More Than Lip Service

As I have been reading the book of Isaiah it has struck me how angry God can become. We hear so many messages of God's love, grace, and forgiveness that we can forget all those things come only through the blood of Jesus. Or maybe it was just my own forgetfulness. Isaiah is full of warnings to the rebellious of the destruction awaiting them for their actions. It is easy for us to point the finger at those outside the church as being condemned, but God's word of warning is often directed to those who call themselves believers. 

"The Lord said: Because these people approach Me with their mouths to honor Me with lip-service--yet their hearts are far from Me, and their worship consists of man-made rules learned by rote--therefore I will again confound these people with wonder after wonder. The wisdom of their wise men will vanish, and the understanding of the perceptive will be hidden." Isaiah 29:13-14

This was not given as a warning to those worshiping pagan gods. This was to those who were approaching God! God is not mocked (Gal 6:7). He knows the conditions of our hearts when we approach Him. He knows when our hearts are sincere and when we are simply going through the motions. If our worship is learned by routine, then are we truly worshiping? Shouldn't worship be an extension of God speaking to us and us responding to Him? If our worship follows the same pattern day after day and week after week, then has it become routine? Do we raise our hands out of surrender or simply because we go to a church where people raise their hands? If nobody else was raising their hands, yet we were moved to worship in that way, would we go with whatever is "acceptable" in the current environment or what our heart is prompting? If every worship set at church is exactly 28 minutes long, then haven't we become routine? 

God is very clear in the above verse of the consequences of becoming fake in our walk. Wisdom will vanish! It is no big secret wisdom is lacking not just in our culture in general, but also in the church. Not only is the world a fatherless generation, but the church is lacking spiritual fathers also. Fathers love, but they also discipline. Fathers aren't concerned with being liked as much as they are concerned with teaching Godly instruction. Fathers make decisions not based on what is good for themselves, but what is best for the family. Fathers pray for their children and encourage them to be what God created them to be and not just what they need them to be to further their own agenda. Fathers lead by example not just words. 

Here is another warning found in Isaiah 30:1-3

"Woe to the rebellious children! This is the Lord's declaration. They carry out a plan, but not Mine, they make an alliance, but against My will, piling sin on top of sin. They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, in order to seek shelter under Pharaoh's protection and take refuge in Egypt's shadow. But Pharaoh's protection will become your shame, and refuge in Egypt's shadow your disgrace."

As I reflect over my life and the choices I've made I see how many of my plans I carried out with no regard to God. I lived in direct rebellion to Him and then had the nerve to ask Him to bless what I was doing in rebellion! How often do we live in a way we know is not God's will, but pray for Him to bless what He never chose for us? Yes, God can work all things out for His glory, but I've found it usually doesn't look the way we think it will. I've met men that were decent men, yet I knew in my spirit they were leading me away from my relationship with Christ. Any time something or someone will lead you to stumble in your walk or to sin, it is NOT part of God's plan for your life. Just as the verse above mentions, one sin usually leads to another. Think of the number of abortions happening every day as the result of sexual sin. This may seem an extreme example, but it's a true one. In order to hide the sin of sex outside of marriage, we seek out the sin of murder. And because of our lack of wisdom (see first verse given) we even tell ourselves it's not murder. 

We seek shelter and protection (things of comfort) in things of the world rather than in relationship with Christ. Those things of worldly comfort will always become our shame and disgrace. Comfort in the arms of someone who is not our spouse will lead to a fall. The same is true of drugs, alcohol, and anything else that is not honoring to God. 

I've gone down this road to remind all of us how important it is to be covered by the blood of Christ. Not only to accept Him personally, but to walk the walk and not simply talk the talk. "Woe to those who go to great lengths to hide their plans from the Lord! (Isaiah 29:15) There is nothing hidden from Him! We can put up a front to everyone else, but God sees it all. Not only our actions, but the motivation in our hearts behind the actions. I challenge each of you to spend some time reading Isaiah. It's great to read the encouraging verses and definitely less painful than reading the ones full of rebuke. However, love does not exist where there is no correction. What area of your life does God need to correct today? 

Don't Be Deceived

"Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ. For in Him the entire fullness of God's nature dwells bodily, and you have been filled by Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority." 

