Does the Lord speak to us through His Word?

What we have been doing the last couple months on this blog is looking at the book of Philippians and seeing how it relates to marriage. Though the book of Philippians was not written as a manual on marriage it certainly has much to say that we can relate to the marriage relationship.

What I want to encourage you with today is to really use your Bibles.

We believe that the Bible is God's Word and we know that it is intended to be applied to our lives. What we may not be taking advantage of is the very practical and daily benefits it has for us as we mix it with prayer and a listening ear as we allow the Holy Spirit to lift the words off the page and settle them into our hearts.

I have found the Word to be most useful as the Lord has uses it to speak into my life to answer the most specific questions imaginable.

Let me tell you how it works for me.

I come to the Word with a specific question in mind, perhaps an area of my life that is a current concern, perhaps it is a desire to know the Lords will on a specific decision. I sit down with my Bible in hand and a prayer in my heart asking that the Lord will speak to me regarding whatever issue I have brought to Him.

Let me give you an example. Say I have a ministry opportunity with a person and I am not certain how to handle it; what to say, when to bring it up, do I even bring it up... I come with those questions and begin reading. It doesnt seem to really matter where I read, but if the Lord directs me to a certain passage, of course, I go there. And I read. And I listen. And I read some more. And I pray. It may not come that first time, but invariably it does come over time. The Lord will speak to me through His word.

Very directly, very practically, very powerfully!

Do you have an issue with your children? Have you read ... oh, lets say, Galatians with parenting in mind? How about a question about your business? Proverbs would be a natural place to look but how about reading Hosea and see what it will tell you about that decision in the workplace.

This is what we have been doing with Philippians. We are reading this letter to see what it tells us about marriage. I came to the book with marriages in mind and I am taking what Paul says and applying it to the marriage relationship.

This is not the only way to read or study your Bible, but it is an effective way to put yourself in a position to allow the Lord to speak to you through His Word.

As you can see we are about 10 verses in and there has been something to note in almost every verse.

The Bible is such an untapped, or at the very least, yet to be fully explored, resource for the life of the believer.

We will continue to track through Philippians together here, I am anxious to see just how much I can learn about being a Godly husband through this short letter. And there are 65 other books just waiting to be explored!

Article 8 V 1.10 Approve what is Excellent

How easy it is to see the flaws.

You have them, I have them, we all do. Spending our lives in close contact with someone as we do in our marriage relationships gives us intimate knowledge of each others failings and shortcomings. And oh boy, can we make a list.

Ok, so there we have it ... no one is perfect! Big revelation there.

Paul is simply encouraging us to focus on the other parts. To look for and identify the things your partner does well, to notice the things that are commendable, the things that are excellent.

Remember what mom used to say, at least my mom did, "If you cant say anything good, don't say anything at all."

Paul is taking it a step further. As true as it is that all of us have faults, we also have good traits, all of us do some things well. We ought to be looking for them and when they are identified, actually speak those words of affirmation and appreciation to our spouse.

"Man, I am going to have to really look hard."

Ha! Well that may be so, but it will be an investigation that will yield great fruit.

Our relationships can at times corkscrew into bickering and fault-finding and criticism. We can change that immediately with a change of mind about the words that we speak. We simply choose to approve what is excellent rather than amplify what is imperfect.

I challenge you to speak a word of affirmation to your spouse today. Tell them something what you see in them that is excellent. It will bring immediate results, of that I am sure.

Article 7 V 1.8

For God is my witness, how I yearn for you with all the affection of Christ Jesus.

I have had occasion recently to speak into the lives of a couple and remind them how much they love each other. Both readily admitted it, yet somehow, their love for each other had been buried. The thing is, their love was real and real apparent. It had just grown cold or gotten lost in the stuff of daily life.

I encouraged them to do what Jesus told the church at Ephesus to do after proclaiming that they had "abandoned the love they had at the first." The Lord tells them to "remember," repent (a change of mind that brings about a change of action) and repeat, "do" the first works again.

