Israel
My spiritual goal for 2011 is to honor God in the small things. And why not?
"How can I repay the LORD for all His goodness to me?" Psalm 116:12
hon·or verb \ˈä-nər\
to regard or treat with admiration and respect
For my purposes, the practical application of honor is obedience.
Obedience to God is a reaction, a compulsion in response to the greatest love the world has ever known. An obligation, and yet a privilege. For not only does God ask for our obedience, He knows it is impossible from a human standpoint and so He provides the supernatural strength that obedience requires.
It should be so simple.
And really it is that simple. But we all know humans have a way of complicating things.
My devotions over the last several weeks have found me following the many struggles of the Israelites throughout the Old Testament. Have you ever read the Old Testament? Not every word, but in essence 39 books' worth of humans complicating things.
An example. Through a series of miraculous and devastating plagues, God has freed his people Israel from slavery to the Egyptian king. All 600,000 of them (plus women, children, and livestock) escape, on foot no less.
They meet a roadblock, the Red Sea. Setback for man. Opportunity for God.
"But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left...And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him." Exodus 14:29,31
Can you imagine? These people not only got to witness God's power in breaking the nation of Egypt, but He continued to show them His glory by splitting a gigantic body of water in two and allowing all 600,000 of them (plus women, children, and livestock) to walk on the dry seafloor.
Fast forward a bit.
God has led His people to the base of Mount Sinai, and has called Moses to the top of the mountain to meet with Him. I'm not sure how long Moses was gone, but apparently too long for those waiting below.
There is general whining and hopelessness, and so Aaron, Moses' brother, takes a bunch of gold jewelry, melts it down, and shapes it into a calf.
"'These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.'" Exodus 32:4
Um, exqueeze me? Short term memory loss much?
It's like that. All through the Bible.
The Lord blesses His people. They begin to think they don't need Him. They fall into sin. The Lord withholds His blessings. They get in trouble. They cry out to God for deliverance. The Lord delivers them. Repeat.
It is very easy to judge the chidren of Israel. I mean, really, who is that dense?
You can't see it, but my hand is raised.
I've been a Christian since childhood. One might say that I've lived a life of relative prudence. It might seem from the outside that obedience isn't a problem for me.
It is.
It should say something that, well over twenty years into my walk with the Lord, I have to make a resolution to honor God. And this after He never ceases to heap blessings innumerable upon me.
I will not get into my specific struggles here. Some of them you know about, as they are illustrated from time to time on this blog. Some of them you may not. Specifics don't matter too much. Sin is sin.
I will just say that Satan knows what he is doing, and he's good at it. It's been the same song and dance since the beginning of time. For thousands of years his modus operandi has not changed. Because it works. Well.
And as shameful as it is for me to admit, I so often give in to him. Even when I know what to be on guard for, he gets me. Because there is still so much human in me, parts of me that get very perverse enjoyment out of sin. Because I refuse to listen to the little angel on my shoulder, almost audibly offering me the chance to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
Catch you next time, little angel. Flick.
I did great with honoring the Lord for, say, January. Then one little compromise. Then, well, I failed so what's the point? Thirty days later, right back where I started.
Obedience is not easy. Because we are human, it is not simple. It cannot be done in your own power. It cannot be separate from your heart's desire. It cannot be driven by temporal, worldly motives. It cannot be initiated and then left alone.
It is a struggle. Daily. Sometimes hourly. Most often, minute-ly.
But to live in disobedience... I can't do it. I'm sick of the first words of my every prayer being, "I'm sorry, Lord." Sick of feeling guilty at the end of every day. Sick of worrying that I am a hypocrite, as I rebel against the Lord while trying to teach my kids to obey Him.
I am not crying to the Lord for deliverance. That in itself would be hypocritical, as He never failed to offer the way out when I was tempted. The Lord has not moved away from me. I chose against Him. I ran from Him. I am my own enemy.
And I can choose this day to stand. To deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Jesus. To resist the devil, that he might flee from me. To be made new in the attitude of my mind, and to put on the new self. To honor the Lord, because He is worthy of honor.
It is not the easy choice.
Nor was what Christ did for me.
