Month: May 2021

“For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.” Ezra 7:10

Do you ever wonder what God wants of us? Out of all the things we do in any given day, what are the things we do that pleases God? We don’t have to look far for the answer. The Bible gives us all kinds of reasons for God to be willing to show us His pleasure. In the book of Ezra, immediately before the verse quoted above, it says that “the gracious hand of his God was on him.” God was pleased with Ezra. Why? Because he had devoted himself to three things: study, observance and teaching of God’s law.

Let’s take these one at a time. First is study. God loves it when we study His word. It’s important to read it and to hear it. But studying goes a bit deeper. In order to study something, we need to approach it with an inquisitive mind and heart. We need to dig deeper than the surface, asking God to show us the truths of His word. I don’t mean to suggest that there are hidden meanings in the Bible, like secret codes that only a few people can understand. What I mean is that we can gloss over anything we read and not really take in its full meaning. Or we can approach it with a desire to understand everything written in God’s Word and so that we can understand God better. Study of the Bible takes time, it requires paying attention to what we’re reading, it includes asking questions, and it is the means of spiritual growth.

Bible study is a great start, but God wants us to keep going. After reading God’s word, we need to do what it says. I looked up the meaning of the original Hebrew word that has been translated “observance.” Want to know what it means? To do. That’s it. There’s nothing fancy about this, no secret method to observing the Law of the Lord. Just do it. It’s so simple and so very hard! If we are to continue to grow closer to God, we need to ask Him where in our lives we aren’t observing His law. Where do we need to improve? Please understand that God isn’t looking for observance of the law as a means of gaining salvation. We can never obtain salvation through our own efforts. Rather, we obey God because we love Him. And the longer we walk with Him, the more we realize that not only do we obey out of love, but also out of trust. We know that He always has our best interest at heart, so His laws and commands are only for our good.

The third element is teaching. Don’t stop reading! I can hear you saying that you could never lead a Bible study or teach a Sunday School class. Or there’s the most common reason: you think you don’t know enough to teach anyone else. Have you ever heard the adage that truths are caught, not taught? Well, it’s true. Remember that time that the checkout line was moving very slowly and everyone else was getting agitated, but you didn’t? In that situation, you taught those around you about God’s peace. Then there was the time your neighbor started to gossip about another neighbor, and you redirected the comments to show God’s compassion toward the “offender.” Just think of the times someone at church made a comment about something they didn’t understand, and you were able to speak truth into the situation. Those were all teaching opportunities. And there have been so many more!

Notice that this all starts with the study of God’s word. We can’t obey what we don’t know. And we can’t teach what we don’t understand. That doesn’t mean that we have to know every single thing about the Bible. We don’t need a degree in Bible Knowledge, or have more verses memorized than anyone else. What we need in all of this is the Holy Spirit. It’s God’s Spirit who will direct our study and teach us what God wants us to learn. And the Spirit will give us the power and the will to obey. Even teaching can and should be done through the Spirit. He’ll give us the words to say at the right time. He’ll even call to mind passages of scripture we didn’t even realized were in our memory banks. Like Ezra, let’s commit to these three practices. And God will guide us and direct us every step of the way as we grow closer and closer in our relationship with Him.

“You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3

            This verse is the first of the Ten Commandments. It’s short, succinct and to the point. It’s followed by the command to not worship graven images, idols made out of wood or stone. As a result, it’s easy to confuse the two and think that the first command is talking about these same graven images. And it is, but it’s also talking about so much more. I don’t know about you, but I don’t remember ever bowing down to any kind of a statue or expecting an inanimate object to help me in any way. So it would be easy to assume that these two commandments aren’t really something I need to worry about it. The truth is that the first one is probably what I need to worry about the most. I don’t worship other “gods” like Allah or Buddha. But I unknowingly allow many gods into my heart.

            I’ve often thought that the “god” I worship most often is myself. I desire my own comfort and pleasure. Too often, I put my own desires before others, or even use them as an excuse for not obeying God. While this is still an issue for me, I’ve recently realized another god I worship. It’s the god of ideas or opinions. Or maybe another way to word it is the god of wanting to be right.  

Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t believe God asks us to check our brains at the door when we become Christians. He’s the One that created those brains and I believe He expects us to use them. We should make informed decisions and opinions. The question is whether we allow those opinions to become too important to us. Is it more important to me to be right, or to truly hear the other person’s opinions and their reasons for those opinions? Am I honoring God by caring for the individual who disagrees with me? Am I more intent on showing them God’s love or on proving that my opinion is right? In fact, am I willing to change my opinion if I see that I was wrong? Or do I stick to my opinion and refuse to confuse the matter with facts?

How can we know if our opinions have become idols in our hearts? I’m sure there are many ways God can use to show us if that has happened, but one way is to ask ourselves how we would respond if we were to find out that our opinion was wrong. Would it be fairly easy to admit? Or do we think we would be more likely to argue about it, or even ignore the evidence? To go a little deeper, we should ask ourselves if having a wrong opinion makes us a wrong person. If so, then it’s an idol. But if it just means we made a mistake in this one area and we’re willing to change and allow God to show us the truth, then we have the right God on the throne.

