He Thought I Was Lazy!

Suggested Reading: Hebrews 5:11-6:3

Before I graduated from high school I had taken five years of Spanish, starting in 8th grade and then every year through my senior year. Toward the end of my senior year, I was in the Spanish club and one day I stopped in the class to grab something . It was after school and I was the only student in the room. My teacher, Señor Nisttahauz, stopped me and began to chew me out. He began to jump all over me because, as far as he was concerned I was lazy. In his eyes, I understood the language, knew the syntax and the grammar, had a firm grasp of the vocabulary, but I was lost in a conversation. Señor Nisttahauz believed that, with everything I knew, I should be fluent and the only reason I wasn't was because I never practiced speaking Spanish outside the classroom. I knew enough to pass my tests (ace my tests) but he was convinced that if I didn't start practicing, I would be one of those parents who showed up at an open house with their own child saying, "Yeah, I took Spanish in high school and I don't remember a word of it." He rightfully berated me for my lack of practice beyond the classroom. Soon afterward, I began practicing outside of class and my Spanish fluency improved greatly.

In many ways, the Christian walk is like learning a new language. Learning the appropriate words and actions is one thing; actually practicing and understanding them is something else entirely. The author of Hebrews expressed frustration over this particular problem, saying to his readers, "We have a great deal to say about this, and it's difficult to explain, since you have become too lazy to understand . Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God's revelation again. You need milk, not solid food. Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness…" (Hebrews 5:11-13, HCSB). Essentially, the author argues, "You've been at the Christian life for too long to be at the level you are. You are inexperienced and lazy, so you can't handle the tougher things that a person in your position should."

Because of the sin that lives in us and the fact that our natures have been corrupted, many of the teachings of the Word of God run against the grain of our natures and are difficult, if not impossible, to understand until we begin practicing them. We may "know" the teachings in much the same way that I "knew" Spanish in high school, but until we start practicing it, until we start using what we know, we will never really understand the Word of God, and we will never mature as believers. Jesus told his listeners that the way to know whether his teachings were really from God or not was to make a decision to do the will of God and not simply know it (John 7:17).

Has your understanding of the Word of God stalled in its growth? Have you come to a place where you don't understand as much as you think you should, where things don't make sense like you want them to? Maybe, you need to try putting what you know into practice, not just being satisfied with possessing morsels of knowledge.  You'll never be fluent until you start practicing. 

Relying On an Only-Sort-of-Teacher

Suggested Reading: Hebrew 4:1-13

I have done a lot of substitute teaching. One of the things about being a sub is that you are only sort of a teacher. Just sort of. You can assign work, and take up papers, you can help people with their assignments and answer questions (if you are familiar enough with the subject). But day-to-day substitutes never really evaluate students, one of the primary tasks of every teacher. We can pass on that a student didn't seem to understand a particular topic, but we rarely grade papers or homework. We don't create tests designed to measure a student's comprehension of what has been taught in class. We can give instruction, but it is always very limited instruction because we don't know the broader context in which the teacher has been instructing the students over the previous weeks. Substitutes can help but they can't really replace the teacher.

Sometimes, in our daily walks, though, we are all too ready to replace our best teacher, the Word of God (with guidance from the Holy Spirit) with a substitute.  We take time to listen to good preachers on the radio or on TV because we can catch them when it is convenient. We read short devotionals (hey, nothing wrong with those!). We listen to Christian music and go to concerts. We read books on Christian living by famous pastors and authors. But, on their own, each of those things amounts to nothing more than, maybe, a good substitute teacher. Their power and influence are extremely limited when compared to the power of the undiluted Word of God. "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12, NIV).

All of these other resources can be excellent aids in our daily instruction and communion with God, but they are incomplete and weak on their own. Hopefully, each of these aids take their clues from God's Word (I know I try to center each devotional there) but they are all subject to their incredibly corruptible and fickle human authors, and even when they are not, none of them have the power to "judge the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" as effectively or as powerfully as the undiluted Word of God when the power of the Holy Spirit works in our hearts.

I am flattered you have taken the time to read this and I hope that this devotional aids you in your walk. But if you have to choose between making time for this or any other aid and the pure, undiluted power of God's Word, I hope you choose the latter. Nothing else can penetrate our hearts as deeply or as powerfully. Keep around the aids that you use (like Stickler's Musings) but make sure they don't become a substitute for the real thing. 

