Sound of Silence

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

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. Vs 16

I won’t know what to say. I don’t know enough scripture. I always think of the answer after the argument, but by then it’s too late. Have you ever thought these thoughts when trying to defend your faith? Who hasn’t? There is certainly a time for each of us to become bold apologists for the cause of Christ, and in those moments we can rely on the Holy Spirit to direct our thoughts and words.

What about those other times? Those times when you are speaking to someone with no inclination to open their heart to truth. They are arguing to be heard, or to be right, or to make you look/feel foolish. Perhaps then we should look at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abenego. They knew their cause would fall on deaf ears. Not amount of testimony would change the king’s mind. They simply kept silent, and let the Lord convict his heart. Come to think of it, that sounds a lot like Jesus doesn’t it. Lead before Herod, Pilate, the ruling council he knew they would not be moved by his words. So he let his silence, and his actions on the cross change the hearts of humanity forever. Sometimes the sound of silence is the loudest of all.

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.

Be Not Silent

Re: Verse reading–Esther 4:4-17; 7:1-6 (day two) For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place…4:14a

Have you ever found yourself in that place where things are going well. You have worked hard and all the craziness of your life seems to be headed in the same direction. Job is secure, family is healthy, retirement is planned for…and then. Then your brother-in-law asks to move in for a while, or your boss asks you to take on a new assignment, or maybe it is something else calling for your attention. You’ve worked so hard to get to this point, and now change? Perhaps your first reaction is to just sit quietly and hope the issue goes away. How is that working for you?

God hasn’t promised us that things will always go as we hope. He does call us to action. To be a part of his kingdom plan. The truth is that God will accomplish what God has set out to do, so shouldn’t we be grateful that he is using us to that end? Don’t sit on the sidelines if God is calling you to shake up your status quo. Things will change, but remember you are playing on the winning team.

Keep Your Armor On!

Re: Verse reading–1 Kings 19:1-18 (day two)

Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” vs. 2

This is not an unfamiliar narrative. Great triumph or deliverance followed by depression or sin, it happens. Moses knew this very well. How often did God reveal himself in a tremendous way only to have the people forget. Elijah has just experienced an incredible display of God’s “realness”, and know he runs, hides, wallows in his despair. Surely there must be a way to avoid the roller coaster life of faith.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Eph. 6:11 (actually refer to 10-18 for the full passage). The reality is that scripture never instructs us to take the armor off. Once we encounter fierce opposition we should not let down our guard. Remain steadfast, on guard. Otherwise the real battle may come after the one you were ready for.

 

Stop Limiting God

Re: Verse reading–Numbers 13:26-33; 14:1-9 (day two)

“Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 4:19b

In what would foreshadow Joshua’s first sermon to the people of Israel forty years later, Joshua pleads for his comrades to be strong and courageous.  Joshua 1:6. The Israelites could not see past their own understanding of the world. They had left the oppression of the Egyptians and followed the Lord’s command through the Red Sea, but they could not fathom how the God who did all that could possibly defeat this new foe. Do you do that? Do you limit our Sovereign God’s ability to move any mountain, part any water, or vanquish any foe because of your small understanding of his power? When will we stop measuring God’s power by our earthly yardstick? If God has brought you to it, he’ll bring you through it.

Equipping the Called

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 3:7-15, 4:1-17 (day two) The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 4:11

Best not to argue with the Lord. Do we really believe that if we are called by the Lord, that he hasn’t thought of how to use us to accomplish the task? In this instance the Lord provides Moses’ brother Aaron to aid in the plan to free the Israelites, the scripture also says that God’s anger “burned against Moses.” 4:14 Are we so proud, fearful, or untrusting that we would risk God’s anger?

Queen Esther faced a similar moment in her call to action. Her Uncle Mordecai reminded her that the Lord would indeed free his people whether she accepted the assignment or not. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews WILL ARISE FROM ANOTHER PLACE…Esther 4:14a

Get on board. Stop making excuses. If he has clearly called you out to be a part of his kingdom building then roll up your sleeves, grab that staff, and march into Pharaoh’s  court.

Blame Game

Re:Verse reading–Genesis 3:1-19 (day two) 

The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” vs. 12-13

Who wants to be wrong? Nobody. Look at any trial and even if a crime has clearly been committed lawyers will haggle over minutiae to exonerate their clients. This isn’t new. If you have ever wondered if anyone has ever just accepted the guilt of their actions, the answer is…no. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent. Sound like a conversation with your children? It is our inherent sin nature. We want to be right, we want to have others look upon us as virtuous and when caught in sin we manufacture a lie to cover the deceit of our hearts.

Did Adam or Eve fool God? It’s folly to think we ever could. This probably won’t stop our predilection to pass blame, but hopefully we will be quicker to repent and face whatever comes our way.

It Doesn’t Make Sense

Re:Verse reading–Judges 17:1-6; 18:1; 19:1; 20:1-7; 21:25 (day two) …and his mother said, “I wholly dedicate the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son to make a graven image and a molten image”…vs. 17:3

No matter how many times you reread that verse it still sounds ridiculous. How could anyone think that the best way to dedicate something to the Lord would be to make an idol? You’re right it just doesn’t make sense. How could anyone ever get to that point in their discernment to allow such an incongruity to happen?

It seems like a blatant affront to the ten commandments, but are we so far removed from Micah? We may not be making graven images, but I am sure there are things that we are consciously putting in front of God. How often do we decide to take a Sunday off? What about our time alone with the Lord. Do we value our sleep our personal time, more than what he has asked from us?

If someone were to write our story would they react the way we do when we read about Micah?

Blinded

Re:Verse reading–Judges 13:1-5, 14:1-9, 16:1-30 (day two)  Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is.” 

Who was more deceived in this story Samson or Delilah? Samson had been toying with her by not revealing the source of his strength, but where was his gaze fixed. He was a man who certainly followed his eyes. If he saw a thing of beauty, particularly women, he pursued her. He knew that he was consecrated to the Lord, but he was focused on satisfying his own desire. Three times a trap was set for him. Surely he understood that this woman that he was being seduced by was not on his side, but he was blinded. It is fitting then, isn’t it, that they gouged his eyes out. Those things that led him astray would not deceive him again. It was then that he saw most clearly God’s purpose for him.

Don’t be so seduced by your own lusts that you completely miss the trap you are falling into. Be consumed with what the Lord wants for you, not what pleases you at the moment.

Rejection

Re:Verse reading–Judges 11:1-6, 28-40 (day two) Gilead’s wife bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, ‘You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.'” vs. 2

“But the king of the sons of Ammon disregarded the message which Jephthah sent him.” vs. 28

Tragic story. Not at all a Disney version, and born out of rejection…twice. The first time by his half-brothers who were repulsed by his illicit beginnings. Even after he had grown and the Lord had placed in a place as a Judge of Israel  he was rejected by the Ammonite King. This, perhaps, was a catalyst for the hasty pledge made towards God to sacrifice “whatever comes out of the door of my house.” God did not make that pledge, Jephthah did. Do you let your past rejections fuel your decision making process? Where God has placed you, he will use you. Let your love for him guide your path, not your fear.