The cost of ignorance of God

In Hosea 4:2-3a the prophet describes a sad state of affairs. He details, "...there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefor the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish,..."

Who is the prophet describing here? It must be the foreign nations, correct? No, not at all. Hosea describes the nation of Israel - the people of God. These were the ones who had been chosen of all nations to be God's people. They were to enthrone Him as their God and would live under His blessed presence. So could this sad state of affairs come about>

I think the end of verse one gives a very imporant part of that answer. Hoses states, "There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land;... Later in verse 6 Hosea affirms again, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children."

And how did this lack of knowledge come about? Wasn't this the nation that received special revelation from their God and were instructed to pass it on from generation to generation? Indeed this is the nation, but in time there was a failure to pass on the Word of God. The priests are especially indicted here in this passage. And when a people neglects the Word which is supposed to be their rule of life, another rule of life takes over. The rule of life is one's passions - one's desires, which Hosea says later further takes away understanding and according to verse 14 "leads to ruin".

The antidote for this is found in the verses we read from Psalm 119 (4th column). Over and over again the psalmist says "teach my your statutes" (vs. 124, 135), and "give me understanding" (vs. 125, 144). You get the sense that the psalmist is hungry for the Word. He wants to take it in because he knows how important it is. He knows according to verse 30 that "the unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple." He knows according to verse 133 that the Word will enable him to "let no iniquity get dominion over him." He knows that the Word is a source of delight and direction during those times of trouble and anguish in our lives.

Brother and sister, how important is the Word. To neglect it is to invite ruin in your life. To search for it like treasure is to provide oneself with all the treasures of understanding and wisdom for living.

May we all be diligent to read the Word, to meditate on its precepts, to by God's grace apply it to our living. For when we do so, then and only then will we be reallly living.

Do you have faith?

Do you have faith? Are you living by it? These are important questions. To both we all would probably say, "yes". But upon closer examination would that answer hold up.

I imagine that if you asked the Pharisees if they had faith they, too, would have said, "yes". In fact, they might have been indignant that you even asked them that question. "Of course, we have faith. Can't you see by all the religious rituals we perform?"

And yet, the truth be told, they might not have been living by faith. When this newcomer (Jesus) came on the scene they weren't too open to Him. They were pretty settled in their ideas. They were really expecting God to do much else. They had it all figured out.

Jonathon Edwards once said, "I observe that old men seldom have any advantage of new discoveries, because these discoveries are beside a way of thinking they have long been used to. If ever I live to years (old age) I will be impartial to all pretended discoveries and receive them, if rational, how long soever I have been used to another way of thinking." Edwards makes a good point here that as we get older we get settled in our viewpoints and aren't really looking for God to shake us up or open us to new ideas. When you think about this you'd have to say we can get a bit arrogant thinking we've got it all figured out and will cruise to the finish line of life. That lack of expectancy or faith may be very detrimental.

In our reading today Israel was in a very hard place. They were under seige and were on the verge of being wiped out. The situation looked bleak. But God, by the prophet Elisha, declared that the situation would be turned around in a day.

When the captain of the king heard Elisha's declaration he doubted. He said, "If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?" Elisha's response to him is telling. He said that indeed this miracle would happen, and that this captain would not be able to enjoy its reality. As the story progresses we see God do the impossible and we see this captain missing out in a big way.

As I consider this, I have to ask myself the question, "Am I expecting God to do the impossible, or have I pretty much settled in to a comfortable lifestyle? Do I have faith and am I living by it? Will I miss out on what the Lord might do because I have ceased to be amazed by Him?"

What about you? Are you living by faith? Is there anything in your life that is "on the edge" for which you just have to trust the Lord? Have you got everything figured out in your beliefs so that you no longer expect to be surprised by the depths of the wisdom and knowledge of God?

I hope these are encouraging questions that will encourage us all to live by faith. That is the life to which we are called, and there is none so pleasing to the Lord (without faith it is impossible to please the Lord) and delightful to His servants.

Glorified in life or death

It is a major theme of Scripture that God is passionate for His glory. He wants to make His name known. All history moves toward the end that God will be glorified. The living should take this to heart and live in such a way that exalts the God who gives the very breathe they breath.

