Achan's Achin' Heart (Sin in the Camp)

In Joshua 6 and 7, we see the story of Israel's (under the leadership of Joshua) defeat of Jericho.  Before Israel marched around Jericho, Joshua gave Israel very specific instructions to follow.  They were to march and not talk at all.  He also gave them these instructions:  The city and everything in it must be completely destroyed as an offering to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies.  Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on all Israel.
Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the LORD and must be brought into his treasury." (Joshua 6:17-19, NLT).  Sounds like pretty clear instructions.  Verse 8 tells us that Joshua spoke to all the people.  They all knew God's instructions and commands as well as the consequences of not doing as God had said.  Joshua and Israel defeated Jericho because they did just as God instructed. 

But one man, Achan, thought he was beyond God's vision and when no one else was looking, in the middle of the chaos of the battle, took a Babylonian robe he fell in love with along with silver coins and a bar of gold.  He then went to his tent, likely in full view and knowledge of his wife and children, buried them to keep them hidden so that later he could use them.  I can hear imagine what he may have been thinking.  "We are going to go to war with other cities and someday I can bring out the loot I got and say I got it as spoils from a different battle.  No one will ever have to know.  Besides, God was so busy watching the battle and everything else he watches, I am sure he missed me, or if He didn't, He will forgive me and overlook this small amount of loot I took.  I know my family won't tell anyone.  It will benefit all of us, and my wife will look stunning in that Babylonian robe." 

A problem soon arose as Israel attempted to attack another city, Ai, and was defeated.  All Israel was shocked!  How could this happen!?  Wasn't God on their side?  Or did He bring us hear to make fools of us so that we will be destroyed?  Joshua fell on his face before God and asked Him what happened?  I am sure Joshua thought it was something he had done wrong.  But God spoke a very clear message: "But the LORD said to Joshua, 'Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this?  Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen the things that I commanded to be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them; they have also lied about it and hidden the things among their belongings.  That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction.'" (Joshua 7:10-12., NLT).  So Joshua told the people what God had said. 

The next day Joshua and all of Israel went before God tribe by tribe, until Achan's tribe was chosen, then that tribe came clan by clan, until Achan's clan was chosen, then that clan came family by family and Achan was exposed.  As a result, Achan finally told what he had done.  As a result, he and his entire family as well as their belongings and herds were destroyed.  Afterward, Israel was able to defeat Ai with no problems.

The problem here is God's commands were very clear, and yet Achan chose to sin.  Then after the defeat at Ai, and God pointed out a sin, and then Joshua telling all the people what was going to happen next.  Achan had 2 days to confess his sin.  Joshua gave the people instructions and Achan still hid his sin.  Then God chose His tribe, and Achan remained silent.  God chose his clan, and Achan remained silent.  God chose his family and he remained silent.  It wasn't until after Joshua asked Achan what he had done did he confess.  It may have been that he was embarrassed for his disobedience, it may have been he was hoping, someone else would be blamed, or any number of excuses.  He knew the command and chose, along with his family, to disobey and deliberately hide his sin.  His sin affected the entire nation through the defeat at Ai, but it also destroyed him and his entire family.

But are we any different?  Don't we often do the same thing?  We make excuses for our choices to sin and hope that it will not be found out.  We hope those who know will remain silent.  We hope God really didn't see what we did.  But God always sees. 

Like Achan, we know what God's commands are, what his instructions are.  They are spelled out in His Word; sin is anything that goes against His instructions and commands.  We are without excuse if we say we are of the body of Christ because we have the Holy Spirit helping us and showing us what is right and what is wrong.  But we ignore His voice.  We hope we can get away with it.  We become embarrassed for our actions or choices.  We claim we make bad choices or a bad mistake, but in reality we KNOW what we did.  We know we deliberately choose to disobey God.  But, like Achan, we are given chances to confess and come to God for forgiveness.  We too often allow our embarrassment to stop us from turning to God for forgiveness.  Sometimes we are only sorry that we got caught, not for what we did.

