Why are we here?

Why are we here?

Luke 5:31-32

And Jesus answered them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

I think about the amount of time we spend with our Christian friends, talking about Christianity and I am amazed by the lopsided nature of our spiritual lives. Why are we here on earth? 

Sure, we are here to glorify God but how do we glorify God? By simply following the rules and teaching our kids about Christianity? Certainly we should follow the Lord's commands but I think it is more than that. 

We are here to call sinners to repentance. Many years ago, I was that sinner in need of repentance (I still struggle with sin, obviously). I didn't realize how lost I was until I came face to face with the reality of God's holiness and justice and my sin. 

I am forever thankful for those who contributed to my conversion. I don't even remember the preacher's name. I do remember the names of those who guided me in the process of expressing my repentance and faith to the Lord. To them I am thankful. Amber Odell, Brandon Hatmaker, Adam Lamle. To them I am so appreciative. The Lord used them to guide my into salvation. 

They were obedient to love me where I was and  to speak the truth into my life whether I received their message or not. 

This is how I desire to be. I desire to love people where they are and speak the truth into their lives. The Lord has to work in their hearts to draw them, but I can be obedient to share the wonderful news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

Taken from reading Luke 1-5

Holding On

Hold on to God's promises.

Joshua 14:10-12

'And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.'

God promised Caleb some land. Caleb grew old and had not yet received the land so he approached Joshua and requested the opportunity to take the land. There are a few very fascinating details to this story I would like to point out.

First, Caleb credits God with his life. He actually says God kept him alive, just as God said he would. What an amazing acknowledgment. He sees the world through lenses of God's provision and sovereignty. 

Second, Caleb is just as strong as an eighty five year old man as he was when he was forty years old. Either God has miraculously restored his body continually, or Caleb has the mind and discipline to keep his activity level high and attitude positive. Maybe it was both, I don't know. Either way, it is amazing this man has remained focused on the vision of the land and remained strong throughout the years.

Third, Caleb does not expect the land to to be given to him without a fight. Caleb acknowledged the presence of many dwellers in the land, including the Anakim. Caleb even realized he may die trying to take the land. He said, 'It may be that the Lord will be with me...'

Caleb took full responsibility for himself, the vision God gave him, and for the fulfillment of the vision. At the same time Caleb fully realized the Lord's sovereignty and providence in the entire scheme of things. 

May I do the same in all of my dealings. 

Taken from reading Joshua 10-15

Taking a Stand

Sometimes you have to take a stand.

Joshua 24:14-15

Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

There comes a point in all our lives when we put away the childish, flaky, wish washy, decision making and move forward. We set our priorities and go. We only get one life. Why waste it in indecision and uncertainty? 

Joshua stood at the end of his life, looking back over all he had seen and done. One hundred and ten years of memories, struggles, heartaches, failures, and victories. Joshua and his people were finally in the land. Joshua saw his entire generation pass away and a new generation rise.

Joshua, and possibly Caleb, were the only ones remaining of those who came out of Egypt. He saw the great works of God. He saw the failures of the Israelites. He saw the good and the bad. Joshua knew by experience what they knew by stories; the Lord has their best interests at heart. 

With this in mind Joshua stakes a public stance on his allegiance. The Lord is his God. That will not change. He and his family will serve the Lord. Everyone else needs to make a choice. What will they serve?

This is the type of conviction I want to lead by. No wavering. No backtracking. Just doing. 

Taken from reading Joshua 21-24

Fully Obedient

Full obedience is not common. 

Joshua 16:10

However they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this day but have been made to do forced labor.

The people of Israel had entered the land and conquered many of the people at this time. Joshua was allotting the portions of the land to the different tribes. All seemed well for God's people except this one thing. Ephraim and Manasseh did not drive out the Canaanites from their land. Instead they made them do forced labor.

God's command seemed pretty clear. Drive out the people of the land. If the Israelites did not follow through with driving the people out of the land the Israelites would end up worshipping false gods and turning away from the Lord.

This seed of disobedience is an indicator of future disaster in the land.

I look at my life and wonder if I have a seed of disobedience that will cause disaster in my life. I am not perfect, that is for sure. I struggle with some stuff here and there. I fall to sin. I repent. I overcome many things, but others I still struggle with sometimes.

I do desire to experience the life of radical obedience to the Lord. I know the Lord sees what is best for me and calls me to walk intimately and obediently with him. He knows me. He knows my heart. He knows all things. 

Taken from reading Joshua 16-20

The Common Pattern of Life

A consistent pattern

There is a pattern in our world. It is the pattern of many who claim to know the Lord. In prosperity their lifestyle reveals the condition of their heart. Are they children of God who treasure his Kingdom and presence? If so, they will follow him closely and walk with him in holiness. Are they children of the world? If so, they will walk in worldliness and in the passions of the flesh. 

Judgement and humility 

Judgement humbles people. In Isaiah 17-19 we read about the people of Judah, Israel, Damascus, Cush, and Egypt who all walked in arrogance and idolatry for generations. They did not acknowledge God's holiness and power. They did not acknowledge his ways and his commands. The abandoned the Lord and lived their own ways. They looked to their idols and altars of worship for provision.