What were you doing at first when your love was inflamed and passionate. Do that!

But that would be just going through the motions one might say. The motion will bring the emotion. Jesus put it this way in Matthew 6.21 "Where your treasure is, there your WILL BE also."

Jesus is saying invest, make regular deposits, place great value in your relationship and in the intimacy of marriage and your heart will follow.

Has the fire dimmed? It need not be so. Go back, remember how you won your husband, what you did to "catch" your wife... have some fun with it as you rediscover your passionate love for each other.

Article 6 V 1.7 Partakers of Grace

... for you are all partakers of grace with me.

This reminds me of what Peter says in I Peter 3.7:

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way,
showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel,
since they are heirs with you of the grace of life,
so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Men, listen, that woman sitting next to you, that treasure the Lord has blessed you with and entrusted to you, is a fellow heir with God's Son.

She is royalty!
A joint heir with Christ!

As such she is to be honored and esteemed and treated with the utmost dignity and respect. Peter says we need to understand this and live with her as though we understand this. She is a child of the King.

And if, for whatever reason, we begin to loose sight of this, keep in mind that Peter attaches to his exhortation a self-serving motivation. Do you want your prayers answered? Then don't allow the way you treat your wife to hinder the Lord from giving you those answers.

You have been blessed brother. You have been given the privilege of spending your life with royalty!

Article 5 V 1.7 Giving Up the Right to be Right

It is right for me to feel this way about you

Or, as we might say it, "I have the right to feel this way about you."

We find ourselves on the receiving end of our spouses fleshiness or rebellion or hard day at work, and we get hurt, something is said or done and we are wronged, truly wronged. Sometimes it a more prolonged "wronged," an issue that has been an ongoing grief in the marriage.

How will we respond?

I know one thing that we can often do; we can begin to feel as though I have a right to feel like I do in light of how he/she is treating me. "I mean anyone in their right mind would feel the same way." I can hold on to that emptional turf. Hold on to my defensive position. Hold on to my being "right."

Problem is, our "right mind" is not what we are called to rely upon. You have the mind of Christ (I Cor 2.16) and it is with this Christ-like mind that we are to respond to one another. Later in this letter to Philippi Paul will say, "Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus."

That means that at times I need to just let go of, give up the right to be right and begin to think in a way that represents Jesus. Forgiveness. Compassion. Patience. Love. Grace.

"But I"
"How about"
"Why doesn't"
"Why am I the one who has to be right when I was the one wronged?"

In order for reconciliation to happen, someone has to die.

"Well then he should"
"Then it is on her, she after all, is wrong"

No, its on me.
It is what I am called to do.
It is in obedience to the Lord that I lay down my rights and "be reconciled one to another."

Lord, give us the strength to lay our right down and do the right thing.

Article 4 V 1.6 Not Done Yet

And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

What a wonderful promise, God always finishes what He starts.

How does this apply to a marriage? We are not done yet! Paul says that our "completion" will be realized on, "The day of Jesus Christ." This means that I am not a finished product, nor is my wife. We are a work in progress.

We need to realize that the Lord is not done with us yet. All of us have room to grow, we are becoming more and more like Jesus as we continue to walk with Him. But in no way are we a finished product.

In marriage, we go a long way if we can simply give each other a break once in a while. Show some grace and forgiveness and patience towards each other. Allow the Lord to continue to do His thing in our spouse. Avoid making judgments; avoid being judgmental toward each other realizing that I am not a finished work either.

Article 3 V 1.5 A Life Partner

Because of your partnership in the gospel.

A "helpmate". That is how God described the woman that He would create for Adam. A helper, a traveling companion, a co-laborer.

To be honest, this is one of the areas I am not too good at yet, but my wife is helping me to see and understand how much of a help she is and how much she desires to be a part of what I am doing. I do believe as we see marriage work as it is designed, there is a partnership.

It only makes sense really. I have so many flaws and weaknesses - too many to count. now, my wife is pretty spectacular in every sense but, never the less, she does have a few (very few, honey) of her own.