Also like Achan, our sin affects the entire Church, not just our lives or our families.  What could God be doing through the Church, through our family, through us, if we only would choose to stay away from sin?  But the truth is we all sin, but God always offers a way out, a way of forgiveness.  In
1 John, the Apostle John writes:

"My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God completely.  He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins but the sins of all the world.  And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments.  If someone says, "I belong to God," but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth.  But those who obey God's word really do love him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in him.  Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did."  (verses 1-6, NLT)

So I must ask, is there a secret sin your hiding? If you do, God is offering you a chance to go to him and ask forgiveness.  Do no delay, do not compound your sin by staying silent and adding others to your list and by hurting not only your own walk and testimony and what God could do in and through you, but you are affecting the entire camp, the entire Church. 


John writes later in 1 John 1:9 the following: "But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong."  Turn to God, confess your sin and make yourself right in His sight again.  God promises if you do, He will forgive, He will cleanse you.  You may or may not have severe consequences of Achan, but you can know that you heart is once again right before God. 

Don't delay.  Move past your embarrassment.  Learn from your disobedience and go to God.  God longs for you to come clean before it's too late.  Achan waited too long.   You don't have to wait.  God is waiting to forgive and restore you.

How Serious Does God Take His Covenants Promises?

Genesis 15 has the account of a covenant between God and Abraham.  The chapter starts with God speaking to Abraham to not be afraid and that God would be with him. God continues and tells Abraham that he will have a son through Sarah and that his descendants will be as numerous as the star in the sky.  What was Abraham's response?  He believed and God commended him and was counted as righteous because he believed.  After which God told him that the land which he was living would be his and his descendants forever.

The story continues with Abraham asking God how he can be sure that will be true.  What follows is a strange story upon a cursory reading.  Abraham was to cut up some animals and lay them out and wait.  Abraham waited all day long in the hot son and chased away carrion birds.  After sunset, Abraham fell asleep and God spoke again, prophesying what we now know as the time of Egyptian slavery.  Then Abraham saw in a vision a smoking pot and a torch passing through the animals.  Seems sort of gruesome and strange.  But if we can understand what is really happening here, it makes sense and shows what is really at stake here.

After some research, I found that in the ancient Middle Eastern culture, when two people(s) entered into a covenant/promise/treaty, they would perform what was known as the 'cutting of a covenant' or Blood Path.  Those taking part in the ceremony, those that are making the covenant or treaty, would take some animals and cut them apart and arrange them is such away the blood flowed to form a path in between the pieces.  Then to make the covenant a legal and binding, both parties making the agreement would walk through the cut apart animals down the path of blood, signifying that they agree to the terms.  They also agreed that if they did not fulfill their part of the agreement, then the animals represented what would happen.  They were in reality saying "May it be done to me, like what happened to these animals, if I do not fulfill the terms of this covenant."  That my friend is serious business.  To agree to be ripped apart if they broke the Promise Covenant/Treaty, was a sign of the seriousness of the ceremony.

But if you notice, In Genesis 15, Abraham did not pass through the blood path.  In this case it was God who was signifying it was on His part to keep the promise, and Abraham had no part in the terms being fulfilled.  Not only that, God passed through as a smoking fire pot  and a blazing torch (the meaning of these are not agreed upon in my research).  So in a sense God passed through the blood path two times, meaning He is doubly serious about the Covenant.  He was saying, like the people of Abraham's day that performed this ceremony, that may He be ripped apart if He does not fulfill His part.  He was also demonstrating that when He makes a promise, or covenant, then we can be sure He will do it.  In this case Abraham had nothing to fulfill, only God had His part to fulfill.  (There is also reference to this ceremony in Jeremiah 34:18: "Because you have broken the terms of our covenant, I will cut you apart just as you cut apart the calf when you walked between its halves to solemnize your vows.")

What else can we learn from this passage?  God knows what makes sense to us when He tells us or shows us things and puts them in terms that we recognize.  If Abraham was alive today, the treaty would have the same terms, but may be played out in a way that makes sense in the culture he lives in.  For example, in the USA, they may have the promise/treaty notarized, or go before a lawyer or judge to have the promise legal and binding.  That is a something we can understand in our culture.  It's not that God is in the business of being gruesome, but He is in the business of speaking to us in a way that we can understand. 

One thing we can count on, if God promises us something, He will follow through.  It may not be like we picture it or expect, but the end result will be exactly as God said it would be.  It may not happen in the time we want it to, but you can be sure that God will do it in His timing, not necessarily ours. God takes His promises seriously; He will do what He says He will do.   Our word and promises may fail, but God's never will.

Was Job the only one?

