Devotional

Tuesday Devotional: Judges 2

Devotional

bible2 The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I  swore to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.’ Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? 3 And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; they will become traps for you, and their gods will become snares to you.’” 4 When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, 5 and they called that place Bokim.[a] There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

 

We often assume that as we grow older, wisdom would follow.  Certainly there are examples of wisdom increasing with age. But there are also many instances that leave one questioning this rather flimsy logic.  At the character level, are the desires of a five year old all that different from those of a 45 year old?  While we avoid this kind of question due its potentially humiliating nature, it is worth asking.

A five year old always thinks that he or she is right and knows what’s best.

A five year old often criticizes her parent for not giving her what she wants.

A five year old often questions the motivations of his parent concerning discipline and order.

A five year old often desires things that can harm in often fatal ways.

As we examine the nature of the human heart in the presence of God, we might be surprised by the parallels.  In many ways, the worst and most cruel thing that God could ever do is give us what we want.  It pains him to see us pine after things that can offer us nothing but heartache and pain.  However, God desires not that we follow him simply because he is God and we are man.  God desires that we follow him because we know that with him we are safe and without him we are not.

We have the uncanny ability of dressing up a thorn so as to forget its sharp point.  While we might juggle daggers and avoid getting slashed for a short period of time, eventually they will draw blood. Eventually, breaking Gods protective laws leads to suffering.  God simply wants us to play with the things that will only bring us joy. He weeps at the fact that we continually choose to juggle knives and thorns.

Tuesday Devotional: Joshua 1

Devotional

bible 1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” 10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’” 12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said,13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you after he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest by giving you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them 15 until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.” 16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you.Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”

The world that we are confronted with on a daily basis must be met with courage, strength and caution.  If we attempt to confront this world without the presence of any of the three we will undoubtedly feel overwhelmed and defeated.  The question is, where do we find courage, strength and caution?  Repeatedly we try to find them in ourselves but over time we find what we possess of each of them is not nearly enough.

The reality of this world is limitation.  As much as the human spirit can achieve unbelievable feats, ultimately we all fall short.  Therefore, our faith in courage, strength and caution will only ever be as good as what we can muster, if that faith is limited to what is only present in this world.  However, finding courage, strength and caution in the presence of God is entirely different.

God is the source that not only understands the dangers that will test our courage but also possesses the strength to overcome them.  Our life in our own hands is far too heavy a burden for us alone to carry.  Our life in the hands of another person will likewise be too heavy for them.  Our life in the care of something else will similarly be too heavy for it.  Only in the hands of an entirely omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient God can we ever find the courage, strength and caution to overcome the limitations of this world and ourselves.  Only by allowing Jesus Christ to follow through with His desire to carry our burdens can we thoroughly experience the faithfulness and power of the living God.

Tuesday Devotional: Deuteronomy 32

Devotional

bibleDeuteronomy 32:48-52

48 On that same day the Lord told Moses, 49 “Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho, and view Canaan, the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession. 50 There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.51 This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites. 52 Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance; you will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel.”

The true value in walking with God ultimately has nothing to do with what we have received or will receive in return for our walk.  The true value of walking with God is simply that: the walk.  As we walk we receive insight into his character and are welcomed into a relationship with him that is close, personal.  This walk only reveals truth and is grounded in love.

A true relationship is “being” and not “getting.”  Being with that person is the only reward you seek.  From this understanding of God and our experience with him, we are then prepared to face the confrontation between God’s will and our own with complete understanding.  If our walk is based on the expectation that our efforts will reward us, we will be left bitter.  However, if our walk is anchored in the walk itself, the experience of walking with God as his beloved child will remove any preconceived notions of what we will receive or what he is supposed to provide.  The walk with God cannot survive disappointment if avoiding disappointment was the motivating factor for walking in the first place.  A genuine walk with God results in heartfelt thanksgiving of blessings received along with “blessings” withheld.  It is never about the getting or the giving.  It is simply walking.

Tuesday Devotional: Numbers 35

Devotional

bibleNumbers 35:1-5 

On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, the Lord said to Moses,2 “Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands around the towns. 3 Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for the cattle they own and all their other animals.4 “The pasturelands around the towns that you give the Levites will extend a thousand cubits from the town wall. 5 Outside the town, measure two thousand cubits on the east side, two thousand on the south side, two thousand on the west and two thousand on the north, with the town in the center. They will have this area as pastureland for the towns.

Being a Christian in the world is difficult.  God has never been vague or unclear concerning this fact.  However, as people find strength in numbers, we tend to fortify ourselves with people who share our views and beliefs, to protect ourselves from those who do not.  We tend to isolate ourselves in “Christian Groups” because we feel threatened by the difficulties of living in a world where the word of God is mocked and hated.  We seek these “Christian Fortifications” because we doubt the promise of God to provide for us in our isolation, but we trust the provision of a Christian community.

