Have you ever wondered why the children of Israel didn’t serve God with joy and gladness? Deuteronomy 28:47 says, “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart…” and it goes on to describe the bondage that would befall the Hebrew people because of their hardened hearts. They saw plenty of signs, wonders, and miracles performed every day, so why weren’t they filled with joy?

I think we could ask ourselves that same question! Some times we lose our perspective when things aren’t going the way we think they should. When our hopes and expectations aren’t met, our hearts aren’t exactly what you’d call “glad.”

Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” That’s the way it was with the children of Israel. Their hearts were sick. The problem was that their hope was in everything but the Lord. Their hearts weren’t aligned with the heart of the Lord, and their plans and goals for their lives had little to do with His plans. Has that ever been true of you?

In Romans 5: 3,4 it says, “…we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope…” Now that’s a really wild thing. I would not have ended with hope if I were writing that scripture. You know what I mean? You start with hope! You hope your marriage will be happy, you hope your kids will grow up to love and serve the Lord, you hope your job will provide enough money to feed your family. Every human being in their right mind starts with hope! But this scripture ends with hope.

The hope you start with can easily disappear, but hope that comes forth as the result of tribulation and perseverance and proven character – that kind of hope doesn’t  disappoint. You can take that kind of hope to the bank. God is in the process of letting each one of us work our way through to this thing called “hope.” Real hope. Radical hope. You know, when we first give our lives to the Lord, we start to excitedly make plans about what we’re going to do and what we’re going to accomplish for God. We have a long shopping list of hopes and dreams for the future. We’re just so excited about the endless possibilities of our new life in Christ, and we say, “I’m going for it!” So you start praying and planning and hoping. But how many of you have found that many of those goals are never realized? You’re praying like crazy, you’re fasting and believing, you’re giving it your very best shot – but nothing is happening.

Remember the disciples on the road to Emmaus? Luke 24:21 gives a real clue as to why they were so downcast: “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.” They were hoping . . . but hope deferred makes the heart sick. These disciples’ hearts were sick. These were men who had given their all, and now they believed their hope had just died on a cross at Calvary. But Jesus said to them, “‘0 foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter His glory?’ And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:25-27)

That’s very much like the words of the angel who spoke to the women at the empty tomb. In Luke 24:6, we’re given a clue as to what we’re supposed to do when we find ourselves downcast and without hope. The angel spoke an incredibly important exhortation from the heart of God: “Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee.” Remember? We need to remember God’s words to us. Hope lies in God and His promises to us – not in the changing circumstances of this world.

Think about people you know who have started out so strong in their Christian walk only to abandon everything a few years down the road. Think about what those people were like. Weren’t they usually the “sprinters” who started out with great hopes and high expectations? But when things didn’t work out as they’d planned, they couldn’t handle the disappointment. Instead of readjusting their misplaced “hope,” they just disappeared from the Body of Christ. There seem to be a lot of “sprinters” in the Body of Christ today, but not a whole lot of “long-distance runners.” Yet the most crucial part of our race (Hebrews 12:1) comes at the end. Those who make a strong finish are those who have exchanged their earthly hope for radical hope. The “end of the sentence” kind of hope that will not lead to disappointment.

The key is this: to fix our eyes upon Jesus. He is the author and the finisher of our salvation. Galatians 3:3 says, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” So many of our disappointments come when we start trying to work out our own “goals and agendas” in the flesh. And the Lord says, “No, don’t do that.”

We live in a society that is so production-oriented. Several years ago I read an article by Charlie Moore, I loved what he said:

“The culture I was raised in believed that a man is only worth what he can produce, so when I started out as a pastor I was ready to produce a perfect bunch of Christians. Yet God had other plans – and right now I’m producing new bodies on old cars. I know the Lord led me to open this auto body shop, but recently I lost hope as I spied the stack of bills on my desk. I felt overwhelmed as I said, “God – this can’t be Your will. I’m doing all I can do and I still have all these bills. There are no more hours in the day left for me to labor!”

And so night after night I paced up and down on the road in front of my house crying out, “God! Pay these bills!” Now I’d been praying like this for many months, and nothing was changing. And finally one night the Lord quietly spoke to my heart and simply said, “Charlie, seek My face. Just seek My face.” That’s all He said to me.

So I began to do that. I began to just seek the Lord’s face and His presence, and a wonderful thing happened. As I began to focus on God, those heavy burdens and concerns began to slowly melt away. The pressures didn’t lift – instead God lifted me! The Lord gave me a hope that was not controlled by circumstances – a hope that is not of this world. I don’t pretend to have “attained” some spiritual superiority through this, but I really want to encourage you to take your misplaced hope and put it in God… and God alone.