Facing Rejection Like Alien Abductees

Suggested Reading: Luke 2:25-35

In the late 90s, Will Smith starred in a movie called Independence Day. In the movie, aliens invaded Earth on July 2, wiping out major cities and claiming the planet for themselves. As the movie began, the audience was introduced to a father, a drunkard who couldn't hold down a steady job because he constantly flew his crop-duster over the wrong fields. His children were ashamed of him, and they cringed whenever he mentioned his own “alien abduction” several years earlier. But on July 4, as the militaries of Earth were striking back against the alien invaders with whatever pilots happened to be left, this drunkard of a father found himself sobered up and sitting in the cockpit of a state-of-the-art fighter jet, streaking toward an alien vessel. Out of missiles, the squadron’s leader called the retreat, but this father had one missile left and fired it, only to discover that it was jammed. Taking one last look at a picture of his children, this father took aim at the primary weapon of the alien ship, radioed a message to his children, and crashed his plane into the alien vessel, destroying the vessel and eliminating the threat. This father knew he would die, but he flew into the enemy vessel anyway because it was the only way to save his children.

Simeon was an elderly man who prophesied over the infant Jesus when his parents brought him into the temple complex to be redeemed as the firstborn child of his family. Having announced that Jesus had come to upset destiny, Simeon declared that Jesus had come to be a sign that will be spoken against (Luke 2:34, NIV). Jesus had come as the Savior of the world, to save the world from itself, yet he would be spoken against. He would be rejected. Having read the rest of the story, we know that Jesus’ rejection would lead to his torture and to his death. As the eternal Son of God, Jesus knew the pain and hardship he would endure. Yet Jesus came anyway. Jesus knew he would be rejected, tortured, and killed, but Jesus also knew that his rejection and death were necessary to save us. So Jesus came anyway, willingly enduring rejection.

We have heard this story over and over again. The idea that Jesus had knowingly come to die is not new to us. The idea of sacrifice, like the father from Independence Day, is not new to us. And yet, while we often aspire to maintain an attitude of self-sacrifice, being willing to lay down our lives if necessary, I wonder how often we are willing to be rejected. Torture and death are one thing. We can steel ourselves against them, knowing there will be an end to them. But rejection is different and hurts on an entirely different level. Rejection is something that hurts our hearts.

Are we willing to be rejected? Are we willing to do what is necessary to help people, even knowing those people won’t understand and will probably turn on us? Are we willing to help people who will never thank us for stepping in to save the day? Are we willing to risk broken hearts as willingly as we risk broken bodies? Are we willing to climb out on a limb for someone, knowing they will probably chop it off behind us? Jesus was. Jesus did. And he calls us to follow his example.

Changing the Rules of the Game

Suggested Reading: Matthew 15:1-20

I know it is shocking, but when they were younger my children would occasionally get into fights. One of the things they sometimes fought about was the rules of whichever game that they happened to be playing. They would be playing along, having fun, until one of them decided that the rules didn't work as they were and they would attempt to change the rules of the game right then and there. Most of the time, the rule change was intended to give the one making the change an advantage over the other one, which, in turn, started a fight. "That's not how you play the game!" the other one would yell or cry, and the fight pretty much fueled itself from there.

In the New Testament, Jesus accused the Pharisees of trying to pull the same kind of rule change with the way God wants us to live. Jesus pointed out how they violated God's command to honor one's parents by devoting to the temple the money they would have used to care for their parents in their old age. That gift to the temple, in their minds, freed them from the obligation to care for their parents. Then, speaking for God the Father, Jesus quoted the book of Isaiah and said, "These people honor Me with their lips but their heart is far from me. They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commands of men" (Matthew 15:8-9, HCSB).

Many times, we do the very same things the Pharisees did, and we make up our own rules that we think nullify God's commands. Jesus gave us the example of the Good Samaritan who stopped for a man on the side of the road, but we tell ourselves that we don't have to care for that person because it is more important to be "wise" and not put ourselves in dangerous positions. Jesus prayed for and encouraged unity among his followers, but we decide that we can only be united with other believers if they hold exactly the same doctrinal beliefs that we do. Through the Holy Spirit, Paul insisted that we not demand our own rights when doing so might cause other believers to falter in their faith, but we declare that anyone who is offended by our innocent actions is simply dumb and not our concern. 

