Month: July 2016

The positive power of “no”

Re: Verse reading–Daniel 3:1-2, 8-18, 25-29 (day one) 

“Let it be known to you, O king, that we will NOT serve your gods and we will NOT worship the statue that you have set up.”–v 18.

Sometimes (often) the most positive thing a person can do is to say “no”.  Want to build a marriage?  Begin by making some promises of what you will NOT do.  I will NOT be unfaithful to my spouse.  I will NOT be selfish or hold grudges.  Positives are implied (I will be faithful. . . I will be forgiving) but the first step is to pledge what WON’T happen.

Want to build a church?  Promise I WILL NOT FORSAKE  the assembling together of the saints.  See Hebrews 10: 25.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abenednego dreamed of rebuilding their broken nation.  Many steps still ahead, but the place to start was to say “NO” to any form of idolatry.

Strange!  Sometimes, a firm, clear “no” is a very positive thing.

TELL the truth!

RE Verse reading–Jeremiah 1 (day seven)  “Before you were born. . . I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”–v 5.

The meaning depends on how you say it.  Tell the TRUTH.  TELL the truth.  Both are commandments.  The second was God’s emphasis with Jeremiah.

Apart from this clear call, Jeremiah probably would have stayed silent.  Easy choice in a “politically correct” age.  Some messages tolerated.  Some not. People were (are) tired of hearing it. Old news.

So, the Lord removed the option.  No longer a choice.  Now, a matter of obedience.  Speak up, God told this young believer.  Don’t be timid!  Don’t let them disregard you!  Speak my word!

It is a similar call to the one Christ gave the church.  “Go into all the world and make disciples.  Baptizing them.  Teaching them all that I have commanded you.”–Matthew 28:19-20.  Silence is not an option. He commands us.  TELL the truth!  Even when the world doesn’t want to hear it.

Touched by God

Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. Jeremiah 1:9

That’s the verse that stands out to me. God touched his mouth. He didn’t have to do that, it wasn’t necessary, no more than the mud Jesus used in healing the blind man (John 9:6). It begs the question, why? I think God did exactly what was needed in accordance to Jeremiah’s faith. Maybe he knew that intimate gesture was what Jeremiah needed to overcome his insecurities. Maybe it was the red hot memory of that touch that sustained him through great opposition and persecution. I don’t know for sure. All I do know is that God drew close to Jeremiah, he was not a distant disembodied voice; he was personal and intimate, just what Jeremiah needed.

That’s the kind of invitation we have in the Gospel, if you are willing to receive it.

The Right Questions

Re: Verse reading– Jeremiah 1 (day five)

It’s an interesting conversation. God declares His intent to use Jeremiah in the role of prophet. God prefaces His “call” with a personal and intimate description of His knowledge, wisdom, and care in creating Jeremiah.

Jeremiah begins to process God’s announcement. It’s as if he began asking the wrong questions. Questions like, “Am I capable? Am I qualified?” (Notice the focus “I”) Jeremiah’s answer- “No, I am not, because I am too young and I do not know how to speak.”

God challenges the focus by stating, “Don’t say ‘I am too young’ ”. He then begins to give the answers to the questions that Jeremiah should have been asking/thinking. “You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.” (What are my instructions?) “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you.” (Will you be with me?)

As God speaks to us, the right questions are “What are my instructions?” and “Will you be with me?”

Gird Up Your Loins

Re: Verse reading– Jeremiah 1 (day four)

What a picture of a beautiful promise!  God has called Jeremiah to be His spokesman.  He already knows Jeremiah before he was even born.  God also knows the trials Jeremiah will face as he carries out His call.  God answers all of Jeremiah’s fears…fears of not knowing what to say and fears that the people will not listen because of his youth.  After God makes His promise (v.8), He proceeds to train Jeremiah.  In v. 11-12, God tests him to reassure Jeremiah that he accurately sees what God is telling him.