Can you imagine having a set of values so radically different that your happiness doesn’t depend on your circumstances? Years ago I remember driving down the street and getting mad as I watched people coming out of a bar. I got mad because those people weren’t serving God – but was I mad for God’s sake? No! I was angry because they weren’t fitting into my religious program. Paul said, “I die daily.” But what did he die to? He died to his earthly hopes. He died to his idea of the way things should be. He died to his perfect agenda for the Christian life.

Does your hope lie in balancing your checkbook… raising perfect children… a nicer house… a newer car… a fuller Sunday School class… a better-paying job… more respect from your co-workers? Do you realize the thing that’s now causing you the greatest frustration is probably just what God is using to shift your focus to Him? Go ahead – make the shift! It is only at our point of greatest despair that our goals (worldly hopes) are exchanged for God’s goals (radical hope).

Let me give you a good piece of advice: Stop waiting for circumstances to make you happy. You’ll be on an emotional roller coaster the rest of your life if you insist on putting your hope in earthly events. But if you turn your eyes to God and faithfully seek His face, you’ll begin to experience the peace that passes understanding. It’s that peace Paul felt in the Philippian jail. It’s the peace that came upon Stephen as he was being stoned to death… and the peace David found in the barren wilderness of Israel as he sought the Lord’s face.

In Psalm 16:11, David said, “Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.” David wasn’t happy because of his circumstances – he was happy because his hope was in God! We need to fix our gaze upon the Lord Jesus Christ and hope in Him. Hope only in Him.

David says, “I was always beholding the face of God.” Isn’t that an awesome statement? David’s priority – the one thing he desired above all else – was to constantly behold the beauty of the Lord (Psalm 27:4). My friends, you will never see that destiny worked out in your life that God has ordained and set you apart for unless you fix your gaze upon the Lord. If we continue to be people who compare ourselves to one another and set goals based on the precepts of men – we will never be effective for God. We’ll just become like the children of Israel – a bunch of hard, critical, downcast, sad people who never entered the promised land.

It’s a humbling thing to lay down our earthly hopes and expectations, but for some of us it will be the greatest step of freedom we’ve ever taken. You just surrender yourself to the Lord, and say, “God, I’m going to just let You do what You want to do in my life. Maybe I’m not supposed to be a [you fill in the blank] – maybe I’m supposed to [fill in whatever you are doing right now] and serve in the local church. You show me who I am and what I’m supposed to do.”

I think that’s the cry of all of our hearts: “What am I?” God knows what you are, but you will only find out as you fix your gaze upon Him.

Some of the hopes we’ve entertained are nothing but the “worries of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things…” (Mark 4:19). Our goals have been our own and not necessarily God’s goals for us. We need to be humble enough to say, “God, I’ve put my hope in everything but You. Take away my hope for ‘other things’ …and give me the hope that does not disappoint.”

Let your goals proceed from the mouth of God. Don’t let them be empty schemes you’ve held onto from your past or from comparing yourself to others – that’s death and discouragement. The Lord wants us to put our hope in Him. Seek Him. And when God speaks His word to your heart, that will be a word you can take to the bank.

“My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.”
Psalm 62:5,6

Some folks were recently asking me about my training and all. Wondering which Seminary or Bible School I had attended and I kind of chuckled and told them that I attended the same school as Paul, the school of the Holy Ghost.

That’s been my usual response, but I hope everyone knows I have nothing against Seminaries or Bible Training Centers, they’re great, It’s just not the direction the Lord has led me. But be that as it may, I was going through one of my more favorite books, Hebrews, and I’ve read this so many times I can’t remember, but this time somthing jumped out at me. It’s from the eighth chapter of Hebrews (this one from The Message):

“But Jesus’ priestly work far surpasses what these other priests do, since he’s working from a far better plan. If the first plan-the old covenant-had worked out, a second wouldn’t have been needed. But we know the first was found wanting, because God said,

Heads up! The days are coming
when I’ll set up a new plan
for dealing with Israel and Judah.
I’ll throw out the old plan
I set up with their ancestors
when I led them by the hand out of Egypt.
They didn’t keep their part of the bargain,
so I looked away and let it go.
This new plan I’m making with Israel
isn’t going to be written on paper,
isn’t going to be chiseled in stone;
This time I’m writing out the plan in them,
carving it on the lining of their hearts.
I’ll be their God,
they’ll be my people.

[Now here's the part that hit me . . .]

They won’t go to school to learn about me,
or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons.
They’ll all get to know me firsthand,
the little and the big, the small and the great.
They’ll get to know me by being kindly forgiven,
with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean.”

Isn’t that cool? That same Holy Spirit is in YOU! One of His roles in your life is as a teacher–to lead you into all the truth, the Bible says. Yippee! Start letting him teach you . . . then as Paul wrote in another letter, you can teach others about God’s care and love for them!

