Love or Obligation

"Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." Revelation 2:4"

"What? Wait! Not me, surely not me!?"

But as I think about His words I have to admit--I have. I've let a myriad of things move me farther and farther away. What started as love has become an obligation; what was done naturally is now something I debate about. And I can't remember when it became this way.

"Therefore remember from where you have fallen and repent and do the deeds you did at first, or else...." Revelation 2:5a

Again, "WHAT?" Was this an ultimatum? 

As I prayed for clarity I saw the connection. What started in love had become a mindless habit, then a chore that could backslide into a lukewarm attitutde or my taking the credit for what I'm doing. Therein lies the "or else." I am very capable of pridefully walking away from God.

Did I become indignant or defensive? Maybe a little bit--for a moment. But, at that moment, gratitude welled up inside me for God's Word. It is the mirror I need to remind me Who I serve and why; a reminder of the love of My Shepherd who doesn't let this little lamb stray too far.

"He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him that overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God." Revelation 2:7

What a timely reminder the Bible had for me this morning. I shake myself awake from sleep, and, as I walk through my day, I remind myself that I can't outlove God--and to serve Him is a joy.

by Eve Montano

Rest. Quiet. Confidence.

"Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength." Isaiah 30:15

I've been thinking about the nation Israel--camped outside of Jericho--waiting to face the first HUGE challenge in their quest to possess the land promised to Abraham and his descendants. (Joshua 5-6) What was it like to wander for forty years, fully aware the promise awaited them, but not have the green flag to go in and take it? What was it like to grumble about the provision of manna--miraculous in nature, to be sure, but not pleasing to the taste buds. Did they notice their clothing and shoes didn't wear out through those forty years of walking in the hot desert sun? Each day God's quiet miracles sustained them.

They were victorious in battle over more powerful, better-equipped armies. They grumbled over the desire for comfort. A pattern. Victory. Grumble. Victory. Complain.

Epiphany! I do the same thing. Do you? A big threat looms in my life and I go to the LORD with my need. He meets it in a way that lifts me to the mountaintop. Praise flows from my heart. Then I experience a small need, one I think I can handle. When the outcome disappoints me, what do I do? Grumble my dissatisfaction. I may not think I'm complaining to God, but who else hears what is in my heart and mind?

I fret and examine what went wrong. My thoughts give me no rest. Then God nudges me with reminders from His word. Return. Rest. Faithful is He who promises, who also will do it.

"What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won't He also give us everything else?" Romans 8:31-32

God has done the most for us. He gave His Son as the perfect sacrifice so we could be His children. Since He has done for us what cost Him the most, can we not trust Him to meet the lesser needs? In returning to this place of surrender and reliance on Him we have rest. He stills our hearts and gives us peace. We have quiet confidence in Him, not ourselves. And we can wait...and obey...and receive faith's reward.

by Marilyn Allison

On Holy Ground

"And the captain of the LORD's host said unto Joshua, 'Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy." And Joshua did so."  Joshua 5:15

In Joshua 5:13 we read that as Joshua was near Jericho he saw a lone man with a sword. Following God's earlier command to be courageous, he approached this stranger to learn whether he was friend or foe. The truth was...he represented the LORD, not an earthly people. And where he chose to stand made the land holy (pure, set apart for God's use).

Years earlier Moses had an encounter on holy land. While he was attending his father-in-law's flock of sheep on the west side of the wilderness, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 

"The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, 'I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.' When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, 'Moses, Moses!' And he said, 'Here I am.' Then He said, 'Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." Exodus 3:2-5

Loose your shoe from off your foot...remove your sandals from your feet...for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. This begs a question.

Do we make time to approach God? Both Moses and Joshua did. Do we recognize we are approaching Him in His holiness? That our meeting ground is holy? Do we come only with our laundry list of prayer needs to throw heaven-ward? Or do we fall on our faces in reverence before Him? 

These two passages of scripture really convict me about how casual I can be with God. In this age of God's grace through Jesus, we can be too familiar in our attitudes toward Him. We humanize God, because that's what we understand--humans. We have the blessing of calling Him "Father," yes. But along with that blessing, we must never forget respect, reverence.

He is Holy God. And he tells us:

"For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy:" Leviticus 11:44a

The nation had endured forty years of judgment. During that time God had given them the means to approach Him through the tabernacle, the sacrifices. and laws that dictated everyday life. They understood the terms of purity.

