many disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ equate their edifices for worship and programming with the Church which the Bible states is the collective body of believers who covenant together to do the Lord’s work.  Notwithstanding their commendable intentions, the priests fail to appreciate that nothing replaces the actual presence of God.

Don't Forget Your Gifts - 2 Samuel 15:13-37

Don’t Forget Your Gifts – 2 Samuel 15:13-37

When you experience a “failure” or tragedy, you can easily overlook the gifts of lessons to be learned, forsake previously undiscovered assets of character and disregard reminders of God’s unquestionable faithfulness.  We focus upon pain and disappointment which distract us from seeing many blessings embedded within myriad trials and tests of life.  It is important to mine the rubble of difficult experiences for gifts buried underneath the piles of ruin.  Dwelling upon negative experiences eclipses your ability to see the eternal gifts Almighty God creates out of the rubble of difficult situations.

Meticulously assessing amounts of property damage and inventorying loss of replaceable material possessions after a natural disaster may impede you from giving thanks for the lives of relatives and friends who survived.  Consider the victims of Hurricane Katrina on 29 August 2005.  Many of them actually saw their loved ones die before their very eyes.  I recall the story, told to National Public Radio, of a man who was waiting for rescue on the roof of his house with all the members of his family.  He consistently encouraged them to hang on until help came.  They did so until their feeble human strength gave out.  Then, right before his eyes, he watched all of them float away as they could no longer hold on and succumbed to the flow of the water.  He remains the sole survivor of his family.  A woman whose family all survived and relocated to another city tells Story Corps that she learned that stuff is just that replaceable stuff.  She also shares she learned to put value upon people and relationships and to reduce her valuation of property.  These are the reflections of a woman who lost every material possession she once owned.  The late Hamilton Jordan, White House Chief of Staff to former President Jimmy Carter, who lived with cancer for twenty-five years and bravely fought six different types of the disease found the eternal gift of service as he brought healing and hope to countless thousands of people by advocating for more funding for cancer research. 

I do not assess my experience as the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church Capitol Hill as a failure.  I realize that many of my nemeses will characterize my tenure negatively.  Whereas I greatly regret the reduction in attendees, inability to reclaim those persons who were loosely affiliated, net loss in members, lack of success in recruiting new members and paralysis of the building project, I do not accept the determination of my pastoral service and tenure there as a failure.  That erroneous and uninformed description overlooks the successes in pastoral care, community outreach, social justice ministry, missions outreach programs, preaching, Christian education, administrative excellence, emphasis upon genuine and biblically based spirituality, focus upon children and youth ministries.  I am very tempted to regret accepting the eighteenth pastorate of First Baptist Church Capitol Hill and to relegate the entire time as a colossal waste.  However, I walk way with a laundry list of invaluable and eternal spiritual gifts.  Mysteriously, Almighty God plants seeds of providence in every test and tribulation.  Through the eyes of faith, pull away the garbage and damaged goods and find the wealth of experience and strength of character that God will use mightily as you persevere to the next assignment.

Problems That I Want - Part I

Problems That I Want – Part I

 

Problems That I Want - Haggai 2:1-9 - Part I  - Edwin Hawkins, the Grammy award winning Gospel recording artist, wrote a song entitled, “Be Grateful.”  The lyrics say, “Be grateful because there is someone who is worse off than you.”  Have you ever considered the fact that someone else would welcome your problems and complaints?  When you become resentful about the mortgage payments, do you consider the number of people who have been recently denied?  When you complain about your car, do you think about the people who desperately need a car, any car?  As it relates to your job, when tempted to grumble about being overworked and under paid, do you consider the hundreds of thousands of people who are out of work with stacks of bills growing higher?  Our complaints about the color schemes of our houses, the mileage on our cars and the habits of our colleagues are all problems that someone else wants.

We tend to complain in the midst of both change and complacency.  In the former instance, we do not like making the necessary adjustments.  We prefer to leave things the way that they were.  “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”  “We like it just the way it is/was.”  “Let the good old days last forever because nothing can top them anyway.”  In the latter instance, we stubbornly resist change due to fear of the unknown.  We see any change as a nuisance.  Admittedly, change creates challenges.  In the eyes of faith, problems are new possibilities.  Change presents to us a new set of problems that we should want.

As we grow in faith, we desire additional and greater challenges that will foster more greatly the character of the Lord Jesus Christ within us.  There are “problems that I want.”  Do you want the problem of having so much money left over at the end of the month that you must fast and pray about the ministries and charities to which you will give it?  How about the problem in which you demonstrate the Christian life with integrity and faithfulness to cause the people around you to ask for godly counsel?  What about the possibility of excelling in what you do so that you receive three or four job offers?  What about the challenge of helping your child to turn that one B+ into an A- because all the other grades are As?  What about the hurdle of beating your spouse home to make dinner because you have recently experienced such a renaissance in your marriage that you’re courting each other again?  Are there not problems that you want? 

