Be of Good Courage

From time to time we all take inventory of our lives and realize that we fall short of who we should be as spiritual leaders in our homes as well as in our churches. That realization should lead us not only to desire to do better, but to take action in order to actually become a better, more effective leader. So we devise a plan that we can commit to and follow. We may even find a fellow believer who can hold us accountable.

To become the spiritual leader you want to be, begins with an active faith. It begins as we trust God and step out in faith to do the things we know we should be doing for Him. As we are then faithful in the little things, God steps up the ante and leads us to even greater endeavors for Him. To continue to step out in faith for the Lord takes courage as a believer. It takes courageous faith.

When Moses was 120 years old, the Lord said to him, “You shall not cross this Jordan” (Deut. 31:1). So Moses gave one last message to the people before commissioning Joshua to take over the work. The people of Israel were about to cross over the Jordan and take the land that God was giving them. Moses was reminding them that, as long as they remained faithful to God and trusted Him, they would have nothing to fear. The Lord God would take care of them, and He was the one who would deliver the pagan people of the land into their hands.

In that context he said, “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you” (Deut. 31:6). In like manner, the Lord Jesus said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). Like the people of Israel as they went in to conquer the Promised Land, you can know that the Lord is always with you as well, to take care of you and to deliver you from the enemy at every turn.

When David spoke to Solomon about the temple service he picked up that same theme. He was fully aware of what Moses said to the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 31:6 and he tells Solomon the same thing: “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God - my God - will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD” (1 Chron. 28:20). He told Solomon to do the work he was called to do.

You too are admonished to “Be strong and of good courage, and do it!” You are called to carry out your commitment today with courage and without fear. God will be with you always. He will not leave you nor forsake you. You can make this commitment and then lean on Him every day. He will strengthen you and empower you. He will help you be the spiritual leader in your home and in your church that you are called to be. Amen.

Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve

Orthodox theologian Alexander Schmemann wrote in his journals, "One can love religion like anything else in life: sports, science, stamp collecting. One can love it for its own sake without relation to God or the world or life. Religion fascinates; it is entertaining. It has everything that is sought after by a certain type of person: esthetics, mystery, the sacred, a feeling of one's importance and exclusive depth, etc. That kind of religion is not necessarily faith." (Mark Galli, "The Thirst of the 24/7 Fan," Christianity Today [3-28-05])

I believe what he is referring to is the fact that you can be religious without actually knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior. You can give a sort of intellectual assent to God and Christianity without truly knowing Christ. As a result you can say you believe in God, and yet choose to follow the ways of the world instead. However, when you trust in Christ alone for salvation, which is true faith, you cannot choose anything but to walk in the ways of the Lord.

Each and everyone of us must decide if we are going to follow the ways of God or the ways of man. When Joshua and the people of Israel had conquered the promised land, had divided it by God’s plan, and had settled in the land of Israel, Joshua encouraged the people to "fear the Lord" and to "serve Him in sincerity and truth" (Joshua 24:14). He then reminded them of all that God had done for them and of God’s faithfulness to them; the fact that He had blessed them in battle when they were faithful, and let them suffer defeat when they were not. Then Joshua challenged them, "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve" (v. 15a). But he confessed, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (v. 15b).

In John 6:48-69, Jesus’ disciples had a similar choice to make. They had to decide whether or not to follow Jesus. Jesus spoke of Himself as "the bread of life" (v. 48), and said, "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me" (v. 57). Many of His followers found this to be "a hard saying" (v. 60). They simply couldn’t or wouldn’t understand what Jesus was saying, and they chose to forsake Him and leave Him (v. 66): "From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more." When He asked the twelve if they wanted to leave as well, Peter answered, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (v. 69).

Jesus’ inner circle of disciples made the right choice, just as Joshua had so long before. If you "believe and know" who Jesus is, I would hope that you would also make the right choice of following Him faithfully. It is an easy thing to let Christ and the church take a back row seat to other more worldly things in life. We seem to think that Christ is always there, the church is always there, so we’ll just forget them today and do something else. That is choosing to follow the ways of the world instead of following Christ. As Joshua understood, that is often when hard times come your way, and they simply do not seem to get any better.

I urge one and all to make the right choice today. Follow Christ faithfully ahead of all else. Attend church faithfully ahead of other things as well. Do this and God has shown that He will richly bless your life. He will see you through the hard times and give you His peace. Amen.

Prepare to Meet Your God

Between 792 and 753 B.C., under the reigns of Jeroboam II in Israel (the northern kingdom) and Uzziah in Judah (the southern kingdom), both kingdoms experienced a time of relative prosperity. The two kings formed an alliance and ruled together for a brief time over an area nearly as large as that of David and Solomon. The downside was that they built their wealth at the expense of the poor. This was a time when the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. In fact, the poor became more numerous and many were sold into slavery.

In addition to this social injustice, Israel continued down the slippery slope of worshiping the idols of foreign gods and even making sacrifices to them. They simply continued to remain unfaithful to the Lord their God. Like so many before them, they put themselves, their wealth, their reputations, and anything but God ahead of God in their lives. Unfortunately many of us do the same today.

