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Lies

Ezra 4–7

The children of Satan follow their father’s stratagems against the children of God.  They start by attempting to be your friend; they try to infiltrate .  When that doesn’t work they whisper in the ears of others to discourage and defeat the work God has called His children to do.  When that doesn’t work they attempt to manipulate the government to crush their efforts to be faithful and obedient.  That is the story we read today in Ezra.  It is also the story today in America.

I spoke recently with a man who had gone through seminary and had even been a pastor for a few short years.  It was his belief that the Bible was written by men and as such has numerous flaws.  He said many things in the Bible were written to a specific time and culture and as such must be interpreted in the light of modern reality.  The thing about these statements is that there is some small portion of truth within them.

The Bible was written physically by men.  What those men wrote, however, was guided by the Spirit of God to communicate a very specific set of spiritual truths that would transcend the ages.  God wrote the Bible through men.  While men are fallible, God is not; therefore the Bible cannot be full of “flaws” because He directed the writing.  Now there are manuscripts written in Biblical times that were written by men and were either not guided by God or not intended by Him to be part of Holy Scripture.  One can easily dismiss those that are not guided by Him as full of flaws and unworthy of acknowledgment.

Some things in the Bible were written to a specific time and culture but the spiritual truth beneath those accounts still apply today.  For example, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that a wife should not cut off her hair or shave her head.

1 Corinthians 11:6

“For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.”

This verse had led to some denominations stipulating that woman in general should not cut their hair.  Paul is talking about the traditions of prayer here.  He is also talking to the Corinthians who were fighting some pretty depraved habits.  There had been a regular practice of women becoming pagan temple prostitutes.  For those that worshipped those man-made gods it was a common practice to spend a month or so as a temple prostitute as an act of worship.  Those that did so shaved their heads while they were performing this function.  A woman walking around with a shaved head or with short hair would be associated with pagan religious practice.

If you belong to God you can’t allow yourself to be associated with pagan religious practice.  Today, in America, this type of practice is not common place.  No one would assume a woman with a shaved head or short hair is a practitioner of pagan prostitution.  The truth God is communicating through Paul isn’t that women shouldn’t cut their hair but that none of us should allow ourselves to be mistaken for followers of man-made gods or practitioners of sinful behavior.

As I think back to that conversation with the erstwhile pastor a vision of the serpent wrapping himself around him and squeezing comes to mind.  Satan hissed his lies to Eve and he hisses them to us today.  He infiltrates our churches and whispers lies to the sheep.  He walks the earth whispering lies to the lost and he petitions the government with lies that followers of the one true God are to blame for mankind’s problems like war and hatred.  None of this should be a surprise to the children of God.  He has warned us with today’s reading and many more within the Bible.

The truth of the persecution the followers of Christ face can be discouraging but we must not forget the rest of the story.  God changed the heart of the king and he put his foot down.  The Israelites would not be prevented from obeying God and in fact the kings treasuries would be opened to assist them.  We will face hardship but His will cannot be thwarted.  We are saved, we are being saved, we will be saved!  We have the promise of eternal life in the warm, joyful light of His glory.  The victory has been won!  Stand strong and obey God.  The end of the struggle has already been written!

Have a blessed and obedient day!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

The Remnant

Ezra 2-3

rem•nant \noun

[Middle English, contraction of remenant, from Anglo-French remanant, from present participle of remaindre to remain — more at remain] 14th century

1 a : a usually small part, member, or trace remaining

b : a small surviving group — often used in plural.

The concept of a “remnant” runs like a thread throughout the Bible.  Remember, if you will, way back in Genesis when Joseph finally revealed himself to his brothers in Egypt.  They had thought him dead.  They had thought they were in trouble with Pharaoh’s number one guy but once they discovered he was actually their brother whom they had sold into slavery they were really scared.  Do you remember what Joseph said to them?

Genesis 45:5-7

“And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.  For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.  And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.”

