I did it again.I went forty years without ever doing it once and now I have erred twice in nine days in this ridiculous manner.Thinking it would be a onetime novelty I even wrote a blog about it on the 20th of this month and turned my little faux paus into a conduit of spiritual insight.Now I've gone and done it again.I got dressed in the dark this morning and put on two completely different shoes - AGAIN!
Beyond the obvious need to turn on the closet light before getting dressed I wonder what the Lord might want to teach me through this repeated failure today.I considered the metaphor of "an unbalanced walk with God" or "a double minded man is unstable in all his ways" or even "how beautiful are the feet of them who bring good news".Yet in the end, I have chosen to welcome this lesson from my new addiction to mismatched footwear:
Luke 17:3-4 - "Take heed to yourselves: If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turns again to you, saying, I repent; you shall forgive him."
Putting on different shoes certainly does not rise to the level of committing sin (unless you are a disciple of the Fashion Channel), but my repetition of this error does remind me of a comforting truth of God's character.Jesus was teaching His disciples of the command to forgive those who sin against you but who also come in repentance and ask you to forgive them.To heighten the importance of this, Jesus teaches that if someone has the audacity to sin against us seven times in one single day we are to forgive them each time they humbly request it.Here is the lesson:repetitious failure requires repetitious forgiveness.Now this is such a difficult thing for us to achieve that the disciples spoke on our behalf as soon as Jesus taught them this by declaring, "Lord, increase our faith." (Luke 17:5).This command for our relationships may be one of the hardest of all to perpetually fulfill - keep on forgiving no matter what.Today, my thought is focusing on something I deduce from this command of Jesus rather than examining the command itself.This conclusion from His command is what should bring us comfort.
Because Jesus commands us to forgive on a repeated level, we can be fully assured that He also forgives in this manner.
Some in the body of Christ have some serious and constant struggles.Some have besetting sins that are not yet laid aside.The reality of strongholds in the lives of believers gives occasion for God's word to teach us to wage war against the world, the flesh and the devil.Observably, the flesh is the final frontier for most of us to conquer.The flesh doesn't want you to forgive that one who wronged you;the flesh requires that you not to forgive once, much less the demanding notion of seven times in a 24 hour period.The flesh keeps leading you back to gossip, back to covetousness, back to lust.Sure we blame the devil for a lot of it but, in reality, it's likely not something he needs to be involved with.Failing to walk in the Spirit always results in fulfilling the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).Satan need not drop by when our flesh can create an equally distressing break in our fellowship with God.Let's be honest, we tend to put on two different spiritual shoes before beginning our daily journey more often than we like to admit.We don't have a balanced walk.We start our day in the dark sometimes and never get to step into the light.I'm going to say it: on some days we're a bunch of stinkin' sinners.
But, alas, I smell the aroma of grace!
Jesus will forgive you seven times today.Jesus can forgive you 7,000 times today if that is required.His forgiveness is not to be equated with dismissiveness.No, we are to come to Him in full heartbroken repentance every time we look down and see mismatched spiritual cleats.We should hate our trespasses as much as our Lord does.Sin brings the believer grief and when she is grieved she runs to the One who brings her the solace she needs.We know that the Lord is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, enduring, faithful and rejoices when a poorly-shoed saint comes back to the Father's house.As intensely as God hates sin, to the same degree, He loves to forgive.None of us want to have to experience that forgiveness because, in doing so, we are acutely aware that we have dishonored the Lord.Having said that I must also add that none of us wants not to experience that forgiveness because if that is the case then we have forfeited the gold of life's journey.We don't wish to need His forgiveness but we are so incredibly grateful for its availability.
I'm committed to putting on two brown shoes tomorrow.It is in my power to do so;I may need to plan better, slow down a little, wait on some light to fall before beginning my day...but I am confident that I will not do tomorrow what I've done today.Having said that, if I happen to blog for a third time concerning this failure I will likely remember what God taught me today:for every misstep of mine, there was a perfect step by Jesus.I am forgiven for it all through His precious blood.He has forgiven me for eternity and the reality is that every individual sin along the way is already atoned for.May I so treasure Him and the blessed grace that He gives that I find myself walking in his sandals every day.
