Deception

 February 11, 2024

”Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.”“

—Exodus 32:1-5 

Pay close attention to what is happening here. Impatience is the driver. Idolatry is the result. They didn’t bow down to any of the gods that were worshipped by the Egyptians or the Canaanites. They fashioned an idol, a golden calf, which in appearance was little different than the gods of the nations around them. They didn’t call it Baal or Isis, or Molech. They gave the idol the name of the one true God. Today we don’t literally fashion and bow down to idols out of gold and say, “This statue is the LORD, the Creator and Ruler of all.” We’re more subtle about it. 

We bow down before the same idols, the same sins, the same obsessions and addictions of the world, but bless them by claiming they are really not what they appear to be. “They are,” we say, “the work of God.” We say, “God wants to bless you.” True enough until we add words to the effect that God wants you rich. We justify our greed, our lust, our prejudice or laziness by taking Scripture out of context and blessing our sin with God’s Name. So I have to ask myself, “What sin am I hiding behind my pious talk, blessing it in the name of Jesus?” And I must also ask, “How is my self-deception keeping me from truly bowing before the one and only God and Savior, Jesus Christ?”

Return

 February 10, 2024

I’ve spoken often in recent months about John 15:3 where Jesus says, “Abide in me.” I’ve talked about what it means to abide; that we abide in our abode, ie. Jesus wants to be where we land when we don’t have to be anywhere else in our thoughts. I’ve learned a few things about what that means…and what it doesn’t mean. Let me start with what it doesn’t mean.

Abiding in Christ doesn’t mean everything turns out all right, or that we will magically feel better about our troubles or bad circumstances. I’ve felt pretty somber for the past couple of weeks due to circumstances over which I have had little or no control. I think about them, and return to Jesus with them…repeatedly. The circumstances have actually helped me turn my thoughts to Christ more than before. I don’t feel any better about them, and have no divine insight as to how to proceed, but I am confident that God will work things out.

Years ago, a young woman was brought to my attention by a friend. This young woman was diagnosed with cancer, and had two young children who depended on her. Linda and I took the children in, and in prayer, the church gathered around this young woman with support and love. Her situation didn’t improve. 

One day while in conversation with her, she mentioned the name of her specialist at Roswell, our closest cancer hospital, so I contacted Roswell, asking for this doctor. They never heard of him. It turned out that she didn’t have cancer after all, and had been pulling this scam with a number of nearby churches. 

We had prayed for her healing. Did God answer our prayer? Not quite as we had imagined, but we certainly got an answer: we got the truth. So when I am feeling confused or uncertain, when I don’t know how to proceed, I pray. And in praying, I know God is at work. I can’t say I feel any better about the circumstances, but at the very least, they are pressing me to abide in Christ; to return to him constantly throughout the day. Hear what the Bible says about returning:

“For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” 

—Isaiah 30:15

In repeatedly returning, I find rest, and confidence that strengthens me for whatever God has in store.

Holiness to the Lord

 February 9, 2024

When in the Bible the High Priest entered the Tabernacle, he wore special, very costly vestments—linen robes, engraved jewels in settings of gold, and a unique turban with a golden plate engraved with the words “Holiness to the Lord.” Those words would literally be on his forehead every time he served in priestly capacity.

Today, Christians recognize Jesus Christ as our High Priest; the one who intercedes between God and ourselves, but we too, are given priestly responsibilities in this world. We are charged with being the ones who intercede in prayer for men and women before God. Though we are not the High Priest, we would do well to have at the forefront of our minds the same words as those on the ancient high priest’s turban: “Holiness to the Lord.” Imagine what griefs we could avoid, what sorrows we wouldn’t have to endure, what sin and shame that would never sully our name as Christians if we would keep before us that single thought; “Holiness to the Lord.”

St. Paul echos this with his word to the Corinthian Christians: “Bring every thought captive to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5) My thoughts tend to be like cats—they run every which way. I have to continually grab them and corral them in. As soon as I get one hauled in, another breaks loose and I have to chase it down. It is a never ending battle, but one that must be won at any cost, for it is in the mind that we win or lose. Lose the thoughts, and we lose at life. 

Grace and Works

 February 8, 2024

There are some things I wish weren’t in the Bible. Take Psalm 18, for example. It all starts out well enough, with praise for who God is:

”I love you, Lord, my strength.

 The Lord is my rock, 

my fortress and my deliverer; 

my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, 

my shield and the horn of my salvation, 

my stronghold.“

David goes on in v. 6 to speak of God’s deliverance:

”In my distress I called to the Lord; 

I cried to my God for help. 

From his temple he heard my voice; 

my cry came before him, into his ears.“

He follows this with a description of how that deliverance was accomplished, with volcanic eruptions, storms, wind, rain, hail and lightning. It is a moving, poetic description of the magnificence of God’s power and love.