From the day Adam and Eve took a bite of the forbidden fruit, God has worked to keep a remnant in the world faithful to Him.  At times this remnant was only one man, as in the case of Noah, or, as in the case of Judah returning from Babylonian exile, as many as 42,360 people.   It is through this, at times, rather thin thread that God raised up His Son, the Savior of all mankind.  God chose the descendants of Abraham to be His witness to the world.  It was through this people that He would show the world who He is and His desire for our return to Him.

Maybe I’m wrong about this, but I have always viewed the Israelites as an allegory for the modern church.  God has done the choosing and we are to be His witness to the world.  The church seems, however, to go through cycles of faithfulness and disobedience just like the Israelites.  Be it the church or individual members of the church, disobedience always results in self-imposed exile; a separation from God.  If this analogy holds, then we will find throughout history and even today a remnant that sought God and answered His call to return to right relationship.

At the time Judah was taken into Babylonian exile the number of Judite citizens had to be in seven figures.  Remember that when they came into the Promised Land just the men of fighting age were over 1 million people.  Granted, we are only talking about two or three of the original tribes here but with the passing of time their numbers would have grown significantly; God had promised to multiply them.

Why did only 40,000 exiles return?  They were the ones that had continued to seek God even in the most difficult of circumstances; they were the remnant.  They were the ones through whom God would raise up His Son to save the world.  The others got comfortable living among the heathen.  They planted themselves in exile and had grown in such a way as to feel they had too much to lose to return to the Promised Land.  Returning meant leaving everything they had built up over the years behind and traveling a long distance to a land and temple in ruin.  Hard work for little immediate earthly return lay ahead for any who returned.

Sacrifice was required to answer God’s call to return.  The majority of the exiles were unwilling to make that sacrifice.  Interestingly enough, there were some who answered the call to return who had forgotten who they were.

Ezra 2:61-62

“Also, of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, and the sons of Barzillai (who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name).  These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but they were not found there, and so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.”

These were descendants of some who had gone into exile and not maintained a record of their heritage.  I’ve shared with you many times the scripture of the Lord Jesus telling us that many will call on His name claiming to have prophesied and healed in His name and of whom He will say He knows not.  What I see in this passage is a failure of fatherhood.  Fathers are responsible for training their families up in the ways of God.  Each of these descendants should have been provided with a clear understanding of who they were and where they came from.  They did not have this and so were excluded from the priesthood.

Brothers, today we are God’s remnant.  We are the thread that God is using to weave together the salvation of the world.  It is through us that others will be called back to right relationship with God.  It is through us that our own spouses and children will hear the call and be raised in the understanding of who they are in Christ.  This is our heritage as members of the royal family of God.  Can there be anything worse than knowing you are a member of the royal family while your children or spouse are not?

Please don’t get me wrong.  You have no power or ability to save your loved ones.  Only Jesus can save them.   It is His Holy Spirit that will call them and convict them.  If you attempt to force them or “convince” them to accept Jesus you will succeed in getting them wet but not saved.  Your role is to live as a disciple of Christ.  You must walk the walk.  They must see you reading your Bible, praying, and the difference that makes in your life.  You should lead your family in their spiritual development by ensuring they go to church and are exposed to Word of God on a regular basis.

You cannot assume that your children are getting what they need to grow in Christ simply by attending church.  To do so would be an abdication of your responsibility as a father.  Our churches do a great job in exposing children to the truths of God and His Word but it isn’t enough.  Your children need your leadership, and the Bible clearly tells us that.  I strongly recommend a daily family “devotion” time where you present your family with some scripture and discuss its meaning followed by prayer.  This can be at the breakfast or dinner table.  This can be a time just before bed.  If you will do this, and stick with it until it becomes a habit, I have no doubt it will become the most precious time of your life.  It will grow your children spiritually and create memories that will last a life time.  The leadership you provide them will be a heritage that will be passed on through the generations so that a remnant will remain long after you are gone.