Into this situation God called Amos, a poor shepherd from Tekoa, in the desert two hours south of Bethlehem. God sent Amos to call for justice in the land and to pronounce the coming judgment of God upon them, as they would soon be carried away into captivity by an ungodly nation because of their sin and lack of repentance. In fact, in Amos 4:6-11, Amos declared five judgments of God that had already come upon them for the purpose of causing them to repent.

First, a famine (v. 6). Then, a drought (vs. 7-8). This might even sound familiar as he says, "I also withheld rain from you, when there were still three months to the harvest. I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon, and where it did not rain the part withered" (v. 7). He followed that with "blight and mildew" (v. 9), and "the locust devoured" their gardens and vineyards (v. 9). Then God sent upon them both plague and warfare (v. 10). The diseases reminding them of the plagues of Egypt. Defeat in warfare at the hands of the Syrians left them destitute. Finally, God destroyed entire cities within the land, yet "like a firebrand plucked from the burning," He rescued most of Israel at the last minute (v. 11).

Despite all of this, each time Amos declares the truth, "'Yet you have not returned to Me,' says the Lord" (vs. 6, 8, 9, 10, 11). Five times God brought judgment upon them to turn them back to Himself. Five times they failed to return to the Lord their God. How long will God remain patient? In verse 12 God adds, "Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!" He leaves the threat unnamed for them to use their wildest imaginations as to what it might be. He only warns them, "Prepare to meet your God."'

The message to us is the same. From the drought this land has been experiencing from time to time, to any number of other hard times God may allow to come into your life, the message is the same, prepare to meet your God! Stepping on others to make financial gain for ourselves, putting ourselves ahead of others and thinking only of our own desires, putting possessions, work, money, anything ahead of God is idolatrous. God says, "Forsake all those things and follow Me." The most important thing you can do is to put your faith in Christ first. Trust Christ for your salvation and follow Him in your life each day. Always put God first, and everything else will fall into place. Amen.

Is Today Not the Wheat Harvest?

When the Old Testament Prophet Samuel grew old, the people of Israel asked for a king to rule over them “like all the nations” (1 Sam. 8:5). The people grew tired of being set apart and different from the world. They no longer wanted God to lead them. What they wanted was to be like all the nations around, to be just like everyone else. So God gave them Saul, a man who was “taller” and “more handsome” than anyone else in all Israel, to be their king (1 Sam. 9:2).

Basically, God gave the people what they wanted. Sometimes He does that to teach us the folly of not following Him. Sometimes what we ask for is not what we need. That was the case here. In fact, the people of Israel had chosen not to follow God. So God gave them what they asked for, a king who would put himself first and not follow God.

Samuel explained to the people the type of person Saul would be as king, yet the people still chose to follow him and not God. So Samuel warned the people, “If you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God. However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers” (1 Sam. 12:14-15). Samuel said it is not too late. Follow the Lord and he will take care of you.

So Samuel asked the Lord for a miracle, a sign that would convince the people of the error of their ways and bring them back again to follow God. He said, “Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the Lord, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for a king for yourselves” (v. 17).

Remember that asking for a king to be like everyone else was a sign that they had decided not to follow God anymore. God immediately “sent thunder and rain that day” and “all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel” (v. 18). The people saw the error of their ways and asked Samuel to pray for them (v. 19).

Samuel would later tell Saul and the people that God did not “delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices“ (1 Sam. 15:22a). Rather, “obeying the voice of the Lord” (v. 22b) is what He prefers. To that he added, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice” (v. 23).

For us, sacrifice would refer to anything we might do in an attempt to replace obedience to God. God is not interested in any such things. What God is interested in is you. He wants you. That is Samuel’s message to you. “To obey is better that sacrifice“ (v. 23). Obey God. Follow Christ in everything you do. That is what God desires of you.  As Samuel says, do this and God will take care of all your needs. Amen.

Handfuls on Purpose

Beginning in Texas and Oklahoma and working their way on up through Kansas, Nebraska, and both South and North Dakota, custom cutters or harvest crews are wrapping up another wheat harvest. Perhaps the yield, though great at times, was not always as good as would be liked. Yet God would tell us to stop and thank Him for the harvest regardless, because He is the One who provides.

Whether the harvest be great or small, God is providing for your needs. He knows what you need before you ask. He will provide according to your need. Matthew 6:31-33 tells us, “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?'... For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Having lived in that country, I remember driving through the countryside watching the harvest unfold. It always reminded me of the story of Ruth in the Bible. Ruth, from Moab, had married an Israelite. Her husband had died, and during a great famine she went to Israel with her mother-in-law, Naomi, also a widow. In going, Ruth stated clearly her faith in the one true God: “Ruth said (to Naomi)… ‘Wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God’” (Ruth 1:16). Ruth loved the Lord God and had learned to trust Him in all circumstances.

