Be Holy Like God...

Over and over in the first few books of the Bible, the writer encourages the nation of Israel with the following phrase...

"Be holy because I (God) am holy."

This comes frequently on the heels of some law such as laws of cleanliness, relationships or worship. It is an exhortation to the nation of Israel to remember that if they truly are to belong to God, they must become like Him.

We are given the same exhortation in the New Testament as well (1 Peter 1:16). So, the implication is that a true test of following God is that we are in essence becoming like Him. By extension, the tendency is that if we are following Him, He is in the process of making us pure, set apart for Himself.

The Israelites, as they were becoming the community of Israel, were a nation called out to be set apart to show the world what a God-following nation was supposed to look like. It is the reason for the giving of the laws. It is the reason that God called them and set them apart. Not because of who they were but for the sake of making His glory known among the nations. They were to be different from the Jebusites, Hittites, Perrizites, etc. They were to be a "holy" people living by, for and in God's law.

Today, more than ever, we as followers of Jesus Christ need to be a set apart people. We need to be "holy" in an impure and fallen world. We must strive to become Christ in our chaotic cultures and we must, at the same time, yield to God and His Spirit and allow Him to transform and conform us to the image of His Son, Jesus.

The world today cries out for a true, set apart people of God. I believe that all of creation leans forward in expectation to see that true community of believers, those belonging to God, who are set apart and holy in a marred world. The eager anticipation is that there will be and is a community set apart, living according to God's plan, destined to fulfill the imagery of becoming like Christ. In a society and world today that seems to lack any sort of moral compass or direction, the world longs for a true north community, under God, honoring His laws and His principles.

So, be holy...

For the glory of God the Father...

For your/our mutual benefit...

For a testimony to all the nations...

(Micah 4:5) "Though all the peoples each walk in the name of their gods, we will walk in the name of Yahweh our God forever and ever..." 

Choosing Not By Appearance...

In Genesis 13, there is a short story where Abraham and his nephew, Lot, are living in the same general area in the Negev but the population of their families and herds become so great, a separation is necessitated. The land they are jointly living on becomes unable to support them. Quarreling was breaking out between their herdsmen over water and grass resources. So, Abraham proposes a solution: they would split up and go separate ways in the land.

Abraham offers Lot the first choice of the land. If Lot were to choose to the left, Abraham would go right.

Lot looked out over the land. He saw the mountains in one direction and the well-watered, Jordan valley in the other. The Jordan Valley looked enticing - like the Lord's garden and the Land of Egypt - so he chose the entire valley for himself.

Lot chose, what appeared on the surface, the better land. It had cities. It had water. The land was flat and easily traversed. However, living in this valley were some of the wickedest people alive at that time. He chose the attractive but sinful.

Abraham, on the other hand, chose not a land. He actually decided to take what came. In reality, his choice was not land or a place but his choice was to be obedient to God. Lot chose a great looking place. Abraham chose God.

The real promise and reward is never in a thing, a place or a possession. No matter what the world has to offer. No matter what seems to us to satisfy. Nothing can ever take the place of choosing God. In the Old Testament, God's true blessing to Israel was not the promised land. It was God Himself. He called them, set them apart and created them to be a special people for Himself. Their true reward was Him, not His gifts and provisions.

I am often tempted to choose the blessings instead of the Blesser. I often choose the things seen rather than the things unseen. I am often tempted to choose the material and not the Maker.

May we, like Abraham, have eyes of faith and choose the thing that really matters - God and our obedience to Him. You see, Abraham believed the Lord and the Lord credited it to him as righteousness.

May we choose today not based on appearance but on faith in the One True thing that really matters...

God's Special Relationship with Man...

I am back in Genesis again beginning my second reading through the Bible for 2013. I am always (yes, always) amazed at the gems that I find every time I re-read God's Word. Today, I was inspired by a small verse in chapter 5 of Genesis which spoke to my heart in saying...

(Genesis 5:1b-2) "On the day that God created man, He made them in the likeness of God; He created them male and female. When they were created, He blessed them and called them man."