Even between the two of us we lack much but what is certainly true is that our best shot at making good decisions, doing our best work at parenting, giving our best effort in service will be accomplished as we partner in the work.

I can not tell you how many times her strengths have bailed me out when I was blind to circumstances, when I needed her gifts in a particular situation, when a decision had to be made and her wisdom has affected how we proceeded.

It is just essential really. But, as I mentioned, I am not accomplished at this at all.

I hope to continue to improve.

As it turns out we are three verses into Philippians and we have already had three things to talk about. At this rate we could end up with a hundred of these little marriage tidbits before we are done. I suppose it is likely that there will be more than a couple that I still need work on, maybe you too.

That does not change the truth. Two heads really are better than one as it turns out.

Article 2 v 1.4 Praying for One Another

Always in every prayer of mine for you... making my prayer with joy.

Seems simple enough doesn't it... pray for your spouse.

I know that it can be overlooked. I know it can be ignored. I know that often we find ourselves praying for anything and anyone else and neglect the one we are closest to and are spending our lives with.

This is actually a little self-serving if you think about it. As a matter of fact, everything related to the marriage relationship is self serving because the two are "one." This means that if my partner is growing, I am the beneficiary and vice-versa. As the Lord works in your life or in your spouses life both of you are the recipients of the God-likeness that takes place.

So pray.

When is the last time you simply prayed that the Lord would just bless your husband/wife in some significant way? Just bless their day, the work of their hands, the things they are concerned about?

Here is another dynamic that takes place to be sure; it is very difficult to pray for your spouse to be blessed while at the same time being mad or frustrated or whatever at them. What we realize is that though it is true that "prayer changess things," it is also true that prayer changes ME. If I will pray for my wife to be blessed, truly blessed; I mean over the top, "windows of heaven" blessed, I am going to find myself letting go of that last argument, that last disagreement, that last thing that did not go as I planned. It just goes away.

Try it! you will find that as you pray for blessing, you will be the one blessed.

Article 1: v 1.3 Being Thankful

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you"

Have you thanked your wife today? How about your husband? It is very easy to take each other for granted. We settle into the routine of life and stop noticing the little things, sometimes even the big things that are done for us.

I am talking about the regular stuff of life. Thanking your wife for keeping the house so nice, for caring whether the kids socks match, for putting on makeup - wait, that might not be taken in the right way - well you get the idea. Ladies, have you thanked you hubby for working so hard for the family, for making sure your car runs, for leading your family?

It is amazing how much a simple word of thanks can elevate the spirit and let the other person know that you notice, that the effort is appreciated, that the little things still matter to you.

You know, come to think of it, there is a significant element of romance in the simplicity of a sincere "thank you."

Having a thankful heart is transforming. It is impossible to both curse and give thanks. James said, "Does a spring pour from the same opening both fresh and salt water?" Have I thanked the Lord for my wife, for your husband today.

So, today's assignment? Say, "Thank you."

A Marriage Manual

Marriage. An institution designed by God in the garden; protected by God in the law; validated by its occasion being the location of Jesus' first miracle and shrouded in mystery and beauty as the relationship of intimacy that we will soon share with our bridegroom.

The subject of marriage has great interest to the vast majority of us because the vast majority of us are... married! Or will be.

With that in mind at first glance it is a bit startling that the Bible spends so little time on the subject. We have a few key passages like Ephesians 5, I Peter 3, and Genesis 3; there are several pictures given throughout scriptures and a number of references in Proverbs and a few other places. However, unlike the plethora of marriage books found on the shelves at your local Christian bookstore, there is no single place where we can turn to scripture and read chapter after chapter on this or that aspect of marriage.

After spending some time wondering about this phenomenon I have concluded that it comes down to our God being not only effective but efficient. The Bible, after all, is the a story of the redemptive work of God ultimately revealed through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. The Bible is not a self-help manual, nor is it a parenting manual, nor, as it turns out, a marriage manual.

