Seeking Forgiveness

"Then they kept crossing the ford to bring over the king’s household, and to do what was good in his sight. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king as he was about to cross the Jordan.  So he said to the king, 'Let not my lord consider me guilty, nor remember what your servant did wrong on the day when my lord the king came out from Jerusalem, so that the king would take it to heart.  For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore behold, I have come today, the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.'  But Abishai the son of Zeruiah said, 'Should not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?'”  2 Samuel 19:18-21

David once famously packed up his household and many of his followers and left his home base of Jerusalem in an effort to avoid a war with his son who sought to supplant him by force as the new king.  During one of the lowest times of his life, a man by the name of Shimei came along and began to verbally abuse the king with words that were shocking for a commoner to use against his monarch.  He accused him of being a murderer and a wicked person and said that he deserved all he was suffering.  To add insult to injury, he threw rocks and dirt at the king and all of his company.

As it would happen, the fortunes of David would reverse.  Having put down the insurrection, the king and his cohort began to make his way back into Jerusalem to retake the throne and restore order.  As this was occurring, Shimei appeared and was contrite, humble and repentant as he confessed and asked for forgiveness.

Beloved, how often have we played the role of Shimei in our sinful behaviors?  We can all look back on times when we have done wrong to relatives, friends, acquaintances, co-workers and even members of the church.  In so doing, we shake the fist of rebellion at God by not obeying his command to love him with all we've got and to love others as we love ourselves.  Our behavior can be abhorrent when we are angry and hurt.  Fortunately for us, God is as patient with us as David was with Shimei.  Though well within his right, David did not take Shimei's life when he sinned against him, but let him go.  This gave him an opportunity to come to his senses and he eventually did.

The lesson here is that we must all come to our senses, recognize the wrong we have committed against God and beg for forgiveness with more vigor than that with which we sinned against him.  And we must not be afraid to approach him and ask.  1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  So often we are immobilized by our guilt and shame and decide that we are unforgivable.  This in and of itself is sinful in that we are not to put ourselves in the place of God.  It is he who has directed us to seek him and his righteousness.  It is up to us to obey.

We do not have a license to sin but we do have a remedy.  If you are overtaken in a fault, go to the only one who can fix it, then accept what he provides, or as Jesus said, "Go and sin no more," John 8:11.

Discipling,

Lee

The God of Second Chances

"Then Samson called to the Lord and said, 'O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.'” Judges 16:28

This simple passage of Scripture does not readily reveal the profound impact of repentance and the amazing forgiveness of God, but careful study of the story and the man, Samson, will leave the fervent seeker awestruck, humbled and grateful.

In those days, the people of Israel were in a retched cycle of being blessed by God, turning their backs on Him in favor of other gods, being subjected by force to the whims of other nations, crying out to God for relief and being rescued by Him. On this particular occasion, the people had been under the subjugation of the Philistines for 40 years. God, in His infinite mercy, sent his angel to a woman named Manoah and, among other things, instructed her that she would bear a son and that through him, Israel would begin to be "saved from the hands of the Philistines," Judges 13:5. This was the beginning of the story and purpose of Samson.

Now the rest of his story is well known. He was born a Nazirite (one who is particularly dedicated to God, typically by vow and the observance of certain habits and restrictions), grew in supernatural strength, became a judge of the people and famously fought and defeated the Philistines on numerous occasions. It is also well known that Samson was a very flawed man. He had habits and desires that were not in keeping with his calling. He frequently made mistakes in judgment and failed to comport himself at some critical times and was known to visit prostitutes. He is perhaps best known for his involvement with the treacherous Philistine woman, Delilah. It is to her that, despite proving herself unworthy of his trust on at least three occasions that might have resulted in his death, he reveals the secret of his strength resulting in the breaking of his Nazarite vow and the loss of his power.