What a special relationship God has bestowed us with! A relationship that originates in Him, draws us close to Him and even offers an eternal audience with Him. The short verse basically says that our relationship is special because...

1. We were created by Him. We are the creature. He is the creator. He has formed us and knows us better than we even know ourselves.

2. We were created in His likeness, His image. All of us are a reflection of the Divine. All have a divine spark, something that makes us worth God's love and care over all other parts of His creation. He didn't make animals or plants in His image. He chose us to bear that blessing.

3. He also created us male and female. Gender is God's plan and God's design no matter what current culture says. I am probably called old-fashioned, out of touch and even backwards by many people today because of my views of gender - they tend to be Biblical. It doesn't bother me. I choose to believe the roles that God created for us.

4. We are also blessed by God. Be fruitful and multiply. Rule over (care for) the rest of creation. We are blessed by being made in His image and He providing a way for us to have a relationship with Himself now and forever. It is so amazing that even the angels are a bit confused.

5. Finally, and don't miss this, we are named by God. "He called them man". Man gave name to the animals. God gave name to man. How special is this?

When I see and reflect on the special place in God's heart for man, it challenges me to never look at anyone as an ordinary person. The poor are not "the poor", they are God-created beings made in His own image. The hopeless are not "the hopeless". They are people created for a special relationship with God. The rich are not "the powerful". They are just like everyone else: created by God, for God and only fulfilled when they are in God.

Small verse; big implications...

The Rest of the Story...

This morning, I just finished reading through the Bible for the year and will start back in Genesis tomorrow. I have been doing this (reading the Bible through 2x each year) for the past 20+ years as a part of my devotional life. It has been a great discipline to have and I always learn something new each time through. As I finished up the book of Revelation today, I had a few thoughts come up that I would like to share...

1. We know the end of the story. In the midst of all that was going on in Revelation - the trials, persecution, judgments, etc. - there is a profound sense building of peace that we know the final outcome. Jesus will conquer, sin and death will be vanquished, and He will establish his new heave and earth to be inhabited by His chosen. It's kind of like watching a sporting event that has been previously taped and you know the outcome. You still have moments of anxiousness. You still doubt at times that the home team is going to win. But deep down inside, you know. You know the end of the story!

2. The enemy is working overtime. Revelation 12:12 says that, "...the Devil has come down to you with great fury, because he knows he has a short time." Satan is furious. He knows the end of the story as well. He doesn't want to believe it, but in truth, He cannot escape it. He is furious with Himself. He is furious in action against God's elect, the church. He is doing all he can to delay the time. But in the end, guess what? He's a defeated, fallen angel whose course has already been set. It is a course of utter defeat.

3. Jesus is coming back. This is not fiction. This is not wishful thinking. This is not a fairy tale. This is God's honest and promised truth - Jesus is coming back! He will come to judge and make war in righteousness. He will wear a robe stained with blood, His blood, and He will be recognized as the Living Word of God. He will strike the nations with a sharp sword but He will also shepherd them with an iron (unbending) scepter. And the name written on His thigh will proclaim who He is: King of Kings, Lord of Lords!

So, I don't know about you, but I take encouragement in knowing that the battle belongs to the Lord. In the midst of all the crazy things this world has to offer and the crazy things my country/culture decides to pursue, I know the end of the story: Jesus is coming and God is the final Victor!

I simply close by agreeing with John the Revelator when he says...

"Come, Lord Jesus..."

To which I hear Christ echo...

"Yes, I am coming quickly!" 

Selah..

A Farmer's View on the DOMA Overruling...

I am a simple person but not a simpleton (I hope). I am not overly upset by the US Supreme Court's decision yesterday to overrule the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). I am also not unmoved. My emotions and reactions to the decision lie somewhere between the hysterical "it's the end of civilization as we know it" syndrome and the Pollyanna-istic position of "everything is going to be all right".

