Who could blame him?

     Who could blame him?  The enemy was strong and in a battle ready position.  This commander knew the enemy well and was convinced they were a formidable force; knowing that caused him to be afraid even to the point of trembling inwardly.  Any man with any sense would turn to the Lord for guidance and strength.  Good move, but this time it did not produce any results whatsoever.  Saul found himself in a helpless situation and even more so when God did not show up. (I Samuel 28:1-5) Needing a desperate answer, he went to desperate means, seeking the help of the very ones he excommunicated from the land of Israel; a medium!  Why didn’t God show up?  Why didn’t He help the poor man.  After all, it was he who was leading God’s people Israel in this battle!  The answer is found in verse 18, “because you did not obey the voice of the LORD.” 

     On the other hand, during the same predicament, David was on the receiving end of death threats from his own men.  Retreating from the unsolicited and unwarranted attacks from Saul, he, with his band of men, found refuge in the territory of the Philistines of all places!  He was providentially turned back from going into battle against his own people, yet when he and his men returned, their families and belongings had been taken.  This lead to the death threats from his own men. (I Samuel 30:6)  What is encouraging is that, in the middle of all this, David strengthened himself in the LORD his God! (verse 6)  David went to God, and God showed up!  Saul went to God and God didn’t show up!  The difference can be summed up, from a human perspective, in one word:  obedience.  Saul never learned the importance of patiently waiting on the Lord and humbly obeying Him. (cf. I Samuel 13:13)  While far from being perfect, David did understand the importance of waiting patiently, obeying humbly!  (cp. Psalm 27:14 for waiting and Psalm 119 for doing!) 

    Granted, waiting is difficult and obeying is demanding.  God never said it was an easy path, but it most certainly is a straight path and always leads in the right direction!  What is going on in our life that tempts you to short circuit God’s clear path and direction?  The old adage, “just do something, even if it’s the wrong thing,” doesn’t work with God’s plan.  So which path do you follow?  Saul’s or David’s?

Faith & Obedience

How much faith does it take to obey?  No, really, do I need a whole lot of faith coming from God to do what He tells me to do?  When it comes to certain things he tells me to do, some have said, “It takes more faith than what I already have!”  Consider the example of the disciples encounter with Jesus recorded in Luke 17: 1-10.  It is becoming one of my favorite passages of Scripture…and you will see why in this blog.  Jesus is instructing his disciples on the need to extend forgiveness to those who offend you.  But when he says if a brother offends you SEVEN times in one day, and SEVEN times he asks for forgiveness, then the instruction is to forgive him those SEVEN times.  The disciple’s response?  “Lord, increase our faith!”  (vs. 5)  Lest we be too quick to be critical of our friends, consider what the instruction is.  SEVEN times someone offends me and SEVEN times he repents, then SEVEN times I am to forgive him.  Honesty says that forgiving someone who offends us ONE time is tough enough…but SEVEN times?  Give me a break!  Thereby, the disciples (speaking for many of us today!) respond by saying, “Lord increase our faith!”  “We can’t do that, Lord…we need more faith to be able to do that!”  But Jesus said the need for more faith wasn’t the issue at all.  In fact, if one had faith as small as a grain of mustard seed, he would have MORE than enough…for that small amount of faith is enough to move even huge trees! (vs.6)  Then Jesus brings home the truth with this great application.  A slave comes in from doing his duty in the fields. Nothing unusual about that.  But it would be very unusual for his master to order him to prepare his own meal first and only later to prepare his master’s meal.  No…rather the slave prepares his master’s meal, then prepares something for himself.  That is very usual!   And when the slave finished, there would be no acknowledgement of thanks for doing what was expected of him.  The application?  When faced with the need to obey, our response should not be to plead for more faith, because it does not take faith, it takes obedience.  Our response should be, “we are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.” (vs. 10)  Now, I have come to appreciate this passage lately because it removes my excuses for not doing what I need to do …you know…”I would do that, in fact, I know I NEED to do that, but…”  No, I just need to do that and in doing so, respond in humility as an unprofitable servant doing my duty.  While this applies specifically to the need of forgiving someone, it extends to any of the things asked of me in Scripture.  What I am finding is…in responding by obedience my duty can become…my delight!

THANK YOU, UNCLE!