I pray you will take up the mantel of priest in your home and that generations will be blessed through your faithful execution of the job God has given you as a father.

Have a blessed day!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

The Book of Ezra

2 Chronicles 35 – Ezra 1

Since we are starting Ezra today I’m going to keep my comments short and give you the words of a couple different sources.  I have always enjoyed the “Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee” commentary so I am going to provide you his summary and overview of the book of Ezra as the major portion of today’s comments.  First however, let me share with you the following excerpt about the book of Ezra from:

Holman QuickSource guide to understanding the Bible, Easley, K. H. (2002)

“The book is named for Ezra, the leading character. In the Hebrew Bible, Ezra and Nehemiah were initially one book. English Bibles follow the Latin translator Jerome, who named the two parts Ezra and Nehemiah. Others have used the titles 1 and 2 Ezra.”

And now for the summary and outline from:

Thru the Bible commentary, McGee, J. V. (1997).  (electronic ed.)

The Book of

Ezra

Introduction

Ezra is the writer of this book. He is one of the characters who has not received proper recognition. He was a descendant of Hilkiah, the high priest (Ezra 7:1), who found a copy of the Law during the reign of Josiah (2 Chron. 34:14).

Ezra, as a priest, was unable to serve during the Captivity. There was no temple. It had been destroyed. He did, however, give his time to a study of the Word of God. Ezra 7:6 tells us that he was “a ready scribe in the law of Moses.”

Ezra was also a great revivalist and reformer. The revival began with the reading of the Word of God by Ezra. We will see that in Nehemiah 8. Also, Ezra was probably the writer of 1 and 2 Chronicles and Psalm 119 (the longest chapter in the Bible).

Ezra organized the synagogue. He was the founder of the order of scribes. He helped settle the canon of Scripture and arranged the Psalms. Let us pay tribute to Ezra who was the first to begin a revival of Bible study. Is this not God’s program for revival?

We have had no real revival in our day. Dwight L. Moody made this statement (and he saw a revival), “The next revival will be a revival of Bible study.” Those who have tried to whip up revivals by organization, by methods, and by gimmicks have failed. Revival will come only as people come back to the Word of God.

The theme of the Book of Ezra is The Word of the Lord. There are ten direct references to God’s Word in this little book: Ezra 1:1; 3:2; 6:14, 18; 7:6, 10, 14; 9:4; 10:3, 5. The place of the Word of God is seen in the total lives of these people: religious, social, business, and political.

The key to this book is found in Ezra 9:4 and 10:3: they “trembled at the words of the God of Israel.”

Dr. James M. Gray made this statement concerning the Book of Ezra: “We already have seen that the Babylonian captivity did not bring the Jews to national repentance and so lead to national restoration. As the reading of Ezra will disclose, when Cyrus, king of Persia, gave permission to the captives to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, scarcely fifty thousand Jews availed themselves of the privilege, a considerable portion of whom were priests and Levites of the humbler and poorer class.”

The Book of Ezra is the last of the historical books, but they do not follow ad seriatum (one right after the other).

When we conclude 2 Chronicles, we see that the southern kingdom of Judah went into captivity for seventy years. We do not hear a word from them after they were captured until Ezra picks up their history. There are three historical books that are called “post-captivity” books: Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. Also there are three prophetical “postcaptivity” books: Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

Now Ezra and Nehemiah belong together. Ezra was a priest and Nehemiah was a layman. They worked together in such a way that God’s will was accomplished in Jerusalem. Together they were instrumental in seeing that the walls, the city of Jerusalem, and the temple were rebuilt.

