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