Kathleen and I are trying to find the right company to help us refinance our home. Each of the four brokers we spoke with gave us compelling reasons to refinance with his or her particular company. We were uncertain as to who was really giving us the best option. Finally, we sat down with a broker in his office and listened as he explained why his option was the best for us. Before he went into his pitch he told us about his family and about a solar energy project he was working to help people bring their energy costs down. At some point in the meeting, I distinctly in my heart “heard” the Lord tell me that this was the man who would help us refinance. It was sort of a surreal moment. Yet, I instantly had peace about our choice and course of action.
Meditation
Numbers 1:1—The LORD spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came of Egypt.
Acts 18:9—One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.”
In the Old Testament and the New Testament, God spoke to His people. He let them know what they needed to know. Do you think it is any different today? We all need to hear from the Lord. We need His direction. We need His encouragement. And here is the good news—the Lord wants to speak to you.
Some of you have wandered away from His voice and you are not even sure He is willing to speak to you anymore. Some of you have heard His voice and resisted. You don’t want to hear Him speak because you are afraid of what He is going to say. Some of you are so discouraged you have concluded that God isn’t interested in speaking to you. Some of you have listened for a long time and heard nothing and therefore concluded God is not concerned with you or willing to speak. And some of you hear Him speak regularly and have an intimacy that is refreshing.
Jesus told His followers in John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come.” Recently I met with a friend who is very discouraged about his relationship with God. In the course of the conversation, he admitted consistently running from God so as to exercise his own will. Now, burdened by alcohol and broken relationships with women he is a broken man. He wants to do the right thing but he is not sure he can even hear God speaking. I encouraged him to take one day off a week to rest, to spend time studying Scripture and to give God the opportunity to speak to his life. Busyness is one of the biggest reasons why we don’t hear God—we’ve crowded Him out. Often I wonder if people run from God by keeping themselves busy.
Let’s set aside time to let the Holy Spirit communicate with us. Let’s trust that even when we are engaged in our daily activities we can still hear Him speak. Life lived obediently to God is the precursor to joy. A life deaf to His leading is a formula for tragedy. Choose wisely and listen!
Inspiration
When we are born again we have to obey the Spirit of God, and as we draw on the life of Jesus and learn to assimilate and carry out what He speaks to us, we shall grow in ignorance of certain things and be alive and alert only to what is God’s will for us.—Oswald Chambers in The Servant As His Lord
Friday, February 12, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Unauthorized
When I read my Bible I look forward each day to hearing from the Lord. I look forward to learning something that will help me live more effectively or that will enable me to help others. I don’t know about you but I find the book of Leviticus to be hard reading. For the first nine chapters, God instructs Moses in how the Israelites are to bring offerings and the priests are to conduct themselves and I’m struggling to see anything even remotely interesting. Then chapter ten comes along and I read the shocking verses below.
Meditation
Leviticus 10:1-3—Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own firepan, put fire in it, placed incense on it, and presented unauthorized fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them [to do]. Then flames leaped from the LORD's presence and burned them to death before the LORD. So Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD meant when He said: I will show My holiness to those who are near Me, and I will reveal My glory before all the people." But Aaron remained silent.
Do you ever have questions about why God acts the way He does? I do. While Moses was gone 40 days receiving instruction from God, his brother Aaron caved in to the wishes of his countrymen and forged an unauthorized golden calf for them to worship. He let them get out of control. His dereliction of duty initially resulted in 3000 Israelites killed. Then God struck the people with a plague (see Exodus 32). God did nothing to Aaron.
We read above of God burning to death Nadab and Abihu! Where was their father when they went before God? Did he know his sons were possibly drunk and therefore irresponsible in their actions? God did nothing to Aaron.
In Numbers chapter 12, Moses’ sister Miriam and Aaron criticized him because of his Cushite wife and challenged his authority. God struck Miriam with temporary leprosy for speaking against His servant. God did nothing to Aaron. Eight chapters later, Moses and Aaron disobeyed God’s explicit instruction to speak to the rock so water might pour out. Instead, an angry Moses struck the rock while Aaron took no action to stop him. Then God punished them. He took away their right to enter the Promised Land and shortly thereafter, He ended the life of Aaron.