Has God done that for you?  Have you ever learned a truth or lesson from Scripture, only to be tested then in that same truth?  God works constantly in our lives to clarify His Word to the people around us.  We are His spokesmen.  Maybe it is time for us to “gird up our loins, and arise and speak to them.”  (v.17)

Near

Re: Verse reading– Jeremiah 1 (day three)

“Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth.”  Fear doesn’t indicate that you’re unfit for God’s use.  To the contrary, fear is often evidence of his fervent call in your life.  That was certainly true for Jeremiah, whose fear of speaking was his response to God’s call to lift his own shaky voice.  When he used that fear as a starting point for a conversation with God, God drew nearer and placed his fingerprints at the very point of Jeremiah’s anxiety.  He never forgot how close God came to him, no matter how hard life got.  Are you afraid?  Chances are your fear is a telltale sign that God is calling you to take the very action that terrifies you.  When you speak your fear to God, he’ll respond with a nearness you’ll never get over.

I Am With You

Re: Verse reading– Jeremiah 1 (day two) “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” vs. 6

I am too young. I don’t speak well. I have not been summoned before the king. Over the past several weeks we have encountered the very real, very human reactions to the call of God upon those we now consider giants of our faith. How many times and in how many different ways does the Lord need to remind us that he will make whatever limitations we may see into Kingdom opportunities?

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. vs. 7-8

If we continue to look at the broken, imperfect creature that we are and think that we in our own sufficiency will be able to carry out the assignment, then we are right, we can’t do it. But God has not called us to do these things alone. He is more than able. Let him be the source of your strength.

Before you were born

Re: Verse reading–Jeremiah 1 (day one)

Eventually, all men will face the undeniable fact.  God is.  He knows us.  He has always known us.  He has a purpose for every life, and the most regrettable mistake that a person can make is to ignore God’s plan in pursuit of his own silly and temporal ideas.

God’s call to Jeremiah was an assurance of these unbending realities.  “Before you were born, I knew you and appointed you to be a prophet.”  v 5.

Wait!  What about personal choice?  Doesn’t God give each of us freedom to make this decision?  No.  The choice that we have–all of us–is “God”, or “Not God”.  Contained within this huge truth is the surrender of all freedoms to the vastly superior wisdom and plan of an eternally good heart.  If God is, why wouldn’t you trust Him?

Easy life?  No.  Real life?  Yes.  I follow the One who knew me before I was born.

Unsafe?

Re: Verse reading–Esther 4:4-17; 7:1-6 (day seven)

“I will go to the king. . .and if I perish, I perish”–4:16.

“Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake. . .will save it.”–Jesus (Luke 9:24)

It is the ultimate irony.  “Playing it safe” is really unsafe!  The truly dangerous choice. The way of wisdom is to RISK LIFE in pursuit of Christ.

Esther decides to go see the King.  A teenage girl decides to break up with her bad-news boyfriend.  A Christian couple decides to stay where God called them in deliberate defiance of strong “consumer” desires.  The call of Christ requires us to abandon personal safety as our highest value.  We lose the life we wanted, the life we imagined.

The result?  We find true life!  Now and in eternity. We save ourselves and our days for life as God designed it to be. . .a great and dangerous adventure with the living God.

No Health-Wealth Gospel Here

Re: Verse reading–Esther 4:4-17; 7:1-6 (day six)

“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Mordecai, Esther 4:14

A health-wealth gospel exalts the potential and immediate blessings from God over God himself; it treasures treasure (health/wealth) rather than Jesus. Literally, health and wealth become the measure of one’s faith. It is a far cry from the Gospel of the Scriptures, and certainly wasn’t a Gospel Mordecai subscribed to.

Consider Mordecai’s faith in the face of possible annihilation. Although, he pressures Esther to act, he is confident God will preserve a remnant of his people even if she chooses not too. His faith in the promises of God extend far beyond his own comfort (health-wealth) and self-preservation. Mordecai was a rock! He had confidence in God to fulfill His covenant promises even though he might die. When you face adversity do you have that kind of faith? Your answer will determine what kind of Gospel you subscribe to.