Recently I have been thinking about the disconnect between orthodoxy and orthopraxy that often prevails within the church. James 1:22-25 convicted me of this in my own life:
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does."
Shortly after reading that scripture, I found the following entry, "Take the Initiative," in Oswald Chambers' daily devotional, My Utmost for His Highest:
"Add" means there is something we have to do. We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do. We cannot save ourselves nor sanctify ourselves, God does that; but God will not give us good habits, He will not give us character, He will not make us walk aright. We have to do all that ourselves, we have to work out the salvation God has worked in. "Add" means to get into the habit of doing things, and in the initial stages it is difficult. To take the initiative is to make a beginning, to instruct yourself in the way you have to go.
Beware of the tendency of asking the way when you know it perfectly well. Take the initiative, stop hesitating, and take the first step. Be resolute when God speaks, act in faith immediately on what He says, and never revise your decisions. If you hesitate when God tells you to do a thing, you endanger your standing in grace. Take the initiative, take it yourself, take the step with your will now, make it impossible to go back. Burn your bridges behind you - "I will write that letter"; "I will pay that debt." Make the thing inevitable.
We have to get into the habit of hearkening to God about everything, to form the habit of finding out what God says. If when a crisis comes, we instinctively turn to God, we know that the habit has been formed. We have to take the initiative where we are, not where we are not.
As believers in Christ, are we simply hearers or are we doers? Are we so cautious about avoiding exhibiting legalism that we don't even pursue "good works"? We forget that hearing involves action. According to James 1:22, if we do not take action upon our hearing, we are deceiving ourselves. We should be like Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:10, who responded to the Lord, "Speak, for your servant is listening" or Mary in Luke 1:38, when she immediately answered the angel, "I am the Lord's servant, may it be to me as you have said."
May our prayer be that of Hebrews 12:1-3, that we may run with perseverance as we fix our eyes on Jesus, emulating His obedience to His father's will unto death:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
08 May 2010
A Lesson from Numbers about Self-Will
Today is Mother's Day, so first of all I would like to wish ALL mothers who read this blog a wonderful day of joy and thanksgiving! It would have been easy to choose a typical 'motherhood topic' for today's entry, but somehow I felt led instead to highlight the sin of self-will that so easily besets us - children as well as mothers. And often it's not even big things, but so many 'little' things in everyday situations. So please forgive me for this sombre topic!
Our little lession today comes from the book of Numbers. But BEFORE you read any further, please open your Bible to the book of Numbers and ponder chapters 12 to 14 (it won't take long but is too voluminous to print here in this blog :-)
In this portion of Scripture we read of a nation that spent forty years in the wilderness, serving time for their sin. Their circumstances were tragic and we may wonder how they could have done what they did. My circumstances are certainly different. I know that I am safe in Christ, and that positionally I am seated with Him in heavenly places. But each time I read the story of Israel’s self-will, it speaks to me anew and convicts me in so many ways…
God had done so much for His people, the nation of Israel, and still they complained and rebelled against Him. He had shown His strength through miraculous interventions. He had even produced ten plagues that proved His sovereignty over the gods of Egypt all the while keeping His own people safe. And then He had instituted the Passover for Israel, where the blood of lambs on the doorposts had saved the lives of their firstborn sons while those of the Egyptians had died.
But even though Israel had witnessed God’s power, they still did not trust Him as He lead them away from captivity. As soon as they noticed Pharaoh’s army pursuing them, they became afraid and started to murmur against Moses (and therefore against God). They complained that Moses should have left them in Egypt instead of letting them perish in the desert without a legacy of burial sites… Nevertheless, God was gracious and rescued them through a miracle. The Red Sea opened up for them, and after they had crossed it on dry ground, the Egyptians were drowned as they followed.
Then the people praised God. During their journey through the wilderness in order to reach the Promised Land, God preserved them from hunger, thirst and chaos. He even instructed them to make a special tent in which He would dwell with them personally. But after God had called Moses to the top of Mt. Sinai to give him the Ten Commandments, another crisis developed and showed their lack of real faith.
Moses’ absence took longer than the people had expected, and God’s providence was quickly forgotten. Israel did not expect Moses to return, so they persuaded their high priest Aaron to make them a golden calf. When it was finished, they worshipped the statue instead of God for bringing them out of Egypt. Consequently, God’s became very angry with them and intended to destroy the whole nation. Instead of persisting with these rebellious people, He would make a new nation from Moses. But Moses pleaded with God, and God relented. All those who openly declared their allegiance to Him before Moses were spared.
Finally, the nation arrived at the border to the Promised Land. God told Moses to choose twelve men to spy out the land. This he did, and Joshua left with Caleb and other tribal representatives to explore the land. But what they saw tested their faith. Returning after forty days they reported that Canaan was truly a land flowing with milk and honey. Food was plentiful and grapes were huge, but so were the giants they had encountered on their journey.
All but two of the spies were afraid and said, “There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:33). Only Joshua and Caleb trusted God. They told the Israelites, “If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us…Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.” (Numbers 14:8,9). But the congregation turned on them and wanted to stone them!