An email arrived in my inbox today that served to remind me of the world we are living in.A portion of the email referenced a military chaplain who was dismissed for refusing to cease praying in the name of Jesus Christ.Now, mind you, this is a Christian chaplain serving in the United States military who was being forced to choose between his role in serving his country and his citizenship in God’s Kingdom.Of course, this is nothing new as stories like this are now popping up regularly.The Washington Post (not a Christian-friendly periodical) shared a related story in May of this year concerning legislation that would serve to permit Christian chaplains to continue to invoke the name of Jesus Christ as they serve in the Armed Forces.Welcome to America where abortion is legal, prostitution is legal in some places, marijuana use is legal in some places, pornography, gambling, sodomy, adultery, and fornication are all tolerated. . . but the mention of the name of Jesus requires us to stop all activity and discern if this is tolerable.The sound you hear is the rumble of Heaven’s thunder.
Let me get a little hell-fire and brimstone on you for a minute.I’m going to address my words to people who profess to believe in Jesus Christ as Supreme Lord over all.Do we really think that God is turning a blind eye to the reality that the name of His only begotten Son is being treated like a disease?What do we really think the response of God is going to be to a nation that not only has forgotten Him but has virtually given Him the finger for the last 45 years (forgive the crudeness)?God immensely chastised Old Testament Israel, His covenant people, for their continual rejection of Him.The Almighty wore them out time and time again! I hate to be the bearer of bad news but God hasn’t made any covenants with America and we should probably throw on the brakes before we plunge headlong over the cliff of presumption into a bottomless pit of regret. He owes us nothing. I look to the mockery of Washington DC and hang my head when I realize that Americans were dumb enough to populate Congress with so many foolish people.The rampant humanism, pride and apostate godlessness mingled with the politics of socialism will certainly be the downfall of this once mighty nation if something doesn't change. Please don’t dismiss my words as empty Christian fanaticism – I’m speaking to believers – but I’m looking for one of two things to happen: Revival or Wrath.
Revival rescues us.Wrath finishes us.Do you know why America has been so abundantly blessed and protected during the last 234 years?God!We believed in God.We bowed before God.Jesus Christ was the passion of so many Americans and this provided a manifestation of the blessed presence of God upon the landscape of our nation.We preached His Gospel, sang His anthems, exalted His word, bowed before His throne, sought His face, depended upon His provision, obediently received His definition of morality, and blessed the mighty name of His Son without hesitation.Extract your head from the sand of deception, rub the grains from your blurry eyes and face the facts: we were a Christian nation.We no longer are and my heart is breaking.
My children will be among the first generation of Americans to live in a culture where Jesus Christ is viewed in hostility.He’s an intruder in the USA.As Ahab asked godly Elijah, ‘Are you the one who troubles Israel?’ we now gaze suspiciously upon Jesus Christ and refuse Him the opportunity to "mess with the new America".My words are not describing a political ideology; I’ve never looked to the government to provide anything more than some restraint to evil.Government can’t change hearts.Government can’t enlighten souls.Government can’t usher in paradise.When it comes to manifesting lasting spiritual power, human government is as effective as bullfrog teaching physics to graduate students.Christians should probably stop focusing so much on Washington DC and start looking in our own hearts.The problem began there and the solution still resides there.While we are blaming our elected officials for the erosion of our nation very few Christians are pausing to question how it ever got to this point.How did wholesale foolishness become the characteristic of our government?My opinion is that successive generations of believers in Christ held hands in the shadows while the wolf set up shop in the sunlight.We failed to season our country with salt.We dimmed our lights.We ran crying when someone shot a glaring look in our direction.We received hostile ideologies with handshakes instead of doubled up fists. We maximized kindness and tolerance until they fused into a gigantic altar upon which we sacrificed reason and truth. Behind closed doors, we prayed for Jesus to come back instead of walking through those doors to face the Goliaths defying God in the valley.We turned the other cheek to the extent that our cheeks (not the ones on your face) got blistered by forces that should have bowed to the One we represent.We quit on God’s plan. When we should have been marching we shuffled our feet. When we could have wielded the Sword of the Spirit we used our hands to wave the white flag of compromised surrender. The enemy didn't win - we conceded the fight.
Yes, I’m ticked off.I’m mad at me.I’m mad at you.I’m mad at US this morning.What in the world have we done?
Rather than giving a tidy wrap up to today’s blog I’m just going to let it hang in the air.You’ve read my sanctified rant today.Why don’t you take five minutes of your time and hit the comments button below and supplement my words with some of your own.Consider it your digital Amen if you agree with me today.
