The Joy of Obedience

     Growing up on a farm presented me with many opportunities for lots of outdoor activities.  Most of them were fun, harmless and good physical exercise (eg. riding my bicycle, playing in the sprinkler) but there were other activities that often led to disastrous results.  My mother warned me countless times not to run full speed without keeping track of where I was going.  Personally, I thought she was being a spoil sport, but one day, I fell against our stone steps outside which left a gash near my left eyebrow.  This called for a set of stitches which certainly "spoiled my sport"!!!!  However, I did not learn my lesson as I once again assaulted my left eye with another gash by running full speed to the stairway and tripped.  Once again, I was headed for stitches near my left eye.  By this time, most of you would think I had learned my lesson, but no,  ever the daredevil, I decided to jump on a roll away bed mattress.  The frame was metal and my mother called out to me that I should not be doing that because I could fall.  Unfortunately, no sooner had she said that, I took a tumble and hit the metal frame next to my left eye once more creating a gash.  This time, we had to fetch the doctor off of the golf course to come and put stitches in the area.  To this day, I have three scars near my left eye as a reminder that I didn't listen to my mother.  Oh the pain I could have avoided had I only regarded her instruction.  The same is true for Christians in our walk with the Lord. 

     Too often, people think that the commandments of the Lord and His instruction in the Bible are antiquated, out of touch with the way people really live today or are burdensome.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  God's Word is the very foundation of our faith and a manual for how we should live before Him.  Jesus said in Matthew 24:35 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away."  Luke 21:33 tells us the same thing.  What God has established as His moral standards in both the Old Testament and New Testament remain as the foundation for the Christian church and individual believers. Again Jesus stated clearly:  "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets;  I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.  Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:17-19).  Indeed, Jesus kept all the Law perfectly during His walk among us and then, offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to cover our sins.  Through Him, our sins are forgiven, we are set right with God, but we are called to, then,  live a holy life even as God is holy.  We do not have the option of doing away with "the Ten Commandments" or God's moral standards of conduct. These are given for our protection, our welfare and for God's glory in our dark culture.  When we choose to live in obedience to God, we have a joy that no one can steal from our hearts.

     King David in Psalm 19 declares the goodness of God's laws and standards.  Verses 7-11:  "The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;  the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.  More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.  Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward." Obviously, David saw the value of following in the Lord's path.  In obedience, he found joy, but likewise, when he sinned with Bathsheba, he tasted the painful consequences that followed.

     While some in our current culture want to play fast and loose with God's precepts and moral commands, we need to remember the admonition given by the Lord in the book of Revelations that we are not to add or take away from the Word (Rev. 22:18-19).  This caution goes along with several others that warn us not to add or take away from God's Word:  Deut. 4:2; 12:32;  and Prov. 30:5-6.  Our Lord loved us so much that He gave us a foundation for living in the Bible.  Then, to further demonstrate His love, He gave us His Son to seal a new covenant with us in His blood.  Therefore, we must respond by living to His glory.

     If I had listened to my mother's instructions, I would not have three scars around my left eye.  She did her best to warn me.  In the same way, we are given God's Word that we might experience joy in obedience and the privilege of glorifying Him in this world.  May we never take the Bible for granted or allow the culture, false teachers, or others to dilute the Word of truth that is given to bring us salvation and eternal life.  Search His Word, examine your life and live in obedience to God that you may have the abundant life He promised to all who believe.  Selah!

P.S.  A great book to study in regards to the Ten Commandments is Alistair Begg's "The Pathway to Freedom".  It is well worth your time to read this.  

How We Live Says a Lot About Who We Are

     In concluding a recent Bible study with a friend, a verse came to my attention that really stood out.  It comes from Hebrews 4:13:  "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."  What a wake-up call this verse should be for us!  If God sees all my actions, knows all my thoughts and desires, then, how I live my life is of the utmost importance.  This requires some self-evaluation on our part since we are often the only Bible some people will ever see or hear.

     One of the first areas that comes to mind is our speech.  Do we build up others and encourage or do we spend time gossiping and tearing down?  Jesus said:  "It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person" (Matthew 15:11).  This is where we have to do a "mouth check" on a daily basis.  Do we take the Lord's name in vain, do we curse or use vulgar language?  If we do, what does this say about our walk with Christ?  We have a new heart, a new worldview when we become a believer. The old has passed away....or rather, it is supposed to pass away.  This is a part of our sanctification process.  I know that in my own life I am challenged in this area when I am driving.  I talk a good deal about others who are going too slow, cutting me off or going faster than they should on the road.  However, God has called me out on this because I am not a perfect driver either.  James puts it bluntly in his epistle:  "...but no human being can tame the tongue, It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.  From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.  My brothers, these things ought not to be so" (James 5:8-10).  Since we cannot tame the tongue in our own strength, this is where we need the help of God's Holy Spirit.  Even when we stub our toe or hit our hand with a hammer, we need to watch what we say in response.  Not only are those around us listening, but more importantly, God hears us.  My daily prayer is:  "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight always, LORD, my rock and my redeemer" (Psalm 19:14).

