Unfinished and finished business

TODAY’S SPECIAL: John 19-21; Psalm 111


TO CHEW ON: “Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We are going with you also.’ They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.” John 21:3


Peter’s simple pronouncement, “I am going fishing,” becomes complex when we put it into context. Three years earlier he had left fishing to follow Jesus. The years he had spent with this incredible teacher were quite a ride. He had seen healings of all kinds, people raised from the dead, the Scribes and Pharisees bested. The wisdom of Jesus’ lessons and stories exceeded any he had ever encountered. He had experienced the very presence of heaven.

However, in the end, it all proved confusing and disappointing. Jesus didn’t do the expected and prove Himself Messiah. Instead He was put to death at the instigation of the very leaders to whom He had proved Himself superior. But Peter’s biggest disappointment was with himself. After pledging to stick by Jesus no matter what, he denied Him – and on the prodding of a mere woman.

Now, though Jesus had risen and Peter had seen Him, the future was still utterly foggy. And so his words, “I am going fishing,” seem a poignant attempt to reverse the last three years of his life. He will go back – back to the simple way things were before he met Jesus, back to when he was oblivious to the possibilities of what life could be, but also back to before he had proved himself such a useless cad.

Intuitive Jesus knew where Peter was and how to reach him. In their interchange Jesus put His finger on the exact thing that was bothering Peter and confronted him with it. He brought closure to the unfinished business of their broken relationship.

He also made it clear to Peter that fishing was finished business. He closed the door forever on it by giving Peter a new assignment. The three Jesus-years weren’t a waste or mirage. Instead they were the doorway to more responsibility (despite his failure): “'Feed my lambs.... Tend my sheep… Feed my sheep.'”

Have you ever been at a spot in your life when you’ve gone back to “fishing”? Perhaps after sensing the call of God, things haven’t worked out the way you thought they would or you’ve let yourself down. Take it from someone who has at various times retreated to the security of the way things were before – it rarely works. If you are tempted to go back to the past in your career or ministry, don’t, until you’ve spent time with Jesus and got the confirmation that that is indeed His next assignment.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help us to leave former things and ways behind. Give us the faith to face new challenges and forge into new territory at Your bidding. Amen.






PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 111

MORE:

“…once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God wants will always come like a goad; you will no longer be able to work for him on the common-sense basis.”
- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (March 4th reading)

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Real change is an inside job

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Nehemiah 12-13; Psalm 52

TO CHEW ON: “Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off.” Nehemiah 12:43

Nehemiah completed the task he got leave from his job to do. Nehemiah 12 describes the dedication of the finished wall. It was a great celebration with  music, instruments, choirs and  sacrifices. Then Nehemiah went back to Babylon to work for Artaxerxes.

Sometime later, when Nehemiah returned to visit Jerusalem, he found, to his great dismay, that a lot of people had slipped back into their old ways.

• Some of Israel’s enemies and critics had infiltrated the temple and leadership (Nehemiah 13:7,8; 28).

• Since offerings were no longer being collected and stored for the Levites, they had to go back to farming to make a living (Nehemiah 13:10).

• People were working on the Sabbath day (Nehemiah 13:15).

• Gentile merchants were allowed into the city to set up markets on the Sabbath (Nehemiah 13:16).

• The people were again intermarrying with their idol-worshiping neighbours and forgetting or not even learning the language of Israel (Israel 13:23,24).

And so Nehemiah had to clean up again (Nehemiah 13:30,31). His zeal for obedience and holiness is a testimony of how much he feared and respected God and cared for the well-being of the people.

This passage leaves us with some thoughts to apply to our lives.
1. The rebuilt wall that was meant to set Jerusalem apart from its pagan neighbours was ineffective because the people’s hearts, from the religious and political leaders down, had not changed. Real change is effective only when it starts from inside.

2. Nehemiah’s zeal in building the wall in the first place and then his coming back and putting things right shows a respect and fear of God that we seem to have lost in our after-the-cross church era. Though we don’t fear God’s judgment as Old Testament people of faith did, God hasn’t changed. I sometimes wonder whether our casual attitude toward sin might be putting us on a more dangerous path than we realize.


PRAYER: Dear Father, change me from the inside so that my heart is to do Your will, because I love You and regard You with a realistic respect and fear. Amen.
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 52

MORE:  Change Me on the Inside




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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

Choose life!

"Moses speaks to Israel"
by Paul Hardy

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Deuteronomy 30-31; Psalm 63

TO CHEW ON: "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live." Deuteronomy 30:19


The book of Deuteronomy is a series of farewell talks that 120-year-old Moses gave to the Israelites just before they entered Canaan. Our reading today is the end of his third message, where he begs the people to choose God and by choosing Him, choose life.

Look at how he persuades, instructs, and pleads:

1. They can come home (Deuteronomy 30:1-5):
If they've wandered (as he says they will) God's call for them to return is mighty appealing. It's a call from captivity to freedom, from separation to togetherness. It's an invitation to come HOME!