As a result of their wickedness the Lord brought destruction to their lands. The Lord laid them low and withheld his blessing from them.

How did they respond? How did they react to this lack of blessing and this destruction in their land? They looked to the Lord...at least for a time.

When destruction came many cried out to the Lord because they sought relief from the consequences of their lifestyles. Were they authentic children of the Lord? The Lord knows. Only time and life would reveal that. It seems clear the Lord used destruction to bring about repentance and salvation of some. Others we know turned to the Lord until prosperity came then turned back to the world once they established a comfortable lifestyle.

My prayer for you

My prayer today is for your salvation, your repentance from sin. I do not pray for your comfort or your prosperity. I pray for your true turning to the Lord for forgiveness and restoration. Comfort and prosperity are useless without a transformed life. At the same time I do desire for the Lord to bless your life upon your turning to him wholeheartedly.

May you turn to him with all you have at all times. And may your life be a living testimony of his goodness to all who know you.

Isaiah 17:4-5

4  And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low, 

and the fat of his flesh will grow lean. 

 5  And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain 

and his arm harvests the ears, 

  and as when one gleans the ears of grain 

in the Valley of Rephaim. 

Isaiah 17:7-8

7 In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense. 

Isaiah 19:22

22 And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them. 

Why you should number your days

Grandma Suzy's Funeral

Grandma Suzy was the first close relative to me who died. We loved grandma Suzy. She was so sweet and pleasant. She was ancient from the first time I saw her. Her false teeth creeped me out a little, but that didn't matter. I loved her.

I remember my grandma Suzy's funeral very well. I was twelve years old and ignorant of so many life issues. Sitting through the funeral I began to think about Suzy's life. For the first time I realized that Grandma Suzy was not always old. There was a time when she was a little girl. There was a time when she learned to brush her own teeth and comb her own hair. There as a time when Grandma Suzy learned to drive a car. She went to high school. She dated. Grandma Suzy was not Grandma Suzy most of her life. She was just Suzy. She was a person with a life and friends and dreams just like me.

Flooded with Perspective

These thoughts prompted me to think about my childhood and my age. I was older this year than the last. I would be older again the following year. One day, my grandchildren will attend my funeral and will wonder about my life, just like I wondered about Grandma Suzy's. 

What will they know of me? What will they remember? What things in this world will have made impact on those around me? These and many other questions flooded my mind. It was in this moment that I 'numbered my days' for the first time. I realized I was mortal. 

The grave welcomes each one of us at some point. We leave behind memories and relationships. We take nothing with us.

The Investment that Lasts

How should this inform our lives? Simple. We should spend our time doing those things that matter eternally! Time is short. Wealth doesn't last! Power is temporary! Eternity continues on.

The only things that last are the purposes of God. This life is short, but the next is forever. If you know him you will continue on in his presence for eternity. If not, you will get what you desire and be left outside his presence for eternity. 

So what about you? Do you see life through eternal lenses? Do you run all your commitments through an eternal filter? Or do you simply drift through life without realizing how temporary your years on this earth truly are?

May you see your life through eternal lenses. May you 'number your days' and invest your time in what lasts. And my you find everlasting joy in God's presence.

Psalm 90:12-17 12  So teach us to number our days 

that we may get a heart of wisdom. 

 13  Return, O Lord! How long? 

Have pity on your servants! 

 14  Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, 

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 

 15  Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, 

and for as many years as we have seen evil. 

 16  Let your work be shown to your servants, 

and your glorious power to their children. 

 17  Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, 

and establish the work of our hands upon us; 

yes, establish the work of our hands! 

How I Win

How do I fight? How do I win? Do I arm myself to the teeth? Do I take guard during the night? Do I attack when the enemy is resting? Do I recruit the strong?

No. I put my trust in God. He is my hope in times of trouble. He is my shield in the battle. The Lord knows my path and my ways. He has my feet established and will not let me fall. Though I may see destruction he will raise me up. Though I face pain and anguish he will restore me. He is my God and my king. He rescues me in times of trouble.

How can I hear from God? How can I know him? Do I look for him on a journey? Do I search for him in the woods? 

No. I must be still. I must be quiet. My soul must learn to listen to his voice. He speaks and guides. I must listen. Do I long to experience his presence? I must be still. I must bow. Silence and submission to the Lord is the way to hear his voice clearly.

Lord, I know you are my only way. You are my only rock. You are my only protector. I can build a wall, build a fortress and yet the enemy could bust it down. But they can never defeat you. No one can overtake you. You are all I need and the only one I can depend on. You are holy. Hallelujah to the King of Kings.

Rip out the hooks that the world has in me. Rip them out and heal my wounds. Forgive my sin, please Lord. Restore me to total devotion. May I never hold on to anything in this world. May I let everything go joyfully. May I love you with my whole heart. May I be the husband, father, friend, and pastor that those around me need. Amen.