The Journey of Faith

Three days. That’s all it took for the complaining to start. Three days from blessing to grumbling. Three days from rejoicing to grousing.
Three days before the Israelites had walked through walls of water and felt the dry ground beneath their feet. They sang and danced and rejoiced, proclaiming “The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation; Who among the gods is like You, O Lord-majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” They sang of their trust in Him, “In your unfailing love You will lead the people You have redeemed…You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of Your inheritance.” (Ref. Exodus 15:2, 11, 13, 17.)
And everything changed. They found themselves in a desert with no drinkable water. So they turned on their God-appointed leader and “grumbled against Moses, saying ‘What are we to drink?’” (Ex. 15:24). We might think, “Are these the same people that witnessed the power and might of the Lord?” Well, yes, actually they were. But they quickly forgot God’s faithfulness and goodness just three days before and complained about the circumstances of the moment. It is a pattern that shows up over and over again in their wilderness journey. And if you and I are honest, the same pattern shows up in our own lives as well. Why do we, like the Israelites, fail to trust the Lord who has proven Himself faithful again and again and again?
In a word: unbelief. The very same unbelief that demoralized the faith of the Hebrew nation undermines our faith and confidence in God today. The exodus from Egypt was the great expression of Yahweh’s love for the Israelites. The cross of Jesus Christ is God’s ultimate expression of love to you and me. Every day we are surrounded by reminders of His care and devotion to us His children. Yet still, when we are faced with a challenge, we grumble. Rather than trust God, we whine and complain. And God asks, as He asked of Israel, “How long will these people refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?” (Num. 14:11). Faith is not just a necessary for the journey; it is the journey.
Jesus once posed a question, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). What would He find in you, Beloved, if He came today?

Make Your Words Count

Pay attention to your words.

They have more power and influence than you know – for those around you and for yourself. Scripture even says our words influence God. Whoa! In Numbers 13, the Israelites send out spies to check out the land of Canaan – the Promised Land. They returned with a glowing report of bounty and a terrifying tale of giants. Only two of the twelve trusted God to give them the land. The people rebelled and complained, claiming God sent them out into the desert to die. God heard every word and He said, “As surely as I live, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: In this desert, your bodies will fall . . .” (Num 14:28-29). Their children would inherit the Promised Land after forty years of wandering, but their unbelieving parents would never see it.

Psychologists have long taught the power of self-talk – from the Little Engine that Could – “I think I can, I think I can . . .” to athletes who rely on “I can do all things through Christ” (Phil 4:13). The 23rd Psalm is David expressing his hope and confidence in the provision, protection, guidance, comfort, goodness, and mercy of God. And if you haven’t figured it out, worship is more for our good than the Lord’s. He doesn’t need reminders of who He is, but you and I do.

Your words also carry a lot of weight in the lives of others. Once again David shows us how to change the climate around us. In Psalm 40 he said, “I proclaim [Your] righteousness in the great assembly” (v. 9). “I speak of your faithfulness and salvation . . . Your love and Your truth (v. 10)”. David was careful to always speak about God. He kept the Name of the Lord on the tip of His tongue and His praises on His lips. That’s very different from the conversations we hear all around us. Even the conversations we hear at church.

You and I have the power to influence our hearts and minds and that of those around you. David said the Lord had “put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord” (v. 3). What if everyone around you heard you always speak about the goodness of God? Imagine how that would change your home, your workplace, school, and yes, church. Imagine the change inside you. Your words matter, Beloved, make them count for good.

Weeds in the Church

In Numbers 5:1-4 the Lord God called for purity in the camp of the Israelites. He commanded that anyone with an infectious skin disease or discharge should be isolated outside the camp. An infection would spread rapidly through the community and could wipe out many people. To protect lives, it was necessary to separate the unhealthy people from the healthy.

But the Lord was concerned about more than their physical health. He also commanded that anyone who had touched a dead body should also be isolated because they were “ceremonially unclean” – that is impure. Just as was true for the physically diseased person, no spiritually impure person could remain among God’s people lest others “catch” the same spiritually malady. Sin is a sickness of the spirit and it is more infectious than any physical illness. You only have to look at many denominations that have abandoned the holy and righteous commands of God to see it.

Matthew 14:24-30 records Jesus’ parable equating the kingdom of heaven to a field of wheat. He said, an enemy came in the night and “sowed weeds among the wheat” which grew right along with the wheat. His intention was to overtake the field, push down the wheat, and destroy the harvest. Satan is that enemy and the church is the field. Over many years, he planted ungodly people here and there in the church who introduced destructive philosophies and twisted Scripture – albeit by small degrees. (Remember the frog in the pot?). The result is many weakened churches that have been overtaken by weeds. God’s people have been either won over to worldliness or pushed down and pushed out – in some denominations literally.

Look at the natural progression of this pattern: Jesus said, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold” (Mat 24:12). That is “agape” love – holy love – love for one another and love for God. This is the high price the church is paying now for allowing ungodliness to take root among God’s people.

Spiritual and moral purity in the Body of Christ must be a high priority lest the church becomes contaminated and lose her love for her Lord. Be mindful Beloved, you and I are the church. Are you letting weeds take root in your life? Perhaps it’s time to do some serious weeding (repentance) in your own garden before it spreads.  

In God’s Eyes

How do others see you?  How do you see yourself? More importantly, how does God see you?