The psalm ends similarly, with David emerging in triumph over his foes due to the hand of God upon him. It’s what is sandwiched between these two triumphs that bothers me. After testifying how God reached down and delivered him in his distress, David says this:

”The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; 

according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. 

For I have kept the ways of the Lord; 

I am not guilty of turning from my God. 

All his laws are before me; 

I have not turned away from his decrees. 

I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. 

The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, 

according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.“

—Psalm 18:20-24 

“I,” “Me,” “My;” Even while speaking of God’s gracious deliverance, David can’t seem to help inserting himself into the narrative. His pride and self-assurance are on full display. Years later, this pride would be his undoing as he took another man’s wife and had her husband murdered to cover it up. How unsettlingly true it is that even in the midst of praise and dependence on God, our hearts can harbor a pride that makes us believe our own strength is our salvation, and that we are exempt from even the most basic of God’s commandments.

Our judgmental spirits imagine we are better than others and are immune to the devil’s tricks and our own human weaknesses. It is only by God’s unmeasurable grace and love that flawed as we are, he allows us to participate in his salvation work. Praise him for his deliverance, and humbly acknowledge that it is God alone who is our deliverer.

Solitude

 February 7, 2024

In Exodus 24, when Moses went up on the mountain to hear from God, he was there for six days before God said anything. I wonder what Moses was doing for those six days? Was he feeling frustrated? Did he think he was wasting his time? Was he drumming his fingers on a rock, waiting for God to show up?

I don’t think so. Moses had been a shepherd; he knew what long periods of solitude were like. Unless we’ve experienced a lingering illness or been in prison, most of us don’t understand solitude. We want instant answers, microwave solutions to slow-cooker problems. When I was actively pastoring, people would come for counseling. Though they were feeling the heat of conflicts and sins that had been festering for a long time, they wanted immediate solutions, but life doesn’t work that way. For Moses, God wasn’t shy about speaking, but I believe was testing Moses to see if he was ready to listen. I think he does the same for us today, inviting us to come sit with him in silence till our hearts are quiet enough to hear his whisper.

How Long?

 February 6, 2024

I met George Beverly Shea years ago. His brother was the sociology professor at Houghton College. One evening, I went to his brother’s home to deliver a term paper, and when I knocked on the door, Bev (as Billy Graham called him) answered. For some reason, I mentioned that I was engaged to be married, and he immediately gave me an engagement gift for Linda—a butterscotch candy. We kept it for years after we were married. It disappeared one day; we never figured out if someone ate it, or it just got misplaced.

Shea was known for his song, “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” but tonight another of his songs comes to mind: “How Long Has it Been.”

How long has it been since you talked with the Lord

And told him your heart's hidden secrets

How long since you prayed 

How long since you stayed

On your knees till the light shone through

How long has it been since your mind felt at ease

How long since your heart knew no burden

Can you call him your friend 

How long has it been since you knew that he cared for you?

How long has it been since you knelt by your bed 

And prayed to the Lord up in heaven

How long since you knew that he'd answer you

And would keep you the long night through

How long has it been since you woke with the dawn 

And felt that the day's worth the living

Can you call him your friend 

How long has it been since you knew that he cared for you?

We American Christians are often in danger of being swallowed up by our culture that is so obsessed with progress, with growing bigger and better that we imagine that the Kingdom of God is built by our efforts. We give lip service to God’s rule, but act as if God can do nothing apart from us, when in fact, it’s the other way around. I know that I have often been guilty of failing to take a Sabbath. “There is stuff that I need to get done,” has been my excuse for disobeying the Fourth Commandment. 

Maybe we would get more done if we weren’t so worn out by our ceaseless activity. Maybe we would actually enjoy our relationship with God our Father. Maybe life would be less stressful if we simply acknowledged that God is God, and not ourselves. So the question remains: How long has it been?

 February 5, 2024

This morning I woke with a heavy sadness. It has been a momentous and difficult week. Yesterday, we gathered to worship and praise God for his faithfulness to us, but sometimes life can get heavy. When Psalm 30:5 says, “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning,” I don’t believe that statement is to be taken literally. I certainly didn’t feel joyous this morning. 

Nevertheless, I got up, ate breakfast, read my Bible and prayed. I drove to Cassadaga to help our granddaughter and her husband with the remodeling of the building that will house their coffee shop. Linda and I had supper and went to our respective Bible study groups. Our feelings are not our masters, so we don’t let them decide what we do.

I still feel that emotional and spiritual weight as I write at 9:00 pm. But I choose to praise and worship God, and to give thanks. Why? Because praise and thanksgiving is how we enter his presence.

‘Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.”      —Psalm 100‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭

Here is my request of you tonight: Pray for me. And tell me in the comments how you see God at work in your circumstances.