If you have read the Old Testament in the Holy Bible, you will have read the story of Job and the rough time he encountered in his life.  As a synopsis, Job is believed to be the oldest book of the Bible.  It recounts the story of a time when God was on His throne and appearing before Him was Satan.  God asked him where he had been and Satan stated he was roaming the earth.  God asked him if he had come across Job.  Satan then started accusing God of protecting him, so God gave permission to first take all he owned, and then to take his health.

But many have wondered if Job was the only one that this sort of thing ever happened to, that being God giving permission to Satan to do certain things to that person.  If you look in the New Testament, in Luke 22: 31-32 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat.  But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”  So, just like Job, Satan asked (in fact the Greek here could also be rendered demanded instead of asked) to mess with a person.  From the context, he asked to mess with all of the disciples, not just Peter.   Interesting isn't it?

So again, the question can be asked, were Job and the disciples (Peter in particular) the only people Satan has asked to sift like wheat, o mess with, or make life miserable for them?  Since there are more than 1 example, I would say that no, they were NOT the only ones that God gave permission to Satan to do what he wanted (but I do believe as in Jobs case, there are limits placed on what Satan can and cannot do).  For both Job and Peter, it all turned to for the greater good of not just these two men, but for those around them they came in contact with. 

So a few questions must be asked here. 

1) Does this mean that EVERY bad thing is at the request of Satan?  I don't think so.  Sometimes its a direct result of our or others poor choices.  Sometimes, it is just the results of sin operating on our world. And sometimes it's because of the natural course of things.

2) Does Satan only ask to do this to individuals?   I would say no since in the Luke example, the Greek for you in 'sift you like wheat' is plural, meaning the disciples.  So from inference, why not an entire neighborhood, or church, or city or even a nation? 

3) For what purpose does God allow this?  In the stories of Job and Peter, it is clear that the reason is to not only strengthen the person, but others as well.  Jesus tells Peter that when he (Peter) comes back again, that he strengthen his brothers, meaning those around him.  In Jobs case, his friends learned more about how God works and where also strengthened in their faith.  And, everyone that Job and Peter came in contact with benefited from this rough times, and we are still benefiting today.

4) What is a test for?  I would call what Job and Peter experienced a test.  Just like when we have a test in school, the results of the test are usually not a surprise to the teacher.  When I was a teacher and gave a test, I  could pretty much predict the outcome of the test, meaning I could make an educated guess on what each student would receive for a grade due to past history and how well each student does or does not take a test.  The test, therefore, was more for the student to discover what they still need to work on and what they do well on.  It is the same way with a spiritual test.  God already knows each of us better than we know ourselves and He knows what the outcome will be.  He is never surprised (unlike earthly teachers who CAN be surprised at the results, I know I was now and then).  Often times we are surprised when we come through a trial or test at how well we did and even how badly we did.  If we are careful and observant, we can learn just as much or more from a test than from everyday life lessons.  Another lesson we can learn from tests is how much we do or don't rely on God to help us through.

We may never know if the difficulties we face are a result of Satan asking to sift us, like he did with Job and Peter, of if it is just life.  But the good news is, we can learn from them and bring greater honor and glory to God as a result of our tough times.  We have the choice to do that, or we can refuse the lesson and grow bitter and angry with God and/or others.  But if we allow God to do as He sees best for us, we can learn great lessons that can impact many others and help others from falling into some of the same pitfalls we have.

As I close, I would like to say a prayer for those that are going through rough times and wondering the purpose and if they have done something to cause their situation. 

Father, I ask that all those who are in a tough situation, whether it be a short term or long term situation, that You would help to see You in the midst of their difficulty.  I ask that You would also help them to learn what it is that they can take with them to bring greater glory and honor to Your Name and can offer comfort later on to others that may be going through their own tough times.  I know that we will all go through tough times, no matter how strong or weak we are and no matter where we live.  I ask that You would help all of us to view tough times as a way of growing personally, emotionally, spiritually, and every other way that we need to because of the situations we encounter.  I thank You that You will never leave us alone in the middle of our tough times, and that You will always use it to further Your Kingdom and Your purposes.  In Jesus name, AMEN!

Revelations and the End of the World

Recently I was asked about my view of prophecy and how the original author viewed it and whether or not some prophecies like Matthew 24 and The Revelation had already been fulfilled or if it was still to come.  Below is my response to the question.