When men fail to live this way or purposefully walk contrary to God's way, God is not thwarted regarding His glory. Though He would rather display His glory through a life that is dedicated to Him, He can bring glory to Himself through the death of those who don't live for Him.

We saw two examples of this in our reading today. The first account was found in 2 Kings 1 regarding King Ahaziah of Israel. He fell through a lattice in an upper chamber and was hurt very badly. He wondered if he would survive the fall. Instead of inquiring of the Lord's prophet, at this time Elijah, he inquired of the god Baal-zebub. Though he should have known better, being the King of God's people, he rejected the Lord and sought direction elsewhere. This folly cost him his life. Ahaziah's messenger was intercepted by Elijah who delivered the message that the king would not survive the fall. Sadly, in this situation, God would be glorified in this king's death, showing Himself sovereign over life and death.

The second account was found in Daniel 5. It involves the son of a pagan king Nebuchadnezzar. His name was Belshazzar. Though he should have known better, having experienced God's hand in his father's life, Belshazzar dishonored the Lord. He took the vessels of gold and silver that had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem and he used them at a drunken party. Again this folly, this lifestyle that was dishonoring to God, cost the king his life. The handwriting was seen on the wall, and when interpreted by Daniel the message was clear. Accoring to verse 23 "the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have dishonored".... thus your days are numbered, your life has been found wanting, and your kingdom is going to be given away. The swiftness of this judgment coming pass surely brought glory to God showing Him master of life and death, and sovereign ruler who lifts one and brings low another.

There is a better way, though, to bring glory to God. Rather than be one who disobeys God and who glorifies God in your death, God has a better plan for His children. This was actually Paul's prayer for the Thessalonians. In 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 Paul prayed: "To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power, so that the name of the Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Paul prayed that the Thessalonians would walk in such a way that brought glory to Christ. He prayed that they would be filled with God's grace enabling them to fulfill every good work of faith. He prayed that they would walk in a manner worthy of their calling as Christ followers, and worthy of the Christ who called them to follow.

Oh may it be so that we bring glory to our Lord through a walk worthy of our calling rather than as a judgment for a life lived in neglect of our Maker. His grace is sufficient and abundant. May we all know that grace which equips us for every good work to the glory of Jesus.

Consider the Lord's Steadfast Love

In Psalm 107 (today's reading for those who do all 4 columns) the very last verse declares, "Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord." I love that...if you want to be wise, consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

As you read through this chapter you are given example after example of the Lord's steadfast or covenant love. Each situation depicts humans in their neediness, often caused by sinful human choices. With each situation, when the human cries out to the Lord, He hears and delivers them from their distress. How amazing is the steadfast love of the Lord!

Perhaps it is hard to relate to the nameless, faceless examples in Psalm 107, but when you look at the account in 1 Kings 21 this takes a more personal dimension. In verse 25 the author has just stated, "There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited, He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel." This was the man that just conspiried with his wife to steal property from Naboth. This was the man that was just sulking because he couldn't have his way. With this as the context, one might expect the Lord to take Ahab out, and that was the intent of the Lord. But when Ahab repented, when he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on this flesh and fasted, the Lord in His steadfast love extended His mercy to Ahab. Instead of bringing instant judgment on Ahab, the Lord responded to Ahab's contrition and delayed the coming judgment. How great is the steadfast love of the Lord!

That steadfast love was extended to the three Hebrew men in Daniel 3. They were confronted with a choice: to bow before the image Nebuchadnezzar had set up, or face death. In faithfulness they chose to entrust themselves to their God who was full of steadfast love. They were not disappointed, because the Lord came through for them, delivering them from the furnace of fire, and displaying the glories of His matchless person.

Our Lord's steadfast love not only ministers to us in our sin and affliction in this life, but will go with us until the end. As 1 Thessalonians 4 notes, God's steadfast love will provide our ultimate deliverance. At Jesus' return both those who are "asleep" and those who are alive "in Christ" will be gathered to their Lord and be permanently delivered from this fallen world. The covenant keeping God, who loves us with an unfailing love, will return for His children, and receive them into glory where there will no longer be trials or pain, or suffering or sin. How amazing is our Lord's steadfast love!

