Stones of Faithfulness

“Then the Lord said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them."” Exodus 24:12

“"Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals." Num 20:8

 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

“clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.” 2 Corinthians 3:3

”having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone,” Ephesians 2:20

It has been spring weather for a while now, so I am sure lots of ground has been turned or plowed for planting.  As I understand it, part of preparing the ground for planting involves removing the rocks from the field.  (This seems to mainly be for protecting the other equipment from striking the rocks and becoming damaged.)  But rocks are not all bad, because many of our homes likely have stoneware to cook with and the best pizza shops have stone ovens for their even heat distribution and resistance to breaking.  Whether I have all this right or not, I know that the Bible has a lot to say about rocks/ stones also.

When the Bible mentions stones, it refers to something hard, secure, and unchanging.  We find stones in nature, part of altars and buildings, being written on for recording, and for teachings.  Stones were used in construction because they did not wear out like many other materials, and in altars they could withstand the constant burning taking place.  The Ten Commandments were recorded on stone so that they would last for many years (until they were destroyed by man.)  It was precisely the seeming unchanging of stones that led God to use them as illustrations also.

Jesus was described as the Chief cornerstone because of his unchanging nature and we are encouraged to build our faith and understanding on this solid foundation.  God showed his greatness to the Israelites by providing water from a rock.  Ezekiel referred to an even greater miracle.  Our hearts are described as being made of stone.  Think of the hard, sinful life we had before Jesus “replaced our heart of stone.”  Without Jesus’ atonement we were destined to remain unchanged in that state. 

If you have to pick up rocks, stub your toe on a rock, or even drive on rocks, let them remind you of the Greatness of God!

Playing Games with God

We love games today!  March Madness is in full swing and this weekend will reveal the Final Four in college basketball.  A new book series everyone is talking about is the “Hunger Games.”  This summer brings the Olympic Games in London, England.  We have game apps on our phones/mobile devices, and game consoles at our homes.  Take a situation, add two opposing sides and a dash of competition and we are game (ready.)

This affinity for games filters in to our interactions with each other, especially when we have different views on certain subjects.  As you try to persuade me of your view, you will engage in a mind game, trying to manipulate the conversation until the decision is to agree with your ideas.  When we meet in church, or in the community, our conversation will change so that the discussion does not contradict our previous position (and possibly lose the position we had gained.)  These mind games are not only personal, but national also.  It is where we get the modern study of political science, and the gridlock of politics in Washington D.C. 

Since we are able to play these mind games with the people around us, and even the pastor sometimes, we occasionally believe that we can pull the wool over God’s eyes.  Such was the case with the Pharisees of the New Testament.  They convinced the community around them that they were the most religious, and even felt like they were right with God.  When Jesus (God) confronted them on their double lives, they argued that their way was correct, despite its abandonment of the Old Testament.  They were called hypocrites, a Greek word referring to acting, such as being something you are not.

Due to our nature it is hard for us to see our own sin.  When we find it, we prefer to hide it behind busy schedules, good intentions, and flattering words.  You could consider these masks which we put on to influence everyone else.  But these will never trick God, because He can see our hearts and intentions.  It says that all of our secrets will be made known at the judgement.  Be true and honest with God, he already knows.  No More Games!

“The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, 'No eye will see me'; And he disguises his face.” Job 24:15

“For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.” Luke 8:17

“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God.” 1 Corinthians 4:5

God is in the Detail

Proverbs 8 (please read the whole chapter.  It is a call from ‘Wisdom’ personified.)

Anyone who has taken out a loan, purchased an insurance policy, or even downloaded an “app,” knows that there are plenty of documents which we agree to by signature or click.  Unfortunately most of us do not review the details of these agreements prior to moving forward.  It is usual that when we find out what the documents say, it is too late and we are surprised as to what we agreed.  “The devil is in the detail” is a phrase all too familiar these days and describes this situation.  Put another way it means overlooking the details of a situation now, can lead to unwanted situations later. 

Our tendencies lead us to overlook many details due to time, circumstances, or understanding.  We have so many requirements on each of these resources, that we truly cannot devote ourselves to gaining a full understanding of our decisions.  This has lead sinful people in legal fields, politics, and business to insert ill-meaning provisions underneath the covering of details.  It is disheartening to see the depths to which sin has taken us. 

