THE LORD SPOKE (February 27)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Numbers 11-13

Complaining is contagious. It can also be terribly destructive. For some of the Israelites it was fatal. When God heard their grumbling “his anger was aroused” (Num. 11:1) and a fire licked at the edges of the camp. Some died.

But still it didn’t stop. When God gave them food in the wilderness, the complaining turned to “we never see anything but this manna” (Num. 11:6). For sixteen months they had eaten it in every imaginable format (manna burgers, manna waffles, manna bagels). They wanted meat. So God gave them meat, so much that they wailed again. This time the Lord became “exceedingly angry” (Num. 11:10). Still more died and the number of freshly dug graves increased.

This wasn’t about food. It wasn’t even about Moses and his leadership. The real issue was that they had “rejected the Lord” (Num. 11:20).

The complaining reached to the highest levels. Even Aaron and Miriam were caught up in it and God had to give them a rather harsh lesson (Num. 12). Had there not been this corrupting influence of complaining and discontent - a lack of trust in the Lord - perhaps the entry into the Promised Land would have been far different. As it was, a majority of the selected leadership also lost their grip on the reality of God’s presence among them. Instead of seeing God as bigger than the giants they were facing, they led the people to further complaining, resistance, and outright disobedience (Num. 13: 31-33).

It’s amazing that God didn’t strike the whole lot down. He certainly had reason enough to do so. It’s interesting that, though their names are recorded permanently in Scripture, there’s probably not a man alive who could recall the names of all the cowards. Who ever heard of Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi, or Geuel?

But Joshua and Caleb? Now there’s a memory worth remembering! Two strong, uncompromising, faithful men who trusted God. Makes you want to be like them, does it not?!


New Testament: Luke 14

Corrie Ten Boom once said, “Vell, I’ve learnt to hold everytink loosely, because it hurts so much ven God pries my fingers apart and takes tem from me.”

As He closed His discourse on the cost of being a disciple (Lk. 14:26-35), Jesus said, “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Ultimately, the rewards are great but there is indeed a cost to being Christ’s disciple. There is a price to pay if you’re serious about following Jesus.

• It will cost you time. This won’t happen in spare moments. It’s not a matter of checking an agenda to see where you might be able to fit it in. Jesus requires total commitment. He wants your life.
• It will cost you money. “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” but the reverse is every bit as true. If you’re holding back in your pocketbook you are not Christ’s disciple.
• It will cost you self-indulgent pleasures. Your values and personal ambitions will change. Things you treasured before will look like trinkets. What seemed so important yesterday will pale to nothingness with eternity’s values in view.
• It will cost you major effort. This is not a game that we whittle away at in spare moments. It requires forethought, careful planning, wise use of resources, and sustained effort.
• It will cost you misunderstanding in some cases. Someone is sure to ask, “who do you think you are?” Your changed lifestyle will be an affront to someone who will be convicted by what they see in you.

Is it worth it? Listen to the promise of Jesus:

I tell you the truth...no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields - and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.... (Mk. 10:29-30)

THE LORD SPOKE (August 5)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Psalm 8-14

We all do it at times. We groan and our COMPLAINT (Ps. 10:1-11) begins the same way as that of the psalmist: “Lord look at this mess. Why don’t you do something about it?”

Because of the many terms used for the defenseless in this psalm it has been called “A Psalm for the Holocaust”. They’re described as the weak (Ps. 10:2), the innocent (Ps. 10:8), victims (Ps. 10:8,10,14), the helpless (Ps. 10:9[2x],12), the fatherless (Ps. 10:14,18), the afflicted (Ps. 10:17), and the oppressed (Ps. 10:18). Verbs describing their condition run from terrified, hunted down, caught, and crushed, to murdered. Your own “times of trouble” (Ps. 10:1) may not be at that level but at times they do reach such proportions. On the other hand, the wicked man of Ps. 10:2 is arrogant, greedy, prosperous, proud, wicked, haughty, and sneering, yet he is prosperous, happy, and very self-confident (notice: “he says to himself” appears three times in Ps. 10:6,11, and 13).

Out of that despairing situation comes a COMMITMENT (Ps. 10:12-15) as the victim turns to the ultimate Source of help (see Ps. 10:14). His imprecatory prayer comes after a plea for help and quickly turns to praise for the Lord who is “king for ever and ever” (Ps. 10:16).

The psalm concludes with CONFIDENCE (Ps. 10:16-18) that God does see our affliction, listen to our cry for help, and will defend and encourage us in our times of trouble.

If you want more confirmation of that, just look at the next psalm!


New Testament: Hebrews 13

Four significant activities are prescribed in this chapter with regard to spiritual leaders. This is what God expects of you:

1) REMEMBER YOUR LEADERS (Heb. 13:7a) - There are some obvious (and very heavy) implications in this verse for leaders! First of all, they must speak the Word of God, not their own ideas or some empty platitudes. And, they must be living those truths in their own lives. But it is then your job to listen, to learn, and to live the way they tell you. That may not be the way of current evangelical American independence but it is God’s way.

2) IMITATE YOUR LEADERS (Heb. 13:7b) - Again, the leaders are under tremendous responsibility here. They must be absolutely genuine and transparent in their lives. They must live like Jesus! But when you consider the outcome of their way of life, you are to imitate their faith. Not necessarily their every action, or style, or mannerism. But their faith and faithfulness.

3) OBEY YOUR LEADERS (Heb. 13:17) - Here’s the rub. Those leaders have authority and you are to submit. That means bending your own will or ideas to theirs. Never does this or any other Scripture teach blind obedience to human authority. That would be wrong and very dangerous. Those leaders are responsible and must be held accountable first to God, of course, but also to their followers. It is not a blanket authority. But it is authority.

4) PRAY FOR YOUR LEADERS (Heb. 13:18) - How important this is! When you do this, several things happen: (a) you find it easier to submit to their authority, (b) their accounting is much easier, (c) they find their work a joy and not a burden, (d) they will desire to live honorably in every way, and (e) their conscience will quickly reveal any lack of clarity and God will bring great conviction.

This will result, as it does here in Hebrews 13:20-21, in a great doxology:

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.