LET GOD ARISE

Numbers 10:35 “And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, O Jehovah, and let thine enemies be scattered.”

The story was told of a little boy named Tommy. Tommy was in the fourth grade and he walked to school. Everyday on his way home, a group of eighth grade boys would torment him. They threatened him. They pushed him down. They knocked his books all over the sidewalk. This went on for several weeks. It got so bad that poor little Tommy didn’t even want to go to school any more.

One evening, while lying in bed, Tommy prayed. “Dear Lord, I am so tired of these bullies. Tomorrow, I’m fighting back. I would really appreciate it, if you would show up.” The next day, just like every other day, the bullies showed up to push around Tommy. This would be the last day that those bullies ever confronted Tommy, though. He hung his back pack on the gate next to him, he balled up his fist, and he closed his eyes. He was taking a stand. What he didn’t know, was that his back pack has pushed open the gate door of a yard that was the home of a very large Doberman. When Tommy opened his eyes he saw the bullies running down the street with the Doberman chasing close behind.

Perhaps you have felt like Tommy. Maybe you have felt ganged up on. Day after day you find yourself pushed around by life. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could close your eyes for just a minute and when you opened them again, your problems would be gone? Although God does not promise us a life free of trouble, he does ensure us of moments when he will scatter his enemies.

Our scripture indicates to us that there can be times when God moves and his enemies flee. You see, as Moses made the call “Rise up, O Jehovah”, it was a call for the Israelites to pick up camp and move. The tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant (which was God’s manifest presence) were moving. The cloud that led the children of Israel was changing locations. If God’s people were to remain within the blessings of God, they had no choice but to pack up and move after it. It wasn’t always convenient, but it was necessary in order for them to progress forward and be closer to God’s Promised Land.

Moses undoubtedly knew that there would be enemies out there that intended to stop their forward progress. They were enemies that wanted to keep them at bay. But God was moving and he would scatter his enemies. It was up to the Israelites to follow.

In our lives today, we will encounter enemies and the closer we get to God’s promises the more clearly we will see them. They will stand in an attempt to block you from your calling, from your peace, from your joy. But, just like in the wilderness, God will rise up. He will move. The question is, when God moves, do you have the faith to follow? Will you press on even when you can see your enemies? No matter what they may be, whether the enemies are in your home, on your job, in your emotions, etc. When God moves, they will scatter. If we follow after him, he will clear the path. Keep walking. Keep moving. It’s the only way to get through.

OUR SOVEREIGN GOD

Daniel 4:37 “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”

A little girl, dressed in her Sunday best, was running as fast as she could, trying not to be late for Sunday School. As she ran she prayed, “Dear Lord, please don’t let me be late!” As she was running and praying, she tripped on a curb and fell, getting her clothes dirty and tearing her dress. She got up, brushed herself off, and started running again. This time she prayed a little bit differently: “Dear Lord, please don’t let me be late…but don’t shove me either.”

This girl understood that God is in control of everything. The word “sovereign” is both a noun and verb. As a verb it means, “to rule,” and as a noun it means “king” or “absolute ruler.” To say that God is sovereign is to say that God is in charge of the entire universe all the time. The Westminster Confession puts it like this: “He ordains whatsoever comes to pass.” In a nutshell, God’s sovereignty means that he is absolutely free to do as he pleases and to demonstrate his absolute control over the actions of all his creatures. Or, to put it another way, he permits, for reasons known only to him, people to act contrary to his revealed will, but he never allows them to act against his sovereign will.

The sovereignty of God is a very humbling doctrine. Sovereignty reminds us that God is God and we are not. It’s an exalting doctrine because it gives us a big view of God. Many of us struggle because our view of God is too small. It’s also a mysterious doctrine because it brings us face to face with the problem of evil and free will. If God is sovereign, why is there evil in the universe? If humans have free will, how can God be in control? These questions have been debated for centuries. Suffice it to say that God is sovereign and you and I are fully responsible for all the choices we make. It’s a clarifying doctrine because it teaches that there is no such thing as luck, chance, fate or coincidence. You can have God or chance, but you can’t have both. It is an empowering doctrine. Since God is in charge, no mere human can intimidate you. You can live your life with boldness and confidence, without fearing anyone or anything. Since God is sovereign, we can trust him with our lives.

Understanding God’s sovereignty causes us to focus on him, not ourselves. Our response should be to fall at his feet and to give him everything we are and everything we own. Pride is not the sole possession of the powerful, the rich, or the famous. It controls each of us if we’re not careful.