Colossians 2:8-10

In our age of scientific advancement, it is easy for us to begin to think we know everything. Or perhaps we recognize we lack knowledge in some areas, but we know just enough to be dangerous. Not dangerous to others, but dangerous to ourselves. I know I have been guilty of seeking knowledge instead of Godly wisdom. What I've found is the more book or world knowledge I gained, the less I turned to God for His help and guidance. I neglect to seek His word regarding simple matters. In my genius moments, I think I know more than Him. The reality is, I know absolutely nothing. 

The wisdom and information of the world is usually not very challenging. God's word challenges. The world tells me to do what feels good. God tells me to do what is good for me. The world says my body is a playground and meant to be used. God tells me my body is a temple and a place for His Spirit to dwell. The world tells me to pursue happiness. God tells me peace and joy are fruits of the Spirit only found through Him. The world says you should fit in with the crowd. God says we are to be a strange and peculiar people. The world says go with the flow so others will like you. Jesus said we will be persecuted just as He was.

What influences your beliefs? Do you abide by biblical standards or do your values mold to fit the current cultural standard? Have you sought God's opinion on popular matters or do you turn to news and entertainment to determine what is acceptable and true? Do you allow Christ to be the final authority on what is "right?" If the Holy Spirit lives in you, then shouldn't your values and opinions reflect His Spirit?

Our world is full of influences contrary to scripture. Hold fast to God's word even in the face of cultural pressure to compromise. Just because popular opinion says something does not make it true. It was popular opinion that killed Jesus. The crowds are often wrong.

Samuel's Call

I was delaying in starting this message because to be quite honest, I had no clue what I was to write about today! So I did the only logical thing I could think to do and that is ask God to show me what He wants me to say. Not that I don't do this every time I write these, but there is usually a theme or topic He lays on my heart and then I find scriptures that align. I started by opening my Bible and cleaning out all the note sheets that have accumulated there over the last few months. While removing one section I felt God telling me to read what was on the page that opened. He directed me to 1 Samuel 3. My Bible titles this section as "Samuel's Call."

While still a young boy Samuel hears God call him. He mistakes the voice of God for that of the priest Eli. This happens several times before Eli realizes Samuel is hearing the voice of God. His instructions to Samuel are to respond to God and not himself. When you were a child, did you have a sense of knowing you would be called to something big some day? Have you heard a voice calling to you, but you thought it was simply to offer your service to man or to whomever was in your authority. Samuel thought he was simply in the temple to be a student to Eli. However, God spoke to him and what he shared was not positive to Eli, his authority. As Eli asks Samuel to share what God has spoken, can you imagine Samuel's thoughts?  We are even told he was afraid to tell Eli of his vision. It is not an easy thing to provide correction to those in authority. However, there are times when God speaks and we must obey. How the authority receives the correction is between them and God. Eli was approachable and even sought out the information from Samuel. I'm sure this made it easier for Samuel to provide the correction. Eli's response to the the rebuke is "He is the Lord. He will do what He thinks is good." I would imagine Samuel felt a bit of relief from this response!

At this point I find it important to go back to 1 Samuel 1 where we find the interaction between Hannah, Samuel's mother, and Eli the priest. In her hurt and in her crying out to God, she is met with scolding from the priest. He assumes she is drunk because it appears she is speaking to herself. Have we ever judged someone in a negative way or assumed there was sin in their lives, when in reality what we witnessed was their attempt in drawing closer to God? The way we interact with God varies with each person. Once Hannah explains she is hurt and simply petitioning God (she was pleading for a son), Eli sends her away in peace and speaks life over her by requesting God grant her plea. The next morning Hannah and her husband wake early to bow and worship God. It is after they return home when Hannah conceives Samuel..

When she had been in the temple she had vowed to return the gift of a child back to the Lord. As soon as Samuel was weaned, she returned him to the temple to live. She returns and reminds Eli of their previous meeting. She is not hesitant or reluctant in leaving Samuel. Her prayer is recorded in 1 Samuel 2. God truly opened her womb because she later gives birth to three more sons and two daughters. We are told in this same chapter of the sin of Eli's sons. Did Hannah know this was happening? Did she have any reservation of leaving her son not just with Eli, but in the company of his disobedient sons? I can't help but wonder if she had chosen to "keep" Samuel, if she would have received the further blessings of offspring.

I have mentioned the beginning of the story to emphasize the importance of being a Godly mother. Hannah's faith led to her sacrificing her son into God's kingdom. Would he have heard God's voice had he not been offered as a "sacrifice" by his mother? I believe it's because of Hannah's faithfulness to God that Samuel was positioned to be used by God and to audibly hear His voice at such a young age. We all want great things for our children. However, our hearts cry for them should be only that they would be used by God, in whatever way that looks.