Beloved, it is easy for us to sit in judgment of Samson. We ask ourselves how he could have been so stupid, thereby inferring that we could never be guilty of such transgression and lack of good decision making. But is that strictly true? Has not God created each of us for His own glory? Has he not instructed us in His ways and given us a mission to do battle with the enemy? Have we not been distracted by the perceived benefits of that same enemy and actually done business with him? In some ways, times and situations, we are all Samson.

That said, we serve the same God as Samson. When he had come to fully understand the error of his ways, he remembered his purpose, he remembered his God given ability and he remembered his God. Through His amazing love and forgiveness, God came to the aid of Samson, even as He had to the people of Israel through Samson, and strengthened him for his original intended purpose. God never forsakes us. It is we who leave Him. But just as the father of the prodigal son, He constantly awaits our return and receives us when we come. All praises to Him for being a God of second (and third and fourth and fifth...) chances.

Discipling,

Lee

A Change in Perspective

“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”  Colossians 3:1-4

I once knew a person who always seemed to be rooted, grounded, positive and happy.  It was not because he had enjoyed a trouble-free life in the lap of luxury.  On the contrary, he had been through storm after storm, yet was an example of how to keep one’s head up and remain faithful.  It was not that he was a perfect man; far from it.  But he never claimed to be more than he was and always seemed to re-route any praise given him, to God.

Upon being asked how he did it, particularly in view of some significantly painful life events, he gave an answer that made all of the sense in the world but was no less amazing in that it involved the most basic of Christian principles.  He said, “I not only believe in God, but I believe Him.”  By that he meant that it was easy to acknowledge God’s existence but through the course of his life, he had come to have a significant level of faith in Him due to his experience with God.  He therefore made every effort to surrender his own will in favor of God’s.  This being the case, he went on to say, “God has told us that this life is just a vapor and that the things we go through in our day to day lives are not worthy to be compared with the things that will be revealed and experienced in an eternity with Him.  I believe that with my whole heart, and that long-term view makes the limited trials of this life bearable and temporary.”

Beloved, this is the perspective that all children of God should have.  This is not to say that in our human condition, we do not occasionally worry, fret, hurt, get anxious or angry, but that we should always be brought back to who God is, what He has promised and our faith in Him.  Further, we should conduct our lives as those who accept all He has told us as established fact. Paul told the church at Colossae, and by extension all believers, that we are to “set our minds on things above and not on earth…for our life is hidden with God in Christ.”  How powerful in the Lord would we be if we truly embraced this directive?  How effective would the church be?

Let us, as spiritual beings, diligently shift our perspective to spiritual things.  Our burdens will surely be lightened and hearts made glad.

Discipling,

Lee

Seeking Forgiveness

"Then they kept crossing the ford to bring over the king’s household, and to do what was good in his sight. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king as he was about to cross the Jordan.  So he said to the king, 'Let not my lord consider me guilty, nor remember what your servant did wrong on the day when my lord the king came out from Jerusalem, so that the king would take it to heart.  For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore behold, I have come today, the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.'  But Abishai the son of Zeruiah said, 'Should not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?'”  2 Samuel 19:18-21

David once famously packed up his household and many of his followers and left his home base of Jerusalem in an effort to avoid a war with his son who sought to supplant him by force as the new king.  During one of the lowest times of his life, a man by the name of Shimei came along and began to verbally abuse the king with words that were shocking for a commoner to use against his monarch.  He accused him of being a murderer and a wicked person and said that he deserved all he was suffering.  To add insult to injury, he threw rocks and dirt at the king and all of his company.

As it would happen, the fortunes of David would reverse.  Having put down the insurrection, the king and his cohort began to make his way back into Jerusalem to retake the throne and restore order.  As this was occurring, Shimei appeared and was contrite, humble and repentant as he confessed and asked for forgiveness.

Beloved, how often have we played the role of Shimei in our sinful behaviors?  We can all look back on times when we have done wrong to relatives, friends, acquaintances, co-workers and even members of the church.  In so doing, we shake the fist of rebellion at God by not obeying his command to love him with all we've got and to love others as we love ourselves.  Our behavior can be abhorrent when we are angry and hurt.  Fortunately for us, God is as patient with us as David was with Shimei.  Though well within his right, David did not take Shimei's life when he sinned against him, but let him go.  This gave him an opportunity to come to his senses and he eventually did.