However we have another resource that we can draw from, which does not have the limitations mentioned above.  Our triune God is infinite in all ways.  He is rightly described as omnipresent (everywhere), omniscient (knows everything), and omnipotent (has all power.)  There  is no detail in our life that God is not aware of and able to control.  We find wisdom within the details.  Our God is able to manage every detail of the entire universe, and yet still listen and respond to our prayers.  This God created the billions of miniscule cells in our bodies, and the billions of enormous stars in the night sky.  If we truly look at the details of our world, we find wisdom, design, and that ‘God is in the detail.’

Any deficiency that we think of in our lives cannot be placed on God but rests squarely on our shoulders.  This is why we fall humbly before God and admit that we cannot handle our families, our jobs, or our lives apart from Him.  It is when we lean on God that all the details will work out according to His purposes, and we will be blessed.  When we try to stand on our own, it is when we allow sin space to invade our lives.  “Lean on the Lord, and not unto your own understanding.” (paraphrasing Proverbs 3:5)

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7

Wrestling with God

“Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.” Genesis 32:24

“And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Acts 9:5
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

In the course of maturing we determine some questions that we know we should not ask others.  Examples may be: “Are you picking up weight?” (to a pregnant lady) or “Hey pastor! Do you want to go get a drink (alcoholic)?”  These questions are almost guaranteed that we will receive a negative answer, so we decide that it would be best not to ask them.  I would rate this as a sign of maturity when it comes to others, but when it comes to us, maturity brings the hard questions with it. 

You also know what these questions are for yourself.  These are questions that bring up unpleasant feelings of guilt, fear, and/or shame.  Ignoring the feelings only leaves behind a land mine which makes it easy to “blow up” when these feelings are approached again, usually by someone close to us.  Most of us have a couple of areas like this, our families and co-workers know these areas, and as long as everyone leaves the topics alone, we are fine and dandy.

However there is a resource that usually approaches these subjects with no regards to our feelings.  It is, of course, the Bible.  You may be happy reading a passage, or listening to a sermon, and then the topic changes and addresses that anger, greed, jealousy, envy, sexual desire, or the like that you thought was gone.  Often we will stop, shut the Bible, and remind God just how much that makes us mad.  After a few times it may make us hesitant to open the Bible, and possible run across another uncomfortable passage.  After all this is what worked with our families, we have our blowup, and they don’t go back down that road.

The Bible will not work that way, and also keeps us from finding our answers on getting rid of these areas.  God knows how to help us remove these feelings, but CAUTION: IT WILL STILL HURT!  It often involves what we could call spiritual surgery, done with a sharp two-edged sword (Heb 4:12) and a lot of effort on our part.  We must allow the Lord to probe in our souls and remove these cancers.  What is it that you are wrestling with the Lord and yourself about?  These questions hurt, but they are the path toward growth in the Lord.

Realizing the Blessings of God

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,  I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:4-9

Certainly the weather events of the last few days, underscore the reality of the blessings of God.  In our immediate community we have not had any loss of human life, due to storms, and only minor property damage.  In the region around us there are towns which have had significant damage and loss of life: Hodgenville/E-town, Henryville, IN, West Liberty among others.  Yet most reports coming out from these places are that they are so thankful that there was not more loss of life.  These terrible storms are extraordinary reminders to count our blessings daily. 

Our church continues to illustrate the blessing of God.  The spirit of love that continues to be shown as members have struggles, or as visitors stop by, is God at work.  We stepped up in a big way to help out Brother Dwayne and his family , and on the same day collected one of the largest offerings ever in our church, ready to be used to minister to others.  A great group of Sunday School teachers are teaching a growing number of attendees.  Brother Dwayne continues to preach a Bible-based message of the full God.  We have not achieved “the goal”, but we are doing much of what God is calling us to do. 

Now realizing the blessings we have and the provisions of God, we must not relent in delivering the Gospel.  As the story of the rich man building bigger barns and resting (Luke 12:16-20); we cannot simply stop and admire the blessings around us and fail to continue ministering.  We have not been blessed so that we can live in comfort, it is so that we have resources to be ministers of God’s blessings to others.  The goal of Revelation 7:9 “a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” beckons us to minister constantly to those around us, and to keep reaching throughout the world.  How will we react to these realities?