My view on prophecy is this.  The best way to explain it is to give you a picture.  When you look at a mountain range that keeps getting taller and taller, you see each peak, but you can't tell how far each peak is from each other or if they are separate peaks at times.  But if you could look at them from the side or from the top you could see the peaks and the distance between them.  Biblical prophecy is much the same way.  One prophecy may have many different fulfilling's and when and how they are fulfilled the multiple times, we cannot say or tell.  For example, Isaiah 7:14 says "Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and his name will be called Immanuel."  Now traditionally we see this prophecy as the birth of Jesus.  But if you read the context of Isaiah 7, you will see King Ahaz is facing battle and wants to hear from God.  Right after that verse (not a different topic but continuing) Isaiah says that the before the boy gets to a certain age, the land will be laid waste.  A virgin not only meant a girl that had not 'known' a man, but it had another meaning, a young woman.  So this prophecy had not one but two fulfilling's.  At the time it was given, I am sure Isaiah had no idea he was talking about his present time and a time yet to come, but God gave him the words and God knew what He meant.  Also, Ecc. 1:9 says "What has been will be again,  what has been done will be done again"  There is evidence all through the Bible that this has happened.  You can look at any history book and see it as well.  The term "History repeats itself" has biblical roots and like the mountains has repeating peaks.  The best way to see that prophecy has been fulfilled is to look back. (Hind sight is 20/20)

So, your friend may be totally correct that Revelations and Mathew 24-25 have been fulfilled, but most reputable Biblical scholars believe that and also believe that it also looked forward to a much further time.  Will what scholars think be what those times in the future really look like? (i.e. The Left Behind Series, along with other works as well as commentaries) Maybe, but probably not. If prophecy being fulfilled was easy to spot, then people in Jesus day would have recognized Him instead of looking for someone else.  They expected the prophecy to be fulfilled in a much different way than it was.  So shall it be at the end of the age.

But at the same time, if your friend does not want to see or believe that Revelations is looking at time to come, (I do believe that it has more than one meaning as well), then there is nothing you can do to convince him otherwise.  My idea of prophecy, especially Revelations and the future, is that I may discuss it but I will NEVER argue with someone about it.  My philosophy is that the main things of scripture are the plain things, and the plain things are the main things.  Those are non negotiables (such as salvation, creation, Jesus coming as a baby, etc.) Everything else is up for discussion.  How you believe about the other things, may not be how I believe and until God shows each of us where we are wrong or right, or until it happens, then we will be able to know for sure.

I know I didn't talk about the specifics about what your friend said but this is how I view Revelations and Matthew 24-25.  But there are things in Revelations that I will argue about, such as Revelations 4 ( clear picture of the throne room of God and His Majesty), and Revelations 22:18-20: "I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.…"

As to WHEN Revelations was written, I tend to agree with most scholars that it was written in the AD 90's.  Many reputable Scholars argue amongst themselves, and even with their own thinking, that Revelations was either written in the 60's or 90's.  That would make the destruction of the temple (AD 70) either not happened yet, or old OLD news.  If it hadn't happened yet, it makes sense it wasn't included, if it was Old News, it also makes sense why it wasn't included.  But here is the biggest catch, Revelation 19:10 "Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he *said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (NASB)  This means that no matter what the prophecy says, or whether it is foretelling or forth telling, it MUST point to Jesus and bring honor and glory to Him.  No matter your current view on prophecy and end times, this must be the central focus.  No matter your view, keep Jesus the Son of God the central focus and worship God.  If you do this, you cannot be wrong.

Have you ever wondered why God seems silent or distant at times?

Have you ever found yourself in a place of wondering why certain things don't happen or why they happen certain ways?  What about wondering why it seems that God is silent or seems to not hear your plea?

I have recently been finding myself asking God a lot of whys.  Why is it that when I pray, nothing seems to happen?  Why is it that even though You promised signs and wonders would follow us, they don't?  Why is it that I have been praying for certain things for a long time and there is no answer, while other people I know get answers to the same request?  Why is it that I ask to hear from You in a very real way, that I seem to hear nothing?  Why do I seem to be deaf in my spirit?  Why do miracles happen for others but not for me?  Is there something wrong with me or am I asking with wrong motives?  I don't think I am, but if I am PLEASE let me know so I can change that.  Why is it that others seem to be getting their socks blessed off and mine stay on?