You see, I am an agriculturist, a farmer if you will. And I have come to learn some laws of nature that are in reality the laws that our Creator God has amazingly instilled in everything. So, with your permission, let me share with you some things I've experienced and gleaned from the land and from the Lord.

1. God is in control of the growth and the final product. We can plant, weed, toil and even worry all day long but in the end, only God can cause the growth and the product to emerge. I have always been amazed when I plant a vegetable seed. It is so small and yet all the potential for growth into a new plant (thousands of times larger than the original seed) and all the yield that will come from it, is already encapsulated in that very seed. I can prepare a good growing environment, supply plenty of water, make sure it is in a sunny area, but in the end, only God can bring about the growth and the final product. The reason I don't fret too much about the US Supreme Court's ruling on marriage and the family? I know that God's laws are never changed by man's law. In fact, I am told that He sits in the heavens and even chuckles at our errant efforts.

2. You generally harvest what you plant. I have never planted a pea patch and had an abundant harvest of corn. It doesn't work that way. Bean seeds produce beans. Tomato slips produce tomatoes. There are weeds that grow up and want to obscure what was planted, but I am pretty sure that what you plant is what you eventually harvest. With the reversing of the Defense of Marriage Act, we as a society have sown a seed. It will produce its own harvest. And since it is a anti-Biblical and opposed to God's law, it will be interesting to see what we reap. Again, I am not a doomsday prophet. But we would be foolish to think that we will not reap what we sow.

3. The rain pretty much falls on the unjust and the just alike. No matter what the man-made decisions that our country and society comes up with, we as followers of Jesus should passionately hold to His teachings, His ways. However, in the process, we should never stop loving those whose opinion, choices and even lifestyles differ from ours. God doesn't love those who support this act any less than He loves us. Nor should we.

As I said, I am a pretty simple person. And I am convinced that no matter what little decisions we make down here and whatever little good seeds or bad seeds we plant, God is still on His throne. 

Today is the Longest Day of the Year...

Today is the longest day of the year. We call it the first day of summer. We celebrate by getting off work early and heading to the lake, pool or somewhere outdoors to welcome the season. But for many others, it is simply another day. In truth, every day seems to be the longest day.

It is the longest day for...

* The 1 billion chronically hungry people of the world who not only woke up hungry on this day but have no idea where or even if they will get food today...

* The 43 million people who woke up away from their homes and can't go home today or for the most part, the foreseeable future. They are internally displaced within their home country or have had to flee to another country. The reasons are legion: war, famine, persecution, etc.

* The 4.2 billion people who live in some sort of poverty. 2.6 billion live on less than $2 per day. 1.3 billion live in what is called "absolute" poverty or less than $1 per day.

* The 1.1 billion people who still have inadequate access to clean, safe drinking water. Many of them will spend hours today walking, waiting and hauling this precious resource.

* The 2.6 billion who still lack adequate access to clean sanitation.

* The 2.5 million people, mainly women and children, caught up in human trafficking. The majority of these are 18 to 24 years of age.

Yes, it is the longest day of the year. But if you're one of the above, in many respects, every day is a longest day...

We serve a God who proclaimed...

"The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18-19)

I wonder, on this longest day, could we stop and find a way to help ease the burden of just one of the least of these who experience a longest day every day?

World Refugee Day...

Today, June 20, is World Refugee Day. Did anyone notice...

* The 27 Million internally displaced persons in the world? These are people living in their own countries but have had to flee their home for reasons of war, poverty, hunger, or persecution.

* The 16 Million people who have not only had to flee their homes but their countries? Together with the IDPs of the world, this constitutes about 43 M people worldwide

* That more than half of the wold's refugees come from five countries: Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Syria and  Sudan?

* The major refugee host countries are: Pakistan, Iran, Germany and Kenya?

* Almost 50% of the world's refugees are 18 years or younger?

Jesus said in Matthew 25,...

"I was a stranger and you took Me in..." (v. 35)

Over 43 M people in the world cannot go home tonight. As followers of Jesus Christ, what are we doing to minister to these "least of these?"