Every day, as believers and as local churches, we "change the rules" for our own advantage, so that we don't have to work as hard or so that we can have the things we want, coming up with our own little traditions that give us the right to ignore God's commands.  If we were honest with ourselves, we normally know exactly when we do this because the Spirit pricks our consciences, and we do our best to pretend that nothing is wrong. Sometimes, we even pray for God to send someone else to do what we know we should be doing.  But there are two problems with making up our own rules like that: 1) many of the lost people we are trying to reach know how we are supposed to live and our contradictory behavior communicates that God isn't real to us so God doesn't need to be real to them; and 2) when we ignore God's commands and follow our own rules, we end up hurting ourselves, just like cheating in a game often helps you in the short-term but then messes you up in the next round.

What are the rules you have come up with to relieve yourself of following God's commands? When you feel the Spirit prick your conscience, what rules do you spout to yourself so you have an excuse to ignore God's voice? There is a lost and dying world that needs to see us living life as God commanded, not to mention that we end up hurting ourselves when we ignore God's commands. Let's not come up with our own rules so that we get exactly what we want. Let's not be those people who honor God with our lips but whose hearts are far from him. 

What We Need Is a Fake Wizard

Suggested Reading: Philippians 4:10-19

When it was released in theaters, I took my children to see Oz the Great and Powerful, the story of how the Wizard of Oz became the Wizard of Oz. When Oz first arrived in the land of Oz, he discovered that there was a prophecy that a wizard named Oz would fall from the sky and set the people free from the rule of the Wicked Witch. Now, if you've only seen the original Wonderful Wizard of Oz, you already know a couple of things about the story. You know, of course, that he must win somehow, and you know that the wizard is just an ordinary man behind a curtain. But one of the concepts this movie wrestles with is only having an ordinary man when what you think you need is a powerful sorcerer. But, as with much of life, what we need and what we think we need are two very different things.

Quite frequently in life, we find ourselves in need, in need of financial rescue, in need of relationship repair, in need of skill sets and  people to fill holes. Often we find ourselves fixating on a very specific thing we think we need in order to survive the situation: We need $3000, we need a circumstance to teach someone what we're going through, we need someone who can play guitar, we need a banker, we need an electrician to volunteer their time. And we get so focused on that one particular thing we think we need, that we miss other things that could fill the gap of our circumstances.

In Philippians 4:19, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul said, And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (HCSB). Notice, Paul didn't say that God would supply all of the things we think we need, but the very things we do need. Sometimes we get so focused on what we think we need that we miss what God has provided, even though it is right in front of us. So focused on a ladder, we miss the rope waiting to pull us up. So focused on needing a raise, we miss an opportunity to lower our bills. And sometimes we don't really need anything and somehow miss the fact that we survived and thrived without that one thing that we thought was absolutely necessary.

God promised he would meet our needs, but God didn't promise to do it the way we expect or to use our plans to meet those needs. So, if you trust God to meet your needs, but nothing seems to be happening, look around again. God may have provided something unexpected to meet the need, or God might be letting you know that you are just fine without it.

"We Can't Witness If We're Dead!"

Suggested Reading: Daniel 3:1-30

One of my favorite stories from scripture is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were three Hebrew young men who had been kidnapped from their home in Judah and forced into the service of the Babylonian king. As they figured out how to live in the Babylonian court, they did their best to be faithful to God, despite the constant pressure to compromise the commands of God to succeed and fit into the surrounding culture. Along with Daniel, they repeatedly held their ground and became a witness to King Nebuchadnezzar because of it. He even announced, "Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings" (Dan 2:47, ESV). 

But not long after that, Nebuchadnezzar set up an idol and commanded everyone in the kingdom to worship it, threatening them with a fiery death in a furnace if they refused. Despite the penalty of death hanging over their heads, these young men never even considered compromising and worshipping Nebuchadnezzar's idol. They didn't decide to worship the idol "just this once" because they couldn't keep telling people about God if they were dead. They didn't rationalize giving this prideful, sinful king what he wanted because he provided the money and resources that they lived on. They knew what God had called them to, and they took their stand, saying, "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image you have set up" (Dan 3:17-18, ESV). Notice the last part of their statement to the king. They trusted that God would deliver them, "but if not" they would still remain faithful to the commands of God. 