THANK YOU, UNCLE! Those were the words expressed by each member of the African Children’s Choir as they exited the diner following lunch one day while they stayed here at Camp Pearl. We enjoyed eating lunch with them, but I must confess, I was busier watching their behavior more than I was in devouring my delicious chicken sandwich. I think I heard more “yeses”, “pleases”, and “thank you’s” as they were going through the lunch line than I ever heard from any group that ever visited Camp Pearl. And that was just the start! “Would you like a cookie”? I asked one as they were headed off to their table. “No, thanks, we can’t eat a cookie until all our other food is gone,” came the unexpected reply. What, an 8 year old bypassing cookies? And all without complaining!

Someone spilled their drink on the table and before an adult could get to the table, the children (remember, these are 8-11 year olds…yes children; although they did not act like children!) were helping the helpless one clean up the mess, politely rejecting the offer of adult help! I meticulously observed their easy-going, fun-filled, laughter-invoked conversations as they ate their food (and all the food on their plates!). I did not see one sad face, one mad look, or one bad attitude among the entire group. I sat with amazement…no one “made” them act this way, and I finally concluded this was not the exception, but rather the rule as to their way of life. And then I sinned. Yes, I sinned as I envied what they had. (But I quickly claimed I John 1:9!)

They were happy, truly happy and blessed to enjoy what they enjoyed in life, which was very little. What they did have was structure, clearly defined boundaries and loving discipline. And they seemed very well adjusted! In my observance, I never heard one adult say, “don’t run”, “keep quiet”, “put that down”, “stop that”, “I said, ‘sit down,’” or “come back here!” No, none of that. I never saw paper cups torn, food thrown, napkins destroyed and…adults forlorn! And as they finished, someone asked if they would like more food, (yes, some had already gone for seconds) but the “3 minute” warning had been given. Hearing the 3 minute warning, each child politely, quietly, and graciously rose from their seats and came over to the table where I was sitting and…each child took their turn in hugging me (as they did all of us there) saying, “thank you, Uncle.” My heart says, no, rather thank you African Children’s Choir for showing me what I thought was something that was no longer true in young children’s lives: humble obedience and thankful behavior. I am still wondering if all this was just a dream! Thank you, African Children’s Choir!

Faith and a Fork

“What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?” Leviticus 25:20

The above text is a legitimate question, isn’t it? I mean, if they were to NOT plant their crops in the seventh year (cp. 25:3-4), humanly speaking, what would they eat? Would they only have an empty fork? The text speaks of a Sabbath of the seventh year in which the children of Israel were to give the land a year’s rest. The term “fallow ground” refers to soil that has not been planted and therefore “rested” for one or more growing seasons so it could revitalize itself with nutrients. This is an agricultural principle which exists today that when a piece of ground “rests” for a year, it replenishes its nutrients through natural means and thus actually produces more the following year. Who, but only God, would have thought of such a wonderful provision for the ground He created!

But back to our text, what about the man trying to feed his family and the seventh year comes around. Would he trust God in faith, believing what God said to be true and not plant for one year? But how would they eat? That is the question in verse 20! I love God’s answer! He says, “I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year and it will bring forth produce enough for three years!” (vs. 21) If they were obedient and walked in faith by doing what He said, God’s Blessing of abundant crops would supply for three years to follow…until the next crops could be harvested! Walking in faith is a faith-stretching exercising! Believing God to supply our need does not mean we stop obeying God in our need. In the home, husbands are to love their wives even when they may be unlovable (I know, I know, that is surely few and far between!!) Wives are to submit to husbands even when they are seemingly “unsubmitable!” ( I know, I know, that is surely many times…I speak as a husband, you know.) Children are to obey parents even when they are so unfair!

Obeying is a truth that stretches our faith walk. But this exercise strengthens us all along. For the children of Israel, God said they would eat the bread of His “blessing” if they were obedient in letting the land rest in the seventh year. Reading the rest of the Old Testament, we find they did not obey and thus God removed them from the land in exile and the land received its Sabbaths rest for 70 consecutive years. If only they had obeyed, their fork would have been full of His blessing! Is faith on your fork?