So once again God grew very angry: “How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?” (Numbers 14:11). This was the second time He had in mind to eradicate them. He would strike them with pestilence and disinherit them, and then make a mightier nation of Moses instead. But Moses was a humble man. In fact, the Bible says that he was the most humble man that ever lived (Numbers 12:3). A less humble person may have rejoiced at the prospect of becoming head of a nation, but Moses had compassion for his people and focused on God’s glory rather than his own. He interceded for Israel and pointed out that their annihilation would damage God’s reputation among heathen nations.
As a result God modified his punishment. He vowed that those people who had seen the signs He had performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and who had nonetheless disobeyed and put Him to the test ten times (!) since then, would not inherit the Land He had promised their fathers. None of those who rejected Him would ever see it. But their children, whom they had used as an excuse for not attacking when God had told them to do so, those children would enter the land. And so would Caleb and Joshua who had trusted God.
The eleven spies, whose lack of faith had invoked the national rebellion, were punished by God immediately. They were struck by the plague and died. The rest of the nation would bear their guilt in the wilderness, where they would spend one year for each day their representatives had spied out the land, i.e. forty years. They would experience God’s rejection and die in the desert, never entering the Promised Land. What an awful plight – and all of it due to SELF-WILL.
And here's a valid thought: how much is spoiled in our lives because of OUR self-will?
Happy Mother's Day and much Christinan love in the name of our Lord who is the giver of our bundles of joy and the awesome privilege (and responsibility) of motherhood.
Margaret
Our little lession today comes from the book of Numbers. But BEFORE you read any further, please open your Bible to the book of Numbers and ponder chapters 12 to 14 (it won't take long but is too voluminous to print here in this blog :-)
In this portion of Scripture we read of a nation that spent forty years in the wilderness, serving time for their sin. Their circumstances were tragic and we may wonder how they could have done what they did. My circumstances are certainly different. I know that I am safe in Christ, and that positionally I am seated with Him in heavenly places. But each time I read the story of Israel’s self-will, it speaks to me anew and convicts me in so many ways…
God had done so much for His people, the nation of Israel, and still they complained and rebelled against Him. He had shown His strength through miraculous interventions. He had even produced ten plagues that proved His sovereignty over the gods of Egypt all the while keeping His own people safe. And then He had instituted the Passover for Israel, where the blood of lambs on the doorposts had saved the lives of their firstborn sons while those of the Egyptians had died.
But even though Israel had witnessed God’s power, they still did not trust Him as He lead them away from captivity. As soon as they noticed Pharaoh’s army pursuing them, they became afraid and started to murmur against Moses (and therefore against God). They complained that Moses should have left them in Egypt instead of letting them perish in the desert without a legacy of burial sites… Nevertheless, God was gracious and rescued them through a miracle. The Red Sea opened up for them, and after they had crossed it on dry ground, the Egyptians were drowned as they followed.
Then the people praised God. During their journey through the wilderness in order to reach the Promised Land, God preserved them from hunger, thirst and chaos. He even instructed them to make a special tent in which He would dwell with them personally. But after God had called Moses to the top of Mt. Sinai to give him the Ten Commandments, another crisis developed and showed their lack of real faith.
Moses’ absence took longer than the people had expected, and God’s providence was quickly forgotten. Israel did not expect Moses to return, so they persuaded their high priest Aaron to make them a golden calf. When it was finished, they worshipped the statue instead of God for bringing them out of Egypt. Consequently, God’s became very angry with them and intended to destroy the whole nation. Instead of persisting with these rebellious people, He would make a new nation from Moses. But Moses pleaded with God, and God relented. All those who openly declared their allegiance to Him before Moses were spared.
Finally, the nation arrived at the border to the Promised Land. God told Moses to choose twelve men to spy out the land. This he did, and Joshua left with Caleb and other tribal representatives to explore the land. But what they saw tested their faith. Returning after forty days they reported that Canaan was truly a land flowing with milk and honey. Food was plentiful and grapes were huge, but so were the giants they had encountered on their journey.
All but two of the spies were afraid and said, “There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:33). Only Joshua and Caleb trusted God. They told the Israelites, “If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us…Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.” (Numbers 14:8,9). But the congregation turned on them and wanted to stone them!
So once again God grew very angry: “How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?” (Numbers 14:11). This was the second time He had in mind to eradicate them. He would strike them with pestilence and disinherit them, and then make a mightier nation of Moses instead. But Moses was a humble man. In fact, the Bible says that he was the most humble man that ever lived (Numbers 12:3). A less humble person may have rejoiced at the prospect of becoming head of a nation, but Moses had compassion for his people and focused on God’s glory rather than his own. He interceded for Israel and pointed out that their annihilation would damage God’s reputation among heathen nations.
As a result God modified his punishment. He vowed that those people who had seen the signs He had performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and who had nonetheless disobeyed and put Him to the test ten times (!) since then, would not inherit the Land He had promised their fathers. None of those who rejected Him would ever see it. But their children, whom they had used as an excuse for not attacking when God had told them to do so, those children would enter the land. And so would Caleb and Joshua who had trusted God.