These groups tend to make us feel safe. We like to feel safe.  Yet being a Christian is not only loving God for what he did, but loving God for what he continues to do.  How do we know if God is clearly at work and present in our lives? When no alternate explanation for provision exists.  Topping off a beverage makes very little physical difference to the fullness of a glass.  However, when you fill an empty glass, it clearly goes from nothing to something—a noticeable difference made.  The only way to see God’s promise to provide is when you are entirely reliant on his provision. This often occurs when we are alone and without.

The only way to experience God’s desire to fill our lives day after day is to be daily emptied out in preparation for his fulfillment.  Taking your faith in Jesus beyond the safety of Christian fellowship amounts to emptying yourself of the securities of people and accepting the safety of God.  We are called not to be groups of stationary, isolated Christians.  We are called in order to be sent.  We are blessed in order to become a blessing to others.  The only way we can bless those around us is to be with them, in the presence of those who do not believe.  The yeast in dough impacts the entire batch; Christians are called to impact the entire world.  Immersing ourselves in Christian communities while cutting ourselves off completely from the “outside” world is serving our own desire to feel safe.  Immersing ourselves in the trust of God and living in this world as a member of this world is serving God.

Tuesday Devotional: Leviticus 26

Devotional

Leviticus 26:1-13bible

“‘Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God.

2 “‘Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.

3 “‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, 4 I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.

6 “‘I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. 7 You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

9 “‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. 10 You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. 11 I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.

When we are in need, we have survival instincts that allow us to seek out that which will ultimately help us out of our need.  However, when we are rescued from desperation and on solid footing once again, we quickly forget the past.  We forget how we were in need in the first place, and who or what actually helped us in that time.  In many ways, the actual getting of what we ask for can be the worst possible outcome.

Getting what we want inflates our self-worth to a point of irrational self-worship. We become limitless in our own minds, where only just before we were severely limited and in desperate need of rescue.  In that emergency was a God who has promised and given everything, without demanding much in return.  He gives when we need him, even though we refuse to acknowledge him.  He is present in our lives when we pronounce strong disinterest in being present in his.  He walks close enough to meet our daily needs, undeterred in his love by our lack of acknowledgement of his presence.  He is a God grieved to see his children making decisions that hurt them. He simply desires for us to see him as a God who supplies our needs because He cares.

There is nothing more satisfying for a parent than to see his or her child achieve something truly great.  God desires for us to have confidence in ourselves, but His deeper desire is that we find our ultimate confidence in him, since no other confidence is really any confidence at all.

 

 

Tuesday Devotionals: Exodus 33

Devotional

bibleExodus 33:7-11

7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. 11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

Relationship with God is personal.  Of course experiencing the presence of God has always been, and will be, enhanced by the fellowship of corporate worship.  However, the power of God to change exists only in the one on one, face-to-face experience.  One cannot know and be moved by God if knowing and being moved by him requires the presence of other people.  Otherwise, the experience of God will be present in one moment and non-existent in another, completely defying the nature of Emmanuel, God with us to the very end of the age.  God is a God with the ability to bring people to their knees in awe-inspiring corporate worship, but his ultimate desire is to meet us as his beloved children.  A face-to-face conversation requires trust and intimacy, and this is how God chooses to speak to us.   The relationship with God is “ours” as Christians, but it is first and foremost “yours.”  God, the Father, spoke to Moses face-to-face, as a father speaks to a child. Jesus the Son spoke to his disciples as friends, inviting them to “come and see” him for themselves (John 1.39). He showed them who he really was, is, and will always be.  To know God is to know how He sees you, how He chooses to approach you.  His desire is to always be close.  His desire is to draw near.

Tuesday Devotional: Genesis 11

Devotional

 bible

Hey all! This is the first installment of the weekly devotionals here on the MWM blog. Every Tuesday, come back for another quick study in God’s Word. We will choose a short excerpt from one book of the Bible to study every week!

The weekly devotional is a brief meditation on a passage of Scripture. We won’t be examining or heavily analyzing every aspect of the passage, but we will extract the essential Truth present throughout the text. What can we learn about ourselves? What can we learn about the character and nature of God? Be blessed as you read!

Genesis 11:1-9 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” 5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” 8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

We may view the temptations that frustrate our walk with God as external, but the reality of our struggle with sin in this world and the realization of the Gospel in our lives, is that our primary enemy is ourselves. We live in a world that is difficult to understand.  We live a life that is difficult to understand. After praying for and receiving things that we do not totally understand, we find we are incapable of possessing those things without hurting ourselves and others.  We are encouraged from an early age to be the best, told that we are the most important people in our lives. Tragic consequences follow when we begin to believe it.  In an attempt to attain our life’s desires and “make a name for ourselves” we often destroy the truly good things in our lives. One of the main reasons many do not find God or feel his presence is that in the deepest recesses of the human heart, God is unwelcome and unwanted. The moment we accept that the power and perspective of God will forever overpower and supersede our own is the moment we will finally find him.  Until then? We exist as our own gods. We mustn’t be surprised when we find ourselves confused by or unable to understand the world we live in and how we are to live in it.