2. God will change them at the deepest level (Deuteronomy 30:6):
How will God keep them from wandering away again? He will circumcise their hearts. We know how male circumcision was a physical sign of God's covenant with the Israelites. Here God promises to carve that same incision of covenant into their hearts. It's a mark that will, like physical circumcision, affect them spiritually at the deepest most private place (their hearts). And like physical circumcision is irreversible, so this heart circumcision will help them stay the course.

3. God is for them (Deuteronomy 30:7, 9):
When they choose God, the tables will be turned on their persecutors while God blesses them in quantifiable ways — more kids, more cows, more carrots!

4. The choice is clear (Deuteronomy 30:11-14):
This is no new, hidden, mysterious, distant or confusing matter. It's a choice they've faced before. It's near them, in them. What is it?
- A choice to love God (Deuteronomy 30:6).
- A choice to obey God (Deuteronomy 30:10).

5. The choice is important (Deuteronomy 30:15-20):
It's important because it's a choice between good and evil, life and death. "Choose life," Moses begs, "so that you and your children will live."

Imagine Moses preaching this sermon in my church or yours. It would be fitting, wouldn't it — his plea for backsliders to return with the assurance that God can permanently change hearts. His confronting us with the challenge to love and obey God in the context of all the things that clamor for our allegiance (worship?). His plea that we make the right decision because it will impact our eternal destiny.

I ask myself have I chosen life? Or have I, in my heart, wandered away, even set up some idolatrous outposts? What about you?

PRAYER: Father God, help me in today's every decision to understand what's at stake and to choose life. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 63

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Brought back

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 126:1-6

TO CHEW ON: "When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion
We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing." Psalm 126:1-2

It's doubtful whether most of us will experience the joy of a return from physical exile like the Psalm-writer describes here. But we do know other kinds of captivity—the prison of sickness, the pain of alienation from family members and friends, the feeling of being estranged from God…

When we come down to it, our times of exile are meant to drive us to God in the first place or back to Him if we have wandered away. In a little study of  what it means to be "brought back" spiritually I discovered four things:

1. Exile from God is called backsliding. Sin and neglecting to follow God's rules frequently led to actual exile in the OT. When writing about backsliding, the Bible writers often refer to it as an illness that needs healing - Isaiah 54:15, 18; Jeremiah 3:22; Hosea 14:4.

2. God is the One who instigates and does the restoring (Psalm 23:3). One of the things He does is deal with our sin (Micah 7:19) so that His anger toward us is placated (Psalm 84:5).

3. He also uses people in the restoration process. Paul, with the language of childbirth, describes his work of restoration among the Galatians (Galatians 4:19). He also enlists lay people to help restore those who have fallen into sin (Galatians 6:10).

4. Restoration is a party! Look at the story of the Prodigal Son - Luke 15:22-24;32. David prays for restored joy after confessing his sin with Bathsheba - Psalm 51:12. The people in our psalm are in a pinch-me-is-this-really-happening? state of ecstasy, their mouths filled with laughter, their tongues with singing.

Do we find ourselves in exile? If we are, let's respond to God who wants us back. He will restore us spiritually and has the power to restore to us other things as well (like health and relationships - Joel 2:12-14; 25).

PRAYER: Dear God, the joy of restoration in these verses is palpable.  I pray that You will bring back those who read here from whatever exile they are in and restore that joy. Amen.

MORE: Vagabonds by Stuart Townend

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent.

The liturgy today begins with this collect prayer:

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Seeking shepherd

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 34:1-15


TO CHEW ON: "For thus says the Lord God, 'Indeed, I Myself will search for My Sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they are scattered on a cloudy and dark day." Ezekiel 34:11-12


I think I have these verses underlined in all the Bibles that I use. It first came to my attention when I read it paraphrased  in the prayer for rebellious and prodigal children in Barbara Billett's book Praying With Fire:

"...I thank You Father in the name of Jesus that You will search for ___ (name of child) and seek him/her out, as a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep. I think You Father in the Name of Jesus for seeking out ___ from where he/she has strayed and You are delivering him/her" - excerpt from "Prayer/Confession for a Rebellious Child," Praying With Fire, p. 62.

It reminds me of the story Jesus Himself told about looking for sheep:

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?

And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’

In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! - Luke 15:4-7 NLT.

How comforting to know that God Himself is concerned and goes after our prodigals.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the picture of You as the seeking shepherd. May I be your instrument of seeking and finding as I love and pray my own and others' prodigals back to You. Amen.


MORE: Prodigal stories

"The Power of Two Praying Sisters and a Faithful God"

Stories at Prodigal Child Ministries

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Jerusalem’s story - part 3

U-Turns allowed (Image: Pixabay)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 16:44-63

TO CHEW ON: “And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth any more because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done, says the LORD GOD.’” Ezekiel 16:62,63


Jerusalem continued to deteriorate in God’s eyes. She had spurned Him as her husband and gone after idolatrous lovers. Her sins were worse than those of her sister cities (and their daughters—their suburbs and  surrounding villages), big sister Samaria and little sister Sodom.

God named specific sins: pride, gluttony, idleness, callousness to the poor, committing “abominations” [abomination: toebah = a disgusting thing, in a ritual sense of unclean food, idols, mixed marriages, in an ethical sense of wickedness etc.]