"I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God...offerings that cost me nothing." 2 Samuel 24:24
"How can I repay the LORD for all His goodness to me?" Psalm 116:12
hon·or verb \ˈä-nər\
to regard or treat with admiration and respect
For my purposes, the practical application of honor is obedience.
Obedience to God is a reaction, a compulsion in response to the greatest love the world has ever known. An obligation, and yet a privilege. For not only does God ask for our obedience, He knows it is impossible from a human standpoint and so He provides the supernatural strength that obedience requires.
It should be so simple.
And really it is that simple. But we all know humans have a way of complicating things.
My devotions over the last several weeks have found me following the many struggles of the Israelites throughout the Old Testament. Have you ever read the Old Testament? Not every word, but in essence 39 books' worth of humans complicating things.
An example. Through a series of miraculous and devastating plagues, God has freed his people Israel from slavery to the Egyptian king. All 600,000 of them (plus women, children, and livestock) escape, on foot no less.
They meet a roadblock, the Red Sea. Setback for man. Opportunity for God.
"But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left...And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him." Exodus 14:29,31
Can you imagine? These people not only got to witness God's power in breaking the nation of Egypt, but He continued to show them His glory by splitting a gigantic body of water in two and allowing all 600,000 of them (plus women, children, and livestock) to walk on the dry seafloor.
Fast forward a bit.
God has led His people to the base of Mount Sinai, and has called Moses to the top of the mountain to meet with Him. I'm not sure how long Moses was gone, but apparently too long for those waiting below.
There is general whining and hopelessness, and so Aaron, Moses' brother, takes a bunch of gold jewelry, melts it down, and shapes it into a calf.
"'These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.'" Exodus 32:4
Um, exqueeze me? Short term memory loss much?
It's like that. All through the Bible.
The Lord blesses His people. They begin to think they don't need Him. They fall into sin. The Lord withholds His blessings. They get in trouble. They cry out to God for deliverance. The Lord delivers them. Repeat.
It is very easy to judge the chidren of Israel. I mean, really, who is that dense?
You can't see it, but my hand is raised.
I've been a Christian since childhood. One might say that I've lived a life of relative prudence. It might seem from the outside that obedience isn't a problem for me.
It is.
It should say something that, well over twenty years into my walk with the Lord, I have to make a resolution to honor God. And this after He never ceases to heap blessings innumerable upon me.
I will not get into my specific struggles here. Some of them you know about, as they are illustrated from time to time on this blog. Some of them you may not. Specifics don't matter too much. Sin is sin.
I will just say that Satan knows what he is doing, and he's good at it. It's been the same song and dance since the beginning of time. For thousands of years his modus operandi has not changed. Because it works. Well.
And as shameful as it is for me to admit, I so often give in to him. Even when I know what to be on guard for, he gets me. Because there is still so much human in me, parts of me that get very perverse enjoyment out of sin. Because I refuse to listen to the little angel on my shoulder, almost audibly offering me the chance to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
Catch you next time, little angel. Flick.
I did great with honoring the Lord for, say, January. Then one little compromise. Then, well, I failed so what's the point? Thirty days later, right back where I started.
Obedience is not easy. Because we are human, it is not simple. It cannot be done in your own power. It cannot be separate from your heart's desire. It cannot be driven by temporal, worldly motives. It cannot be initiated and then left alone.
It is a struggle. Daily. Sometimes hourly. Most often, minute-ly.
But to live in disobedience... I can't do it. I'm sick of the first words of my every prayer being, "I'm sorry, Lord." Sick of feeling guilty at the end of every day. Sick of worrying that I am a hypocrite, as I rebel against the Lord while trying to teach my kids to obey Him.
I am not crying to the Lord for deliverance. That in itself would be hypocritical, as He never failed to offer the way out when I was tempted. The Lord has not moved away from me. I chose against Him. I ran from Him. I am my own enemy.
And I can choose this day to stand. To deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Jesus. To resist the devil, that he might flee from me. To be made new in the attitude of my mind, and to put on the new self. To honor the Lord, because He is worthy of honor.
It is not the easy choice.
Nor was what Christ did for me.
"I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God...offerings that cost me nothing." 2 Samuel 24:24
Comments
Love it! And love your heart. And all of you!