When the Bible instructs us concerning how we should relate to our fellow man (or woman) it speaks in general terms about loving each other, submitting to one another, being patient, kind or being a helper of one another's joy. All of which applies to anyone and everyone in our lives including our children, those we work with, live next to, or are married to.

Without question, if we were to apply all that God said about how we should bear with one another, forgive one another, look to serve one another; the lions share of marital problems would be dealt with. The problem is that, for some warped reason, we can treat those we are supposed to be closest to in the most horrible way. It is as though we think the instructions of God regarding how we ought to act with others applies to everyone except those we live with.

So where is the efficiency seen? With so much of the interpersonal instruction already covered it seems the Spirit simply and solely added those instructions concerning marriage, for instance, that were particular to marriage. In other words, "Do all that I told you about how to treat all other people... and here are some special instructions on aspects of this particular kind of relationship that are unique to marriage" (hierarchy in the home, the marriage bed, divorce, etc.)

I say all that to say this.

Over the years I have instructed many couples to read through the book of Philippians together and then talk about what they saw that could apply to their marriage. I could send them to any number of books really, there is instruction everywhere you look. Philippians though, is written with a tenderness that is apparent. It is also a book of joy and rejoicing so it has a very positive tenor to it. For me, it works particularly well for this purpose.

What I intend to do here on the Pilgrim's Journal is walk though the letter and do just as I described above. I am not looking to break down the Greek and extract the deepest contextual understanding, that will be for another time. This is much more devotional, much more applicable, maybe even a little "word association-al."

If you choose to continue to track with me on this journey through Paul's letter to Philippi, you will soon get the idea of what I am talking about.

In the mean time it is important to remember that God did not give us a manual, He gave us His Son, Emmanuel - God with us. The new covenant is based not upon rules to follow but a Spirit that leads, Who speaks, Who writes His will on our hearts. It is CHRIST IN US... He is THE HOPE OF GLORY. He is the only hope we have to live gloriously, to live in a way that glorifies Him. God with us. Emmanuel.

Stay tuned.

Peace.

Lets try it again.

I am not sure anyone reads these any more, I have not posted anything for quite some time. The blog format does work well as a repository for my latest “stream of consciousness” so I am venturing back in. If you happen to get anything out of what I write, praise the Lord!

Faith: the spiritual energy drink

From my good friend Chris Stadler

In the military, men have always understood the value of morale. To boost morale, a general will let his men know that there is a plan and it's a good one. He will instill the confidence that they can prevail. He will get them focused on the prize: victory.

When morale is high, a general almost can't contain his soldiers. They want to go out and do battle now – not tomorrow.

So if you have an enemy, what would he try to do to you to get you to fear the battle? Simple. He will try to get you to take your eyes off of the prize and place them on the cost of failure. And when you mention God's promises, he'll say “Did God really say that?”

Because in a Christian walk, there is a cost of failure. The enemy knows that. He also knows that, if we're not full of the Word of God, he can convince us that we may have misunderstood God.

But what choice do we have? We can live for our big-screen TVs and a relaxed family life – until the economy takes a nose dive. Or we can live to fight the battle. But if we're going to fight the battle, we have to do it with our eyes both on the prize and on God's promises and the might that He has to fulfill them. And God doesn't fail.

Strength, energy and self-control come from confidence in our Commander and His calling on our lives. Find energy in His Word, because that's where our confidence comes from.

--

Pray Like it Matters

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working James 5.16b

It is a mystery to me why God invented prayer.

Certainly He knows what we need: 

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matt 6.8

Certainly He has the power to meet any need: 

With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God Mark 10.27 

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? 40.12-15

Certainly He knows what He is going to do and when:

But He is unchangeable, and who can turn Him back? What he desires, that He does. For He will complete what He appoints for me, and many such things are in His mind. Job 23.13-14

Yet the Lord has asked us to pray as though, somehow, prayer makes a difference.

What if failing, frail and feeble people can change the course of things through prayer. 