The Bible commenter Matthew Henry draws our attention to the height from which Jerusalem has fallen:

“Jerusalem had the temple, and the ark, and the priesthood, and kings of the house of David; and therefore the wickedness of that holy city, that was so dignified, so near, so dear to God, was more provoking to him than the wickedness of Sodom and Samaria, that had not Jerusalem’s privileges and means of grace.” - Matthew Henry Commentary, accessed through BibleGateway.com.

God saw only one solution for Jerusalem. It came from Him and was given not because Jerusalem deserved His mercy but because He doesn’t go back on His word—His covenant (Ezekiel 16:60). 

The atonement He will provide  (I believe a prophecy of Jesus’ atoning death on the cross) will pay for all they have done (Ezekiel 16:63). 

His grace will soften even Jerusalem’s rebellious heart (“Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed…”), a picture Ezekiel paints so beautifully in other places like Ezekiel 11:19,20:

“Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.”

Though this passage is a prophecy concerning a city in the Middle East and an ethnic people, it also shows us a side of God that relates to us. Though we may violate our covenant with Him, backslide, and commit the most awful sins, He is willing to accept us back (Isaiah 1:18). All it takes is our own repentance (“…remember your ways and be ashamed…” - Ezekiel 16:61, also Luke 13:3, Acts 3:19; 8:22). For us too the atonement He made is sufficient (1 Peter 3:18).

PRAYER: Dear father, help me to detect signs and symptoms of rebellion within me before they fruit into backsliding. Help me to be quick to repent. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Backsliding

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Galatians 4:8-31

TO CHEW ON: "But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?" Galatians 4:9


In our reading today Paul continues to make his case against the Galatians returning to life under the law. What he calls a "turn again" we might label backsliding  [a relapse into bad ways or error]. We find the tendency to turn again, turn back, or backslide throughout the Bible.

Backsliding in the Bible

• Moses warned the Israelites about returning to the ways of Egypt in his Deuteronomy sermon - Deuteronomy 17:16.

• Throughout the Old Testament the prophets pleaded with the Israelites to stop their backsliding - e.g. Hosea 6:4. For them the symptom was often idol worship. Such backsliding was called a sin against God (Jeremiah 14:7) and a sin that angered God (Isaiah 1:4).

• The backslider's heart was affected. It was self-absorbed (Proverbs 14:14), stubborn (Hosea 11:7), cold (Matthew 24:12), and loveless (Revelation 2:4).

• Backsliding caused people to make nonsensical substitutions. The psalmist called it  a return to "folly" (Psalm 85:8). In Galatians 1:6 Paul called it a return to a "different gospel." In our reading he described that to which they were returning as the "weak and beggarly elements" which would put them in "bondage" (Galatians 4:9). Peter described such a return to the old as becoming "again entangled" (2 Peter 2:20).

• Backsliding made the backslider unfit for kingdom work (Luke 9:62; Hebrews 10:38).

How to keep from backsliding

We recognize that we are as apt to backslide as were the Israelites and the Galatians. What can we do to keep from going back, both into old sinful lifestyles and/or old spiritual forms and practices?

* Guard who we associate with.  Solomon was lured into backsliding by his idol-worshiping wives (1 Kings 11:4).

* Beware of the world's attractions (2 Timothy 5:10).

* Don't let success change us and tempt us to become self-sufficient (Zephaniah 1:6).

* Become rooted in God's word  (Luke 8:13).

* Fill our lives with good things (Luke 11:24-26).

* Depend on the Holy Spirit's insights (John 6:63,64,66).


PRAYER: Dear Father, please help me to be aware of my own tendency to backslide in big and little ways. May my life be one of progress in Kingdom growth, not regression into faithless fear, self-direction, and independence. Amen. 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What kind of a plant are you?

Photo © 2015 by V. Nesdoly

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Hebrews 5:11-6:12

TO CHEW ON: "For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it is bears thorns and briers it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned." - Hebrews 6:7,8


The Bible has many references to the life of a plant as a metaphor for the spiritual life of a person or nation.

• Isaiah pictures God caring for His nation Israel as a gardener cares for his vineyard. He expects a healthy batch of wine, but the vines disappoint with their wild grapes. So He withdraws his protective care - Isaiah 5:2,6,7.

• John the Baptist picks up this warning about the judgment on unfruitfulness in his sermon on the banks of the Jordan, where he warns that unfruitful trees will be chopped off at the root - Matthew 5:10-12.

• Jesus talks about the unfruitful life in his Parable of the Sower. He blames the thorns of worldliness—"the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches"—for a lack of spiritual fruit - Matthew 13:22.

• In another parable, we see that fruitfulness is expected in trees that are part of God's orchard - Luke 13:6-9.

• Jesus describes His relationship with the plants in His garden in His True Vine talk (John 15). He shows God the gardener removing the branches that don't grow fruit and pruning the ones that do so they'll produce an even bigger crop (John 15:2). The secret of fruit-bearing, He says, is to stay attached to the vine. That attachment results in answered prayers and God being glorified - John 15:5-8.

