Why Should I Listen to You?

Suggested Reading: Exodus 2:1-15

I love politics but I hate talking about it with other people. I am very opinionated and I don't deal well with intellectual dishonesty when I think it exists. One of my biggest pet peeves, when having a discussion with someone who has been shown to have their facts wrong, is the response,  "Well, your side acts just like my side" in an attempt to dismiss the facts by discrediting the messenger. The tendency to avoid the message by focusing on the messenger is not new or limited to politics. There is an excellent example in the book of Exodus.

In Exodus 2, Moses encounters two Israelites fighting. Moses asks the one in the wrong, "Why are you attacking your neighbor?" But instead of dealing with the issue, the one in the wrong asks, "Who are you? Are you going to kill me like you did the Egyptian the other day?" (Exodus 2:13-14, HCSB). Now, Moses had, in fact, killed an Egyptian while defending an Israelite a few days before but that is really irrelevant for the wrong-doer in this case. This man was attacking his neighbor and was called on it. His response was to discredit Moses rather than deal honestly with the situation. 

The attacker's reaction is actually very normal. Human beings, by nature,  try to avoid the truth at all costs and, if we have to belittle, discredit, or attack someone else to avoid dealing with the truth, then we will do it.  We've all done it. Our spouse shares a concern about our behavior and we lash out by listing all of their faults instead of dealing with the issue. Our friends tell us that we are acting selfishly, so we go through a litany of every time they have acted selfishly. The preacher's sermon on integrity convicts us so we think about all of the corrupt people that we know or nitpick the preacher's life to make ourselves feel better.

The only problem with this strategy is that we never deal with the issues in our lives, so we never grow. Often, we move backwards because we have justified our behavior, and we allow ourselves to slip a little farther.  We choose to live in darkness rather than walk in the light of truth, exposed and vulnerable, yet able to grow.  1 John 1:5-8 tells us that fellowship with God requires that we walk in the light. We cannot grow or conquer the sin in our lives if we refuse to face the truth. And we cannot wait for the perfect messenger before finally listening to the message. 

When we face criticism or loving concern, are we able to look past the messenger to the message? Or do we know  that the criticism is true and avoid it by discrediting its source? The next time you find yourself going through the list of everything someone has done wrong, ask yourself "Why?". Is there something you're avoiding? If so, take courage, breath a deep breath, and step into the light of truth. It will set you free.

When It Feels Like God Has Forgotten You

Suggested Reading: Acts 7:23-32

Some of you aren't going to like what I have to say today because you probably don't want to hear it. You see, some of you are in a place you hate. You might be in a place where you are under-appreciated or taken advantage of. You might be in a place where you feel trapped like you will never escape. Maybe where you are right now doesn't fit into the plans you have for your future. But as often as you have prayed for God to move you, you're still there. You are frustrated and angry. You might even be taking it out on the people you love because can't bring yourself to admit that you're angry with God. This is not the way your life is supposed to be! This is not the way things are supposed to go!

If your are in that place today, I want to remind you of the story of Moses, which Stephen summed up nicely for us in Acts chapter 7. Feeling a call on his life to deliver his people from Egyptian slavery, Moses rescued a fellow Israelite by killing the Egyptian who was attacking him. But when Moses realized that his actions were known and at least one Israelite didn't appreciate it, he fled for fear of his life. Eventually, Moses stopped in Midian where he settled down to wait until it was safe. While he was there, he married, had children, and learned how to be a shepherd (something that wouldn't have happened in Egypt since the Egyptians despised shepherds). Finally, forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush (Acts 7:30, NLT).

Moses had been raised as  member of the Egyptian royalty. He accurately experienced the call of God on his life. But then he was "sidetracked" for forty years, trapped, working in a profession he had been taught to despise, and growing old. But during that time Moses started a family, matured, and learned lessons about wandering around in the wilderness that he would desperately need down the road. But at the time, Moses didn't know what God was going to do. He didn't know that God was training him to help a massive group of people survive in the wilderness. He didn't know that God was stripping away all of the habits and bad attitudes he had picked up from the Egyptians who raised him. But somewhere along the way, he made the best of it, by starting a family and living the life God had given him.