Life’s greatest calamity, from Yehoveh’s perspective, is that people will die in sin. In one sentence Christ twice warned, “I told you that you would die in your sins, if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins” (John 6:24). Sounds simple enough, but you still want to argue with him . . .

Forget earthquakes or asteroids falling on top of you or melting from global warming. The ultimate disaster is carrying your sins to your casket. Heaven cannot fathom a worse tragedy. And heaven couldn’t offer a greater gift that this one: “Christ . . . never sinned, but he died for sinners that he might bring us safely home to God” (I Peter 3:18).

Can I urge you to trust this truth? Let your constant prayer be, this: “Lord, I receive your work. My sins are pardoned.” Trust the work of God for you. Then trust the presence of Christ in you. Take frequent, refreshing drinks from his well of grace. You need regular reminders that you are not fatally afflicted! Don’t live as though you are.

My friend, if you have sworn your allegiance to Jesus’ work, He indwells you! “The blood of Jesus . . . purifies us from all sin” (I John 1:7). So there is no need of the guilt on our faces; there should be no regrets over your past actions and words; there is no reason for you to carry that shame. We should live with a smile and a skip and a sparkle in our eyes!

Inspired by the writings of Max Lucado

I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:26). I have long ago made that my prayer, too . . .

Jesus said that He had declared the name of the Father to His disciples, that is, He showed them what the Father was like. He did this for one overriding purpose. Jesus wanted His disciples to love Him like His heavenly Father loved Him. He wants the love that His Father has for Him to be in His disciples.

It is through the power of His Spirit in us that we can live our lives with a consuming passion for our Lord. The Father loves the Son more than anyone or anything else. He is devoted to the Son. His eyes never leave the Son. All that the Father does He does for the Son. Jesus prayed that we would be driven by that same single-eyed passion.

Martha sister Mary had this kind of passion for Jesus. She wasn’t an apostle or leader; but the Son of God had great prominence in her heart. When Jesus was around she couldn’t bear to think of food or any other necessities in life. All she wanted to do was sit at His feet and listen to Him (Luke 10:38 ff.).

Ooh, but not just that, Jesus loved being around Mary. When the time for His last Passover drew near and He knew that He only had six days before the cross, where do you think He chose to spend those six days? He went to Mary’s house (John 12:1 ff.).It’s not at all difficult to see what drew Him to Mary’s house. While He was there, in the presence of all the disciples, Mary brought out a jar of costly perfume. This perfume probably represented her life savings or her wedding dowry. She broke it and poured it on Jesus. She wasted the most precious possession she had on the Lord Jesus. She did this out of her extravagant affection for Him. She was going to pour out her whole life on the Lord. There was no mediocrity in her feelings for the Him. She was a woman consumed by a holy passion for the Son of God.

How about you? Some believers celebrate the Church tradition of Lent where they “give up” Pepsi or going to movies for 40 days. How silly. I’m not interested in what you are willing to sacrifice to follow Jesus, the question is what “things” have fallen away since you came to Jesus . . . and what things are standing in the way of not just following Him, but being consumed with a passionate obsession?

Come to think of it, a son can obey his father for reward or for fear of punishment, and actually neither like nor love his father much at all. A husband can be a faithful and kind provider to his wife without having much love or passion for his wife. What wife would settle for a relationship like that? Why do we think God would be willing to … Read Moresettle for simply raising your hand one Sunday morning as you accept His salvation if it isn’t accompanied by a consuming passion for His Son? After all, isn’t the greatest commandment to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength?

However, that passion is a sword that cuts both ways. Jesus also had great affection for Mary. When Mary… Read More’s brother Lazarus died, Jesus came to their home four days later. Martha was the first to greet the Lord Jesus. She said to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus responded to Martha by giving gone of the greatest theological teachings in all the Word of God: “I am the resurrection and the life.”

But, when Mary met the Lord Jesus just a few moments later; she said exactly the same words that Martha said, “Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died.” (John 11:17-38) However; when Mary said these words, Jesus wept and then He walked to the tomb and raised Mary’s brother from the dead.

Write this down: A person like Martha could get a great theological teaching out of Jesus. A person like Mary could break His heart and move Him to raise someone from the dead. People who have Mary’s passion for the Lord Jesus can move Him in a way that others can’t. Which do you want to be?

Amazingly, when Jesus arrived on the scene, something incredible took place. Not only did He free men from the law of sin and death, He also set people free from the religious seesaw they’d been chained to by the Pharisees and Sadducees. He gave the human race something they’d been lacking for a long, long time: an accurate picture of what God is really like.

Who Were The Pharisees?

Let’s look at the Pharisees. The most important thing you need to remember about the Pharisees is that they were truly men of the Word. These men committed to memory all 39 books of the Old Testament, including the full texts of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Deuteronomy! But despite all their knowledge, they missed Jesus. How many people like that do you know? They are committed to the truth of God yet they somehow miss the living Christ.