The lesson here is that we must all come to our senses, recognize the wrong we have committed against God and beg for forgiveness with more vigor than that with which we sinned against him.  And we must not be afraid to approach him and ask.  1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  So often we are immobilized by our guilt and shame and decide that we are unforgivable.  This in and of itself is sinful in that we are not to put ourselves in the place of God.  It is he who has directed us to seek him and his righteousness.  It is up to us to obey.

We do not have a license to sin but we do have a remedy.  If you are overtaken in a fault, go to the only one who can fix it, then accept what he provides, or as Jesus said, "Go and sin no more," John 8:11.

Discipling,

Lee

Will Alignment

"He said, 'Thus says the Lord, 'Make this valley full of trenches.' "For thus says the Lord, 'You shall not see wind nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts." 2 Kings 3:16-17

The kings of Judah and Edom had allied themselves with aggrieved king of Israel, Jehoram, in an effort to do battle with the offending king of Moab. It should be noted that Jehoram was a wicked king but the king of Judah was righteous. Having set their battle plan to go through an area of wilderness, they found themselves without water for their men and animals. Wisely, they sought the prophet Elijah to advocate for them with God. It should also be noted that Elijah would have had nothing to do with Jehoram had it not been for the presence of Judah's king.

God's instruction, in short, was to prepare themselves for a miraculous blessing. They would have all the water they needed if they followed His instructions. They would not be inundated by rain which might have actually hindered their efforts, yet the Lord promised that they would have water.

Beloved, we do not always know how God will accomplish those things for which we have prayed, but we should always be prepared for an affirmative answer when the request aligns with His will. In this case the Moabites had offended God and wronged His people. It may be in your life that God take action in order to accomplish His will. Perhaps you WILL receive that promotion in order to be able to carry His word to more people and contribute more financially to His kingdom. Perhaps you WILL recover your health in an effort to be more convinced of His grace and mercy and will in turn be an encouragement to others. Perhaps He WILL send a spouse to you in order to allow you to defeat temptation and thereby be preserved. But as the kings did, you must prepare to receive such blessings.

God truly delivered on His promise to the kings. Water was delivered to the people of God via a flash flood from a distant storm. Not only did they have water to drink, but the blood like appearance of the waters' reflection of the rising sun caused the enemy to believe the kings had fought among themselves. Thinking this they went out to meet the prepared army and were themselves consumed.

Our God is a mighty God who blesses His children in accordance with His will. Does yours align with His? Despite the fact that there may be Jehorams in your life, be sure that you are the Judah that finds favor. God always comes through.

Discipling,

Lee

Can You Hear Him Now?

"So the Lord called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, 'Here I am, for you called me.' Then Eli discerned that the Lord was calling the boy. And Eli said to Samuel,"'Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Then the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, 'Speak, for Your servant is listening.'" 1 Sam 3:8-10

God in His divine wisdom saw fit to call a young boy into his service. Samuel was a product of a devout father and a mother who struggled to bear children. For years his mother cried and prayed that God would bless her and that if He did, she would give the child to Him. God answered her prayer and she kept her promise. She left the boy with God's man, Eli, at a tender age and he began to be instructed in the way of the Lord. Then at a God determined point in his life, he was called into service by the very voice of the Almighty.

Beloved, there are many things that call to us today. We are inundated with messages from a variety of media that contend for our attention. Some of these messages are positive, some neutral and some negative. We must ask ourselves, however, if we are tuned in to God. It is His call that is quiet but firm, powerful and consistent. He placed within each of us the ability to recognize His voice. Paul writes, "...that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse" Rom 1:19-20. Contextually, this is a chastisement for those who have ignored the call of God and have acted unrighteously. But it clearly reveals that He has placed within us the ability to hear and know Him.