If you feel like you are trapped, like you know what God has called you to but you don't seem to be moving in that direction, like you are meant for something more than what you are doing right now, you have a choice to make. You can either allow your frustration and bitterness to grow inside you, believing that you are being wronged, or you can choose to trust that God knows what he is doing and has placed you where you are for a reason. Maybe that person who is mistreating you is someone whom God wants to use to change the world, and God has placed you there to win them to Christ. Maybe God needs you to learn some important lessons that you can only learn where you are right now, even if you can't imagine what those lessons could possibly be. Maybe God is using this time to strip away some of the bad habits or attitudes you have picked up because they will hinder your effectiveness when you finally get to the role God has called you to.

So what are you going to do? Are you going to continue to look at the place where God has set you as a frustration and an obstacle? Or will you choose to look at it as God's perfect place for you right now, even if it doesn't feel that way? Will you choose to look for the lessons God wants you to learn and make the most of this place? Or will you wallow in self-pity, frustration and anger? If you really trust that God is in control, there really is only one option.

Following Jesus Like Fear-Mongering Ghosts

Suggested Reading: Exodus 20:1-21

Merlin, the BBC's late series about King Arthur and the famous sorcerer, had a five year run. In one episode leading up to the series finale, Arthur, who had instituted reforms based on equality and merit rather than on the accident of being born into a noble family, was visited by the ghost of his very displeased father. Arthur's father pleaded with Arthur to undo his reforms, arguing that the people would never fear him otherwise. Arthur responded that he desired respect rather than fear but the ghost of his father didn't believe Arthur would receive either. Arthur believed people would follow him if they respected him but his father believed that fear was the only motivation powerful enough to maintain order.

Arthur's father would have fit right in with the Israelites in Exodus 20. Moses had led them to Mount Sinai where God was going to meet with them and deliver the law. Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”  (Exodus 20:18-20, ESV). When the Israelites arrived and saw the mountain where God was going to meet with them, they were terrorized with fear. In response, Moses told them not to fear (not to be terrified) but that God wanted their fear (reverence and respect) to keep them from sin. But the Israelites's respect  and reverence extended only as far as their terror. When they became used to the clouds and lightning and thunder, they soon lost their respect and began disobeying the commands they received in fear.

I have often wondered what motivates us as followers of Christ. Are we motivated by love and respect, cherishing Jesus and the Father, and obeying God because of that love? Or are we motivated by fear? Do we obey out of fear that we will face hell or that God will punish us if we mess up? Do we strive to live godly lives because we want to please God or because we want to avoid God's wrath? Don't get me wrong, we should have a healthy fear of the Creator of the universe who does have the power to punish or send us to hell, but if God just wanted our fear he never would have sent Jesus to die in our place. God sent his Son because God loves us.

If your walk with God is motivated by fear, you will fall away as soon as the fear fades. God wants your primary motivation for obedience to be love flowing from a grateful heart. If all you have is fear, you've missed the point of Jesus coming to earth.

Clones, Falling Globes, and Frustrated Callings

Suggested Reading: Exodus 5:1-6:12

The final season of Smallville started off with a great deal of hope that Clark Kent would finally become Superman. In fact, the iconic Superman suit made an appearance in that initial episode. Clark saved hundreds of people from being crushed by the spinning globe atop the Daily Planet building when an explosive knocked it from its perch high above the city, and he did it in a fashion that resembled flying, the one power he didn't have the hang of yet. But he also became so angry with the man who set off the explosion (a clone of Lex Luthor) that he nearly killed him. When Clark, in his high spirits from saving the day decided to put on the Superman suit, the spirit of his Kryptonian father zapped him away to the Fortress of Solitude, pointing out his fit of anger as an example of the darkness inside him, declaring him unfit to be a hero, and trapping the suit in a crystal enclosure that Clark couldn't open. In one fell swoop, both Clark and the audience that had waited ten years for him to finally become Superman were punched in the gut. Suddenly, Clark's transformation into Superman seemed farther away than ever.

Moses had a similar moment not long after he obeyed God's call to return to Egypt and demand that Pharaoh let his people go. Moses had gone to the Israelites, telling them of his encounter with God and they had believed him. But when Moses went to Pharaoh, Pharaoh laughed in his face and then upped the Israelites' work load just for spite. When the people complained about the added work, Pharaoh told them it was Moses' fault and so they stopped listening to him. When God told Moses to return to Pharaoh again, Moses objected, "My own people won't listen to me anymore. How can I expect Pharaoh to listen?"(Exodus 6:12, NLT). Moses had gone to Pharaoh like he had been instructed. Moses had delivered his message to Pharaoh and it had seemingly backfired. The Israelites had been forced to endure even more brutal conditions than before and had stopped listening altogether. To Moses, it must have seemed that the goal of freeing the Israelites from their slavery was even farther away than before. God had previously warned Moses that Pharaoh would not initially listen, but Moses' frustration overtook him anyway and he questioned whether he should even continue.