The Pharisees of Jesus’ time missed Jesus because of the attitude in which they held truth. The Bible talks in Ephesians 4:15 about “speaking the truth in love.” Although the Pharisees excelled in “truth,” they fell sadly short when it came to love.

The Pharisees were harsh. They continually misrepresented God as a “can’t wait to rain fire and brimstone on you” type of deity. They were men that Jesus said would strain at a gnat, but then swallow a camel. In other words, they majored on minor points. They made a big deal about things that really didn’t matter. They were committed to truth at any cost, and they didn’t care who they destroyed in order to protect that truth.

Even the disciples battled that attitude. When Samaritans in a certain town refused to receive Jesus, two disciples went to Him and said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” (Luke 9:54) But Jesus answered, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” (Luke 9:55-56)

I don’t know exactly what to call that spirit, but it’s still alive in America today. Remember when heretics were burned at the stake during the Middle Ages? Well it isn’t socially acceptable to burn people at the stake today, so now we just write books against them! Call it what you will, friends, but I call that a pharisaical spirit.

And that spirit is widespread in the body of Christ right now. There are books being written today on things that really don’t matter. It just isn’t that big a deal to prove yourself right on minor points of theology when billions of people are perishing without Jesus!

But the Pharisees taught us all a valuable lesson: that it is entirely possible to be committed to the truth of the Word, and yet not be walking in the greatest of all God’s commandments – love.

You see, I can say that because for years that described me! I was so insistent on the accuracy of the Word, I was often very harsh and judgmental. It took a fresh breath of the Holy Spirit (and some time of great humbling), to shake that attitude out of me. (Although I still cling to some habits that are hard to break, as evidenced by my continual rants that my wife has to listen to).

Who Were The Sadducees?

In contrast, the Sadducees were different. First, they didn’t accept to teachings of a resurrection (hence the joke: that’s why they were sad-you-see) (hee hee) But they were a very wealthy group of guys who sat around and dialogued on philosophical ideas – sort of a wealthy and powerful men’s club. They had a “let’s not rock the boat” mentality which caused them to live a life of compromise.

They were the ones who held most of the power – and all of the money. They were more concerned with outward appearance than with eternal values. A Sadducee’s reputation in society was more important to him than a personal relationship with God.

What about today?

If you look at the Body of Christ today, you’ll see we have both Pharisees and Sadducees in an overwhelming abundance. We have people who will kill you for what they consider to be “incorrect doctrine” (which I recently encountered on a post on another blog) And then we have others saying, “Hey, let’s just embrace everything and reach the lowest common denominator. If you sin a little, what difference does it make? We’re just human after all!”

Well, 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ walked right into the middle of this same religious situation. Here was God in human form, walking upon the earth for the first and only time in history – and guess what? He wasn’t a Pharisee or a Sadducee!

God’s True Representative

Before Jesus came on the scene, there was no accurate representation of God. God had been misrepresented by the legalism of the Pharisees, and His character had been watered down by the compromising philosophy of the Sadducees. You might think, “What a sad situation those people must have been in!” And you’re right! But, sadly, many Christians today are in that same situation.

The Body of Christ is plagued by extremes. Sometimes new Christians who’ve just come out of sinful lifestyles tend to be hard-line and Pharisee-like (been there, done that). Or young people who have come to Christ after being raised in a harsh or legalistic home may tend more towards being like the Sadducees: “Hey, everything’s cool. Let’s just get rid of all the nuclear warheads and fundamentalists – then we can fully enjoy the earth experience.”

That is a natural pattern of growth in our spiritual life. We used to say that every new believer should be locked up for a few years to settle into the Truth.

You see, the Pharisees and Sadducees were the opposite extremes – but is it possible to hate sin and not be a Pharisee? Is it possible to be compassionate and not compromise like the Sadducees? YES! It must be possible – because Jesus did it! He is our perfect example. He hated sin yet majored in love and compassion. And He never compromised. He was never a Pharisee, and never a Sadducee. He was the true representation of the character of God.

The Unchangeable Character Of God

Many times we interpret God’s character on the basis of what we have experienced in our own lives. But here’s a little principle to keep in mind: never interpret God by circumstances. Always interpret circumstances in the light of what you know the unchangeable character of God to be.

Take a look at Matthew 9:9-13:

“And as Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax office; and He said to him, ‘Follow Me!’ And he rose, and followed Him.

“And it happened that as He was reclining at the table in the house, behold many tax-gatherers and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples.

“And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, ‘why is your Teacher eating with the tax-gatherers and sinners?’

“But when He heard this, He said, ‘It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Now Jesus Christ did some pretty unusual things. First of all, He called Matthew, a hated tax collector, to be His disciple. Not only did He call him, He went to eat at his house!