• What a contrast this is to our passage from Hebrews which talks about the backslider—the once-fruitful person who has turned his or her back on the things of God. The writer says if this one who has "tasted the good word of God and the power of the age to come" falls away, it is almost impossible for them to return. He warns of a fate that is likely to be the same as a patch of thorns and briers "whose end is to be burned" - Hebrews 6:8.

We can apply these pictures to our lives as plants in God's garden.

* We realize that life's circumstances—both good and bad (His walls around us, His pruning of us)—are His way of ensuring and increasing our fruitfulness.

*We are aware of the part that our focus and priorities play on our fruitfulness (and guard against worldliness).

* We know that to stay fruitful we need to stay connected to Him.

* We are also aware of the fate of the once-fruitful person who has turned away from following Him and…  well, we don't want to go there!

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to be a healthy, fruit-producing plant in Your garden. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Offended, turned off, turning back

"Jesus Preaching In the Temple"
-Pierre Louis Van Schuppen

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 6:52-71

TO CHEW ON: "Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, 'This is a hard saying; who can understand it?' .... From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more." John 6:60,66

The disciples' offense arose out of Jesus' controversial statements about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. They couldn't understand it and it turned them off Jesus - John 6:53-59.

We are not immune from being offended by Jesus and what the Bible teaches. Though it may be a different set of concepts that give offense, people are turned off and turn back as much as ever. Even us so-called believers.

Who of us, for example, hasn't felt a twinge of offense when we envision Jesus' teachings fleshed out in our lives in the areas of:
- non-resistance to an evil person - Matthew 5:39-42.
- loving our enemies - Matthew 5:44.
- the exclusivity of "the way" - Matthew 7:13-14.

Jesus' clear teaching about hell, a place of eternal torment (Matthew 18:9, 25:30; Luke 16:24) is in disfavor among some Christians these days.

So is the Bible's stance on some issues of morality. I recently became aware of the Episcopal Church's rejection of the English Standard Version of the Bible because of its plain speech condemning homosexuality in 1 Corinthians 6:9. (Trouble is, they've already approved the RSV, NIV, CEV and other versions where the language is just as clear - article here)

Jesus' reported words and the teachings of the early church's apostles leave lots of room for faith and trust in areas that we can't make sense of with our minds or that don't fit with our current culture. Let's not let a lack of cerebral understanding or the fear of being politically incorrect cause us to go back and walk with Him no more, as it did some of Jesus' first century disciples.

PRAYER: Dear God, please develop in me spiritual understanding that is not offended by things I must take by faith. Amen. 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Kingdom's supporting cast

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13

TO CHEW ON: "Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward." 1 Samuel 16:13


For David, Samuel's request that he return home from the hills of Bethlehem to be anointed the future king of Israel came out of the blue (actually, it came out of the blue for Samuel too).

He was young at this time. My Bible's study notes suggest he was 15.

Though Samuel had voiced concerns to God about how Saul would take it if he knew Samuel was on a mission to anoint a new king (1 Samuel 16:1,2), this wasn't a totally private affair. Samuel seems comfortable anointing David in the presence of his family.

The act was a pivotal moment in David's life. The Spirit of God "came upon David from that day forward." But the Spirit's presence didn't spare him years of being trained and gaining experience. A meteoric rise to prominence with King Saul and the Israelite commoners was followed by living as a hunted outlaw in the wilderness before he was publicly anointed king, first over Judah (2 Samuel 2) and then over all Israel (2 Samuel 5).

David's example reminds me of some stories I've heard of current Christian leaders and their early "anointing." My own pastor tells of how God met him powerfully at camp when his age was barely in the double digits. Later when he was considering the direction of his life, memories of that encounter pulled him away from dreams of becoming a lawyer or politician, to Bible college and full-time ministry.

Those of us whose future is largely behind us can be the Samuels—the conduits of the Spirit's anointing. We can also be the family onlookers—not suspicious, cynical, and maybe even jealous, as David's oldest brother Eliab seems to be (1 Samuel 17:28)—but supportive, praying over and blessing our youth as God claims them for future leadership roles.

Practically we can make our churches welcoming places for them. We can support the youth department, make it possible for children and teens to go to camp, youth conference, and short-term mission trips—any place they will encounter God in a powerful way.

If we know of young people who have had a meeting with God and are straying, we can keep praying that God will remind them of His early touch on their lives and make them lonesome for Him. We can pray that they will again hear the voice of the Spirit that marked them for a kingdom destiny when they were young.

PRAYER: Dear God, please fill me with Your Spirit to recognize and affirm those You have anointed for particular roles in Your kingdom—including members of my family. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Guises of unbelief

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 78:40-55

TO CHEW ON: "How often they provoked Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert! Yet again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel" - Psalm 78:40,41

The beginning of today's reading strikes me with its list of ways the Israelites demonstrated their unbelief: "provoked ... grieved ... tempted ... limited." The trouble is we find even more ways than this if we go through the psalm's 72 verses:

• Broke covenant and were lawbreakers (Psalm 78:10).

• Forgot His word and His power (Psalm 78:11, 42).

• Sinned and rebelled (Psalm 78:17).

• Spoke against God (Psalm 78:19).

• Disbelieved God and didn't trust Him (Psalm 78:22,32).

• Were insincere, i.e. flattered and lied to Him (Psalm 78:36).