God's call upon our lives does not mean that everything will be easy or even that we will always seem to be moving forward. Sometimes God's call leads us down a brutal, trouble filled road. And when we experience those difficult times we cannot act surprised. Jesus described following God's call as abandoning one's life and he told us that the world would hate us because it hated him. One of the few things we were actually promised was that the road would be difficult. We can never make the mistake of expecting an easy path when we follow God's call on our lives. But we must also never make the mistake of doubting God's call just because things get tough or look impossible. Before Moses could free the Israelites from slavery, things had to get worse; a just and merciful God doesn't simply pour out his wrath on someone because he feels like it. Pharaoh had to have the chance to comply and refuse. The extra labor the Israelites were forced to endure was always part of God's plan, even if it didn't feel like it when the people started blaming Moses for their troubles.

Experiencing difficulty and setbacks does not mean that God has not called you to your task. Those troubles may be necessary for you to complete your task, even if your goal seems farther away than ever. Clark Kent did become Superman, Moses did lead his people to freedom, and you will accomplish the task God has called you to, if you don't give up.

When Moses Killed a Resurrected Fly

Suggested Reading: Exodus 18:9-26 (or read the whole story here)

When I was in college, I was part of a drama ministry group that did a skit called "The Fly Skit." It started off with a guy on stage who is minding his own business, reading a magazine, when a fly starts buzzing around and annoying him. After swatting the fly away several times, he reaches out in anger and catches the fly in his hand. Amazed by his luck, he shakes his hand and can hear the fly buzzing inside. Quickly, he is joined on stage by another person who suggests they play catch with the fly. They proceed to throw the fly back and forth between each other, accompanied with the appropriate buzzing as the fly travels from one person's hand to the other's until, finally, having been thrown around so much, the fly ends up on the ground, seemingly dead. In desperation, the two begin applying CPR to the dead fly and manage to bring him back to life. They begin jumping around and celebrating and then, these two people who have been so good with the fly that they could toss it back and forth, catching it without any difficulty at all, high five each other. As their hands meet, the buzzing of the newly resurrected fly abruptly stops. These expert fly handlers accidentally kill their beloved fly. (Add the tagline, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away," and you have yourself a nice ice-breaker skit for Christian venues.)

In Exodus 18, we have an interesting account where Moses' father-in-law, Jethro travels into the wilderness to visit Moses and bring Moses' wife and children to him. When Jethro arrives, he hears all about the incredible miracles God has done through Moses. He hears about the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea and the destruction of Pharaoh's army at God's hands, all through Moses. Jethro is duly impressed by all of this news and  praises God for all that has occurred. But the next day, Moses sits down to judge the people, who have formed a line so long that many of them wait from morning until evening to have their cases heard. Suddenly, Jethro, this man who was so impressed with all of the things Moses had done in freeing the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt, becomes critical of Moses and says. "What you are doing is not good. You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because this task is too heavy for you. You can't do it alone" (Exodus 18:17-18, HCSB). Jethro then suggests a plan that will help Moses accomplish the task without wearing out both himself and the people.

Sometimes, when we are flush with the success of some major venture, we can easily begin to think that we have it all together, or that we are successful at other unrelated things as well. Having led a successful business, we think we are experts on management. Having succeeded in an acting career, we think we are experts at politics. Having successfully started a camp fire we begin thinking we know everything about pyrotechnics. And inevitably, reality hits us in the face in a way that reminds us that being successful in one or more areas doesn't mean we know everything. For Moses, that day was the day his father-in-law came to visit and saw him judging the people's cases in a very counterproductive way and called him out.

In that moment, when someone calls us on our bad strategy, our hubris, or simply the overestimation of our own skills, we have a choice to make. We can, like some people, insist that we know what we are doing and continue to bluff our way through until we end up in total failure; we can realize the truth of the warning but refuse to change because our pride refuses to let us back down; or we can choose to accept good council and change our approach like Moses, who "listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said" (Exodus 18:24, HCSB). We have the ability to recognize that good advice can come from unexpected places and that we are never so big and knowledgeable that we will never make mistakes.