Further, His voice can be heard in our morality; our sense of right and wrong. Whether one is a believer or not, we all have a sense of what  we should do over against what we should not. This is  the God channel. It is not here stated that we hear God's audible call today. In fact Heb 1:1-2 tells us a bit of the history of His communication with us. The point is He still speaks. Be it through observed nature that make His existence evident or the conscience He has placed within us to respond to Him, He still speaks. When He calls, we need to turn everything else off and respond, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

Pursuing discipleship,

Lee

Don't Let Go

"Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, 'Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.' But he said, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me.'” Genesis 32:24-26

Imagine what it would be like to wrestle with God.  It would generate so many questions. "Why would God want to wrestle with me?"  "How could I possibly win?"  "What did I do wrong?" Though this is a true depiction of an actual event (based on it not being stated that it is a vision or a parable), it is an object lesson designed to represent a larger message. In this case, it is, in part, about how Jacob had been "wrestling" since the womb.  He wrestled away his brother's birthright and blessing and then had to contend for the wife of his choice.  Contextually, he was about to face what he thought would be an angry Esau but the divine wrestling match conveyed that he would prevail and receive God's blessing.

The point today; however, comes from the match itself.  It was indeed a contest and the point of every contest is to win.  In wrestling, winning means pinning your opponent to the ground or securing his retirement ("tap out" in today's vernacular).  Despite wrestling all night, neither contestant is reported as hitting the ground or giving up. When Jacob's hip was dislocated, it caused pain, sapped strength, and took away leverage. It would be easy to see how he might go down.  Instead, the supernatural opponent said "let me go."

Beloved, there are times when we go through troubling and difficult.  As Christians, we have been taught to reach out to God.  We do so through prayer, fasting, studying of the Scriptures and perhaps spiritual counseling.  Our desire is to prevail against whatever it is that plagues us.  It is clear based on the opponent's words that Jacob was holding on to him, refusing to give up and refusing to go down despite his limiting and painful injury.  This is what we must do. Hang on with everything we've got and do not let go no matter what.  If we let go of God in the midst of trials, we will surely lose, but if we embrace Him until he blesses us, then we will surely prevail.  To be clear, prevailing does not meant to win but to succeed.  Neither opponent lost, but Jacob was successful in receiving his desired blessing.

Jacob met Esau and found love instead of death.  Renamed Israel by God, he said to Esau that seeing him was like seeing God.  This connected to his post match confession that he had seen God face to face and lived.  The match revealed to him in advance that he would not lose his life at the hands of his brother, but that he would prevail and be blessed. Let us do as Jacob did and hold on to God until the blessing comes.

Discipling,

Lee

Prayer for the Nation

"Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. They said to me, 'The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.'  When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven." Nehemiah 1:2-4 

On January 6, 2021, the world watched while the Capitol building of the United States of America was temporarily overtaken by members of its own citizenry.  Most Americans were horrified and could not believe that it was happening. Many were brought to tears. It was clear evidence of the profound division that exists within the country. What are we to do?

Though it may feel that given the pandemic, social upheaval, political discord and economic devastation, these are the worst of all possible times, they are not.  The world has endured much more and much worse.  Even in this country, a Civil War was survived. This is not to say that emotions are out of place because they are not.  These days, times and events have never happened to us, therefore we feel how we feel.

The message today, beloved, is that there is a remedy available if we would simply avail ourselves of it.  If we, with one voice, would appeal to our Heavenly Father, He most surely would heal our land and our hearts. After all, He is the same God who delivered His people out of Egyptian slavery, fought for them against enemies who arrayed themselves against them, fed them from His own hand in the wilderness and caused them to thrive despite every attempt to exterminate them.  That same God is the God under which these United States was conceived and established.  There is nothing too hard for Him. Is appealing to Him too hard for His New Testament people, the Church? Is placing the things we have in common (in Him) ahead or in place of our differences too difficult?