Sometimes, we are tempted to compromise just so that we can survive. We are tempted to adjust what we are doing so that the sinful, prideful king won't destroy us. After all, how can we tell people about God if we are dead? How can we share the Gospel if we are killed for our faith? How will we keep the church doors open if standing on the truth of scripture drives people away and we can't pay the bills? Can't we compromise just a little so that we can live to fight the good fight another day?

But God does not call us to survive. God calls us to be faithful. We say that God is able to save us. We say that God is faithful. But when the moment of decision comes, do we trust God to see us through or are we tempted to compromise to survive? Are we willing to do things we know we shouldn't do because faithfulness would hurt us? Are we tempted to give in to sinful, prideful people to avoid complications we aren't sure how to deal with? Or do we trust God enough to obey him regardless of how tough things might get? 

God doesn't call us to survive. Survival is nothing without faithful obedience. We must be willing to do what is right regardless of the consequences, trusting that God will see us through.

Getting Clipped for the Cause of Christ

Suggested Reading: Acts 15:40-16:5

One of the things the apostle Paul was known for was fighting against those Jews who tried to insist that Gentile believers must be circumcised in order to really be saved. Throughout the entirety of the New Testament, Paul argued that God's grace, through a person's faith, is what saves a person.  In Galatians 6:15, Paul writes, "For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing; what matters is a new creation" (HCSB). In Galatians 3:28, Paul again wrote, "There is no Jew or Geek, slave or free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (HCSB).  Very consistently, Paul argued that there is no need for Gentile believers to be circumcised in order to be saved, in some places going so far as to say that if a person got circumcised then grace became useless because the person was trying to earn salvation.  So, Acts 16:3 might get a little confusing because we discover that Paul "wanted Timothy to go with him, so he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek" (HCSB).

Why would Paul, a man who argued so passionately and so consistently against the need for Gentile believers to be circumcised take a young Gentile believer and have him circumcised? Isn't that hypocritical? Doesn't Paul betray everything that he has been fighting for?

No.

You see, Paul argued against having to be circumcised in order to be saved, but Paul didn't circumcise Timothy so that Timothy could be saved. Paul circumcised Timothy so that other people could be saved. Paul wanted Timothy to travel with him in his missionary work because Timothy was a great asset to Paul. But if you are familiar with Paul's ministry, then you know that Paul's first stop in any new city was the Jewish synagogue where he would share the good news that the long awaited Messiah had finally arrived in the person of Jesus. For Timothy to minister effectively, Timothy had to be circumcised so that Timothy's uncircumcised condition would not be a hindrance to the initial Gospel message to Jewish audiences. If Paul were to bring an uncircumcised man into the synagogue and then allow him to speak to law-abiding Jews, those Jews would immediately stop listening to Paul's message because of the lack of respect Paul and Timothy were showing for Jewish tradition and law.  So, to cut off any problems before they arose, Paul had Timothy circumcised. Paul and Timothy, together, were living out Paul's missionary motto:

To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.  (1 Corinthians 9:20-22, NIV).

What about us? Sometimes, we avoid witnessing to people because the effort will require too much time. Paul regularly changed his entire way of living in to more effectively communicate the message of the Gospel. Timothy, apparently, did so as well. Meanwhile, we keep our mouths closed because the thought of sharing the Gospel makes us uncomfortable. The efforts we do make are often hampered because we don't want to take the time to translate the Gospel into an understandable format for those who have never heard.

We cannot all become heroic, world-traveling missionaries, but we can make sure that our lives do not hinder the message of the Gospel for those who are watching us. We can make sure that, when we share the Gospel, people don't immediately disqualify the message because of our own lifestyles. We can live in such a way that our lives make the Gospel message attractive rather than remove any motivation to listen.

When people look at your life, does it make the message of the Gospel more attractive, or does it reinforce the idea that the Bible is just a bunch of stories? Does your behavior and attitude give people a reason to want what you have, or do they convince people that Jesus was just some good teacher whose teachings have no real power in the lives of his followers?

Paul and Timothy were willing to do whatever it took so that their lives reinforced the Gospel message rather than distracted from it. Are we willing to do the same?