Take the demonic in the tombs of the Gerasenes. His family saw him as evil, fearsome, and unworthy of human contact, but Jesus saw him as free and “in his right mind” (Mk 5:15).  The woman with the issue of blood saw herself as unclean, but Jesus saw her as a “daughter” worthy of compassion and healing (Luke 8:48). Simon the Pharisee saw a woman washing Jesus’ feet as a “sinful woman,” Jesus saw her as an example of love and forgiveness (Luke 7:36-50). Though the Samaritan woman’s neighbors regarded her as the town tramp, Jesus saw her as His messenger (John 4).  He saw Mary Magdalene, whom the whole town knew as a demon-possessed woman as the first witness to proclaim His resurrection (John 20:10-18).

Here’s one more: When the twelve spies of Israel went through Canaan, they saw themselves as “grasshoppers in our own eyes” (Nu 13:33). The people rebelled and refused to go in and take the land that God had already declared to be theirs. Because of their unbelief, the whole nation wandered in the wilderness until that entire faithless generation died. God took their children where they refused to go. To the Promised Land.

My friend, God sees you and me far more clearly than we could ever see ourselves.  Who you are in the sight of others, or even in your own eyes, is not who you are in the sight of God who created you, loves you, and redeemed you.  Where others see you through your mistakes, God sees you with all the potential He placed in you from before you were born.  When we see ourselves through the worldly standards of beauty and success, God sees us through the beauty of His Son and His victory over death.  When we see ourselves as unworthy, hopeless, useless, and unwanted He sees us as valuable, treasured, and desired, because He sees us through eyes of love and compassion.

How do others see you?  How do you see yourself?  When you consider those questions, always return to this truth: God sees you as precious and honored, and yes, Beloved. Ask Him to give you His perspective so you can live as the child of God that you are.

The Journey

The Spirit brought a verse to my attention this morning. “Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord” (Micah 6:5b). He asked, “What’s so important about Shittim and Gilgal?” And the dig was on.

Shittim is where the Israelite men fell into sexual immorality and idolatry with the Moabite women who worshipped Baal, even bringing one of the women into the camp. This was a slap in God’s face and because of their sin, 24,000 Israelites died at Shittim (see Numbers 25).

Gilgal was the first city the Israelites came to after crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land. It was here that the entire nation took a (painful) step of obedience to the Lord by circumcising all the males in the camp. This is where the Lord declared, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you” (Joshua 5:9). This was the place of a new life for Israel. Gilgal was also where the Israelites celebrated their first Passover in the Promised Land and where the manna they had eaten for forty days finally stopped.

Shittim represents the lowest point in Israel’s history when they were captivated by sin and idolatry. Gilgal represents the redemption of God when the Israelites finally submitted to the Lord and received His blessings. This verse is your story and mine. We all have a Shittim, a place in our lives where we were held in the grip of sin. But God’s grace is the way to Gilgal, the place of surrender and obedience and blessing. The place where we find the righteousness of God.

One other word jumps out at me: “journey.” It’s 276 kilometers (170 miles) from Shittim to Gilgal. It took the Israelites 40 years to make that trek. It is a journey from the place of sin to the place of righteousness. We’ve all walked it.  But we don’t walk it alone. From the day they walked out of Egypt to the day they walked on the dry ground of the Jordan, God was with them step-by-step. And He is with you and me.

Where are you on the journey from Shittim to Gilgal, Beloved? Take one more step. And another, and another. God is with you. The saints are cheering you on. You’re going to make it. You have God’s Word on it.

Hebrews: The Trouble With Sin

Here we are again at another difficult passage. That is, it’s difficult for us, but to God, it’s perfectly plain. We complicate it by looking for loopholes or playing Twister to make it say something less abrasive. Somebody’s not going to like this, but keep in mind, I didn’t say it. God did.

The writer of Hebrews delivers a strongly-worded warning: “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God” (10:26-27). If this sounds familiar, then you were paying attention at 6:4-6.

When Moses presented the Law that would govern the Israelites’ lives, he differentiated between “unintentional sin” and “intentional sin” (or “willful sin”). “Unintentional sin”  is used in the Scriptures eighteen times – all declaring that God offers atonement for unintentional sin. In Numbers 15:22-29 alone you will find it six times. But hear vs. 30-31: “But anyone who sins defiantly . . . blasphemes the Lord, and that person must be cut off from his people. Because he has despised the Lord’s word and broke His commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him.”

The writer of Hebrews calls this “deliberate sin.” It’s not that we stumbled into it,– but we deliberately went looking for it. It’s what Exodus 21:14 describes as “scheming” for sin. We could never tell God, “I didn’t mean to!” because we did.  There is no excuse – or sacrifice – for willful, defiant, intentional sin in a Christian’s life because “we have received the knowledge of the truth.” We know better, and in the words of Maya Angelou, “When you know better, you do better.” The writer echoes Moses’ words when he says there is “no sacrifice for [deliberate] sins.” All that is left is judgment and the fires of hell. That is a pretty clear indication that those who follow a pattern of deliberate sin are not saved. Redeemed people will not face judgment and destruction. But God’s enemies will.

As believers who have “had our hearts sprinkled [with the blood of Jesus] to cleanse us from a guilty conscience” (v. 22), the Bible doesn’t say you cannot sin. It says you won’t – at least not deliberately. And if you do . . . well, I think you get the point.