• What if Joshua had not prayed for the sun to stand sill
  
• What if Elijah had not prayed for rain, or for fire to fall upon the altar
  
• What if Moses had not prayed for water, or Hannah for a son
  
• What if Jonah had not prayed from the belly of the whale
  
• Or Paul and Silas from the darkness of Jail

Would Gods' hand have moved? Would the stories end as they did? Or, did their prayers actually make a difference?

I see in the Word of God an ongoing encouragement to seek the face of God in prayer knowing that God has designed it so that PRAYER MATTERS!

Was She Right? Part 3

(Please read the previous two posts for the full conversation)

So was Naomi right to "blame" God for her circumstances? 

I dont know if blame is an appropriate term, but to say that it was within God's providence that these things happened is certainly true. Whether one says, "God did it" or, "God allowed it" the truth is that either way the circumstances of our lives are in His control.

The more important issue for each of us when we find ourselves in a season of "Dark Providence" is to realize that God's purposes are ultimately being worked out... even though I may not in the short term, or even in the long run know what those purposes might be.

Here is what is clear from Naomi's Story. Lets first remind ourselves of the difficult season Naomi had experienced.

In chapter one we read that she and her family had left the promised land because of famine, so they were strangers in a strange land, then her husband died, then both of her sons died, leaving her with no heir.

Now look at the end of the story:

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!  He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. 

Instead of famine, "a nourisher"

Instead of a strange land she was now among her own people

Instead of mourning "a restorer of life"

She had lost sons now a daughter worth "seven sons"

She had no heir, now a grandson... an heir indeed

And no run of the mill heir at that; rather, none other than David would come from her new family and ultimately the greater than David, the Son of David, Jesus Christ.

Had the Lord brought calamity upon Naomi, well, yes He had. For a season she languished under the "dark Sovereignty of God as God worked behind the scene to get a Moabite woman into a particular field to meet a particular man at a particular time; in order that the ultimate plan of God could move ahead.

Naomi had an important role in the fulfillment of God Eternal plan of redemption for mankind. I do not think that she is in heaven now still upset at God for what He saw fit to put her through.

Lord give us eyes to see and appreciate the bigger picture and your sovereign work in our lives.

Was She Right? Part 2

(read part one for the full conversation)

Lets take our discussion one step further.

One of the responses I received went in part as follows, "Calamity in the old testament was brought on by God for the sins of His people..." 

So what was Naomi's sin? If in fact the tragedy that she experienced was judgement for her sin, what was it God was judging her for? 

It is a fact that at times the Lord did judge His people; sometimes He did it directly, often times He used the nations surrounding Israel as the rod of correction. The question is... is every dark circumstance the result of sin? 

If we are not careful, we can find ourselves in the same place as Job's accusers when they said to him on numerous occasions, 

"If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation. And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great." Job.8.5-7

The problem was Job had not sinned. 

Jesus had something to say on this subject and the light He shine on the subject gives us insight in how to look at Naomi's situation.

Listen to Jesus from John 9.1-3 

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him."

So there may be more to consider here than simply the judgement of God on poor Naomi. 

We'll talk more.

Was She Right?

Here is something to think about...

Listen to Naomi's complaint and lament in Ruth 1.20-21:

She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” 

To say that she had hit a rough patch would be an understatement. Earlier in chapter 1 we read that she and her family had left the promised land because of famine, so they were strangers in a strange land, then her husband died, then both of her sons died, leaving her with no heir.

Now, I don't know what trials you are facing right now, I am guessing you are facing some... most of us are. The proximity and the severity of this season for Naomi is pretty spectacular by any estimation. She says dont call me Naomi (pleasant), call me Mara (bitter).

The magnitude of it all had swamped Naomi's boat, she had exhausted all her hope and strength and was at her wits end.

Here is the question I have for you; was Naomi right? Was she right to say, " the Almighty has brought calamity upon me."

Does the Lord Almighty bring calamity, would our God do such a thing? What counsel would you give Naomi? Would you say, "Buck up sister", or, "Don't speak of God like that", or, "Your faith needs to be shored up"? What comfort, what word of encouragement would you offer Naomi in her time of need, what counsel?