Think about Jesus, the holiest man who ever graced a human body, eating with tax collectors and notorious sinners. That would be today’s equivalent of Jesus sharing a pizza with drug dealers and pimps! But Jesus gained this reputation for being the friend of sinners, and the Bible says they came to eat with Him. He didn’t have to persuade them to come, they just enjoyed being near Him.

Today, if you walk out on the streets of any city in this nation and ask non believers what they think about Christians, you’ll usually get a response like, “They’re self-righteous and legalistic. They stab each other in the back.” But Jesus wasn’t like that! He couldn’t have been, otherwise sinners wouldn’t have come near Him! Jesus was every thing the Pharisees claimed to be, yet sinners liked to be around Him.

Do sinners like to be around us? It’s easy to be loving at church, but could we sit at the same table with a pimp or a drug dealer? It’s a hard call, friends – but Jesus did just that. And the fragrance of Christ overwhelmed the stench of sin.

Jesus Was Not Threatened By Sinners

Jesus absolutely hated sin, but isn’t it interesting that He was relaxed in the presence of sinners? This is almost impossible for us to imagine! The “norm” for Christians has too often been to totally withdraw from the world for fear of it wearing us down or overwhelming us. We’ve repeated that behavior over and over again in church history, even to the point where believers have totally withdrawn themselves from the world in order to be free of its stain. Strangely enough, Jesus Christ (who is in you, by the way!) never had to do that.

Jesus’ response to humanity was to show compassion. Everything He did in the Gospels was to exemplify the Father (John 14:9) and to serve the needs of humanity. This is portrayed in John 13:3-5 when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet during Passover. The disciples had a hard time grasping what Jesus was doing when He took off His outer garment (which basically meant He stripped down to His underwear!), girded Himself with a towel, filled a basin with water, knelt down and started washing their feet.

Now you may not be able to sense the intense emotion of this moment but you should see the eyes of people when I teach this message! In the Oriental culture, the foot is the lowest part of the body – the dirtiest and most unmentionable part. Do you get the picture? Now let’s go back into the room and watch as this man stands m His underwear, fills a basin with water, kneels down, and starts washing feet. This is Jesus – the One who walks on water, raises the dead, heals blind eyes, and multiplies a boy’s lunch to feed 5,000. This is the eternal Messiah who is going to rule the universe forever! How could He pull a stunt like this?

Peter wouldn’t let Jesus touch his feet because the only people who ever touched feet in that culture were slaves! By washing Peter’s feet Jesus wasn’t just teaching servanthood and total loss of reputation -He was fully identifying Himself with the lowest human beings on the social ladder.

Jesus knelt down and held in his hands one of the dirtiest and most unmentionable parts of a human being – then He washed it clean. Many people probably thought, “Holy men don’t touch feet! There’s noway anybody’s ever going to think He’s the Son of God now!”

Jesus knew He was blowing their neat concept of holiness, yet He simply acted with compassion in response to a human need. Friends, if we don’t meet the needs of humanity, who cares if there is Christianity? Who cares if there is a church on every corner? Jesus Himself reminded us in Matthew 9:13: “I desire compassion and not sacrifice…” Have we really grasped what Jesus was saying here? Why are so many of us still concentrating on how “sold out” and spiritual we can be – even if that has nothing to do with compassionate concern for the needs of other human beings?

Selah . . .

Inspired by a teaching from Dean Sherman , back in 2007

We are watching the destruction and total dismantling of the US Constitution. There is rampant dis-information and junk science calling for Global Warming (which has been disproved, so they now call it Global Climate Change). Daily we hear news regarding the outbreak of terror and calamities happening throughout the earth. Every day we wake up to learn of another disaster. Some observers say we are witnessing the beginnings of World War III. The whole world is trembling right now .

Non-believers are becoming convinced there are no solutions left, that everything is spinning into chaos because there is no “all-seeing governance.” But how are God’s people, who are supposed to know differently, supposed to respond?

Well, the truth is that there is no reason to fear. The Bible reminds us again and again the Lord has everything under control. Nothing happens in the world without his knowledge and governance.

The Psalmist writes, “The kingdom is the Lord’s: and he is the governor among the nations” (Psalm 22:28). Likewise, the prophet Isaiah declares to the world, “Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein” (Isaiah 34:1). He’s saying, “Listen, nations, and give me your ear. I want to tell you something important about the Creator of the world.”

Isaiah states that when God’s indignation is aroused against nations and their armies, it is the Lord himself who delivers them to slaughter. “Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance…. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing…. It is he [God] that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers…. To whom then will ye liken me?” (Isaiah 40:15, 17, 22, 25).