“And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up…” 1 Kings 17:7
The life of Elijah has long since been a favorite of mine.He’s a throwback – a type of man that is rarely seen in our generation.We know little of his background beyond the place he was born and raised.He drops into scripture like a lead anvil from a hot air balloon and later leaves the pages of our Bible like a feather caught up in a tornado.He blows in, blows up and then blows out.My kind of guy.
After preaching highly confrontational message from God to the apostate King Ahab, Elijah is tucked away by God in the school of seclusion.The echo of Elijah’s voice in the palace of Ahab had barely faded before God took him from the limelight to the lowlights.God hid the spokesman of a generation in a little place where nobody would hear him.God silenced Elijah’s ministerial voice and taught him how to listen, wait on God and survive the plateau of nothingness.Each day and evening the sovereign God of heaven would send sustenance by way of ravens acting as waiters.Each day by the brook Cherith was marked with little beyond Elijah's daily bread.He was getting by as God weaned him from any and all perks of prophethood.Elijah himself had pronounced the drought that was searing the land and it soon became apparent that these would be long days of deprivation for Israel.
But Elijah had his own little brook.
God saw fit to allow the faithful prophet to awake each day to the sound of running water.In a drought this would be the sound of hope.Each day the ravens would bring the meal and God Himself would serve the water.Elijah’s thirst would not be denied and he was able to have the double pleasure of being in God’s drought which sapped away all the unprofitable parts of his life while, at the very same time, he was refreshed at any time he chose by the faithful waters from his own personal stream of sufficiency.God was so good to give the prophet this privilege.Elijah could wait it out - the drought would end, the ravens would feed him and the brook would be his daily assurance that God would continue to be faithful.
“And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up…” 1 Kings 17:7
Elijah went to the serving stream just like he had before for many days prior.His gourd was empty as he felt it bounce lightly against his thigh as he made the short trip to the stream.The ravens had made their deposit a little earlier and Elijah made his way to the little brook to find what he needed for the day.He noticed as he approached a strange silence.He heard no running water.Nervously, he approached the place where he always dipped his empty gourd to fill it with the fresh water.On this day there was nothing more than some moist dirt.His brook had dried up.His source of survival had evaporated while he slept.He wasn’t even there to watch the last of it trickle away.God had said that Elijah would drink of the brook.God said it would be there.The brook was no longer there and, suddenly, it seemed like God wasn’t either.
In times of drought we measure our water levels.In times of life's drought, God measures our faith level.We can tell the intensity of the drought by lake levels dropping.God can tell the intensity of our faith by how we respond to the diminishing of our resources.God had taught Elijah how to trust in His provision, now God would teach Elijah how to trust in God Himself.There is certainly a difference between the two.Some of you who are reading are still standing in the dry gully of a brook which once was.God dried it up.You find yourself, empty gourd in hand, wondering when this same brook will babble again.You stand motionless and frightened that your reality is changing.You are listening for the moving of water and it’s just not happening here.When the water was flowing you gave God the glory.When the sustaining stream met your needs you were careful to praise Him.That stream was clearly God’s and you never took an ounce of credit for being sustained by it.Hey, wait a minute ... you did it all by the book and exalted God as He met all of your needs.You are wise enough to know that the ravens who brought your daily food are not equipped to bring you water.God is doing something and you weren’t necessarily anticipating any changes like this.The brook is dry and you don’t know what to do.
Trust in His character.He never needed that particular brook to meet your needs – it was simply his choice of sustenance for a season gone by in your life.He has something new for you now.You passed the test at the Brook Cherith and now He is prompting toward your own Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17-24).You see, there is more to the chapter and He had to dry up your brook to get you to read further in the story of His sovereign work.He has already prepared your next verses and there is much more that He has for you to learn.This trial of the dry creek bed is not about provisions as much as it is about the Provider.He is more interested in you learning the satisfaction of His presence and providence than He is interested in you mastering survival techniques.He’s deepening you and preparing to fill you with some unprecedented treasure.You’ve been full of raven food and creek water but He dried it up so you could experience the bottomless barrel of meal and the continual cruse of oil.Simply put, He is turning your page for you so you can read on.Leave the dry creek bed, drop your gourd and listen for His voice.It’s not an issue as to whether or not you have done something amiss to cause the brook to dry up.You’ve forgotten that the brook has always been His, not yours.He slaked your daily thirst through it but He never titled it in your name.His brook, His blessing, His breakthrough.Now He has something else ahead of you.Listen to how the next scene in your life is described:
“The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.” (1 Kings 17:14).
The promise of the brook dried up so the promise of the barrel can begin.Be there when it happens.
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