• Were disloyal and unfaithful (Psalm 78:37).

• Provoked and grieved Him (Psalm 78:40, 56, 58).

• Tempted and limited Him (Psalm 78:41).

• Backslid and turned aside from Him (Psalm 78:57).

Unbelief has many guises. What a checklist for our own lives! Is there any chance we have some of these outfits hanging in the closets of our hearts?

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to recognize unbelief in my heart, no matter what form it takes. Help me to know You better and experience You at every level, so that it becomes second-nature for me to exchange unbelief for faith. Amen.

MORE: Covenant

The hurt and outraged tone in God's voice—as rendered by Asaph—brings us to the question, what did/does God expect? This passage speaks of the expressions of God's expectation they had violated, calling them covenant and law (vs. 10), salvation (vs. 22), and testimonies (vs. 56).

Wayne Grudem in his Systematic Theology speaks of God's agreements with man in a section titled "The Covenants Between God and Man." This bit from his introduction to that section helps us understand what they were and meant—to the Israelites and to us:

"How does God relate to man? Since the creation of the world, God's relationship to man has been defined by specific requirements and promises. God tells people how he wants them to act and also makes promises about how he will act toward them in various circumstances. The Bible contains several summaries of the provisions that define the different relationships between God and man that occur in Scripture, and it often calls these summaries 'covenants.' With respect to covenants between God and man in Scripture, we may give the following definition: A covenant is an unchangeable divinely imposed legal agreement between God and man that stipulates the conditions of their relationship.

Although this definition includes the word agreement in order to show that there are two parties, God and man, who must enter into the provisions of the relationship, the phrase divinely imposed is also included to show that man can never negotiate with God or change the terms of the covenant obligations or reject them ....

This definition also notes that covenants are unchangeable. They may be superseded or replaced by a different covenant, but they may not be changed once they are established. .... the essential element at the heart of all of them is the promise, 'I will be their God, and they shall be my people' (Jeremiah 31:33; 2 Corinthians 6:16, et al.)" - Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 515, 516 (emphasis added).

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A lost sheep story

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 34:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "For thus says the Lord God: 'Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.'" Ezekiel 34:11-12


Trish told her story from the baptismal tank. After getting involved in drugs, she and her husband had accepted Jesus. They got clean and began attending a church, grew a family, had a house and a business. Then one day they started using again. Soon they were separated, the kids in the care of Social Services, the house gone, business gone. That's the state Trish found herself in one evening in August 2009 when she was wandering the streets of Abbotsford. She had even lost her shoes.

Through a video, James told his part of the story. He had just finished drumming a music set as part of a Christian band and stepped outside for a few minutes before going back into the service. On a short walk he met Trish. He talked to her and, noticing she had no shoes, gave her the extra pair he carried in the trunk of his car. "I prayed for her, wished her well and thought I'd never see her again," he said.

Trish's life continued to go downhill. She got into detox but lasted only a few days. Finally, later in fall, she decided to try detox again. After phoning fifty places, she found two with openings. One was in Surrey. Hope House was in Langley. She opted for the Surrey one, but when the friend who drove her there saw people shooting up right outside but premises, she said, "I'm not leaving you here," and drove her to Hope House.

The first few days were the hardest Trish had ever gone through. She battled constant feelings of wanting to give up and leave. How could she ever tough this out for the time it would take? "Give me a sign," she prayed.

Hope House takes a busload of people to our church for Sunday night Recovery  Church. When she got there she couldn't believe her eyes because there on stage, drumming for the worship band, was James, the guy who had given her his shoes and prayed for her a few months earlier.

That was sign enough for her. She stuck with the program and got baptized in May 2010.

I love stories like this, that remind us of God's creativity in seeking out scattered sheep. Do you have such in your family or among your acquaintances -- prodigals, backsliders, those who have till now resisted His call altogether? Claim his promise for them today: "I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick." Ezekiel 34:16a

PRAYER: Dear God, I pray for the scattered sheep in my life (by name______). Please seek them out and deliver them from all the places they are scattered. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A virgin again

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 31:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "'Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
Again I will build you and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
You shall again be adorned with your tambourines,
And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.'" Jeremiah 31:3,4

After all that He has been through with her, God calls Israel a virgin?!

"Only the amazing love of verse 3 could call Israel a virgin," says my Bible commenter.

God here seems to be talking about a process of what is sometimes called "revirginization"—of restoring that which has been lost, squandered or blemished: "Again I will build you and you shall be rebuilt."

The idea of actual sexual revirginization is relevant in our society where sexual looseness is tolerated, even encouraged in movies, TV, books, music—and from the earliest age. Chances are good that if you came to the Lord in your 20s or 30s, though still single, you were no longer a virgin.

Ken Shigematsu in his book God In My Everything talks about sex and spirituality. After describing how God's presence in our lives helps us express our sexuality in wholesome ways, he subtitles a final section "Revirginization." In it he says:

"Perhaps you feel that you have fallen short or have been compromised  because of your past experiences, failing to live out God's ideal …. Perhaps your sexual purity feels like a ship that sailed away long ago."