Isaiah then speaks to God’s people, who are battered and troubled by world events. He counsels, “Look up to the sky, to the glorious heavens. Behold the millions of stars placed there. Your God created and named every one. Are you not more precious to him than they are? So, fear not.”

We are to know there is a map in heaven, a plan that our Father has outlined for the course of history. And he knows the end from the beginning. As this plan comes to fruition, I believe we are to ask ourselves this question: “Where is the Lord’s eye focused in all this?” God’s eye is not focused on the world’s tin-god dictators or their threats.

Scripture assures us these wild men’s bombs, armies and powers are as nothing to the Lord. He laughs at them as mere specks of dust, and soon he will blow them all away (see Isaiah 40:23-24).

As long as Sha’ul lived there was bitter war against the P’lishtim. Whenever Sha’ul saw any strong or courageous man, he recruited him into his service —I Samuel 14:52

Lately I’ve been going through each book of the Old Testament and while studing I Samuel I reached one of my more favorite chapters, chapter 14, The final verse  reminded me that the defeat of the Philistine garrison at Mikhmas in no way equated to the subduing of the Philistines in general. Despite the several military activities and victories of King Saul, the Philistines remained intact and a constant source of trouble for Israel. I can do no better than to quote Dr. David Tsumura about where things stood with Saul as a transition from 1^st Samuel chapter 14 to chapter 15:

“Humanly speaking Saul continued to make progress in strengthening Israel’s military power and administration. His drastic failure will come not from his mishandling of the people or his enemies, but from his neglect and disobedience to God’s Word.”

It was this neglect and disobedience to Israel’s God by Israel’s king that not only eventually proved to be fatal for King Saul and his sons, but also allowed Israel’s enemies to survive and fight another day as a never ending source of oppression and trouble for God’s people.

It’s a lesson that while preached and recorded and commented on in history books, and lamented especially by the elderly of every generation the lesson goes on ignored.

It’s a lesson that modern day Israel refuses to acknowledge and makes the same mistakes that their ancestors made. The Lord says not to tolerate shrines to pagan gods in their midst, and Israel is full of them. The Lord says to drive out God’s enemies from the land, and instead Israel tries to make peace with them. The Lord says never to give away any piece of the Kingdom of God, and Israel only negotiates how little or much they must give away to attain respect and friendship with the world.

It’s a lesson that our precious Church, itself a gift left by our Messiah, fails to grasp. A lesson that says that obedience is the only acceptable demonstration of love to God that humans have been given. And yet false doctrines have arisen that irrationally proclaim that Christian obedience to God’s Word is legalism and that obedience isn’t only a thing of the past but something to be shunned. Since Messiah’s advent we are to primarily demonstrate love of God in the form of affection and feelings of warmth towards Him and our fellow man.

Our Christian leadership often has no fear of creating self-serving doctrines and then attaching the Lord’s name to them. On the other hand the modern Christian congregation feels no obligation to seriously examine God’s Word and compare it to our leaders’ proclamations; we assume that if a man of the cloth says it, we have no obligation to do anything but to believe it and accept it as truth. That if we are given false information and we decide to live by it, that it’s his sin and not ours. The he will bear the consequences, not us.

It is a lesson that says that while we might wish we could separate ourselves and our fate from our leadership, things just don’t (and never have) worked that way. The Lord indeed bestows His redemption on us, individual by individual, as He deems it appropriate. But almost all else in this world is interconnected. The most despotic tyrants this earth has ever known, even those loathed by his own people, will in time drag his nation down with him. It is the fear of that leader that usually keeps the people from taking courageous action, preferring instead to hope that “something” (whatever that is) will happen that will remove him and save them. But in the end it’s the people who are held accountable before God for their inaction in the same way that the leader is held accountable before God for his actions.

I wonder how much more will a free nation of citizens who are given the privilege of selecting our leaders peacefully, and removing them peacefully if need be, are held accountable by our Lord for our apathy, inaction, and poor judgment. I think we tend to look at a godless nation like Russia and wonder how great God’s wrath will be on them; but in fact they don’t actually have the freedom to choose at all and are persecuted mercilessly if they look to God for wisdom. Yet those of us in the West turn around and, like King Saul, first of all absolve ourselves from the terrible and godless decisions of our leaders who we chose and aren’t obligated to keep. We who have full liberty to discover the principles of the Word of God and to live in harmony with those principles usually prefer to just put on some blinders, live our private lives, gripe a little bit, wring our hands, and compromise.  I believe that our sin is greater and our consequences will be greater, and I think our present circumstances are but the harbinger of God’s disgust with us. It’s a familiar picture; one we’ve been reading about for months and months.

There’s not much that irritates me more than to hear a Believer (or worse a Christian leader) say that grace didn’t exist until the New Testament era. That statement is either one of utter ignorance of the Scriptures or is itself an act of purposeful blindness or rebellion meant only to fulfill a manmade denominational doctrine.