Haggai and Zechariah also worked together. They encouraged the people to build the temple. Haggai was a practical man, as we shall see when we get to his book. The reconstruction and refurbishing of the temple were his supreme passion. He was as simple and factual as 2+2=4. He was neither romantic nor poetic, but he sure was practical. Zechariah, on the other hand, was a dreamer. Haggai had his feet on the ground and Zechariah had his head in the clouds. For example, Zechariah saw a woman going through the air in a bushel basket. My friend, that is poetical! Haggai would never have seen that. But the interesting thing is that Zechariah would never have concerned himself about the measurements of the temple and that you must have doors in it and a foundation under it. Haggai and Zechariah went together just like Ezra and Nehemiah. The practical man and the poet must walk together; God arranged it that way.

The Books of Haggai and Zechariah should be read and studied with the Book of Ezra, for all three books were written in the shadow of the rebuilt temple, and were given to encourage the people in building. “Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them” (Ezra 5:1).

In the Book of Ezra there are two major divisions. There is the return of the captives from Babylon led by Zerubbabel in the first six chapters. About fifty thousand returned. Then there is the return led by Ezra in Chapters 7–10, and about two thousand people followed Ezra.

Outline

I. Return from Babylon Led by Zerubbabel, Chapters 1–6 (About 50,000 returned)

A.   Restoration of Temple by Decree of Cyrus, Chapter 1

B.   Return under Zerubbabel, Chapter 2

C.   Rebuilding of Temple, Chapter 3

D.   Retardation of Rebuilding by Opposition, Chapter 4 (Decree of Artaxerxes)

E.   Renewal of Rebuilding of Temple, Chapters 5–6 (Decree of Darius)

II.  Return from Babylon Led by Ezra, Chapters 7–10 (About 2,000 returned)

A.   Return under Ezra, Chapters 7–8

B.   Reformation under Ezra, Chapters 9–10

I’m looking forward to our reading of Ezra!  I hope you are too.  I haven’t had a comment from anyone in a while.  Let me know you’re still out there so I don’t get discouraged!

Have a blessed day!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Chicken or the Egg?

Chicken Or The Egg?

2 Chronicles 32-34

We’ve been reading about Hezekiah and how he was cleaning out the house of the Lord and bringing the people back into right relationship with God.  As I contemplate the purpose of the scripture I am reminded that Bible is a story He has set down for all of His children to read, study, and even memorize.  As a father I have, at times, thought about sitting down and writing out the lessons of life I want my daughter to learn.  I have to admit the thought goes hand and hand with the morbid idea that I may not be around to share all that I want my daughter to know.  I know some men have actually written out these lessons and had their books published.  Why do we have this desire to pass on what we know to our kids?

Obviously we want our children to have happy, safe, productive lives.  If only they could learn from us rather than as we did; the hard way.  It is out of our love for our children that we want to give them the knowledge they need to live as we hope.  God has done the same thing with the Bible.  He loves us so much that He wants us to know how to have happy, safe, and productive lives.  Unfortunately we tend to only learn the hard way.  The Bible shows us the truth of that even as it attempts to warn us of the consequences.

At least today starts with Hezekiah in right relationship with God.  This relationship allows him to withstand Sennacherib, one of the more successful conquerors of the ancient world.  Of course it didn’t help old Senn that he blasphemed against the Lord.   We are told of one stumble on the part of Hezekiah and that is the result of pride.  Pride is at the base of all sins and it just about takes old Heze down.  Fortunately he repents and survives.  Isn’t wonderful that we serve a God who hears the humble pleas for forgiveness from His children and answers them?

Later, Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh, follows after man-made gods and is dragged off with hooks and bound in chains as a consequence.  Again the grace of God shines through as Manasseh finally understands and accepts the truth of the power of the one true God, and is saved.  Man, the pattern is just so consistent.  Follow God, things go well; walk away from God things go badly.  I know I have pointed this out on several occasions but the focus of the Bible is on the salvation of His people.  The rest of the world only enters into the story as bit players that move the plot along.  God uses the lost world to discipline His children.  He also uses them to illustrate His power and His grace.