Notice that I’ve been talking about opinions. There are also those things that are clearly stated in scripture as being right or wrong. We should never allow ourselves to be swayed in those areas. But even then, is what God’s word says more important to me than God Himself? Those two are often so intertwined it’s difficult to separate them. Maybe a question to ask ourselves is if following the mandates in scripture is important to us because we want to be right, or because we love God and therefore want to please Him by following His commands? Or we might ask what our attitudes are towards those who do not follow scriptural mandates. Do we look down on them or do we desire to reach out to them with the love of God, serving them as Jesus would? God wants our undivided love and attention. Not because He needs it or is self-serving. But because He knows that’s what’s best for us. So let’s ask Him to show us Who or what is reigning on the thrones of our hearts. If it’s not Him, let’s ask for forgiveness, then ask for His help to dethrone the false god and give the throne back to the only true God.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Galatians 6:9

What makes you weary in doing good?  Do you sometimes wonder when it’s your turn?  When will someone do something good for you?  Or maybe you just want some time to do something for yourself and not worry about others.  Maybe you find yourself thinking that if others would do for themselves, the world would be a better place.  Or maybe it’s fear that keeps you from doing good.  You might be taken advantage of or worse yet, hurt.  It’s possible that we may think we’re not really making a difference.  We just don’t see any impact from the time we’ve invested.

There are a lot of reasons for not doing good. When we allow those reasons to become all-important, that’s when we become weary. It ‘s just so hard to make ourselves keep doing the good we know God wants us to do. But there’s another reason weariness can set in. Right before this passage, Paul says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.”  Too often we find ourselves doing good for others because we should, or because it makes us feel good.  Isn’t that pride?  Doesn’t that make our good deeds about us?  The more good stuff I do, the better person think I am. Not only is that improper motivation, it’s also skewed thinking. If we’re doing good so we can be good, it actually feeds our pride which can be a barrier between us and God. If we sow to please our sinful nature, from that nature we will reap destruction.  The only way to not become weary in doing good is to keep our attitude right.  If we’re doing good because we love God and we desire to obey Him, He will give us strength, endurance, and most of all, joy.  We may not see immediate results in the lives of others. In fact, we may never see the results of our good deeds and our obedience. At least, we may not see it if we’re looking at the things of this earth. But what we will experience is the joy that can only come from being obedient to God’s will.

“You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘He did not make me’? Can the pot say of the potter, ‘He knows nothing’?” Isaiah 29:16

            I’m often surprised when I realize how many of the warnings in scripture are intended for the followers of God, not those who have never known God or have turned from Him. Those exist, too but this verse in Isaiah was spoken to God’s people. It was meant for those who were (and are) following God but had turned worship of God into a set of rules to be followed. They still worshiped God with their lips, but their hearts weren’t in it. I don’t mean they had an off day. I mean that they were using God and worship of Him as a means to try to control Him. If they just put the right coins in the god-sized vending machine, they’d get the results they wanted. Or maybe they were hoping for a Santa. If they were good boys and girls and followed all the rules, they’d get whatever goodies they had on their wish list. Thankfully, our God doesn’t bow to our demands, even when we do follow all the rules. He is so much higher than us and understands so much better than us. There are those things we think we want but He knows what’s best.

            It’s so easy to forget that God is the Creator. He made us. He understands us better than we understand ourselves. He didn’t make just us. He made the entire universe. And He’s all knowing. He knows all that has happened and all that will happen. Because of that, He knows how the past has formed our emotions and thoughts. Sometimes those emotions and thoughts may be a little warped or misguided because of the wounds in our past. But God’s are not. He also knows what we’re going to need to face in our future. He knows how to prepare us for what lies ahead and how quickly we’ll need to learn those lessons.

            Even if we realize all of that about God, we still sometimes tell Him that that we know better than He. What’s that? You say you’ve never said that to Him? Maybe not in those words. But when’s the last time you knew what God wanted you to do and you didn’t do it? In fact, you may have done the exact opposite. Isn’t that the same as saying to His face that you know better than He? Or maybe you decided on a course of action without asking for God’s wisdom. Isn’t that basically telling Him that you don’t need Him to guide you?

            At least you’ve never told God that He didn’t make you, right? I’m sorry, but here again our actions and attitudes tell a different story. Any time we say it’s our life and we can do what we want, we’re saying that we don’t belong to a Creator. If we don’t care for ourselves, body, mind and spirit, we’re either telling God He didn’t create us or at the least, we don’t care enough about His creation to care for it. Let me give some examples. Have you ever overeaten? (Ouch!) Then you weren’t caring for your body. What kinds of things do you put in your mind? Are you careful about the shows you watch or the types of things you discuss with others? If not, you haven’t cared for your mind. What about your schedule? Are your days packed full of activities or are you giving your spirit a chance to rest? I think all of us are guilty at times of telling God He didn’t make us.

            Let’s make an effort to turn things right side up again. Let’s try to remember that we belong to a loving, caring, all-powerful Creator God who has only our best in mind. As we move throughout our day and week, let’s treat His creation as He would have us treat it. And let’s remember that whatever God is asking of us, it’s for our good and His glory.