When you accidentally kill the fly you have just resurrected, when your moment of success is quickly followed by a false-step, how will you react? Will your pride keep you from changing course? Will you decide that you don't have to listen to someone who doesn't have as much experience as you? Or will you demonstrate wisdom by following the sensible course, no matter who happens to present it? The fact that you've succeeded doesn't mean you can't also fail.

When Jesus Saved the Dread Pirate Roberts

Suggested Reading: Luke 9:23-36

There's a scene in the movie The Princess Bride that I've always found funny. Princess Buttercup is engaged to Prince Humperdink because she thinks that her true love Westley has been murdered by the Dread Pirate Roberts. After the engagement, she is kidnapped by a band of rogues and finds herself in need of rescuing. This rescue comes in the form of the Dread Pirate Roberts, whom she believes has murdered Westley. When she confronts him about the murder, she manages to push him down a ravine. As he tumbles, he yells, "As you wish!" to let her know that he is Westley (if you didn't know that already, where have you been for the last 35 years?) At this revelation, Buttercup exclaims, "Oh my sweet Westley! What have I done?" and throws herself down the ravine as well, so that she tumbles and rolls and falls right next to Westley. From the very first time I saw that scene as a kid, I always wondered why Buttercup didn't find a less painful way to get to him. But she had missed him so much for so long she wasn't willing to wait and find a less painful route. She wanted to be with him at that very moment, so she purposefully threw herself down the ravine.

In Luke 9, just after Jesus begins teaching his disciples that he must suffer and die, Peter, James, and John get the chance to see Jesus transfigured on a mountain top and witness him conversing with Moses and Elijah. Verse 31 tells us that Moses and Elijah "appeared in glory and were speaking of His death, which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem" (HCSB). I've probably read that passage four dozen times without catching the last part: his death which he was about to accomplish.

You see, Jesus' crucifixion was not an accident but something He set out to accomplish. Jesus looked down at us in the ravine of our sin and brokenness which separated us from Him, and He loved us so much that he threw himself down the ravine, enduring the pain and agony of the cross to close the distance between us. Just like Buttercup, who couldn't stand to be separated from her beloved anymore, Jesus launched himself into a world of heartache and despair so that we would never have to be apart again.

Maybe you've been wondering whether God really cares about you. Maybe you've forgotten. Or maybe God's love has simply become academic to you. Whatever your situation, stop for a moment and consider how much you would have to adore someone, how much you would have to long for them, to intentionally launch yourself into the kind of torture Jesus endured so that you could be with Him. Maybe, you'll finally begin to see how much you are worth to Him. And maybe, just maybe, you'll find yourself willing to launch yourself into danger for someone else.

Pitching Well to Save God's Reputation

Suggested Reading: Exodus 32:1-14

In the movie Little Big League, a twelve year old boy gets the chance to manage a major league baseball team. One of the players, a pitcher, doesn't like the idea of playing for a twelve year old and threatens his young manager with playing very poorly if he doesn't get traded off the team. The boy tells him that he will not be traded and reminds the pitcher that, when his contract is up, no one will want a pitcher who didn't pitch well. Suddenly, for the sake of his own reputation and in order to be valuable enough for someone else to sign him, he pitches extremely well. The twelve year old manager just had to remind the pitcher that his own reputation was at stake.

A similar dynamic exists at times throughout scripture with God being reminded his reputation is at stake. Perhaps the first time we see it blatantly is with Moses. God has just given Moses the law and before Moses comes down from the mountain the Israelites create a golden calf and begin worshiping it with pagan rituals. God, in his anger warns Moses that he is going to destroy the rebellious, idolatrous Israelites and start over with Moses.  But Moses tried to pacify the Lord his God. “O  Lord!” he said. “Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand? Why let the Egyptians say, ‘Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people!" (Exodus 32:11-12, NLT). With the fate of Israel at stake, Moses reminds God that his reputation was also at stake.

Too often we lose sight of what is most important: that God is glorified so that the world is drawn to the Savior. We ask God to provide for us because we need something, because it is good for us. We ask God to move in a person's life because they need it. Those reasons are well and good. But what about the times when we don't deserve to have God intervene in our lives? What happens when the person we are praying for is openly rebellious against God? When we have no ground to stand on, we need to shift our focus back to where it always belonged in the first place: on bringing God glory. When we have failed, or are on the verge of failing, when doing so would be detrimental to God's glory, when it would be "bad" for God's reputation, when we finally realize how poorly we ourselves have handled God's reputation, we can pray for God to move for the sake of God's reputation alone.