Now, the Law of Moses allowed the poor to glean in the farmer’s fields (Lev. 23:22). Being widows, these ladies had no other way to survive in that society than to glean what they could after the harvesters had finished. So, Ruth went to glean in the fields of “him in whose sight I may find favor” (Ruth 2:2). She did not yet know Boaz, let alone the fact that he was “one of our close relatives,” as Naomi would later tell her (v. 20).

God, by His grace, or His unmerited favor, provided bountifully for the needs of Ruth and Naomi. Boaz, upon finding out who Ruth was, instructed her to glean only from his fields (2:8-9) and God would give her a full reward for caring after her mother-in-law (vs. 11-12). He proceeded to instruct his harvesters to not only let her glean unrestricted from the fields, but they were to “let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her” (v. 16).

Not only was Ruth allowed to glean from the fields of Boaz, but God led Boaz to purposely provide in abundance for Ruth and Naomi. God truly provided with handfuls of grain on purpose! He rewarded Ruth’s faith in Him by abundantly meeting her need of food.

Handfuls on purpose. That is God’s promise to all who trust in Him. He will meet your need, whatever it is. He knows what you need before you ask Him. He knows what you need better than you do. Trust Him and thank Him for His great provision, however great or small the need may be. He will take care of you. Amen.

The Importance of Fellowship

The word “fellowship” in the New Testament is an interesting word. In Acts 2:42 we are told that the early church “continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Several things occur here. Ultimately this is a picture of the early church at worship. There are the various elements seen here of the apostle’s teaching or preaching, fellowship among the believers (which we will take a closer look at), the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, and corporate prayer.

Worship primarily is focused toward God. We gather together and corporately give honor and glory to God. Even individual worship during a daily devotional time is looking primarily toward God. Fellowship moves beyond worship in the sense that, as Christians, together as one body we are partakers of all that we experience in Christ Jesus.

Fellowship involves a direct relationship, first with Christ as Savior, and then with one another as fellow partakers in all that Christ has for us. Romans 12:5 tells us that “we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” We belong to each other and we are united in Christ. Together we make up the “body of Christ” and each one of us is needed by the other to make the church complete and to further the gospel of Christ. So, according to the Scriptures, the focus of fellowship is on the relationship between Christians, a relationship that is based in Christ.

We are all “members of one another.” There are no so-called “lone ranger” Christians. As a believer in Christ you are to be involved in the lives of your fellow believers and they are to be involved in your life as well. You cannot go it alone. It is important to be there for each other. Laugh together, weep together, work together for the Lord, learn together in the Lord, help each other as anyone has need. That is what the Christian life is all about.

Paul tells us that, because we belong to one another, we are to submit “to one another in the fear of God” (Eph. 5:21). In Colossians 3:16 he adds, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” James says to “confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16).

As you can see, we are in this together. Not only do we belong to each other, but, as believers in Christ, we are to have fellowship with each other. That means we are to teach each other what the Lord has given us. We are to admonish each other as needed to keep each of us on the right path with God. We are to pray for each other, which means we are to communicate our needs to one another. Simply put, we are to be there for each other whenever someone has need.

Be giving and generous in your helping. That is Christian fellowship. Never too busy, never distracted. Always available when needed. Making a point to gather together and fellowship with one another. Amen.

Prayer Is the Key to Life

Our Lord Jesus, long ago, as He walked on this earth, practiced the discipline of prayer on a regular basis. He viewed prayer to be a very important aspect of His life each day. Throughout the Gospel of Luke, we find it stressed that our Lord spent a great deal of time in prayer. He always prayed about everything that happened, as well as for those things which were about to take place. He spent time praying in the Garden of Gethsemane the night of His betrayal and arrest (Lk. 22:39-46). He even prayed as He hung on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Lk. 23:34).

Yes, Jesus saw prayer as one of the most important aspects of the Christian life. As a result, His own life demonstrated this for us as He began each day with prayer. “And in the early morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there” (Mk. 1:35). As a result, His disciples wanted prayer to become a major part of their lives. So they asked Jesus to teach them to pray (Lk. 11:1-13).

Jesus and His disciples saw prayer as the key to life. Only through prayer can we commune with God and be empowered to live the Christian life according to the Scriptures. Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you" (John 15:7). Because of this, we should want prayer to be an important aspect of our lives as well. Do not neglect the importance of prayer. Pray every day, letting “your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6).

Prayer changes things. Prayer works miracles. Prayer makes the difference in life between success and failure. In everything we do, if we want it to be a success, we should begin by praying about it. That is what Jesus did. That is what His disciples learned to do. We must learn to do the same.

Do not let this summer be a time that is too busy for prayer. Make time each day to pray. It might help to remember the little acronym: ACTS. "A" is for adoration. Give God praise and glory. "C" is for confession. Confess to God any sin or whatever needs to be forgiven. "T" is for thanksgiving. Express to God your thankfulness for His forgiveness and cleansing, as well as everything else for which you are thankful. "S" is for supplication. Be specific and make your requests known to God. But whatever you do, pray!

Always remember the words of James 5:16b, "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." Amen.