Month: January 2020

“Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.” 1 Samuel 2:30

            I have always loved this verse. Well, at least the first half of it. But it’s really two sides of the same coin. Let’s take a look first at the “good” side, the side that makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside. The side that talks about me getting honored. If we’re honest with ourselves, isn’t that what we really desire? You may be the type of person who doesn’t like to have attention on you, but you still like to be honored. It’s human nature. So we like the part of the verse that says we will be honored. And not just by humans, but by God Himself! But what’s the first part? We need to honor God first. And wanting honor for ourselves is not honoring to God. Seems like a real catch-22, doesn’t it? We can’t honor God if we want the honor, and if we don’t want the honor, that’s when God honors us. Really, though, God is just getting our minds in the right place. If our desire is only to please God, if we see Him for Who He really is and recognize that He’s the only one worthy of honor, then it no longer matters if we receive honor or not. It’s no longer about us.

            The second half of this sentence is not as pleasing to read. If we despise God we will be disdained. Notice it doesn’t say that God will disdain us, only that we will be disdained. That word “disdained” means that we will recede and grow smaller until we are a trivial, insignificant being. I want to be clear: we will never be trivial in God’s eyes. He sent His very Son to die for us. Why would He do that if we were insignificant in His eyes? I think this means that if we disdain God, the person He made us to be will grow smaller and smaller until we don’t even know the person He created. The part of us that is sin-sick and evil will grow bigger and bigger and take over more and more of our hearts.

            How do we honor God and what does it mean to despise Him? This section of scripture is God talking to the priest Eli. He was an okay guy but his sons, who were also priests, were pretty rotten characters. They took the food that was sacrificed to God and used it to have feasts for themselves. Eli’s sin was that he didn’t stop them. So honoring God is to obey His commands, to sacrifice for Him, and to love Him above all else. To despise God is to make light of His commands and to take what is intended for God and use it for our own benefit. In other words, if you have something, does it belong to you or to God? I’m not talking about just material goods. I also mean that if you have a personality characteristic, or a talent, or an experience that can be used to God’s glory, and you choose to keep it to yourself or use it only for your own pleasure, that’s despising God. God even tells Eli that he honored his sons more than he honored God. Ouch! Let’s ask God to show us how He wants each of us to honor Him. Ask Him to show us the parts of our lives we’re selfishly keeping to ourselves. Let’s honor God with everything we have and everything we are!

“He replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.’” Luke 11:28

            I had an interesting experience this Sunday at church. Just before the sermon, they repeated a plea for funds to update the sound system. I believe the words were that “it’s being held together with duct tape and gum.” Of course, I chuckled along with the rest until the sermon began. We all stopped chuckling, because the sounds system stopped working. It was completely dead. We could see lips moving but hear no sound. The speaker, apparently unaware of the problem, continued talking. Those who were close appeared to be appreciating what was said. They smiled at the appropriate places, a nod here or there, others taking notes on what was said. But the rest of us were left wondering what we were missing.

            Do you ever feel that way about God? You know He’s speaking. You see others responding to what He’s saying. Maybe they’re even telling you about what they heard from God. They smile and nod in response to Him and seem to never miss anything He says. But you don’t hear a word. You strain to hear from Him, you ask Him over and over for a word, for direction and guidance, for consolation, even for a miracle. But all you seem to receive in return is silence. May I suggest that the problem isn’t your hearing, or God’s “sound system.” The truth is that we all hear from God. We have His word in the Bible and that’s always where we need to begin. I’m not suggesting the Bible has a verse that will tell you which house to buy, or which is the best investment. But is God telling you something else that you’re choosing to ignore? A woman once asked how she could hear from God. I knew she meant that she wanted Him to tell her what job to take. I also knew she was aware of an area in her life where she was choosing to live in sin. So I just pointed to the Bible. She didn’t like the answer, but the truth is that God will tell us the next step when we choose to obey the step He’s already given.

            Maybe the problem isn’t our disobedience. Many times, God seems to not be answering because it’s not the right time. The answer is coming. We just need to wait. Other times He’s giving the answer, except it’s just a partial answer. We want to see the whole plan mapped out for us when God is only telling us the next step. It may seem like a very tiny step, but when we take that step, He’ll tell us the next one. It may be baby steps but hang on! Before you know it, He’ll have you running! If it seems like God’s sound system needs replacing because you seemingly can’t hear Him, ask yourself if you’re asking the right question. Are you really not hearing from God, or are you just not hearing what you want to hear in the way you want to hear it?