Our scripture says it best. Everything he does is right and all his ways are just. He is a great big God that controls the universe. Still, he cares you and me. Let us place our trust in the God who does everything right. He is sovereign and he is in complete control.

SIMPLY HAPPY

Luke 12:15 “Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family said it very well. He wrote, “Though I can make no claim to wealth, I have tasted most of the things Americans hunger for; new cars, an attractive home, and gadgets and devices which promise to set us free. Looking at those materialistic possessions from the other side of the cash register, I can tell you that they don’t deliver the satisfaction they advertise. On the contrary, I have found great wisdom in the adage, ‘That which you own will eventually own you.’ How true that is. Having surrendered my hard earned dollars for a new object only obligates me to maintain and protect it; instead of its contributing to my pleasure, I must spend my precious Saturdays oiling it, mowing it, painting it, repairing it, cleaning it, or calling the Salvation Army to haul it off. The time I might have invested in worthwhile family activities is spent in slavery to a depreciating piece of junk. This would be funny if it weren’t so true.”

Ask most people today if money buys happiness and they’ll say no. But ask those same people if a little more money will make us a little happier-- and most will agree. The Roper Organization asked Americans who make $15,000-$30,000 how much they needed to fulfill all their dreams. The largest group said they’d need $50,000-$60,000. Yet when that same question was put to people earning over $50,000, the largest group in that segment said they’d need at least $125,000 a year, if not more.

Over the past fifteen years researchers have studied the relationship between money and happiness. They have concluded that money can buy pleasure, but not happiness. What’s the difference? Pleasure is temporary release. Ability to take a Florida vacation, buy a better car, a membership at the country club. We can buy temporary feel goods, and we can often do it for years at a time. But, happiness comes from your experiences in which you enjoy investing your mental and emotional energies.

There is no doubt that God intends for us to live an abundant life. Christ said so in John 10:10. He grants us so many opportunities to find the fulfillment that will bring happiness. Those opportunities may not consist of making lots of money or having numerous possessions. Happiness comes from investing in your passions and investing in people

If every job in the world paid the exact same– what would you do? Would you keep doing what you’re doing now? Your answer is very telling. We all may not have our dream job. We may not all be living in our ideal situation. Even so, happiness is attainable. Be encouraged to invest some of yourself in the things that motivate you. Follow the calling that God has placed on your life. It may not require a change in vocation – simply a change in attitude and approach.

Truly, our jobs do not define us. Our financial portfolio is not our definition. Life consists of so much more. Be challenged today to live big by pursuing the things that God has placed in your heart. Do it even if circumstances don’t immediately change. Let your heart be touched by your new outlook on life. You’ll find happiness in the place that you never thought to look.

SECOND CHANCE GOD

2 Chronicles 33:13 “And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom.”

We like to think that success is based on one victory after another, but even in the sports world, we know that simply is not true. Hank Aaron, the man who broke Babe Ruth’s home run record, struck out more times than 99% of the players who make it to the major leagues. Yet we do not remember him for the strike outs, just the home runs. He was of the belief after each strike out, if I just get another chance, I’ll hit a home run.

Everybody who finds their way to Jesus Christ comes with the realization somewhere along the line, that they failed miserably in their relationship to God. They come to God, not with a bold list of demands, but in a humble spirit in need of a second chance. I do not fully understand where we got the image of God being an old angry man with a long beard ready to zap us from outer space for each error we make, but it did not come from the Bible.

Scripture informs us that our God is a “second chance God”. He took a murderer by the name of Moses, and turned him into a great national and spiritual leader. He took a liar and deceiver by the name of Jacob, and made him the cornerstone of a nation. He took an adulterer and murderer like David, and used him to write many of the Psalms to strengthen and encourage the people of God. He took a woman who had been married and divorced five times and was now living with a sixth man and turned her into the first evangelist to go into Samaria. He took some of us, knowing what we were, and turned us into to what we are becoming today.

Our scripture is a portion of the story of King Manasseh. He was an evil man that was full of pride. He had rejected God and his laws. But one day, God brought Manasseh face to face with reality. He found himself in prison at the hands of Assyria. At that point nothing that he had previously placed his trust him could help him. Not his riches, not his power, not his crown. His situation was hopeless, and he was helpless. You may know all too well how humbling difficult circumstances can be. It is in those moments that, like Manasseh, we have an opportunity to remember that God offers second chances.