Have you ever wondered these things?  I know I have and it can be very frustrating.  While I know that God is working, and hears, my logical mind tells me nothing is happening.  While it seems  God is deaf, I know He is not.

These battles between my spirit and my emotions are very real.  It makes it difficult at times to believe in what God is doing.  At times I cannot look at the present alone.  I have to look back and then I can see that God really IS hearing, really IS working.  It is for this reason that David and others often retold the stories of God doing incredible things in the past.  We see it all through the Old and New Testament's.  God does hear us and He does move, just not in the time frame we think He should work.  While in the moment, it does not seem to help and our emotions run wild, God has a plan and is in control.  God can turn things around in a moment.  For example,  In Genesis, Joseph knew what God was speaking to him when he was young, but then circumstances seemed to turn an him and I am sure, even though the Bible never tells us, that he wondered what God was doing, and why things kept getting worse and worse.  But we have one advantage Joseph did not.  We can read the end of the story and know what happens. Joseph did not have hat advantage.  I am sure he thought many times that things were starting to turn around, and then suddenly his situation got worse.  But when he least expected it, in less than 5 minutes, God turned everything around and he went from the dungeon to the being the Prime Minister of the most powerful nation in the world.  It was then that Joseph was able to say "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people."  (Genesis 50:20, NLT). 

We have to remember that God intends all He allows to come our way, even the times it seems He is silent and or has forgotten us; He has a plan and is in control.  In the moment, it does not make it any easier, but there is a reason for all God allows and does.  Often, in the end it is not just for our good, but to save others through the story of our struggles.  I know it is easier said than done, but if you are finding yourself in this place, tray and focus on the fact that God has a bigger purpose for your situation that what you can see, and it is to save others and to bring more glory and honor to His name.

Face Your Fear

Imagine, if you will, being Abraham with a long awaited son, Isaac, and then asked to sacrifice that son on a request from God.  What would be your thoughts?  Would they be ones of total acceptance?  If they are, you would ascribe to Abraham the level that is above a natural human.  Abraham was human just as we are.  If it was me, my thoughts would be ones of fear, disbelief, confusion, even wondering if God is truly a God of love and a God that cares for us.  It would seem that God had asked something that goes against all that I would have known about God.  This is the same God that spoke against human sacrifice, and yet here he is asking for one.  This is the God that promised a son, and that through this son, a nation would be born and that this son was the son of the promise that had been given years before and the son that was born to an old man and an old woman.  None of this would make sense.  But at the same time, knowing God had a plan and a purpose for this so that His overarching design for the universe.  Would you be as confident as Abraham that maybe, just maybe, God would raise the son of promise from the dead.  He had some sort of thought of God hopefully intervening when he told the others of the party that accompanied him that he and Isaac would go to the mountain and both return.  Imagine the fear flowing through Abraham.  It must have been huge.  But, despite the fear and despite all the emotions and lack of 'logic', Abraham obeyed.  Would you have done the same?  Would you have ran?  Now remember, Abraham did not know what the outcome would be.  We can read the story and have the advantage of knowing the outcome. While the story turned out well and Isaac lived and Abraham was relieved of the fear, it can teach us all a lesson.  What lesson is that?  The lesson of obeying and trusting God no matter what our own emotions are telling us. 

Sometimes God asks us to do things that makes no sense to us and brings fear and lots of emotions that do not make sense.  Maybe God has asked you to sacrifice your job, or your car, or house or_________________ (fill in the blank).  What did you do?  Did you trust Him to take care of you?  Did you run away?  What did you do? 

We like Abraham do not have the advantage of knowing the end of the story.  Our emotions run wild, while in our hearts we can either feel betrayed or know that God is in control and will come through.  It is not an easy thing when one finds themselves in a place of total trust in God  but our emotions try and convince us to try something or to give up or even convince us to reject God altogether.  The best we can do is to push through the fear.  Once again I will quote from Frank Herbert's Dune.  In the series there is a group of women, a sisterhood, that developed away to overcome fear. They would quote to themselves the following:

"I must not fear.

 Fear is the mind-killer.

 Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

 I will face my fear.

 I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

 And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

 Where the fear has gone there will be nothing......Only I will remain."