He quotes Ezekiel 36:25-27 and concludes:

"You may struggle with an ongoing sense of regret or shame over past sexual sins, but God promises to sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean. He offers you a new heart. You don't need to be defined by your past. When you turn to God, you experience a new beginning" - Ken Shigematsu, God In My Everything, p. 106.

If we are plagued by memories and regrets in this area, let's take to heart God's words to Judah, and claim His cleansing and rebuilding for ourselves.

PRAYER: Dear God, we are surrounded by sexual lures and temptations. Please help us to stay pure and accept Your washing and rebuilding when we are plagued by memories and regrets of sexual sin. Amen.

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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Why do people backslide?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 8:1-12

TO CHEW ON: "Why has this people slidden back,
Jerusalem in a perpetual backsliding?
They hold fast to deceit,
They refuse to return." Jeremiah 8:5


The prophet sounds distraught about Israeli's continuous backsliding. His question seems more like an exclamation of exasperation than one he expects someone to answer. However, it's a good question for us to ask—with the hope of some answers.

Why do people backslide?

My Thompson Chain Bible has an item called "Backsliding: causes which tend to produce." Here are some of the reasons with their references for  backsliding, collected under that heading:

• Absence of spiritual leaders - Exodus 32:1,8; Numbers 14:4.

Several times during their wilderness wanderings the Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt, either in their worship or literally. It happened when their leader Moses was either absent (spending time on Mt. Sinai with God) or rejected.

• Evil Association - 1 Kings 11:4

Solomon backslid when his pagan wives turned his heart away from God to worship idols.

• Success - 2 Chronicles 25:2,14

Amaziah obeyed God in many things and was successful  (he consolidated his kingdom and defeating the Edomites). His success may have caused him to let down his spiritual guard. For he then turned around to adopt Edomite idols.

• Shallowness - Luke 8:13

In Jesus' story of the sower, some seed sprouted but because it fell on rocky soil and had no root, it perished under harsh conditions ("time of temptation").

• A spiritually empty life - Luke 11:24-26

In Jesus' story of the man delivered from an evil spirit, the man was soon back in bondage because he left his spiritual house uninhabited.

• Lack of spiritual insight - John 6:63-66

Many of Jesus' disciples left Him ("went back and walked with Him no more") when they didn't understand what He was about.

• Love of the world - 2 Timothy 4:10

Paul's associate Demas left him simply for the love of "this present world."

I find this list soberingly relevant. For couldn't we too could be in danger of backsliding for any one of these reasons?

PRAYER: Dear God, shine Your light on my heart and expose it to me. Please alert me to my own tendencies to backslide. Amen.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Backsliding—not a terminal illness

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 3:19-4:12

TO CHEW ON: "'Return, you backsliding children,
And I will heal your backslidings.'" Jeremiah 3:22

Jeremiah talks a lot about backsliding. In the verse I've chosen to focus on today, he calls it "backslidings."

[Backsliding - meshubah means turning back, turning away; defecting, faithlessness, apostasy, disloyalty; reverting. It comes from the root word shub that means turn or repent.

But backslide is subtly different from repent. While repent means to turn around, when you backslide you turn back (to a state you were in previously). "To return to wrong or sinful ways" - definitions from from Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 967 & Funk & Wagnalls Dictionary. ]

Jeremiah refers to backsliding as a condition that needs healing. When someone needs healing they are either sick or injured and their ability to help themselves is compromised. Perhaps this gives us insight into how we can pray for loved ones who were once loyal to Jesus but have since turned their backs on Him—backsliders. We can pray for their spiritual healing.

More aspects of spiritual healing are sprinkled throughout the Bible. From them we learn:

1. God may allow, even seem to initiate pain during our times of backsliding to urge us back to Him - Hosea 6:1.

2. We can pray for ourselves when we sense we're in danger of backsliding or in a backslidden condition - Psalm 41:4; Jeremiah 17:14.

3. God is the one who does the healing - Psalm 147:3.

4. Healing from backsliding and all spiritual illness is available only through Christ and His substitutionary death on the cross - Luke 4:18; Isaiah 53:5.

5. Someday our healing will be complete - Revelation 22:2.

It's wonderful to know that backsliding doesn't have to be a terminal illness!

PRAYER: Dear God, I pray for the backsliders I love. I also pray that I will have the sense to know when I am infected with the germs of backsliding. Amen.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Shepherds with God's heart

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 3:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "'Return, O backsliding children,' says the Lord; for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.'" Jeremiah 3:14,15


It's hard to find a ray of hope in this description of Israel's unfaithfulness. But here is one—God's promise to give returning backsliders shepherds according to His heart. (David is called such a shepherd - 1 Samuel 13:14.)

It will be a good shepherd that will feed them with "knowledge and understanding."

[Understanding (sachal) means "to be wise, behave wisely, to understand, be instructed, wisely consider, be prudent and intelligent. Sachal describes the complex intelligent thinking process that occurs when one observes, ponders, reasons, learns, and reaches a conclusion."

A word derived from sachal is maschil (give instructions, make wise and skilful). Thirteen psalms are called "Maschil" psalms: 32; 42; 44; 45; 52; 53; 54; 55; 74; 78; 88; 89; 142 (the NKJV translates "Maschil" "a Contemplation") from Word Wealth by Dick Mills, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 963-4.]