Grace goes back to Creation, and we can read about the Lord bestowing His grace when human merit was nowhere to be found, over and over in the Torah. By God’s grace Israel is always forgiven for its continual affront to God. And all He requires is for them to reestablish their trust and faith in Him and to demonstrate their sincerity through their obedience to Him. And how is this obedience demonstrated? By scrupulously following His ways, as defined and already established in His Torah. It’s there for us to read and examine to this very day. Their circumstances wouldn’t change, but they could set their hearts on God and be faithful even within these circumstances.

In the 12^th chapter of I Samuel, we see the second part of God’s (and Samuel’s) concern expressed beginning in the 21^st verse. If Israel is convinced they are doomed and with no hope, they will seek to replace Yehoveh with the false gods of the region, which amounts to placing their hopes in nothing. And on the other hand if they want to stick to God Almighty, in their great desire to show repentance and sincerity they might be tempted to do all sorts of whacky, hollow, and meaningless things that accomplish absolutely nothing. Things that don’t add to their righteousness, don’t atone, and aren’t at all demanded by God. And the effect of either of those two bad choices is to wind up even further from the Lord, offending Him even more. And yet, these two choices are probably the most common ones that Believers choose when we have sinned and our guilt has overwhelmed us.

God merely says, “Come home.” Grace. Come home, the door’s open. But you must come home on God’s terms, not yours. God’s terms seem too easy so they don’t satisfy our human desire to do something big! God’s terms are the terms that have always been, but we want to do something new and spectacular. Sell our house and drop $100,000 in the collection plate. Shave our heads, put on an itchy brown burlap robe and check in to a Monastery. Pray 12 hours a day. I’ve known of people who have quit their job, left their family behind and penniless, and go on a mission trip, the whole time thinking they are doing a righteous thing that will show the Lord just how serious they are about wanting to please Him.

Folks, it’s this same kind of misguided mentality that has kept millions (maybe billions) of men and women from coming to Messiah; the New Testament calls it The Stumbling Block. It is that faith, trust, and love of God (through Yeshua) are the only requirements for redemption. Anything we try to add to it only demeans it. However for the bulk of mankind, faith is just too easy and it doesn’t satisfy our want to do something that makes us feel as though we’ve merited our salvation through deeds and expressions of worthiness. Samuel knew His people well and that they would immediately begin to think of countless actions to work their way back into God’s good graces, none of which had any value to Yehoveh whatsoever. And you know what? Those ways were bound to look suspiciously like the ways their pagan neighbors would attempt to get back into the good graces of one their gods that they thought they had offended.

So there’s the good news: God is going to conditionally forgive Israel for rejecting Him and choosing a human king to rule over them. But there’s also another piece of information supplied that although not new is humbling all over again. Verse 22 says, “For the sake of His great reputation He will not abandon His people.” Sometimes it’s implied by theologians that all that God does is for our benefit; not true. The protection of His Holiness and Holy Name easily outweigh our needs and well being. His concern is less for the people of Israel (who have knowingly and purposefully violated the covenant and if not for His decision to offer grace are done for); but it’s to uphold His Holy Name. In fact, Samuel will continue to intercede on Israel’s behalf not so much for Israel’s sake, as for the sake of God’s reputation.

So in verse 23 Samuel reiterates that he will continue to be an intercessor for Israel because to do otherwise would be a sin added to his account. This is just another way of saying, “I’m not going to intercede for you because you deserve it. I’m going to intercede for you because that’s the assignment God gave to me and for me to not do it would  be my sin.” Charles Spurgeon once said, “If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for.” Keith Green said, “I’d rather have people hate me with the knowledge that I tried to save them.” God told Jeremiah, “You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you” (Jeremiah 1:7) and Ezekiel, “If you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood” (Ezekiel 3:18)

Leaders (especially of congregations), I am speaking specifically to you now so please hear this: when your people speak against you, show you disrespect or ingratitude, gripe and are never satisfied, you are not given permission by God to abandon your post. When the people you have taught, cried with, loved, cared for, and served for years hurt you or demand more than you can possibly give, you must not stop striving to lead them in the ways of righteousness. You must persevere all the more because obviously your people need it all the more.

Easy? Hardly. But perhaps you can look at things another way. If you don’t see the people reciprocating in an appropriate way to your dedication to them, maybe you can see that for God’s unfathomable reasons it remains your holy job to teach them the ways of the Lord and to care for them on behalf of our Savior. And it would be sinful to do otherwise.