It makes sense, but I would like to change the last phrase for those of us who follow after God.  I would change it to say "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.  ..... I will face my fear with God. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing......Only God will remain."

Only with God and his help can we conquer the fear that comes our way.  Fear is a mind-killer, but with God our sanity, mind, and spiritual lives will survive.  Knowing these things will not make facing fear any easier, but it is a way to lean on Someone besides ourselves.  I leave you this verse.  Think on it Meditate on it, and let God help you face your fear.  "Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago? You are my witnesses—is there any other God? No! There is no other Rock—not one!" Isaiah 44:8 NLT

I am Hungry and Thirsty: What it means to hunger and thirst for God, the living God

Have you ever been hungry or thirsty?  Your stomach is growling and you’re your throat is

parched?  We have all experienced that.  Sometimes we are not very thirsty, but we drink

anyway, and sometimes we are not hungry but we eat anyway.  But other times we are very thirsty and very hungry.   The feeling is different depending on the degree of hunger and thirst.

 

When we search Scripture, there are many verses regarding hunger and thirst such as Psalm 42:2: “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”  So what does this mean to hunger and thirst for God?  First let’s look at the meaning of these words.  In the Greek the definition for thirst is “1) to suffer thirst, suffer from thirst; 1a) figuratively, those who are said to thirst who painfully feel their want of, and eagerly long for, those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, strengthened.”  For hunger it is “1) to hunger, be hungry; 1a) to suffer want 1b) to be needy  2) metaphor - to crave ardently, to seek with eager desire.”  Obviously when the Bible speaks of hunger and thirst for God or the things of God, it is not referring to physical hunger and thirst.  It refers to “those who are said to thirst who painfully feel their want of, and eagerly long for, those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, strengthened” and “to crave ardently, to seek with eager desire.” 

 

Does this mean that to hunger and thirst for God is to have a mild want or the thought that it would be nice, but if I don’t get it, then it is OK?  Not at all!  Psalm 63:1 says this:  “O God, you are

my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”  David is longing for God as if he was in a very dry desert.  In a place like this, water is a necessity or you die.  That is what David means when he says he thirsts for God; if he doesn’t find God he will die.  That sounds like a very strong desire to me.  That is not a “would be nice but not necessary” feeling to me.  It sounds like David is desperate, like his spirit is in a desert place and not only wants but NEEDS God to satisfy that thirst.  David repeats his cry again in Psalm 143:1, 6 “O LORD … I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.” And again in Psalm 42:1: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”  Imagine a deer running through the forest from a predator.  After a while his thirst will be strong and it doesn’t matter if he is close, he MUST find water or he will die anyway.  That is what David is referring to when he speaks of a dear panting for water.  That is how badly David longs for the presence of God. 

 

But how do we satisfy this hunger and thirst?  Do we just sit around and hope He comes to us?  Again the answer is found in Scripture, this time in Isaiah 55:1-2 "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.   Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest

 of fare.”  It requires us to go to God and seek Him, to go for Him.  But the problem is, many go to God and they are not hungry or thirsty so they don’t eat or drink of His presence.  Others feel a deep need in their spirit for God so they seek Him.  And the good news is it is free for the asking.  This verse in Isaiah bids those to come to Him who are hungry and thirsty, and He will give it to them freely without cost.  It costs us nothing more than the desire to find Him and the desire to want more of His presence.

 

John 6:35 says “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’”  Jesus is the only way to have our spiritual hunger and thirst quenched.  It requires coming to Him and believing in Him.  This does not mean that we say we know who Jesus is and that we believe that he existed; it means that we believe in such a way that we want to know him and believe that what He says and all He has ever done is true.  Jesus even tells us in Matt. 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”  Jesus promises to fill us and we are blessed when we are hungry and thirsty for Him.