Amon, Manasseh’s son, ascended to the throne and followed after man-made gods.  He gets 5 verses and 2 years and he is removed from office; nothing redeemable in this fellow.  He just wasn’t going to turn his heart toward God.  Josiah came next and here we see a return to God.  Once again the alters of Baal are chopped down; the temple restored.  Did you read how they “discovered” the book of the law as they were going about restoration of the temple?  How long had they been going without the Word of God?  Could the lack of knowledge of God’s Word have contributed to the poor decisions of Judah’s kings to follow after man-made gods?  I suspect so.

How was it that Josiah knew to return to God and to tear down the man-made gods and restore the temple?  I believe that was the call of God upon his heart.  It was then as it is now.  God calls and as we respond He takes us deeper into a right relationship.  Did you notice Josiah’s response once he had heard some of the Word read to him?  He tore his cloths in mourning.  The sudden revelation of God’s Word caused him to painfully see how far the nation had wandered from God.  Isn’t that kind of how it works?  When you walk away from something your eyes are directed toward something else.  It is only when you turn around and look at where you came from that you can see how far you’ve gone.

Before one can seek forgiveness for their sins they have to be aware of their sins.  You have to stop chasing after sinful ways and turn around.  That’s what the word repent means.  Before you can be forgiven you have to repent.  You have to turn around.  Turning around isn’t just taking your eyes off of sinful desires but placing them on God.  Repentance is a matter of turning around and heading back to God.  As you fasten your eyes on Him and walk steadily toward Him the picture becomes clearer.  You start to see more and more of God as His love and grace begin to fill your horizon.  That’s what happened to Josiah.  He turned around and walked toward God and as he got closer he began to see the glory and righteousness of God.  He realized just how far the people of Judah had traveled from Him and how far they had to go to return.

I have heard a pastor I greatly respect talk about his concern that our churches are full of wet members.  What he means by that is the church has focused too much on baptism as opposed to conversion.   Baptism is meaningless unless it is preceded by real repentance, conviction and change.  If we don’t turn toward God, repent, we can’t see how filthy we really are.  If we can’t see how filthy we are we can’t acknowledge our need for cleansing.  If we can’t acknowledge our need for cleansing we can’t ask God to cleanse us.  If we can’t ask God to cleanse us we are not saved and baptism becomes a meaningless exercise in club membership.  It is he who falls to his knees in realization of his filthiness before a holy God that has a conversion of the heart.  It is he who dies to himself and is reborn in newness of life in the character of Christ.

As I have said many times before, it is all about the heart; God cares about the condition of your heart.  Josiah was doing the right things for the right reasons and yet his heart was still not yet where it needed to be.  God brought him further down the path toward Him.  The Word of God became a mirror that showed him his filth.  Until that moment he had no real idea of how he looked to God Almighty.  His attitude was that of one who experiences a conversion.  He realized his need for a changed life.

Guys, I never want to cause someone who has in fact experienced conversion to question their salvation.   Jesus said

John 10:27-29

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

If you have truly accepted Christ, no one can snatch you out of His hand.  When he says “no one” do you think that includes you?  I think if Christ intended to communicate a different concept He would have said “no one but you yourself” or some such thing.  He didn’t say that.  He said “no one”.  You can’t lose your salvation.  Case closed.

The problem is one can walk the aisle and proclaim Jesus as Lord, Savior, and Master and still not be saved.  The outward expressions of our faith are important but they don’t save us.  It is the heart that has seen its own abject poverty and filth before a Holy God, and reacts like Josiah, that truly accepts Jesus, for it is the converted, or changed, heart that leads to true salvation in Christ.  If your heart has not changed, you have not accepted Christ.  Again let us read the words of Jesus Himself:

Matthew 7:21-23

““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

Now one might be inclined to say that here Jesus is telling us that works save us because He says those that will enter the kingdom of heaven are those that DO the will of the Father.  To do is to act; that is to do works or deeds.  Unfortunately for those who want to believe that one can work ones way into heaven, Jesus goes on to say that people will DO mighty works in His name and yet they will not be saved.  You see, doing good deeds, acts of faith, do not save you.  The will of the Father is that your heart be in right relationship with Him.  When your heart is in right relationship, doing great and mighty deeds in His name will be a natural result, but the deeds that matter come after conversion of the heart.  The egg of a changed heart comes before the chicken of good deeds.