     Another area that we need to examine is our thought life and our desires.  While we may not act out a murder or commit adultery overtly,  how we think about another person makes all the difference.   Do we wish someone would die so we can have our inheritance earlier?  Have we desired another man's wife or husband?  Even though, these are just thoughts and have not been acted upon, they are still sinful.  Jesus makes this clear in the Sermon on the Mount:  "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' (or Raca in Aramaic) will be liable to the hell of fire" (Matthew 5:22).  He goes on to talk about adultery as well:  "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.  But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:27-28).  This is one reason the Bible tells us to be renewed by the transforming of our minds.  When we become a Christian, we are a new creation.  As we read the Bible, pray and fellowship with other believers, our words, our thoughts and our actions should all be different than when we are walking in this world.  It certainly doesn't happen overnight.  However, if it doesn't happen at all, then, we need to take a step back and evaluate whether we are a Christian.

     Certainly, on this earth, we will never reach perfection and there will be missteps, but our lives should be producing fruit if we belong to Christ.  The distinction is clearly made in the letter to the Galatians 5:19-22:  "Now the works of the flesh are evident; sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these.  I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control; against such things there is no law."  Then Paul concludes this by saying in verse 25:  "If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit."  Indeed, this is what Christ has called us to do.

     People watch us every day and how we live before them speaks louder than words. Perhaps, this is a new thought for you as it has been for me.  I am reminded of the children's song "Be Careful Little Eyes What You See".  It goes on to mention ears, tongue, hands, feet, heart and mind.  Why should we be careful?  "For the Father up above is looking down in love...."  He is our audience of One who sees us and knows all our thoughts.  Let us live so we can be a light and salt to others here...not a hindrance.  This will glorify our Father in heaven.  Selah!

God's Timing is Perfect

      Two years ago, we planned to take a Caribbean cruise with our daughter and her family.  This would be the first big trip for three of our grandchildren out of the country and they were excited.  Unfortunately, the Pandemic hit and our plans were put on hold when the cruise ship industry closed down due to safety concerns.  No one knew what to expect, but happily, we received credit for another cruise in the future.  Finally, this past month, we got to enjoy a lovely week with our family.  The weather was beautiful and we were treated so kindly.  Truthfully, it was worth the wait.

     How often do we get busy making plans like this and then it falls through?  I would venture too say that this happens to most of us at least at some point in life.  The question always comes as to why things had to be put on hold.  Of course, in this situation, we were happy to wait since no one knew what to expect.  However, there are other occasions where we grumble and complain because it seemed that there was no good reason for our plans to be interrupted.  Yet, there may be more of a reason behind our interruptions in life than we know.  I am reminded of the story of Balaam and his donkey.

     In Numbers 22:21-39, the story is related in detail.  Balaam, a pagan prophet, was approached by King Balak to go and curse the nation of Israel for he feared them.  He offered his money if he would go and do this, but Balaam said that he could only say what God told him to say.  He initially declined the King's offer, but eventually, he was told he could go with them.  The lure of the money that was offered made him want to go along.  As he journeyed to meet the king, his donkey acted very strangely.  At first, the donkey took him into a field whereupon Balaam beat him back on the road.  Once again, as they were proceeding between two narrow walls, the donkey pushed Balaam's foot into a stone wall and refused to go on.  Again, Balaam beat the donkey wondering why he was so disobedient.  They went on a little further where there was a narrow place with no room to turn, and suddenly, the donkey lay down under Balaam.  This was too much for the man.  He beat his donkey with his staff.  Then, the donkey's mouth was opened by God and he said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?" (Numbers 22:28b).  Instead of shock and dismay at his talking donkey, Balaam told him that if he had a sword, he would have killed him.  The donkey reminded this man of how faithful he had been, and after that response, God opened Balaam's eyes to see the angel standing in his way.  It was then that the angel told him that he came to oppose him because of his reckless path.  He further told him that if the donkey hadn't stopped those three times, the angel would certainly have killed Balaam.  What a wake up call!  Balaam admitted his sin in going and in beating his animal who had saved his life.  The angel told him he could continue his journey but could only say what God told him to say about the Children of Israel.

     When we look at this story, we see a man who was unaware of God's angel who went before him.  He had no idea why his donkey behaved as it did, and in utter irritation, beat the poor animal until God opened his eyes.  While this story is not a perfect parallel with our interrupted plans, it serves to remind us that there are often unseen things behind why our plans are stopped in mid course.  We don't have a full picture as God does of what lies ahead.  I have often thought to myself, "How many traffic accidents has God kept me from by delaying my travel?  Or what if I had gone ahead with a certain purchase which might have been a big mistake?"  This side of heaven, we may not know why things turn out as they do, but we can rest assured that God is sovereign and has our best interests at heart.  Personally, I have come to a place now where I try to step back and acknowledge that there must be a reason for things to go as they have, and I can have peace knowing that God is in control.

     All of us can rest in His timing because Jesus came into the world at just the right moment to bring salvation to those who are called by His name.  We also know on the basis of His Word that He will come again for His own as He promised.  Looking at our world situation and the difficulties everyone has faced during the Pandemic it is easy to be discouraged, but this is the time we need to encourage one another and all the more as we see the day drawing near for Him to come again (Hebrews 10:25).

     God's timing for our cruise was not our timing, but we were very blessed when we had the opportunity to go.  We must all remember "A man's heart plans his course but the Lord directs his steps" (Proverbs 16:9).  Balaam had to learn this from his donkey, but we have God's Word to help us to wait on His timing.  Therefore let us rejoice in waiting upon the Lord!  Selah!