"For the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the LORD. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible." Leviticus 17:11

The sacrifices looked ahead to the day Jesus would offer his blood on the cross as our sin offering, our atonement, our redemption, our purification. 

"God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:2

May we make time to be quiet in the presence of the LORD and--like "shoes"--take off the things that separate us from Him. Let us take the time to adore Him and hallow His name. Let us recognize time with Him is our holy ground.

by Marilyn Allison

 

Hostility

"But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him." Colossians 3:8-10

“I am not your scapegoat! Stop being a victim and blaming me for your problems, and for goodness sake--stop lying!!!”

Hurt, confusion and a whole lot of anger went into those thoughts of mine. Words and feelings I couldn’t even speak became ‘AAAGH!’ Tears of bitter disappointment and grief streamed down my face. Grief for the misunderstanding and broken relationship that caused this outburst.

"Really?"

The word stopped me cold.

“Oh no, Lord! I'm justified in my anger!”

Tears continued to run down my face as I tried to explain my right to be angry. 

“God I’m done! How can I be blamed for something I didn’t do?”

But I couldn’t escape the truth that word, ‘really’, represented. It intruded into my pity party, pierced through my heart, mind, and spirit. 

God, my Saviour, Redeemer and yes--my Scapegoat--had taken my lies, my sin, upon Himself--when every word He’d ever spoken was absolute truth. As my scapegoat, He became a victim of hatred, violence and unspeakable pain. He was lied about and judged. For me. What Grace.

Finally, my tears went from anger to tears of acceptance. Sometimes life is unfair and people will disappoint and lie and blame, but Jesus never will. Jesus is our Prince of Peace and I’m learning to accept this: if I want to live in His peace, I have to put away my anger and hurt. I have to love above and beyond what I’m capable of doing on my own and extend grace the way it was extended to me.

“Really...” What love and power that one word held for me that day.

Hurt and anger try to flare up now and again and the loneliness I feel for that person sometimes feels insurmountable. But...my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is my peace and comfort. The truth is anger and hurt cannot reside where Jesus is.

"For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."  Hebrews 12:3

by Eve Montano

 

Remember

"We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future, your children will ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' Then you can tell them, 'They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the LORD's covenant went across.' These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever." Joshua 4:6-7

The nation Israel finally stopped walking in the circles of judgment for their unbelief and, by the miraculous intervention of God, they crossed over the Jordan riverbed on dry ground. They were entering into a faith walk to claim the land of promise.

God opened the door for them and He wanted them to remember something. Twelve men, a leader from each tribe, shouldered a substantial stone (think boulder) on his shoulders, taking them to the place they would camp for the night. There, at Gilgal, Joshua followed God's command to pile them into a memorial. When their children would ask, "What are these stones?" they were to tell them it was a reminder that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of God's Covenant went across. It was to be a forever reminder that God intervenes with power in the lives of His people.

These were people like you and me. They had clear instructions regarding right and wrong--what constituted righteous behavior--and the sacrifices demanded in order to receive forgiveness and restoration of fellowship with God.

They would have battles ahead, both physical and spiritual. They took their self-focused, complaining, impetuous natures with them wherever they went.

Between the Red Sea and the Jordan, when circumstances got tough they were prone to remember what they liked about Egypt. They fixated on the past and their former ways of living. The people reaped forty years of monotonous wandering and grief as their unbelieving elders died off.  Nothing they gained through those forty years had any lasting value.

Years later God warned their own descendants against looking back at their old lives.

"Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert."  Isaiah 43:18-19

There is no contradiction here. We are not to look back and dwell (meditate, mutter) on past hurts or failures, or even past times of rest and plenty, as though we couldn't progress past them. We are to look at the memory of God and what He has done to bring us this far. AND, we are to believe that He will still intervene for our good according to His purposes. 

Isaiah reminds us God will do a "new thing." Joshua declares "tomorrow the LORD will do great wonders among you." 

May we set up our memorial stones to remind us of the miraculous power of our loving Father. Whatever the circumstances of our lives may be, let us choose to see them as opportunities for God to reveal Himself to us in new ways and strengthen our faith. Let us obey the command of Joshua 1:9 and courageously claim our promised land--because the Almighty Creator of the Universe goes with us.

by Marilyn Allison