I have been spending my spare time writing a study of I Samuel. Chapter 14 is one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible (notice I said “one of my favorites” not my favorite. Romans Chapter 8 would probably be my favorite). But I Samuel Chapter 14 introduces us to Jonathan, Saul’s son, and it demonstrates some interesting things about him (and his father). Chapter 14 continues a time when the Philistines were hassling the Hebrews, again. and verses 6-16 says that Jonathan looked at his armor bearer and said, “Hey lets see what God can do. Naturally the Lord is going to win the battle, whether by many or a few. Hey, just for fun, let’s see if He does it by a few—like two?” It reminds me of David’s encounter with Goliath when I read about Jonathan’s faith and certainty that if the Lord wants Israel delivered it doesn’t matter whether it’s accomplished by 2 men, or 2,000.  Numbers don’t matter. Y’honatan and his servant (called here an armor bearer) would see how the Philistines responded to their provocation. If the Philistine soldiers say, “Stay there until we come down to you,” then that’s what they’ll do. If they say, “come up towards us,” then this will be a sign from God and go up to them.

Now I have to tell you, if we were there at the time I’m not sure how many of us would have regarded Jonathan’s plan as good and commendable faith, or a suicidal and brash attempt to test God by a couple of guys suffering from a testosterone rush. But me? I love men of courage and boldness. It’s infectious and encouraging. And the armor bearer seems to be either merely faithful to his leader or a man of courage, as well, because he didn’t ask for an immediate transfer. However, there is a lesson for us all about how the Lord makes use of those who inhabit His Kingdom and trust Him in all things. In many ways Jonathan was just like his father, Saul: impetuous, kind of a show-off, hot-tempered, and rash. Yet the difference is that Jonathan was as unselfish as Saul was selfish, and as noble as Saul was base. Jonathan was as determined in his faith and belief in God’s power and wisdom and ability to deliver as Saul was determined that he would manipulate the Lord for his own purposes and risk nothing.

We see how two men of essentially the same temperament and personality can at the same time be so opposite in their natures. Saul was being used by the Lord to show us everything that a leader in the Kingdom of God should not be; and Jonathan was a demonstration of what can happen when a person focuses on God and not his circumstances. King Saul was led by his own lusts, desires, and inner demons. Jonathan was led by the Holy Spirit. And despite the deep faults and troublesome personality traits that characterized them both, their destinies were night and day apart due to a single all-encompassing personal choice that each had made at some point in their lives: would they or would they not obey the Lord at all costs.

^40-42On his return, Jesus was welcomed by a crowd. They were all there expecting him. A man came up, Jairus by name. He was president of the meeting place. He fell at Jesus’ feet and begged him to come to his home because his twelve-year-old daughter, his only child, was dying. Jesus went with him, making his way through the pushing, jostling crowd . . .

⁴⁹While he was still talking, someone from the leader’s house came up and told him, “Your daughter died. No need now to bother the Teacher.”

^50-51Jesus overheard and said, “Don’t be upset. Just trust me and everything will be all right.” Going into the house, he wouldn’t let anyone enter with him except Peter, John, James, and the child’s parents.

^52-53Everyone was crying and carrying on over her. Jesus said, “Don’t cry. She didn’t die; she’s sleeping.” They laughed at him. They knew she was dead.

^54-56Then Jesus, gripping her hand, called, “My dear child, get up.” She was up in an instant, up and breathing again! He told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were ecstatic, but Jesus warned them to keep quiet. “Don’t tell a soul what happened in this room.” –Luke 8:40-42, 49-56

I love this story. When Jesus returned from across the lake, there was a large crowd greeting him. In fact, verse 40 says they were all expecting him . . . That’s great! We should live our lives in expectancy! But then the next verse introduces us to someone who didn’t come to welcome him, he came desparate for Jesus. Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue–a big-shot–but none of that mattered, he came to see Jesus out of his need and desparation. His daughter was dying and he threw himself at Jesus’ feet pleading for her life.

Jim Cymbala, in his book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, wrote, “I discovered an astonishing truth: God is attracted to weakness. He can’t resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him.” This certainly described Jairus. He even reminds me of the centurion in Luke 7. He seemed to understand the concept of authority because of his own authoritative position. He seemed to understand that one ruler existed before whom all others should bow, even if one of those “others” was a ruler of the synagogue.

Go ask any parent what happens when one of their children was sick or in some kind of serious danger or distress, what they do. They would probably tell you they can hardly focus on anything else. This was certainly the case with Jairus. Jesus was his last hope. Who else could heal his little girl from death?

Who do you know who is on their hope? Think of these people and keep them in your your prayers, because Jesus is there for the desparate. He specializes i the hopeless. Every time you think of your friends who are suffering, think of Jesus, who know the path through dire need.

Pray for those who would say with David, “God, deliver me. Hurry to help me, Lord. I am afflicted and needy; hurry to me, God. You are my help and my deliverer, Lord, do not delay. (Psalm 70:1, 5). Bring them before your Lord by name and need . . .

(adapted from Jesus: 90 Days With The One and Only, by Beth Moore)