A person whose life had been a complete moral and spiritual disaster, got a second chance from a second chance God and he spent the rest of his life attempting to lead his people back to God. You can never go back into the past and change what was said or what was done, but all of us have the opportunity in God to make a positive difference in what takes place from here on out. So what if you’ve blown it for the past two years, past twenty years, or past forty years. You don’t have to end up that way. Don’t buy into the silly notion that once we give our hearts to the Lord, we will not require a second chance from God. Do know without a doubt that God loves us and, in his great mercy, is willing and ready to give us the opportunity to get it right.?

If you find yourself off track and feel that you’re lost, remember God is a God of second chances. Let him redirect your path. Live in his forgiveness. Be free and spend the rest of your life being the person he created you to be.

LAY IT DOWN

Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”

Native hunters in the jungles of Africa have a clever way of trapping monkeys. They slice a coconut in two, hollow it out, and in one half of the shell cut a hole just big enough for a monkey’s hand to pass through. Then they place an orange in the other coconut half before fastening together the two halves of the coconut shell. Finally, they secure the coconut to a tree with a rope, retreat into the jungle, and wait. Sooner or later, an unsuspecting monkey swings by, smells the delicious orange, and discovers its location inside the coconut. The monkey then slips his hand through the small hole, grasps the orange, and tries to pull it through the hole. Of course, the orange won’t come out; it’s too big for the hole. To no avail the persistent monkey continues to pull and pull, never realizing the danger he is in. While the monkey struggles with the orange, the hunters simply stroll in and capture the monkey by throwing a net over him. As long as the monkey keeps his fist wrapped around the orange, the monkey is trapped.

It’s too bad that the poor monkey could save its own life if it would let go of the orange. It rarely occurs to a monkey, however, that it can’t have both the orange and its freedom. That delicious orange becomes a deadly trap. The world sets traps for you that are not unlike the monkey trap. You hear constantly that if you just have enough money, enough stuff, enough power, enough prestige-then you’ll be happy. Under that illusion people spend their whole lives thinking you must have it all. The call of Christianity is unlike that of the world. The focus of the world is on what you can get out of life. A Christian is called to be live life on a higher plain.

The Apostle Paul challenges us to offer ourselves as a sacrifice. Instead of constantly increasing ourselves and taking more for our own contentment, he urges us to lay it down in order to please God. It is an act of worship – he says. We have all learned by now that this idea is very contrary to our own personal nature. Why would I live as a sacrifice, when I can live with surplus? It’s troubling to our natural minds because it is a spiritual truth. The natural eye perceives things in light of our feelings and surroundings. The spiritual eye looks beyond immediate need or want and sees a greater calling which leads to a greater life.

We are confronted every day with circumstances that demand we choose between a world view and a God view. If we choose to adopt a worldly attitude by tightly holding on to things more than we seek after God, we rob ourselves of a deeper connection with the one who created us. God longs for us to give him our body, our mind, and our will. If we make the commitment to be different from the world and to lay our lives down for Christ, we will live fulfilled and blessed. We will have our hope, not in things that pass away, but in one who lives forever.

THE HERITAGE OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that rises against you will be condemned. This is the heritage of the servants of God.”

Have you ever had the experience of planning to make something absolutely wonderful and at the last moment something went wrong and messed it all up? Have you ever played in a game, and it looked for certain that your team was definitely going to win, and somehow things started to go wrong and you just could not believe you lost? Have you ever met a person and you knew deep inside, this was the person you really wanted and you were hoping to spend your life with, but somewhere the relationship went sour and came to a painful end? Life is full of situations that come into our lives and alter our plans for the future. Sometimes we make bad decisions and are forced to deal with things we do not like. Sometimes though, difficult and painful circumstances can come into our lives simply from us making a commitment to follow Jesus Christ. It is inexplicable, but it happens.

As believers we are sure to encounter difficult times. The Psalmist wrote, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” But there is great hope found in our scripture today. Nothing that is created to harm us will prosper. Notice that it doesn’t say that weapons won’t exist. There is no promise that life will be free of difficult moments, some which are extremely trying. The promise is that they will not prosper. The word prosper means “to be successful”. What an amazing promise. Weapons will be formed. People will talk. We may be persecuted. Times may be stressful. But according to the promise of Almighty God, nothing designed to destroy us will succeed.