If your heart was changed at the moment you met God in full understanding and view of your filthiness, then your name is written in the Lambs book of life.  Praise God!  If your heart was not changed, you need to turn your eyes once again upon Jesus and start walking toward Him.  You need to see how you look before Him and in that full understanding of your filth and your need for a Savior, turn control of your life completely over to Him.  Without that you are lost; you are dead; He does not know you.

Sorry to go on for so long guys!

Have a blessed and wonderful day!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

That is one dead Barracuda!

Cleansing the Temple

2 Chronicles 29-31

Yesterday I wrote about the concept of spiritual atrophy; not a loss of salvation but the drying up of our spiritual strength through a lack of spiritual exercise.  Bible reading, prayer, fellowship with believers, and the sharing of the Gospel are all essential to a healthy, vibrant spirit.  These are the spiritual exercise we all need to prosper.  Now when I say prosper most of us think in terms of material things but, in fact, I refer to the prosperity of spiritual things.  The material world is the lesser of the blessings God wishes to bestow on you.  The spiritual world is where the real wealth can be found.

My wife is in the music business.  She is a wonderful vocalist and has recently cut a Gospel CD of “old fashion” hymns.  She’s also an accomplished song writer.  I’m very proud of her!  Having been connected to the music world through her, I was surprised to learn that the big money in music isn’t in being an artist but being a song writer.  Artists make the bulk of their money through concerts and merchandise; yes they do make some money on record sales.

The song writer makes money primarily through every one of their songs recorded by an artist and sold on CD or played on the TV or radio.  I was told that Madonna is not a song writer but that if you look at song writing credits on any of her recordings you will see that she is listed as a writer on most, if not all, of the songs she records.  Why?  Because she knows that the real money is in the “publishing”; the song writing royalties.  She demands that if she is to sing a particular song she be given a piece of the publishing.

Why would a song writer give up part of their publishing?  Because a big name artist like Madonna sells a lot of records and a piece of something is better than all of nothing!  You get a hit sung by Madonna and you are a wealthy person.  I remember a friend telling me about an acquaintance who had co-written three popular songs recorded by Reba McEntire a few years ago.  His acquaintance was allegedly one of three co-writers on these songs and at one point was receiving a check every week in the neighborhood of $50,000.  Nice work if you can get it huh?

Would you have assumed that successful song writers make more money than most recording artists?  I wouldn’t have; but you see, that’s where the real money is.  It’s the same thing on a bigger scale when we speak of being prosperous.  True prosperity isn’t in the material things that this world, the creation, has to offer, but in the spiritual things that the Creator has to offer.  Because we can see the material world we tend to think it is the bigger reward, just like we assume the recording artist is the real money maker.  The reality is that the thing harder to perceive, God’s spiritual blessings, offers far greater prosperity, just like being a successful song writer offers more prosperity than being a recording artist.

Why do I bring all of this up in relation to today’s reading?  Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, understood where real prosperity lies.  One of the very first things he did upon ascending to the throne was to cleanse and restore the temple.  By doing this he cleansed and restored the nation.

2 Chronicles 29:3

“In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them.”

He went on to call all of the priests and Levites together and to lay down the law, so to speak.  He made clear that Judah was in ruin because of the sins of their fathers; they had turned away from God and defiled His temple and themselves.  It was Hezekiah’s chosen mission to return Judah to right relationship with God and that mission started with cleansing.