Problems in the Text - Haggai 2:1-9 - The prophet asks a provocative and penetrating question of the people.  “Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory?”  “How does it look to you now?”  “Does it not seem to you like nothing?”  The people of Israel are witnessing the laying of the foundation of the second temple.  Understandably, those who remember Solomon’s temple fall prey to the easy temptation of cynicism about rebuilding the temple.  “It will never equal the glory and splendor of Solomon’s temple.”  “You can never rebuild a facility with that beauty and majesty.”  “After all, Solomon’s temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world.”  They recall the glorious worship and dedication.  They remember the countless Passover observances in which innumerable people flooded into Jerusalem to worship in the great and glorious temple.  They conclude that the rebuilding project is absolutely worthless.  They feel the affliction of attempting to surpass the glory days.  In their thinking, the problems greatly surpass the possibilities.  The challenge of rebuilding seems insurmountable.  They despair, lament, and complain.  In response to their fear, frustration and hopelessness, the Lord encourages them.   “But now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord.  Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.  Be strong, all of you people of the land, declares the Lord.”

Secondly, the Lord tells them to work.  Work into their problems so that they may resolve them with His grace and guidance.  Often we want to make the “right decision.”  Usually, that means that we desire full knowledge of all of our choices.  Then, we believe that we can make the right decision.  Yet, we generally end up making the best decision that we can given the information that we have.  Of course, we should pray and seek divine counsel as well as that of godly people whose walk with the Lord evidences maturity and wisdom.  Nonetheless, when we live into our decisions endeavoring to make the most out of any opportunities, they become the “right decision.”  In a sense, we can never really know if a choice will be the right one in advance.  Yet, with God’s favor, we can make a better decision as we offer it to Him; ask for His guidance and use the decision to honor and glorify Him.

“And work.  For I am with you, declares the Lord Almighty.  This is what I covenanted with you when came out of Egypt.  And my Spirit remains among you.  Do not fear.”  God alludes to the covenant that He made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David and Solomon.  This is a centuries-old promise God makes on the basis of His character.  Although the people experienced the grave disappointment of captivity and exile, God returns them to Israel for the rebuilding of the Temple and their nation.  In essence, the challenge and work of rebuilding should be a problem that they should want.  Similarly, I again ask you to consider whether the problems that you have reasonably fall with this category?

Problems That I Want - Part II

“The Good Old Days”

We indulge the tendency to lament the passing of the “good old days.”  We fall for the fallacy of believing that the future cannot surpass the past.  We don’t want to try anything new or different.  At a previous job, I worked with people who chose to resign and retire rather than learn new technology.  They were so wedded to paper and their personal systems for handling their work that they refused to enter the information age and travel upon the information super highway.  They could not conceive that the dawning of the technological morn could exceed the old way of business.

We build an existential box in which we live.  Seeking security and stability, we imprison ourselves to outmoded paradigms.  We are so busy looking back that we cannot look forward.  If you were to drive that way, you would constantly be in accidents.  Such is the case with the societal challenges that the Church faces today;  and the entrenched insistence upon utilization continually and uncritically the methodology of a past generation.  Have we had great days in the past?   Yes, most definitely we have.  Those days cannot be taken away nor can they be washed away by the forgetfulness of the current generation.

Grace in the Text - Haggai 2:1-9

The Lord makes a bold promise to His people in the latter verses of this passage.  He promises that the future glory of the new house will exceed the former glory.  In a little while, God will once again shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.  He says that He will shake all nations.  “The desired of all nations will come.”  “I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty.”  “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house, says the Lord Almighty.”  “And in this place I will grant peace, declares the Lord Almighty.”  Practically speaking, God says, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”  “If you think that you once saw my glory, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”  Can you imagine what things will be like for our congregation if we take this promise seriously?  If we took it seriously enough to internalize it.  We have had great days.  Better days are coming.

Grace for Us - Scriptures to Use

Envision  the problems that you want.  Most assuredly, they will be the inverse of your current problems.     Active imagination is central to spiritual growth and personal development.  See yourself dealing with the exact opposite of your current problems.  Consider that your debt will be eliminated.  If you are not in love and alone, think of the many different things that you and your future beloved will do.  If you are not in good health, imagine the days in which you will be in good health.  Create the resolution of all the challenges that you face.  Consider that the solution allows you to honor and glorify Almighty God and serve humankind.  Rejoice over the freedom that will be yours!  In accordance with the teaching of Mark 11:24, lay a hold of the fulfillment of your heart’s deepest desire.

As you continue to imagine new vistas, affirm the foregoing promise.  The days to come will greatly exceed the past.  The apostle Paul captures this sentiment in his letter to the Ephesians.  In the third chapter, the twentieth verse, he says that God is able “to do exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or imagine, according to His power at work within us.”  The question of faith remains for us, “Can He do it through us?”  There is no question that He can do it.  Yet, we wonder whether He can do it through us?  This crisis leads to another one.  Do we believe that the future can surpass the pass?  That question leads to the realization that in order for the days to come to surpass the past we have to make a fundamental commitment to partnering with God to ensure success.  Are we willing to do it?