I ask myself, what shepherd am I following? These days the chorus of want-to-be shepherds is overwhelming. They come to us via TV, the radio, and internet. A plethora of ministries offer broadcasts, podcasts, books, CDs, and DVDs.  All compete for our attention, loyalty, and financial support.

But the most reliable shepherd, I believe, is still God's word. As we read, ponder, reason, learn, and apply it to our lives we will be fed with knowledge and understanding. The Lord will be our shepherd (Psalm 23:1-6). And as we follow our heavenly shepherd, we will have the ear-sense to recognize the voice of good earthly shepherds (John 10:4).

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to be hungry for Your knowledge and understanding, leadable and able to recognize Your voice in the voice of earthly shepherds.  Amen.

MORE: We need to know the God's word

"2 Corinthians 10:4,5 clearly indicates that we must know the Word of God well enough to be able to compare what is in our mind (and, I would add, what we're hearing /reading) with what is in the mind of God; any thought (or teaching) that attempts to exalt itself above the Word of God we are to cast down and bring into captivity to Jesus Christ" - Joyce Meyer, Battlefield of the Mind, p. 4.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Rebuked by an old seer

The Prophet Jeremiah by Michelangelo

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 2:14-37

TO CHEW ON: "'Your own wickedness will correct you
And your backsliding will rebuke you.
Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing
That you have forsaken the Lord your God,
And the fear of Me is not in you,'
Says the Lord God of hosts."  Jeremiah 14:19

Jeremiah was not a popular man. "Partly this was because of the message of doom proclaimed by Jeremiah, a message contrary to the hope of the people…" explains Roy E. Hayden, in my Bible's introduction to Jeremiah (New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 956).

As we see in our reading today, Jeremiah used strong language to describe the state of Judah during his time (the reigns of Josiah, Jehoidah, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah - 626-586 B.C.). It's easy to see why his message was unpopular. How would you like to hear yourself:

• described as a slave (Jeremiah 2:14) and told that you are responsible for this enslavement (Jeremiah 2:17)?

• compared to a prostitute (Jeremiah 2:20)?

• called a "degenerate plant of an alien vine" (Jeremiah 2:21)?

• described as permanently stained by sin (Jeremiah 2:22)?

• likened to a wild dromedary or donkey in heat (Jeremiah 2:23-25)?

• depicted as utterly stupid for trusting in rocks and trees instead of God (Jeremiah 2:27-28)?

• compared to children who don't learn from correction (Jeremiah 2:30)?

• likened to an unfaithful bride who preens herself for illicit love while her skirts are stained, for all to see, with the blood of the innocents (Jeremiah 2:32-34)?

But does all this have anything to do with us? Perhaps more than we care to admit. For we too readily forsake Jesus, our first love.

We let ourselves become enslaved, if not to addictive substances, then to things we think we need to live in ease and comfort.

We go after idols, not of wood and stone but wealth, talent, and position.

Instead of finding the solution to our problems in God's word, we look to the world's wisdom and keep repeating the same mistakes.

Meanwhile, we turn a blind eye to injustices happening right under our noses.

I am not scolding you, dear reader, but myself.

The solution: "God calls for obedience to His commands in a pure covenantal relationship. Sin requires repentance and restoration; obedience leads to blessing and joy" - Roy E. Hayden, Introduction to Jeremiah, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 958.

Or we will suffer the consequences, as our wickedness corrects us and our blacksliding rebukes us.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to deal with my own tendencies toward idolatry, compromise, and backsliding. Amen.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Choose life!

"Moses speaks to Israel"
by Paul Hardy

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Deuteronomy 30:1-20

TO CHEW ON: "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live." Deuteronomy 30:19

The book of Deuteronomy is a series of farewell talks that  Moses gave to the Israelites just before they entered Canaan. Our reading today is the end of his third message where he begs the people, who will inevitably wander away from God,  to return to Him and choose life.

Look at how he persuades, instructs, and pleads:

1. They can come home (Deuteronomy 30:1-5):
They will wander. But God's call for them to return is mighty appealing. It's a call from captivity to freedom, from separation to togetherness. It's an invitation to come HOME!

2. God will change them at the deepest level (Deuteronomy 30:6):
How will God keep them from wandering away again? He will circumcise their hearts. We know how male circumcision was a physical sign of God's covenant with the Israelites. Here God promises to carve that same incision of covenant into their hearts. It's a mark that will, like physical circumcision, affect them spiritually at the deepest most private place. And like physical circumcision is irreversible, so this heart circumcision will help them stay the course.

3. God is for them (Deuteronomy 30:7, 9):
When they choose God, the tables will be turned on their persecutors while God blesses them in quantifiable ways—more kids, more cows, more crops!

4. The choice is clear (Deuteronomy:11-14):
This is no new, hidden, mysterious, distant or confusing matter. It's a choice they've faced before. It's near them, in them. What is it?
- A choice to love God (vs. 6).
- A choice to obey God (vs. 10).

5. The choice is important (Deuteronomy 30:15-20):
It's important because it's a choice between good and evil, life and death. "Choose life," Moses begs, "so that you and your children will live."