I am not posting the text for today's topic because it covers several chapters. Please take the time to read 1 Samuel 1-3 on your own. I would love to hear your feedback on these scriptures and how they speak to your life .

Exodus Thoughts

This morning in my Bible reading I am in Exodus starting in chapter 17. I am having numerous thoughts as I'm reading and instead of posting short Facebook status updates I thought I would sit down and write them all out here. I think I will do them in "quick hit" fashion.

• Chapter 17 tells us when Moses raised his arms, the Israelites prevailed in battle. When he grew tired and his arms became weak and lowered, they began losing the battle. It was at this point when Aaron and Hur supported his raised arms for him. God positioned them to be there with Moses. Our walk and our battle is never to be faced alone. We will become tired. When we become tired we can begin to lose our battle. This could be in the area of sin or temptation. Look at those around you and see who God has placed into your life to hold you up. Be honest with those people and let them know when you are weak. You might be surprised at who is waiting to help you keep fighting and winning this fight. 
• In Chapter 18 Moses is visited by his father-in-law Jethro (and you thought Jethro was just a dumb hillbilly in Beverly Hills). During this visit Jethro observes Moses spending hours upon hours settling disputes between the people. Jethro questions the wisdom in these proceedings. He suggests Moses appoint leaders to handle the smaller disputes and bring the more complicated ones to Moses for guidance. So many times I've witnessed people in leadership, both in the corporate world and also in ministry, who are unable to release decision making to others. If you are a leader or the "head" of a team or department, part of being a good leader is trusting those on your team to make decisions. Will you always agree with their decisions? Probably not. However, this does not mean their choices are necessarily wrong, only different. We must be willing to allow others to operate in their calling by releasing some of our "power" to them. If people are unable to operate in their own creative giftings, then you could be hindering God's call on their life. When we find ourselves unable to trust others to make small decisions, then there is an inner control or power issue we need to examine closer. We have to trust them to bring us the bigger, more difficult decisions, yet allow them freedom in the smaller things.
• My takeaway from Chapter 19 is a bit strange. In God's conversation with Moses he commands him to tell the people to purify themselves and wash their clothes because in three days the Lord would descend on Mount Sinai. Moses in turn tells the people to wash their clothes and be prepared by the third day. Then he adds, "Do not have sexual relations with women." I checked a couple different translations to make sure it was not just my version that had me confused. I wonder if God said that or did Moses add the "do not have sex with your wife part." 

• Chapter 20 brings me to the Ten Commandments. I could write on each one, but I don't feel led to do so at this time. I'm only going to touch on the ones that jumped out at me today.

1. The fifth commandment tells us to honor our father and mother. This seems to be a commandment lost on many people in today's society. I hear so many children speak disrespectfully to their parents. I wish I was only referring to young children or teenagers, but some of the worst offenders are adults. Notice the command is not to honor the actions of our parents, but to honor them or their position as our parents. This command was given before the commands to not murder, commit adultery, steal, or lie. This sin is just as "big" as these others and yet we seem to weigh it as less offensive. The decision to honor my parents was one I had to consciously make a few years ago. No matter what has happened, my dad will always be my dad. If I am unable to show honor to my earthly parents, how can I adequately show honor to my Heavenly Father?
2. The tenth commandment tells us to not covet our neighbor's house or belongings. In a society of "keeping up with the Jones'," it would seem this is another commandment we have severely forgotten. How many of us see someone talking about their new iPhone and think, "oh man, I wish I had one." Commandment.....broken. OUCH! How much more content would we be in our lives if we focused on being aware of this one commandment? Possessions would lose their value. We would gain more peace inside. We would also begin to fully appreciate the gifts God has given to us instead of striving to attain more and more things.
3. I laughed aloud when I read verse 19: "You speak to us, and we will listen, " they said to Moses, "but don't let God speak to us, or we will die."  I find this typical of many people today. We would prefer God speak to our Pastor and we will listen to what he has to say, but we don't want God to actually speak to US. Something happens when we listen to the voice of God. The Israelites had it correct because when God speaks directly to you and not through a third person you will die. You begin to die to yourself. You die to the world. When you hear His voice and not the voice of man, your life will change!

So there you have some of my random thoughts. I would love to hear yours!