 

But what happens when we find ourselves in a place where we are N

OT hungry or thirsty.  I recently found myself in such a place and so I asked myself when that hunger and thirst disappeared and why it disappeared. I also found myself asking how to get it back.  Immediately the story in Mark 9 came to mind when the man brought his son to Jesus that was suffering from an evil spirit. After a conversation with Jesus the father stated “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” (verse 22)  Jesus answered ‘If you can’? Everything

 is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”(Mark 9:23-24).  I found myself, like the boy’s father, saying to the Jesus “Lord I am hungry and thirsty, please help my lack of hunger and thirst for you.”  It seemed immediately the Holy Spirit said to me “Why don’t you ask for hunger and thirst for God?”   And so I did.  What followed was incredible.  It seemed hunger and thirst for God, the living God came pouring into my soul.   Is this the only way to get or renew your hunger and thirst for God?  Probably not, but what would it hurt to ask what you need to do if you find yourself in a spiritual famine, lacking hunger and thirst?  If this is you, take a chance and ask what you must do, or even just ask that Jesus give you the thirst for Him that you want or that He desires you to have.  It won’t hurt.  For the Bible also says: “Anyone who asks, receives” (Matt. 7:8).    Jesus wants us to come and ask and to hunger and thirst for Him.  As Rev 22: 17 states: “The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”

Beware The Slow Blade

In the Sci-Fi book series Dune by Frank Herbert,  Paul Atreides notes: "In shield fighting, one moves fast on defense, slow on attack ... Attack has the sole purpose of tricking the opponent into a misstep, setting him up for the  sinister attack. The shield turns the fast blow, admits the slow kindjal!"  He is referring to fighting with a body shield that repels fast attacks from an opponent.  The slow attack is permitted to enter the shield and can be just as deadly as the fast attack.  In one scene in the book, Paul is practicing with a mentor and without warning looks down and discovers his 'opponents' (training mentor) blade has penetrated the shield.

There are times in the spiritual life we are so busy countering the attacks that come at us fast and furious that we neglect to look for slow gradual attacks.  These attacks are just as damaging as a fast attack if we are not looking for them, and can attack us without us even knowing.  Let me give you an example:  Recently I have been looking and watching for the fast obvious attacks coming at me from Satan and his henchmen.  Without realizing it, while I was busy countering those attacks, his slow blade had penetrated my 'shield'.  I had no clue.  The attacks came so subtlety that I did not see it and just thought it was just my own reactions to life situations around me.   I now know it for what it real was, a slow blade.

Just as in Dune, we are attacked hard and fast to distract us from the slow attack that creeps in with the attempt to destroy us slowly.  It is these slow attacks that we need others to be our eyes to watch out for us and to warn us of the slow blade.  If someone asks you if something is wrong and you don't think there is, consider the idea that it could be the slow blade penetrating your carefully constructed shield of faith, the armor that you think is impenetrable.  We need each other to counter these slow blade attacks.  Without the spiritual awareness of others, we could miss them and become bound by attitudes that can keep us from gaining all God has for us.

What are these slow blades?  There are many.  Some are failure, depression, anger, bitterness, etc.  They creep in so slow that we do not know they are tangling us up in their grip.  Listen to those that are spiritually attuned and know you well to help detect these slow blades.   Accept their observations and listen to them, and allow them to pray for you.  You may be surprised at the slow blades that have attacked you, keeping you from walking in victory in Jesus Christ. I learned my lesson, I pray that you can be made aware of the slow blades attempting to penetrate your shield so you can counter them.

What Does God want me to do?

Quite often I have heard people say: "What is God's will for me?  What should I do?   What kind of job or career should I go after? Where does God want me to go?"  And yes even I have asked these questions.  But lately I have been asking myself a different question.  "Should I even be concerned about God's long term plan for me?" 

If you look in the Bible, God very rarely told anyone what His long term will was.  Even Abraham.  God told him to leave his town and job and go to a place He would show him.  He didn't tell him why, or where, just told him to go.  The amazing thing is Abraham did it.  He had no way of knowing that where he was going was going to be ok or that there would be security.  All he did was do it.  Then later, God told him to leave another city and keep going.  As far as we know, he asked no questions, he just did it.  Did everything turn out alright for him?  Yes.  Did he have hard times?  Yes.  Did he have doubts about God's leading and about his own relationship with God?  Probably.  But Abraham did one thing.  He focused on what God wanted for him one day at a time.  He trusted God no matter what.  He focused on his relationship with God above even that.  That is what drove him to be the man that he became.

So that brings the topic to us.  What is easier to focus on, the long time or the short term?  If you think about it, its the long term.  You don't have to make plans for it (although you should) and you don't have to think about the present.  What if all we did was focus on our relationship/walk with God?  What if we surrendered so fully to God that there was no worry about tomorrow?  What if every day we asked God what He had planned for us today?  What if we just worshiped God for who He is and not where He is taking us?  Not an easy task if you think about it.  Isn't it more frightening to here God ask us to do such and such a task right now or pray for someone right now than it is to think about the future?