I get the mental picture of a toy gun. It looks real. If you didn’t know it was a toy and it was pointed directly at you then you may be fearful for your life. Then the trigger is pulled. And slowly from the barrel of the gun comes a small flag with the word “BANG!” You see, many times the enemy attempts to overcome us with the mere threat of destruction. When times do get rough, we may feel as though we have lost. We may experience desperate feelings of hopelessness. That is the enemy’s game plan. Convince us to give up, to quit trying based on the perception of defeat. The prophet Isaiah proclaims, don’t worry and don’t quit. No weapon formed against you will prosper.

Why can we have this assurance? The prophet teaches us that it is the heritage of the righteous. The word heritage means “something reserved for one.” Victory has been reserved for you and me. It is mine. Not because I can fight hard enough to win. Not because I am strong enough to overcome. I have the promise of victory simply because I am a child of the Most High God. It is my heritage.

Understanding that promise ought to change our perspective about trials and troubles. Sure they are uncomfortable, but they will never defeat you and me. In fact, these troubles just solidify my standing in the Kingdom. You are a child of God. Nothing will be successful in destroying you. Let us all walk today in the confidence of our heritage.

SOMETHING TO BRAG ABOUT

Jeremiah 9:24 “But let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth.”

An older woman was cruising a busy parking lot in her new Mercedes-Benz looking in vain for a parking space. She finally saw someone loaded with packages heading for a car, so she followed him, put on her blinker and waited patiently until he pulled out. Just as he pulled out a young man in a sleek black Porsche zipped in to the space ahead of her. She was dumbfounded and outraged, and jumped out of her car, shouting, "How could you do that? Didn’t you see me waiting there with my signal on?" He smiled an arrogant smile and replied, "That’s what you can do when you’re young and fast." As the young man was about to enter the store he heard the hideous crunch of metal striking metal. He ran back, horrified, to see that the woman had gunned her Mercedes and smashed it into his beautiful black Porsche. He ran back and cried, "How could you do that?" She smiled back at him and replied, "That’s what you can do when you’re old and rich!"

I remember growing up and watching some of the people in my church. They seemed to be without flaw. In their pressed suits and perfect dresses with their bible in hand. I was convinced that those individuals, if necessary, could have walked on water. Many of those people profoundly impacted my life for the better. However, there were those who were acutely aware of their “flawlessness”. The way they dressed, the way they spoke, and the things they abstained from had become their defining characteristics. They knew they were “good” and maybe even “holy”. They were also acutely aware of the rest of us who were not “perfect”.

As a teenager, I was no longer impressed by them, but I was more perplexed. I was perplexed because I could not figure out why I was still imperfect as they made perfection look and sound so simple. They made me feel as if something was wrong with me. I felt as though I was chasing this untouchable goal of “sanctification”. And it wasn’t just me. Anyone who was not pre-packaged in perfection was looked down upon. “Clean up and then you can join our club” was the unspoken motto of the day.

There was a boastful spirit that was centered upon rules and regulations. Don’t go here and don’t go there. Don’t wear this and don’t say that. And because they didn’t go to those places, because they didn’t wear those things, because they didn’t say those words, they were better than anyone who did. I grew up feeling guilt and shame (not to mention fear) for every misstep, for every temptation, for everything…period.

As a young adult, I realized that I had spent so much time without hearing about the love of God. It had been so long, that the idea of a God who loved me aside from what I did was tough to comprehend. I mean, how would I really know that I was saved if I could not validate it with either abstinence or performance? What could I boast about?

Don’t get me wrong. I am hungry to please God. I want to lay aside the things that hinder me. I want to love God with every part of me. I know, without question, that sin cannot increase in my life simply in order for grace to increase.

Our scripture today says it best. The only thing that I can be proud of is that I know God and that I know his love for me. It doesn’t mean that I have more revelation than the next person, but simply that I have the privilege of having my life touched by his precious love and that I know him as my savior. I should not hold my head up high because I have checked everything off my own list of qualifications. I should instead be humbled by the fact that there isn’t a pen big enough to blot out all of my sin and failure. I should hold my head high because he loves me enough to cover my sin in his blood and receive me as his own.

As we journey through life, we ought to always live with the knowledge of God’s love for us. I am challenged today to never boast of the way I do things. You see, I too can be tempted to become intolerable of things that are different. I too can look at things that are new and innovative with suspicion. I pray that I never cause others to feel the way I felt as a child. Instead, let us all remember that it is God alone that judges, justifies, and blesses. That’s something to be proud of.