Often times, as Christians, we look at the lost and see their filth before God.  Knowing that we are covered in the blood of Christ, however, we sometimes miss the plank of wood in our own eyes.  We are in the process of sanctification which means we are not yet completely like Christ but are in the process of becoming.  By definition this means that we are not yet perfect.  This is a great mystery; we are perfect but we are not perfect.  We have been perfected in Christ and yet we are in the process of being perfected in Christ.  I think the disconnect comes from the fact that in Christ we have been perfected but we are still figuring out what that means.

I once heard of a scientific study that took a fish tank with a glass partition running down the middle. A Barracuda was placed on one side of the glass and fish on which the Barracuda liked to dine on the other.  The Barracuda would see the delicious food on the other side of the glass, but, not realizing there was a barrier, would race toward the prey only to dash its snout against the partition.  Over and over the predator would charge the prey only to repeatedly smash its snout.  Eventually the Barracuda stopped trying to eat the fish on the other side of the glass.

So far everything has progressed as you would expect.  If every time I do something I crack my head open, I’m going to eventually learn that I don’t want to do that anymore.  The interesting thing about the experiment is what happened next.  They removed the glass.  Do you know what that Barracuda did?  Nothing.  He did not attempt to eat the fish now swimming within reach.  The scientists did not feed the Barracuda.  He still did not attempt to eat the fish swimming around him.  He was swimming in a new reality but he was behaving as if he was in the old reality.  He could have eaten at any time and been satisfied.  Instead he slowly starved to death.

I think many of us are just like that Barracuda.  We learned certain behavior as part of an old reality and now that we live in a new reality we are struggling to accept it; we are struggling to understand it; we are struggling to live it.  In many ways we are starving ourselves spiritually.  Far too many of us Christians have allowed our temple to fall into disrepair.  We have allowed filth to cover the walls and floor because we continue to live in the old reality.  It’s time for some of us to repair the doors to the temple and cleans it inside and out.  It is time to accept the joyful fact that we now live in a new reality.

We no longer have to sin.  We no longer are condemned.  Where once we were unable to keep from sinning, now, with Christ within us, sin has no power over us.  I love what Hezekiah said to the Levites:

2 Chronicles 29:11

“My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.”

That is your new reality.  Do not be negligent for the Lord has chosen you!  Under Hezekiah, Judah cleansed and restored the temple.  They consecrated the priests.  They reinstituted temple worship.  They reinstituted the sacrifice, the festivals, the Passover.

2 Chronicles 31:20-21

“Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God.  And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.”

And he prospered.  He sought God with all his heart and he prospered.  Do you hear what God is trying to tell you through our Bible reading?  Do you seek Him with all your heart?  If you do you will prosper; not as the recording artist but as the song writer.  That is my prayer for you!

Have a wonderfully prosperous day!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

He Grew Proud, To His Destruction

2 Chronicles 25-28

Have you ever asked or heard the question “why do bad things happen to good people?”  I have heard a number of pastors give good answers to that question and I believe they were accurate, but as I read today’s scripture another thought comes to mind.  What does it mean to be a “good person”?  Good by whose standard?  When we say “good person” we mean by man’s standard.  We believe that the individual has done more good than bad.  You know there is a pretty common belief out there that you get to go to heaven if you’ve done more good than bad.  I don’t know where people get that but it isn’t from the Bible.

There is no cosmic penal code of sin that gives more weight to some than others.  There is no cosmic calculator that tabulates the debits and credits of every human life.  Paul reminds us that by God’s standard there are no “good people”.

Romans 3:9-10

“…For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;”

He goes on to say:

Romans 3:19-20

“Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.  For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

There are no good people in God’s sight.  He saves those who accept forgiveness through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ because, while He is absolutely just, He is also absolutely merciful.  You cannot earn your way into heaven.  No one is good enough.  But what about Christians?  We are cleansed by the blood of Christ so why do bad things happen to us?  To get a good answer to that question we would be better served reading C.S. Lewis and any number of great preachers of today and the past but I can tell you this.  Jesus told us we would have a hard time in this world and I don’t know why anyone would expect to have a trouble free life in a fallen world.  When you live in a sewer you should expect things to stink.