“But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.” Romans 8:10

            When I got up yesterday and looked out the window, I saw a beautiful sight. The world had been covered in white! It looked so clean! Everything dirty and blah had been transformed into a glittering fairyland of pure-looking snow. I am often amazed at God’s creativity as show in His creation and this is just one example. Who else but God would think to cover everything in a pristine covering? When I see the snow-covered world, I often think of being clothed in righteousness. Just as the snow covers all the dirt, Christ’s righteousness covers the dirt of our sin. He’s willing to share His spotless garments to cover our unrighteousness, even though our sin was against Him. That’s love!

            What I realized this morning is that, like most analogies when applied to God, this one isn’t quite right. If I were to go outside and brush away the snow, I would see the same dirty world that was there yesterday. Nothing has really changed. It’s just been covered up and when the snow melts, it will be the same as it was before. This verse in Romans is telling us that that’s not how God operates. He changes what’s on the inside. He gives us life, true life, that is on the unseen with human eyes. Outwardly, our physical bodies are dead. Well, maybe they’re not dead yet but they’re in the process. Every year we are closer to the end of life on this earth. Every day our physical bodies age a little bit more. I’ve even heard it said that each breath we take is one less breath we have in this life. Unlike the snow that gives a new, fresh look to the world, our physical coverings of flesh and bone just get older and more decrepit.

            I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer here because there’s a very exciting truth. Our bodies may be dying, but our spirit, our inner self, is very much alive if we have Christ in us. When our physical coverings finally die, when the heart stops beating and the brain waves cease, that’s when the part of us that is the real us will be released to be who God made us to be. We will no longer be held back by sin. We won’t have to contend with the temptation of sin, nor the consequences of past sins. We’ll be free! And we’ll be beautiful because we’ll truly be God’s creation, not the distorted version we see now. As hard as this is to comprehend, we’ll be as white as new snow. But not just snow on top of the dirt. We’ll be clean through and through. Praise God that He is daily preparing us for the time when we will live with Him and be made pure and spotless!

              I was reading this verse recently when I realized that Paul is telling us to do one thing, but he’s assuming that we’re already doing four other things. What are the four things we’re supposedly already doing? The first is that we’re to teach one another. There are some people who love to teach, others that would rather do most anything else. The thing is, if you’re around people, you’re teaching. Maybe you don’t stand in front of a classroom, but our every conversation instructs the other person in some way. The second thing, admonish, may not happen quite so naturally. Especially in our culture where we’re taught to believe that admonishing someone is being judgmental. There actually is a big difference, though. Judging someone means that we’re assuming we know the motive of their heart. Admonishing could also mean warning. If you’re riding with someone and see a car pull out in front of you, you may warn the driver of the impending danger. In the same way, if we see someone headed toward a spiritual collision, the loving thing would be to warn them.

              Paul is also assuming we’re singing “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.” I’m guessing he means more often than just Sunday morning. During the week, do you lift your voice in praise to God? Do you sing your praise? God doesn’t care if it’s a joyful noise. It’s not noisy to Him! It’s beautiful music in His ears. Especially when coupled with the fourth thing: gratitude. When’s the last time you thanked God for something? Are you in a place in your life where you think you don’t have anything to be thankful for? Wait! Did I just hear you take a breath? Thank God for that breath! Are you reading this? Thank God for eyesight. Are you trying to decide if you agree with me? Thank God for a brain. The list of blessings is seemingly endless!

              As we do those four things, Paul tells us to make sure the word of Christ is living within us. That is so important! I want to be taught and admonished by those who are doing so from the basis of God’s word. I never want to rely on my own “wisdom,” but only on the true wisdom that comes from God. I want the songs I sing to be in line with God’s word. Even better, I’d like for it to be God’s word put to music, which will cement it more in my memory and heart. And knowing God’s word opens my eyes even further to the blessings of God. But I don’t want to just know God’s word. I want it to dwell in me, to make its home in my heart. I want it to grow in me, to become more and more a part of my very being. I want it to be so rich in my life that it’s always in the forefront of my mind and I’m daily learning more about God through His word. I thank and praise God that we have His word available to us. What a gracious God we serve!