God’s Presence is our Present

The instruction was clear: “depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘ to your descendants I will give it.’” (Exodus 33:1) Having left Egypt, Moses and the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob made a stop by Mount Sinai for Moses to receive some specific and needed instruction for the children of Israel. (Exodus 19-31) But the people became a little impatient and decided, with the counsel of Aaron, to make a god for them to worship (you remember…the golden calf god…off with the gold earrings and out came the golden calf as per Aaron), thinking perhaps that Moses was even dead, since he was gone so long. Furious with the people, Moses went straight to God and…prayed for the people! God’s response? “I’ve had it with these people, I’ll send My Angel before you to lead you to the Promised Land, but I won’t go lest I consume them on the way, for ‘you are a stiff necked people!’” Moses’ response? “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” (Exodus 33:15) The Lord’s response? “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.” (Vs. 17)

Wow! Moses did not take God up on His offer to allow His Angel to lead them, he begged for God’s Presence to go. And if God did not go, Moses did not want to go. But in light of the sinfulness of the people, how could a holy God go before them? They certainly did not deserve it; it was all because of God’s grace! While He never took their sin lightly (as He never takes sin lightly), He did declare to Moses more of His character saying, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” (Vs. 19)

None of us deserve God’s presence…none of us! His presence is really is His grace…a gift…a present, if you will. For the one trusting Jesus to take away our sin thereby making it possible to receive His righteousness, we have a promise. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5b) How often do we take His presence, which really is a present for us, for granted? Moses would not leave Mount Sinai unless God went with them. How often do you acknowledge God’s presence with you? His presence really is a present not to be taken for granted! May you acknowledge His presence as your present today!

Whose Interest is your Interest?

“Wherefore, therefore, you eat, or drink ,or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God!”  I Corinthians 10:31

That’s the way it is to be…everything I do is to be done to the glory of God.  Even such a minimal task as eating or drinking!  However, when placed in the context of Paul’s instruction, we find the eating or drinking he refers to is in his reference to how we are treating our brothers and sisters in Christ.  The issue of meat purchased in the market place that was offered to idols was an offense to some Corinthian Christians if it was presented to them to eat.  If offered that meat at a meal, and it was told that the meat was offered to idols, Paul instructs the Corinthians not to think of themselves, but rather their brother and sister’s conscience, and not eat the meat. (vss. 28-29)  Even though it was perfectly good meat! (cf. vs. 27)   Therefore, in this context, the “do all to the glory of God” has specific reference to the interests of my brother or sister in Christ over my own interest. (cf. vs.24) The bottom line question becomes, just whose interest is my interest!  In this text, the greatest interest is to do everything to the glory of God.  And how do I do that?  By considering the interest of my brothers and sisters in Christ over my own!  Therefore, God’s glory and other’s good becomes my greatest interest! 

Now that all sounds really great, but the ugly truth of the matter is that, apart from the grace of God effectively operating in my life, the only interest I am interested in is my interest!  That is man’s base condition…that is man…doing what comes naturally.  But the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ enables us to do what comes supernaturally. It not only delivers me from eternal separation from God, but it can also deliver me from being preoccupied with myself and focus my interest on God and others.  Does this interest you?  Are you interested in what interests God?  I hope so!  Whose interest is your interest today?

Complaining or Content

What a difference three days can make!  Fresh off the heels of tremendous victory over Pharaoh and the Egyptian army, the children of Israel broke out into singing. (Exodus 15: 1-21)   And who couldn’t blame them!  God miraculously delivered Israel in dividing the Red Sea for them to safely cross.  I can just imagine the high fives going around as everyone joined in the song of praise.  They recognized who provided the victory as they sang, “ I will sing unto the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously:  the horse and his rider He has thrown into the sea.” (vs. 1)  What a great celebration…everyone happy…everyone rejoicing…everyone thanking the LORD for His gracious deliverance!

Fast forward three days.  Perhaps the echo of the song of celebration is still in the air, but no longer in the hearts of the people.  Same people, same leaders, same God…different circumstances.  “And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore the name of it was called Marah.  And the people murmured against Moses, saying, ‘ What shall we drink?’” (vss.23-24)    How soon we can forget!  Was it not just three days ago they were singing praises to God?  In three days, the focus shifted from His gracious provision to their grumbling petition!  We are thirsty!  And to whom did they go?  Moses!  Where is the LORD in this picture?  Could not the One who parted the waters of the Red Sea provide water for them?

I must humbly acknowledge that had I been part of the group, I might have been at the forefront…shouting out and shaking my fist at Moses.  How soon we forget…what a difference three days make.   It is easier for us to complain than be contentedly satisfied in what God provides for us.  Circumstances can and will change, but our God never does!  We can trust Him to provide for our needs in His perfect timing!  Are you like the grandma in the following little story?