The eleven spies, whose lack of faith had invoked the national rebellion, were punished by God immediately. They were struck by the plague and died. The rest of the nation would bear their guilt in the wilderness, where they would spend one year for each day their representatives had spied out the land, i.e. forty years. They would experience God’s rejection and die in the desert, never entering the Promised Land. What an awful plight – and all of it due to SELF-WILL.
And here's a valid thought: how much is spoiled in our lives because of OUR self-will?
Happy Mother's Day and much Christinan love in the name of our Lord who is the giver of our bundles of joy and the awesome privilege (and responsibility) of motherhood.
Margaret
04 May 2010
Confession and an Offering of Poetry
Okay, I'll admit it, I have been slack... In an attempt to get this house tidy, combined with the joys of pregnancy, I haven't written anything for this week... I know! Its terrible! I hope you will accept the following as a peace offering: I have taken this from one of my favourite books of poetry, "The Collected Work of Felicia Hemans"
T'was early Day, and sunlight streamed
Soft through a quiet room.
That hushed, hut not forsaken, seemed,
Still, but with naught of gloom.
For there, serene in happy age.
Whose hope is from above,
A Father communed with the page
Of Heaven's recorded love.
Pure fell the beam, and meekly bright,
On his grey holy hair,
And touched the page with tenderest light,
As if us shrine were there
But oh ! that patriarch's aspect shone
With something lovelier far-
A radiance all the spirit's own.
Caught not from sun or star.
Some word of life e'en then had met
His calm, benignant eye,
Some ancient promise, breathing yet
Of immortality :
Some martyr's prayer, wherein the glow
Of quenchless faith survives :
For every feature said- "I know
That my Redeemer lives"
And silent stood his children by,
Hushing their very breath,
Before the solemn sanctity
Of thoughts o'ersweeping death.
Silent yet did not each young breast
With love and reverence melt
Oh ! blest be those fair girls, and blest
That home where God is felt
This little poem, which, as its Author herself expressed in a letter to Mrs. Joanne Baillie, was to her "a thing set apart," as being the the last of her productions ever read to her beloved mother, was written at the request of a young lady, who thus made known her wish "that Mrs. Hemans would embody in poetry a picture that so warmed a daughters heart:" -
Upon going into our dear father's sitting room this morning, my sister and I found him deeply engaged reading his Bible, and, being unwilling to interrupt such a holy occupation, we retired to the further end of the apartment, to gaze unobserved upon the serene picture. The bright morning sun was beaming on his venerable silver hair, while his defective sight increased the earnestness with which he perused the blessed book. Our fancy led us to believe that some immortal thought was engaging his mind, for he raised his fine open brow to the light, and we felt we had never loved him more deeply. After an involuntary prayer has passed from our hearts, we whispered to each other, "Oh! if Mrs. Hemans could only see our father at this moment, her glowing pen would detain the scene; for even as we gaze upon it, the bright gleam is vanishing.
December 9th, 1826
The Poetical Works of Felicia Hemans, Ed. William Micheal Rossetti, London:Ward, Lock, & Bowden, Ltd. p.465
T'was early Day, and sunlight streamedSoft through a quiet room.
That hushed, hut not forsaken, seemed,
Still, but with naught of gloom.
For there, serene in happy age.
Whose hope is from above,
A Father communed with the page
Of Heaven's recorded love.
Pure fell the beam, and meekly bright,
On his grey holy hair,
And touched the page with tenderest light,
As if us shrine were there
But oh ! that patriarch's aspect shone
With something lovelier far-
A radiance all the spirit's own.
Caught not from sun or star.
Some word of life e'en then had met
His calm, benignant eye,
Some ancient promise, breathing yet
Of immortality :
Some martyr's prayer, wherein the glow
Of quenchless faith survives :
For every feature said- "I know
That my Redeemer lives"
And silent stood his children by,
Hushing their very breath,
Before the solemn sanctity
Of thoughts o'ersweeping death.
Silent yet did not each young breast
With love and reverence melt
Oh ! blest be those fair girls, and blest
That home where God is felt
This little poem, which, as its Author herself expressed in a letter to Mrs. Joanne Baillie, was to her "a thing set apart," as being the the last of her productions ever read to her beloved mother, was written at the request of a young lady, who thus made known her wish "that Mrs. Hemans would embody in poetry a picture that so warmed a daughters heart:" -
Upon going into our dear father's sitting room this morning, my sister and I found him deeply engaged reading his Bible, and, being unwilling to interrupt such a holy occupation, we retired to the further end of the apartment, to gaze unobserved upon the serene picture. The bright morning sun was beaming on his venerable silver hair, while his defective sight increased the earnestness with which he perused the blessed book. Our fancy led us to believe that some immortal thought was engaging his mind, for he raised his fine open brow to the light, and we felt we had never loved him more deeply. After an involuntary prayer has passed from our hearts, we whispered to each other, "Oh! if Mrs. Hemans could only see our father at this moment, her glowing pen would detain the scene; for even as we gaze upon it, the bright gleam is vanishing.
December 9th, 1826
The Poetical Works of Felicia Hemans, Ed. William Micheal Rossetti, London:Ward, Lock, & Bowden, Ltd. p.465
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