Let me ask you this; after you accepted Christ, did you continue to sin?  I did.  I feel terrible when I sin but I’m afraid I have to keep turning to God to confess my sin and ask for forgiveness.  When I sin I am going to suffer the consequence of that sin.  I may be forgiven but trouble is always going to follow sin.  I bring all of this up because once again we see a king of Judah who starts to walk with the Lord only to walk away.  What I found fascinating was this verse:

2 Chronicles 26:16

“But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction.”

God had blessed Uzziah as a natural consequence of Uzziah walking in the ways of God.  Unfortunately, as so often happens, God’s blessing went to Uzziah’s head.  Once God made him strong he grew proud and started to think the rules didn’t apply to him.  He decided he could just waltz right into the temple and burn incense to the Lord even when God’s law stated that only the priests that were the descendants of Aaron could do so.  The natural consequence for his sin was leprosy.  Leprosy, as I’ve mentioned before is an allegory for sin and its effects.  Leprosy is a wasting disease that eats away at a person.  Their flesh stinks and blackens as it rots on the bone.  In biblical days there was no cure for leprosy just as there is no cure for sin.

Sin makes our lives stink and rot about us.  There is no cure for sin.  “Wait a minute Bill, what about the blood of Jesus?”  Well of course God can cure you.  When I say there was no cure for leprosy or there is no cure for sin I am referring to what man is able to do.  God can cure anything including the decay that comes from sin.  The disease that found its way into Uzziah’s life was pride.  Pride is simply an off-shoot of the seed of sin; self-centeredness, a desire to be our own god.

Why is it that we can walk with God and know that our blessings come from him, and yet grow proud to the point of our own destruction?  I’m noticing a trend over the past few days with the men who start out walking with God only to fall away.  They fall away as they get older.  I believe it is because they start to take God for granted.  They start believing their press; that somehow they are responsible for their blessings rather than God.  This is tragic.  It means that their walk has atrophied.

The word atrophy is instructive:

at•ro•phy \noun

1 : decrease in size or wasting away of a body part or tissue also : arrested development or loss of a part or organ incidental to the normal development or life of an animal or plant

2 : a wasting away or progressive decline : degeneration ?the atrophy of freedom?

The body of a person who has lain in a coma for an extended period of time will see their muscles atrophy.  That is the muscles will begin to waste away from lack of use.  You ever hear the term “use it or lose it”?  There is validity to that phrase both in the physical realm as well as the spiritual realm.  Have you ever gone through a period in your life where you aren’t reading your Bible, you aren’t praying, and you aren’t having fellowship with believers through regular church attendance?  If you have, did you feel God’s presence in your life?  I have done all of the above and the answer is no.

I allowed my spiritual life to lie in a bed of spiritual coma; my spiritual muscles wasting away.  Are you aware of how they castrate a bull?  There are a couple of ways but one is to place a very strong rubber band around the scrotum above the testicles.  This rubber band shuts off the flow of blood to that appendage and over time is withers and drops off.  I don’t mean to suggest in this analogy that you can lose your salvation.  Jesus tells us that He will lose no one who has been placed in his hand.  In our analogy of the bull, however, we see that the bull doesn’t lose his life in the process of castration but he isn’t whole and I’m sure he is missing out on the fullness of life he once enjoyed!

This is why Jesus tells us that we must remain attached to the vine, Him.  The rivers of life flow from Him through hearts surrendered to Him.  That water wells up and flows out from us to others and brings them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  When we detach ourselves from the vine the water dries up.  A branch cut from the vine dries up.  When we detach ourselves from God, from Jesus Christ, we dry up.  Sin is like the rubber band on the bull.  It cuts off our circulation.  It cuts us off from God.  Don’t walk around like that guys.  You’ll be missing out on too much!

Have a blessed and fruitful day!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!