The Sins of We Fathers

“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.” -Exodus 34:6-9 (ESV)

Why would sins affect children and grand-children? Why "wouldn't" our sins affect generations to come? "...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8 ESV)

Oh fathers and mothers ....may we all "bow our heads and worship"; asking the Lord's forgiveness, praying.... Lord, God please leave my sins with "me" and behind me. May my sons not bear the trespass, the sins of their father.

May my sons surrender to Your gracefulness, rendered through Your Son.... You who "..as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us."

Please Don't Shoot The Messenger

"Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” -Exodus 17:2 (ESV)

Ever been "desperate"? Whether backed into a corner by someone, or some situation, people will generally defend themselves. Maybe it's the animal instict, or maybe it's our sin-nature. And not only defend ourselves ...but we'll shift the blame to whoever is closest and most obvious.

In the Exodus story... Moses is called, by God, to lead His people from the bondage of Egyption slavery to a land, flowing with milk and honey, promised by God Himself. Clearly, God never promised it would be a simple walk in the park... to get there ..and it wasn't. In desperation the people began to quarrel with Moses ..but they were really quarreling with God. Moses was simply carrying out, reluctantly to begin, the task God had placed before him.

I think this devotional is speaking directly to the Christian; because with anything else in life, maybe the fault is our own. Maybe we are persuading others according to our own desires, will, and even best intentions. Maybe we are to be blamed. At the very least ...we must take responsibility when leading anyone."Taking shots" is just the nature of the beast. But if you are a Christ-follower, and have felt the burden of giving a defense for that which you believe ...take heart, the battle belongs to the Lord.

Don't take every argument / quarrel involving you ....as being specifically targeted "against" you; ....concerning "spiritual things". You and I don't spin the planets and make eternal decisions. Like Moses ....we are called to be a deliverer, a messenger. While that places us as the first, and most obvious, warm body for arows to be launched ....it doesn't make the battle any more our own. Why would we even be surprised if someone quarrels with us about eternal things?? We should thank God for those quarrels ...that folks have enough eternal fore-thought to want to argue it!! This is far better than blind, dumb, indifference.

Deliever the Good News! Do so with a conviction, which you would have / should have wrestled on your own, or are maybe still wrestling ....resulting in a "faith" that can walk a mile in a doubter's shoes! While we need to, must be able to, give an evidence for our own faith ...we also must realize that, at the end of the day, it boils down to just that ..."faith". "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." (John 6:44 ESV) ...was Jesus' own statement. Our responsibility lies in simply being "faithful" ..in doing that which God has called every Believer. If you have an argument beyond that ...you might help a non-believer wrestle, but you will ultimately defer them to Source.

Do You Have To Be Right All The Time?

I recall being asked this question a few times over my years ...and the answer has, historically, been .....YES!! At least, I want to be right as often as I can. As I grow older, however, I am learning that I don't have to have my hand in "everything". I do not have to be on top of every detail, or in control of every situation. I haven't yet "arrived" ...but it's all about the journey, right?? This requires some degree (lesser or greater, depending on the situation) of "trust" ...faith.

Besides that, isn't it selfish, on my part, to not let go? What if someone else needs to learn something? What if someone else just might do a better job than I? "Let go, and let God" would apply here.

"And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness." -Genesis 15:6

Abraham, as he reasoned with God, saw that he was child-less; no "family" heir to his household. But God surprised Abraham. He told him to try and number the stars. If he could, this would be the number of Abraham's offspring. What was Abraham's response to God's promise?? "...he believed the LORD..". The Scriptures say that "..He [God] counted it to him as righteousness." Abraham had no control over his situation, but was completely dependent upon God's provision. He didn't have to be "right" ...but his faith made him righteous.

Growing older, I've taken on a new perspective. I'd rather be made right, than to be right!! The LORD, God is in charge. He is the One who is right. We are to trust, in Him, for righteousness.

My Own Way

"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1 John 1:5-10 ESV)

Whose standard, of life and living, do you live by? Is it "your" own standard? Is it someone else's standard? I know some who say they simply cannot trust a God whom they cannot see; who won't manifest Himself, physically, to them. I know those who will not trust a God who allows man to make his own choices (this usually refers to the bad choices. We're ok on our own for the rest.). In one form or another this usually equates to "....I'll follow my own path, my own standard, and way of living."

Everyone serves someone. None of us are an island unto ourselves. All of us follow someone's teaching or someone's standard. When we go to work, or school, each day ...we follow another's teaching, another's standard, and those standards, directly or indirectly, influence our lives. We follow them, humbly, because "we gotta' do what we gotta' do." The question of "who's teaching" we follow is probably more in relation to our own personal needs, at a given time in our lives, than it is relative to what we believe.

There was a time, even as a "stated" follower of Christ, that I really followed what suited me, and my present situation at that time. My decisions felt "right" to me. They even felt justified. Yet, I could not align those decisions with God's word ...which I claimed to believe. I had a decision to make ....which I would follow; my will (which is influenced by the world's will) or His will as, made clear in His word (..and after regaining clarity..) in my own heart.

Though I consider myself a slave to Christ, a bond-servant as the Apostle Paul put it, my choice to follow Christ was left completely at my doing. Joshua 24:15 says it best..... "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.” Yet I could not choose Him merely because I wanted to ...but because He first presented Himself to me. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day."(John 6:44 ESV)

Finding one's way "in this life-time" is one thing. Most of us have a cafeteria-plan of choices in front of us; even the most resource-poor among us. We can argue that we pulled ourselves up by our own boot-straps, but few would argue..... life-influences played a role.

Finding one's way "beyond this life" is a matter of faith and humility. We don't make up the rules. We either adhere to them ...or we do not. Truth is... the way beyond this life greatly influences our lives now. It has, apparently, been given to us to "choose" our own way.