Historically, the people of God turn to Him in crisis.  While it is sadly human nature that we cause these crises through disobedience, unfaithfulness, division and a lack of love for Him and one another, His nature is to hear our plea and respond (Judg 2:18). All who call upon the name of Christ ought to do as Nehemiah did when he learned that his nation was in a shambles: he mourned, fasted and prayed.  After months of doing so, he took action, with God's favor, to bring about change.  Israel was restored. So too can be the United States of America.

Discipling,

Lee

A Waste of Talent

"And the one who had also received one talent came up and said, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.  And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground.  See, you have what is yours.'"  Matthew 25:24-25

In the parable of the talents, Jesus imparts the story of a man who entrusts his servants with varying sums of money, ostensibly to grow, while he goes away on a journey.  When the man returns, two of his servants doubled that which they had been entrusted.  The kind master complimented and rewarded them both with promotions and greater resources to manage.  One of them, however, buried the funds in the ground so as not to risk losing them.  Upon returning to his master exactly that which was entrusted to him, he was not happy.

The larger context of this story is that we Christians must be prepared for the Lord's return.  More specifically, here, that we are not to neglect the use of the skills, abilities and gifts he has provided in the pursuit of producing desired outcomes.  In other words, Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, has made an investment in us and he expects a return on that investment.

Beloved, we are too often like the scared servant who essentially does nothing with what he has been given.  Make no mistake, all children of God are the recipient of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).  These gifts are to be used for the common good, which is to say that they are not so much for ourselves as they are for others.  When we fail to use our ability to teach, comfort, provide financial resources, do manual labor, provide expertise in our field of work or study or any other skill with which are blessed, we are in effect, burying the "talent."  In no uncertain terms, this is failure.

As much as when a farmer plants his or her crops with the expectation of a yield, Jesus expects for us to produce fruit.  Failure to do so can result in the withdrawing of that which sustains us and our removal in favor of another that will produce (Luke 13:6-9).  Be it far from us that we should ever waste the talent that has been given us.  We have been saved by the blood, invested by our Savior and commanded by our Master.  Let us use what has been given in his service and for the benefit of others.  After all, every Christian is the result, in part, of the work done by a faithful servant.

Discipling,

Lee

Message to the Messenger

“Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.'" Ezekiel 3:17-18

Every now and then I run across a Bible passage that makes my blood run cold. Ezekiel 3:17-21 is just such an example. The prophet Ezekiel was being sent by God to the rebellious people of Israel to deliver a warning from Him. One of the reasons he was being sent was so that the people would know that a prophet, and by extension, God Himself was among them. In turn, the message he was sent to deliver was designed to warn the people to turn from their wicked ways and return to the previously established covenant relationship, lest they die.

The message God gave Ezekiel to deliver was a critical one, however, before he was given a word to speak, God impressed upon him the importance of carrying out the assigned task. In short, He told his prophet that if anyone perished (due to their own iniquity) without him having delivered the assigned message, he would bear responsibility.

Beloved, the reason this passage caused a chill to run down my spine is due to the realization that we have been given the same charge and bear that same responsibility. Those of us who call upon the name of Jesus are the messengers of God. We are sent to all nations to bear witness to the love of the Lord and to deliver His message (Matthew 28:19-20). We are to fill our mouths with His word and warn the stubborn, obstinate and unrighteous about the dangers associated with pursuing their current course. We are charged with nothing less than attempting to literally save the lives of the lost. Our failure to speak up and speak out condemns to death the people we refuse to warn just as if we failed to take the keys from an inebriated person attempting to get behind the wheel of a car. It is not our fault that the person is drunk, but we would bear at least some responsibility for refusing to intercede if that person tragically died or worse, caused the death of someone else. Chilling indeed.

Let us not view our Christian lives simply as "going to Church," attending bible studies, participating in potluck dinners and fellowshipping with those of like faith. Let us instead act as fire marshals engaged in literal fire prevention and fire fighters engaged in literal rescue of those in danger of being lost in the fire.

Discipling,

Lee