A grandmother was watching her grandchild playing on the beach when a huge wave comes and takes him out to sea. She pleads, “Please God, save my only grandson. I beg of you, bring him back.” And a big wave comes and washes the boy back onto the beach, good as new. She looks up to heaven and says: “He had a hat!”  Can you imagine that??  God does so much for us each day…and we spend more time complaining than being contentedly satisfied in His provisions.  His provisions far outweigh the things for which we could complain!

Resting or Wrestling

“But the children struggled together within her; and she said, ‘if all is well, why am I like this?’  So she went to inquire of the LORD.” Genesis 25: 22

     Of all the things Rebekah may have done in her life, what she did here was wise!  A good question we need to ask ourselves when things are not right is “why am I like this if everything is alright?”  If you have a continual headache, you know something is not right and you have it checked out.  If your arm hurts every time you move it a certain way, you can either not move it that way…or have it checked out.  It is not supposed to be that way.  But for Rebekah, it was not a physical issue that she recognized.  I am not sure how she felt that caused her to recognize the “struggle within her”, but she was wise enough to know it was not supposed to be that way.  And she went to the One Who alone could give her an adequate answer and solution. 

Inner wrestling is not a product of the “fruit of Spirit”. (cf. Galatians 5:22-23)  But inner rest is!  Our gracious God invites us to approach Him when things aren’t as they should be.  He can give the grace of internal rest in the midst of external restlessness.  So, do you find yourselves resting or wrestling today?  One of the things God specializes in is giving rest for our souls when we follow His plan outlined in His Word.  Go to Him for that today!

Is all well?

Maintain to Sustain

Did you ever wish you had a maintenance free car battery? You probably did if you tried to start your car on a cold morning only to find out the battery was dead! What about maintenance free spirituality? Sounds nice, doesn’t it? You know, make one good spiritual resolution at the beginning of the year and make it last all year without doing anything about it. But that doesn’t meet the biblical standard of sustaining successful spirituality. “This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth…” says God to Joshua. (Joshua 1:8) His prescription for sustaining success in conquering the land was grounded in maintaining God’s truth by meditating on it daily.

When was the last time you thought about truth (besides Sunday School, worship services, Bible Studies, small groups, CAMP PEARL, etc.)? Do you think about and meditate on truth while on the way to class, on the ball field, on the job? It is really, really hard to practice the truth of Scripture if you don’t have it on your mind! In Louisiana, it is against the law to text while driving, but it is not against the law to” truth” while driving. You can do that! Grab hold of God’s truth found in Scripture, lock it in your mind, and think on that truth throughout your day. God uses words such as “enduring, persevering, abiding” as part of maintaining our spirituality in order to sustain victory! Here’s to truth…think about it daily!

Wrong Plane…Right Person

Many of you have met our friends Alejandro and Flora Pommier who are serving with CAM International in Leadership Development among the Hispanic churches in New Orleans and Houston. Alejandro is the one responsible for keeping our grounds so beautiful as he volunteers here during the week and ministers on weekends in New Orleans and Houston.

Their youngest son, Esteban and his wife Karen, had their second child and Flora traveled to Chicago to spend some time helping with the new grandbaby. Leaving Houston for a connection in Dallas, she, somehow got on the wrong plane and instead of landing in Chicago, she landed elsewhere. Thinking she was in Chicago, she de-boarded the plane and went to retrieve her luggage when she noticed, “this isn’t Chicago!” She was able to make another flight that took her there and it was on this particular flight that she “happened” to sit next to an 83 year old lady who also spoke Spanish. As the flight and their conversation continued, Flora began sharing the gospel with her and the dear lady placed her faith in Jesus! Now I don’t know about you, but with all the delays and getting on wrong planes and not getting to where I was going on time…I am not sure if I would have been in a mood to share the “good news of Jesus Christ”, but that is exactly what Flora did and God honored her desire to “plow and pursue” in her conversation with this lady.

Could it be that God, knowing this lady was ready to trust Christ, and knowing she needed someone who spoke Spanish, had Flora’s plane diverted just so she could sit next to this 83 year old lady? I am thankful Flora had an attitude which understood that, with God, there are no “wrong planes” that lead us in the wrong direction, but rather leads us to the “right person” who just may need to hear the good news of Jesus.

Do you look at “mishaps” as opportunities for God to use you? Your “wrong plane” may be a situation gone bad or a plan that didn’t work out or an interruption for which you did not prepare. Rather than viewing these as disappointing accidents try seeing them as divine appointments. Flora did and this 83 year old lady is thankful for that…and so am I!