While We Wait for Christ' Return

"Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace." -2 Peter 3:14

So ...in light of the past few passages in these posts ....what do we do while we wait?

WE LIVE ...for Christ, we live!

"He must increase, but I must decrease.” (emphasis mine) He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." -John 3:30-36

'Eye for An Eye' or '...see to it that no one repays evil for evil'?

"See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone." -1 Thessalonians 5:15

Author John Grisham (from our neck of the woods, incidentally) wrote "A Time To Kill"; still one of my favorite novels. The plot revolves around attorney 'Jake Brigance' and his defendant, an African-American father, in Canton, MS. The defendant was on trial for the court-room murder of the very man who had killed his 10 year old daughter. The story-line is rivetting to be sure! Imagine, especially if you are a father or mother, the emotion that would course through your veins ...if it were you or I in this scenario. "...life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth....." We would most likely agree with the Exodus passage!!

Yet, this idea, this very statement, seems to run opposite of what the Apostle Paul stated to the church at Thessalonica. (1 Thess. 5:15)

Was the concept of "eye for an eye" acceptable in the old covenant / agreement with God ...and not acceptable in the new covenant? Is this, as scoffers would say, evidence that Scripture contradicts itself? As a slight "side-bar", allow me to say that.... I admit it! I thoroughly enjoy wrestling these, seemingly, difficult passages, and concepts, in God's word. I do believe the original text penned by those whom God inspired are, indeed, the words of God Himself. Allowing scripture to interpret itself reveals, not only, that there are no contradictions ...but the seamlessness of the message from the multiple authors, across multiple time-lines, with many different circumstances and biases ...only compounds the validity of the claim of holy scripture being inspired by God ...through man, and in spite of him.

Back to the question at hand... "do the aforementioned passages reveal a contradiction in scripture?" We should look to the object, and instigator, of this supposed contradiction for the resolution. The gospel according to Matthew records Jesus' own words... ""You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39.But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40.And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41.And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you." -Matt. 5:38-42 (ESV)

Our righteous, sin-less, all-powerful God demands justice! Our loving, sin-absorbing, omni-present Savior provides mercy and grace! It is no contradiction to follow the teaching of the Christ, by whom the law, and justice, exists, and by whom it was, once and for all, "fulfilled" -Matt. 5:17 (ESV)

Does God Have A Time-line?

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.” -2 Peter 3:8-10 (ESV)

Earlier, in Peter’s letter, he warned that there will certainly be doubters, specifically …scoffers, in the “last days” (time between Christ’ resurrection and His return). In the passage above, he gives what must be only the most rudimentary, base, understanding of “God’s time-line”. I cannot even begin to fathom His time-line! Can you imagine a God who knows no “time-line”; certainly not as you or I do? He is free to move forward, backward, wherever He desires within my, as well as your, linear time-frame. With that in mind …it isn’t quite as difficult to understand that one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

So what does this mean to you and I, on a practical level? Well, if we read on …Peter encourages that the Lord is not slack, or slow, in fulfilling the promises made in the written word, which He inspired. He WILL keep His promises. Who would He “lie” to otherwise? Our God is no liar. He has nothing to prove to anyone, nor anyone to “fool”. Either He is not Lord “at all” …or He is Lord “of all”.

Peter encourages that the Lord will come again …like a thief in the night. In my fallible, frail human heart ….I want, quite often, to believe that everyone will be with the Father, in eternity, in His Kingdom. But my heart, which is “deceitful and sick”, according to Jeremiah 17:9, cannot even honestly reconcile this thought with that which God’s own word indicates. Scripture speaks of a hell, which separates us from God for eternity, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Peter describes that the heavenly bodies, and works done on the earth, will be “exposed”. Some manuscripts indicate the word, translated here as ‘exposed’, to be “burned up”!

Whatever it is that God will do with the world as we currently know it ….God’s promises, and His plans, will come to pass. We can bicker, fruitlessly, about how unfair we may think it is that a loving God would even allow His children to spend an eternity in hell. That even feels course rubbing across my emotion and intellect. But rather than trusting “my heart”, which has failed me beofre, I am placing my trust in the One who designed and fabricated my heart. His ways are not my ways. He is coming back ….in all His glorious splendor. But He is waiting, patiently, for you and I to “surrender” to His will.

A Psalm for the "Old & Gray"

Psalm 71:18....

"Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come. " (NKJV)

I was struck by a couple of words he (assuming David wrote this) said. "...do not forsake me until... "; as if God would ultimately "forsake" him! Now, I haven't performed a formal exegesis on this passage of Scripture, but I would argue that the psalmist meant ....don't take me out of this world until I've had a chance to leave a holy mark on it! Lord, make whatever days I have left COUNT!! That's Steve-egesis। In Psalm 71, David recognized his good education and instruction in the Lord, as a young man. While he was still in the world he craved the opportunity to "live for Christ"! I wonder if it is irony that, in my personal study bible, this is just across the page from Paul's passage, in Philippians, where he states ..."for to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain!" (Philippians 1:21)

Both the psalmist and the Apostle Paul recognized something as they got older. I think it is something you and I recognize, or at least are beginning to recognize, as we, too, get older. Our lives are less about "us" and should be more about the legacy we'll leave. Now, I don't believe that the focus of our living should be wrapped around "leaving a legacy", for the sake of legacy. That might border on idolatry, itself. Nonetheless, you and I will leave a legacy of some. At this point, I am less concerned about my post-mortem reputation as I am concerned about what mark we, as little Christ', leave in our circle of influence in the world! I'm no Billy Graham ....and unless the Lord truly performs a miracle, I probably never will be. I'm ok with that. There are, at the very least, 4 people whom I have immediate influence ...and maybe countless others that I may not even mean to.