Imagine Moses preaching this sermon in my church or yours. It would be fitting, wouldn't it — his plea for backsliders to return with the assurance that God can permanently change hearts. His confronting us with the challenge to love and obey God in the context of all the things that clamour for our allegiance. His plea that we make the right decision because it will impact our eternal destiny.

I ask myself have I chosen life? Or have I, in my heart, wandered away, even set up some idolatrous outposts? What about you?

PRAYER: Father God, help me in today's every decision to understand what's at stake and to choose life. Amen.

MORE: The Prodigal Son

Moses' plea for wanderers to come home reminds me of the story of the prodigal son, told with true storytelling skill in this YouTube video: "Jesus of Nazareth: The Prodigal Son."

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Are you a backslider?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Hosea 11:1-11

TO CHEW ON: "My people are bent on backsliding from Me.

Though they call to the Most high,

None at all exalt Him." Hosea 11:7

We so easily turn from God's highest and best for us. The Bible has a word for that: backsliding - "to return to wrong or sinful ways." Hosea characterized his audience as "bent on backsliding." Oh, they were religious all right, but their religion was heartless--a lifeless sham that didn't please God at all.

We can learn a lot about backsliding by looking at the Bible passages that talk about it. Let's think of the conditions they describe as spiritual symptoms and ask ourselves, do I exhibit any of these?

Symptoms of backsliding include:

• Self-absorption (Proverbs 14:14).

• Religious lawlessness and independence (Matthew 24:12).

• Bondage to ritual (Galatians 4:9).

• Loss of spiritual love and enthusiasm (Revelation 2:4).

Just like a physical illness puts us out of commission, the chronic backslider may find him or herself, spiritually laid up.

Some of the results of backsliding are:

• It makes the victim unfit for kingdom work (Luke 9:62).

• It results in God's displeasure and discipline (Hebrews 10:38-39).

What brings about this condition? The Bible shows us that there is a variety of spiritual germs and viruses that cause backsliding to begin and continue.

Causes of backsliding include:

• An absence of spiritual leadership. When Moses was on Mount Sinai with God, wishy-washy Aaron, who Moses had put in charge of the people, easily gave in to the peoples' demands to make a calf idol for them to worship (Exodus 32:1-4).

• Evil associates - Solomon turned from following God by letting his idolatrous wives influence him (1 Kings 11:4).

• Worldly success - Amaziah returned from successful battle only to set up images for worship (2 Chronicles 25:1-2,14).

• Shallowness - according to Jesus' warning in the parable of the sower and the seed (Luke 8:13).

• An empty life - according to Jesus' story, the person who was freed from demonic oppression, but neglected to fill the void with Godly things was soon under the same influences as before (Luke 11:24-26).

• Lack of spiritual insight, brought about by lack of faith (John 6:63-66).

• Being in love with the world - as Demas, who left Paul, was (2 Timothy 4:10).

Do you see any symptoms of backsliding in yourself? I know I do in me. Let's follow Hosea's advice:

 Come, and let us return to the LORD;
      For He has torn, but He will heal us;
      He has stricken, but He will bind us up.

After two days He will revive us;
      On the third day He will raise us up,
      That we may live in His sight.
 

 Let us know,
      Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD.
      His going forth is established as the morning;
      He will come to us like the rain,
      Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
   
    Hosea 6:1-3

PRAYER: Dear God, I so easily get distracted from Your highest and best for me. Please show my my points of vulnerability toward backsliding. Help me to fall in love with You again. Amen.

MORE: "Holy Spirit Rain Down" sung by Hillsong

The fruit of one's own way

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Proverbs 1:20-33

TO CHEW ON: "They would have none of my counsel
And despised my every rebuke.
Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own way,
And be filled to the full with their own fancies." Proverbs 1:30,31

One of the things that persuaded me to give my life back to the Lord when I was backslidden was this principle of fruit. For the fruit of even a few years of living away from the Lord was not that good!

The Bible speaks often of sin's fruit. It is:

Bitter - Moses prophesied that Israel would rebel against God and in rebellion her fruit would be "...the vine of Sodom and the fields of Gomorrah / Their grapes are gall" - Deuteronomy 32:32.

Disappointing: Just like the vineyard owner was disappointed by his workers' efforts in Isaiah's vineyard song, targeted to Israel's leaders who had become unjust and oppressive  - Isaiah 5:2.

Selfish: According to Hosea, talking about Israel in her backslidden state - Hosea 10:1.

Deceitful: Another fruit of going one's own way that Hosea mentions - Hosea 10:13.

Corrupt: Giving evidence of the kind of tree (life) really on display (Jesus in Matthew 7:17).

Diverse and plentiful: Paul contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 where he lists some of the fruits in sin's fruit bowl: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, cursing, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, "and the like" (just in case he's missed any) - Galatians 5:19,20..

It sure makes one want to have the other kind of fruit—wisdom's fruit—doesn't it?


PRAYER: Dear God, this list of sin's fruits shows me again how important it is to give You—the source of all wisdom—the control of my life. Help me to do that day by day. Amen.

MORE: The fruit of the Spirit

"The the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." - Galatians 5:22,23