I am going to let you think about that one for a few days and we'll talk more.

Feel free to leave comments if you like.

Who Am I?

When David said these words in I Chronicles 17.16, he was not seeking the meaning of his existence, he was overwhelmed by God graciousness and mercy. The verse reads:

Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me thus far?

Here is a little back story - 

David finished building a palace for himself then realized that the Ark (God) still dwelt in a tent so David had it in his heart to build the Lord a "House". It was a good thing but it was not a God thing. God had another plan.

What David wanted to do was good, what God was going to do was better. 

God says to David through the prophet Nathan you shall not build a house for Me but,

Moreover, I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you.

David can hardly wrap his mind around what the Lord is saying to him and exclaims,

Who am I , O Lord God and what is my house that You have brought me thus far?

Isn't that how we should respond each and every day in light of what the Lord has done "thus far", and what He has promised to do for us in the future? David will say later on,

What more can David say to you for honoring you servant? For you know you servant.

David is amazed at the grace of God, amazed at His mercy, amazed at His goodness. Even more so in light of the person David know himself to be.

Then David says one more thing that I have always found very interesting. Listen to Vs. 23

And now, O Lord, let the word that You have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established forever and do as you have spoken.

Knock yourself out Lord, You want to bless me, bless away, don't hold anything back. And, Lord, the thing you promised to do, do that for me. David was claiming the promise and holding God to His word. 

Have you ever dared to pray like that? It is pretty radical, but David, a "man after God's own heart" prayed that way. "Lord you promised to do this thing for me, I am asking You to fulfill Your promise." That kind of prayer does not offend the Lord, is not disrespectful to the Lord, it is called appropriation, claiming what God said is ours. 

That is all David was doing.

Who am I? I am a sinner saved by grace, a recipient of mercy, a child of the King! I am also on the receiving end of the multitude of promises God has made to his people, they are there for me to claim daily as I walk in awe of God unimaginable goodness towards me "thus far".

"Charge it to my Account"

We have been talking about reconciliation a bit over the last month or so. It is so important to keep the peace between brothers and sisters in Christ, between family members, between friends and neighbors. 

What I have become much more aware of over recent weeks is the immense value you are to me. How long it takes to develop relationships and yet how fragile they can be at times. The value and the fragility makes them all the more important to preserve. It is just not OK to loose friends or be at odds with each other, it is just too costly.

The Lord has asked us to be reconciled and has given us both the "word" and the "ministry" of reconciliation. 

The problem is that we don't relish the idea of humbling ourselves in order to begin the sometimes difficult process. There is  a real sense of being wronged as well as a very real feeling that the other person does not deserve the effort it will take, we often feel, perhaps especially, that we are "owed". Fairness and equity scream for satisfaction and all of this has a bearing on the emotion we feel when facing the task.

The little postcard of a letter called Philemon gives us the wonderful principal that lies at the heart of reconciliation.

Philemon was a dear and close friend of Paul. Philemon had a slave by the name of Onesimus who had stolen from his master and run away. As ONI made a run for it he ended up, of all places, in prison with none other than the great apostle Paul himself.

You'll have to read the whole letter to get the full impact of the friend-to-friend tone of the letter, Paul pours it on pretty thick, it is pretty funny! Paul writes the letter to urge his friend to take his slave (and now brother in Christ) back with open arms. Then Paul says to Philemon, "If he has wronged you at all or owes you anything, charge it to my account". 

Philemon owed Paul much! Paul said whatever debt ONI owes you... charge it to me. 

Doctrinally this is called imputation. it is a banking term that means charged to the account of. As it relates to our faith it means that Jesus, through the work of the cross, cancelled our debt and charged to our account His righteousness - it's huge.  

Practically, as it relates to reconciliation it means this... and this is key. It means that when I reconcile (also a banking term by the way) I don't have to worry about the "owing" or "fairness". Jesus is the one asking for the reconciliation and he says, let me worry about the debt owed, I'll take care of that. 