Sometimes God does give us a dream and desires.  And sometimes they work out great, and other times, they feel like everything is falling apart.  But when we focus our attention on God, on Jesus, on The Holy Spirit, there is no time to focus on the long term.  Go with God.  He knows the gifts and abilities He gave you.  If He hasn't told you what to plan for in the future, then don't worry about it.  Just worship Him and do what He asks of you day by day, moment by moment.  Will that be easy?  Probably not.  Will it be worth it?  Yes it will be, no matter the outcome. 

So the crux of this whole blog is to say, don't worry about God's will for you in the long term.  What does He want for us now?  If he tells you to get ready for something, to plan for something, then do it with all you have.  But if He does not, don't ask others what to do, or ask others what God's plan for you is if you are not focusing on what you are to do right now.  He may just give you a bigger plan for you than you ever dreamed of.  Start now and ask God "What do you want me to do right now, today?"  It may be small but that small step of faith may be just what He is waiting on to reveal to you His bigger plan.  The more in love and the more obedient you are to Him, the better the relationship you will have with him.  “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today." (Matthew 6:34).

Why do good people experience crisis?

Crisis comes when we least expect it and always when we don' want it.  But why does it come?  I have heard this question many times.  Usually the answer comes back in various ways.  Many times it comes back as "I am being punished for something I did" or "The devil is just out to get me."  Or even "It's just life, bad things happen to everyone so why not me."  All of these answers have a negative spin to them.  Does this mean that every time things go wrong or a crisis comes that it because of a something negative?  I don't believe so.  Stay with me, and I pray you will learn what I have learned recently about a crisis situation.

First let's look at Job from the Old Testament.  The book starts with God commenting on how Job seeks after God and points out his righteousness.  He is not commenting to the angels or another person, He is commenting to Satan.  Satan asks permission to bring about a major crisis in Jobs life.  God grants the request with one condition, that he cannot take Jobs life.  So within a short time, Job loses his wealth, his children, and his health.  He also has his wife speak very badly to him (I am sure after losing all ten of her children at once she was also feeling the effects of the crisis) and his best friends come and stare at him for 7 days before they tell him how horrible of a person he is and that they know that he must of dome something horrible for God to do this to him.  In the end, God corrects all of them, Job, his friends, and his wife.  So the purpose of God allowing Satan to come after him was 3 fold:  1) Satan wanted to prove to God that Job was not as good as God thought, 2) God wanted to prove to Job and his friends and all who heard his story how great and awesome God is and How he can create wonderful things out of tragedy, and 3) Job and his friends needed some fine tuning in their attitudes toward people and toward God and how God works.  This last reason I believe is the greatest of them all.  Because after Job learned the lesson and was fine-tuned, he was blessed and became even wealthier and more righteous than before.   The end of the story is greater than the beginning. 

So why do crisis events/bad things happen to us as followers of Jesus?  For the same reasons.  God not only wants to show us and others His great power and how much He loves us, but also to make us more into the image of Jesus so that we can be even more able to further the plans God has for us.  And just like Job, the end of the story for us can be greater than the beginning.  The hard part is recognizing the refining and attitude adjustment God is doing in our life.  It is never easy to go through a crisis, but if we keep our attention on the One who made us, we will see great things in the end.

Are these crisis events that come our way just for us?  Again looking at the story of Job, the crisis was centered on Job, but the effects reached farther than Job; his wife and friends were affected as well as all those that have heard his story.  They all learned that a crisis can be good in the end.  They all learned that was Satan had meant for evil to harm Job, was turned into a victory not only for Job, but for God.

If and when you find yourself in a crisis situation (because they will come), be asking God what the purpose is and what you need to do or what area He is targeting to transform into something wonderful.  Just like Job, you will have friends and family tell you that you must have done something horrible or that Satan is out to get you.  It is quite possible that Satan is out to destroy you, and maybe, just maybe it is the result of something you have chosen to do, but keep it positive.  Search your heart and soul and attitudes.  The purpose of it is to make you more into the kind of person that God wants and needs you in order to fulfill His purpose for you AND for those around you AND for all that hear about what God has done for you. 

I leave you with this final thought from Philippians 1:6 : "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."