Brothers and sisters, be wise today! Consider the Lord's steadfast love. He is a God who promises and will not deviate from His promises. He is a God who loves with a love that is unquenchable. Ponder this anew and let it encourage your heart and enbolden your living for Him!

The Mark of Maturity

If you were asked what THE mark of maturity was, what would you say? I am sure high on your list would be words like faith and love. Paul talks about these much in his epistles; you can't help believe that he was looking for these characteristics in those to whom he was ministering. But would you also include the word "unity"? I believe our readings in both Ephesians and Ezekiel would suggest that we should.

When sin entered into the world, what happened? One effect was division. There was a rift in the relationship between God and man. Man began to hide themselves from God. Man was cast out of the garden away from the presence of the Lord. Likewise there was a rift in the relationship between man and other men (women). Relationships were tainted now with blaming and self-grasping and the like.

So it would make sense that one effect God would design in bringing salvation was the removal of this division and the promoting of unity. And this is exactly what we see.

In Ezekiel after God makes the dry bones live, He then shares with Ezekiel His design to make a united people of God. He intended to bring Joseph and Judah together so that they would be one people, under one God, who would make His dwelling among them. Note that the oneness that God desired affected both relationships that had been severed at the fall - both the horizontal relationships of mankind, as well as the vertical relationship between God and man.

But this bringing together of the OT family may just have been a prefigurement of what God wanted to do later after Christ had come. Paul, in the 4th chapter speaks to this.

He begins this section of his epistle by urging his readers to "walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called". And what does that worthy walk look like? A great part of that answer is unity. Paul speaks of being "eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." He reminds them that "there is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope that belongs to your call - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." That's a lot of "oneness".

He says a bit later in the passage that God gives "gifted people" to the church to equip them for the work of ministry...."until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature manhood, to the measure of stature of the fullness of Christ."

So there it is - in one verse the merging of maturity with unity. Truly for Paul and for our Lord, our growth in faith and love should move us on towared unity with our brothers and sisters in the faith.

So we must ask, "How is our unity within the body?" Since it is a mark of maturity unity is something we should diligently seek to promote. If it is absent it only means one thing: we are not yet operating from the fullness of Christ. We need to focus more on knowing Christ and loving more the Christ who we come to know.

Let's all pray for the unity of our body and well as the church in general. Since it is a sign of maturity we ought pray that the Lord makes us one, even as the Trinity is one. As God answers this prayer it is certain that the outside world who knows much division will be drawn to this light of God's presence among and within us.

Corporate Identity

We live in a world that can be individualistic. We live out our personal dreams, puruse the fulfillment of our personal desires, trying to be our personal best. Even a recent Army ad campaign spoke of the" army of one". That seemed odd since survival in war really is about the team and in regular life an individualistic mindset often causes more strife and division in relationships.

It should be no surprise that the Christian message, yes, even the identity that the Christian takes on is not an individualistic one, but a corporate one. Paul speaks to this in Ephesians 2 and it is important for us to be reminded what the Word tells us about our identity.

In verse 12 and following Paul first reminds us what we were apart from Christ. He says we were "separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." He further notes in verse 13 and following that we were "far off", divided by a "wall of hostility". That was our identity apart from Christ. It was quite bleak!

Yet through the kindness of God our identity has changed. Paul says in verse 13, "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace." He goes on to say that Christ has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, that "He has created in Himself one new man in place of the two." He declares that we have been reconciled to God in one body through the cross. In verse 19 he declares "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,..." And if all that were not enough he concludes by saying in verse 22, "In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."

You'll note that much of this language points to the fact that as Christians we are made part of a new family which is central to our new identity. We are no longer to look at ourselves as individuals but instead we have been grafted into the body of Christ. Jew and Gentile through the blood of Christ have become one - in fact, they have become the place where God dwells through the Spirit.

This truth has many implications as the New Testament makes very clear. Since we have a new corporate identity, we must exercise care for the body. We must use our gifts to build up this body. We must strive to promote the unity and purity of this body.

Brothers and sisters, praise God for what He has done for us in Christ Jesus. Remember what you were, and remember what you have now become in Christ through His blood. Now live out your new identity in Christ never again reverting to the individualistic mindset of the flesh. God will help us to do so!