We do not reconcile for our sake primarily, nor for the sake of the relationship, nor for the sake of the other party. We reconcile for Jesus' sake and any outstanding debts that might remain, He has got that covered.

This means that I can be reconciled in a hurry as there is no settling up that need to take place. It was all handled at the cross.

Glad to be Back

Forty days... interesting.

For those of you who have been checking in here for a while it was a little more than a year ago that I planned a 40 day sabbatical. The leadership were in agreement and things were covered as I set out on what I hoped would be a refreshing and revitalizing time of reflection and rest.

In fact I began this blog as a way of keeping folks updated on the things I was experiencing during that time. You can read those early submissions in the archives if interested.

This one wasn't planned, least-wise not by me, but as it turned out I spent another 40 days "resting" this year. By the way, though I might suggest picking a different location for the purpose, taking time away to rest and be refreshed in the Lord is always an excellent idea.

As I reflect on the two "sabbaticals" I must confess that I have benefitted more from this one than from the one I planned. The Fellowship has benefitted more already from this years version than it did from the previous one as well.

I dont think I have ever had a greater love for the Lord - He is everything to me. It has been said that, "you wont fully know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have". I would not say that I ever felt like Jesus was all I had, not with my wife and family at my side and not with the multitude of wonderful folks praying and visiting, etc; but still, day to day, there was an intense need to really cling to the Lord and a profound sense of His presence.

The Lord is so good (All the time).

These 40 days have produced in me a renewed passion for ministry,  a refreshed vision of our mission as a Fellowship; a rekindled love for the Lord as I mentioned; a desire to preach the Word unlike anything I have experienced before, and, a greater love for the body of Christ, wherever it might be found, but particularly that part that congregates at 252 Lawrence Street.

I want to thank all of you for the tremendous welcome home. It was a day that was more than a little overwhelming to be sure. A day that I will not soon forget.

My thanks again for your prayers and love and help. Heaven alone will be able to repay you for the grace and kindness extended to me.

Happy to be back.

Renewal

Then Samuel said to the people, “Come and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” I Samuel 11.14

I wanted to return to the journey through the books of First and Second Samuel today but really had it on my heart to share with you the story of Joshua chapter 5.

And there it was! The same idea right there in I Sammy 11.

If there was any place that befit the renewal of the kingdom it was Gilgal.

Gilgal was a place that was given its name after a very important event in the history of Israel took place there. You see the name "Gilgal" means "a rolling", "today I have rolled the reproach of Egypt from you"

What was it that happened at Gilgal?

The Israelites were finally over the Jordan river. 600 years or so after the Lord had "promised (the) land" to Abraham and 40 years after they had failed to enter the first time; Israel was finally in.

They had been promised that the land would be given to them step-by-step as they moved in. The enemy would have to be defeated, it wouldn't be easy, but the Lord had promised victory as long as they continued to follow His Word.

The assignment had been given, the moment had come for them to march in and take the "promise land.

And yet... and yet; before they were allowed to take another step forward the Lord said to them that they must first circumcise the men. Circumcision had been neglected while they had been wandering in the wilderness.

Circumcision, of course was the mark, the outward sign of the covenant between God and his people. It marked them as belonging to God, it was a tangible reminder of their relationship with God... and it had been neglected. So God told them that they need to take care of it now.

They were not to go one step further until they relationship was restored, the covenant back in place.

Now, logically this makes little sense, at least in timing. I mean, they were in the enemies front yard and the work of conquering was before them. In human terms it would seem like the worst possible thing to do ; to put your entire army out of commission.

You may have noticed however, that God does not work according to "human terms" and the fact of the matter is; God is always much more concerned with who we are than what we do. God said, in effect, you are not going to take one more step forward without getting your heart right with Me, and, by inference, we can see that without a right relationship with God nothing we do will be pleasing to Him.

Now we look at the simple statement of Samuel and we see its value, we see the reason he said it need to take place at Gilgal. If I want to see the kingdom renewed in my heart... It must begin at Gilgal.