Was not Aaron’s treasonous golden calf far more heinous than the quirky fire his sons brought before God? It scares me to think that God can be, dare I say, capricious (erratic). Or could it be that He has His purposes for doing what He does? He sees into the hearts of men and women what we cannot see. He knows when it is time to strike and when it is better to refrain from striking. Perhaps it was not fitting to terminate His anointed high priest. Maybe Aaron’s service was more important for a season than leaving Moses alone to cope with his rebellious countrymen. Maybe Aaron’s days were filled with unimaginable grief and pressure trying to appease complainers. Maybe his silence at the execution of his sons was as remarkable as his ability to later worship the Executioner. Maybe his criticism was the overflow of a heart fed up by desert life where people dropped dead on a daily basis and he didn’t always like the decisions of his younger brother. Maybe, just maybe God decided to extend grace.
I don’t understand. It doesn’t matter. The point is that God expects me to live in a pure manner. You and I have no right to do what is unauthorized. The consequences may be immediate and shattering or God may seemingly do nothing. He sees. He knows. He loves. He judges. Our responsibility is to make the fire the way He prescribed.
Inspiration
A fault once denied is twice committed.—Japanese proverb
Meditation
Leviticus 10:1-3—Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own firepan, put fire in it, placed incense on it, and presented unauthorized fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them [to do]. Then flames leaped from the LORD's presence and burned them to death before the LORD. So Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD meant when He said: I will show My holiness to those who are near Me, and I will reveal My glory before all the people." But Aaron remained silent.
Do you ever have questions about why God acts the way He does? I do. While Moses was gone 40 days receiving instruction from God, his brother Aaron caved in to the wishes of his countrymen and forged an unauthorized golden calf for them to worship. He let them get out of control. His dereliction of duty initially resulted in 3000 Israelites killed. Then God struck the people with a plague (see Exodus 32). God did nothing to Aaron.
We read above of God burning to death Nadab and Abihu! Where was their father when they went before God? Did he know his sons were possibly drunk and therefore irresponsible in their actions? God did nothing to Aaron.
In Numbers chapter 12, Moses’ sister Miriam and Aaron criticized him because of his Cushite wife and challenged his authority. God struck Miriam with temporary leprosy for speaking against His servant. God did nothing to Aaron. Eight chapters later, Moses and Aaron disobeyed God’s explicit instruction to speak to the rock so water might pour out. Instead, an angry Moses struck the rock while Aaron took no action to stop him. Then God punished them. He took away their right to enter the Promised Land and shortly thereafter, He ended the life of Aaron.
Was not Aaron’s treasonous golden calf far more heinous than the quirky fire his sons brought before God? It scares me to think that God can be, dare I say, capricious (erratic). Or could it be that He has His purposes for doing what He does? He sees into the hearts of men and women what we cannot see. He knows when it is time to strike and when it is better to refrain from striking. Perhaps it was not fitting to terminate His anointed high priest. Maybe Aaron’s service was more important for a season than leaving Moses alone to cope with his rebellious countrymen. Maybe Aaron’s days were filled with unimaginable grief and pressure trying to appease complainers. Maybe his silence at the execution of his sons was as remarkable as his ability to later worship the Executioner. Maybe his criticism was the overflow of a heart fed up by desert life where people dropped dead on a daily basis and he didn’t always like the decisions of his younger brother. Maybe, just maybe God decided to extend grace.
I don’t understand. It doesn’t matter. The point is that God expects me to live in a pure manner. You and I have no right to do what is unauthorized. The consequences may be immediate and shattering or God may seemingly do nothing. He sees. He knows. He loves. He judges. Our responsibility is to make the fire the way He prescribed.
Inspiration
A fault once denied is twice committed.—Japanese proverb
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