We may not deserve for God to use us, we may not deserve for God to move in our lives, but God always deserves to be glorified. When we can shift our focus back to that truth, it should affect both our behavior and our prayers.

Who Wants a Safe Lion?

Suggested Reading: Exodus 33:12-23

In C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, when Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy meet the talking Beavers upon entering Narnia together for the first time, Mrs. Beaver begins to tell them about Aslan, the great Lion, the Son of the Great Emperor across the sea. When the children ask if Aslan is safe, Mr. Beaver responds, "Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." Though the Beavers knew that Aslan was not "safe" they longed for his return anyway. Not because he was safe, or even because he was powerful enough to save them from the wicked White Witch, but because he was good.

In Exodus 33, Moses had just returned from the mountain where he had received God's law to discover that the people had already built themselves an idol and begun to worship it. Moses was rather harsh with the people, killing many of them in retribution for their betrayal and idolatry. After a time of uncertainty, Moses was reassured by God that God would continue to accompany them to the Promised Land, but then Moses made a request of God: "Please, let me see your glory." To which God responded, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name Yahweh before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." (Exodus 33:18-19, HCSB).

I don't know what Moses had in mind when he asked God to show him God's glory but the opportunity allowed God to teach Moses something very important. God's most magnificent attribute, God's glory, is not God's miraculous power, God's might, God's wisdom, God's sovereignty, or even God's perfect justice. God's most magnificent attribute -- God's glory -- is God's goodness, God's capacity for being gracious and compassionate.

As followers of Christ, we are called to be perfect, just as our Heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48), but even this command of Jesus is given in the context of loving enemies and tax collectors. Our call to be like Jesus, to imitate our Father in Heaven, is not just a call to be holy and just. Our call is to imitate God in all God's glory -- to be good and gracious and compassionate, to love the enemy and the sinner. We are to follow the example of Jesus from John 8 who, confronted with a woman caught in the act of adultery, did not condemn her, but saved her from the self-righteous and scheming mobs and then told her, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore" (John 8:11, HCSB).

If you want to be like Jesus, if you truly want to be conformed to the image of Christ, then do not be satisfied with being wise, or just, or even having Spirit-enabled abilities to heal and prophesy. Strive to be good. Then, maybe when the world sees us, they will know that we don't condone the sin they live in, that being around us is not "safe" because their world may be turned upside down, but they will also yearn for the Presence that comes with us because they can tell, through us, that God is good.

Burning Bushes and Green Lanterns

Suggested Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-19

When the Ryan Reynolds' Green Lantern movie came out, one of the major conflicts of the movie was that Hal Jordan, the man chosen to be Green Lantern, did not believe himself capable of the responsibility. Having suffered the loss of his father in a tragic accident when he was just a small child, he was scarred and had no confidence in himself. He did not believe himself capable of doing the job of the Green Lantern. Repeatedly, he was told, "The Ring does not make mistakes." (Because  the ring was the one that mystically chose him to be a green lantern.) But he didn't really believe it until he was forced to choose between losing his planet or losing his excuses.

Reading through the book of Jeremiah, I noticed a similar dynamic in the young prophet. God called Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations and Jeremiah responded, "Oh no, Lord, God! Look, I don't know how to speak since I am only a youth" (Jeremiah 1:6, HCSB). Moses had a similar experience at the burning bush, telling God that he simply wasn't qualified or capable of doing the job to which God called him. But God responded to Jeremiah and Moses in very similar fashions. To Jeremiah, God said, 'Do not say, "I am only a youth," for you will go to everyone I send you to and speak whatever I tell you. Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to deliver you" (Jeremiah 1:7-8, HCSB).  Then God reached out to Jeremiah and put God's words into Jeremiah's mouth and encouraged Jeremiah that the only way anyone would be able to harm him was if he allowed himself to be intimidated (Jeremiah 1:17-19).

People commonly experience the same reaction as Jeremiah, Moses, or Hal Jordan on discovering the call to a higher task. We often feel unworthy, incapable or unprepared. But in the same way that "The Ring does not make mistakes," neither does God make mistakes when calling us out to a special task. Peter was incapable of walking on water, John was incapable of healing the lame, Paul was incapable of raising the dead, but when God called them to the task, God also gave them the ability to perform it. When we allow God to move, the Holy Spirit empowers us in a much more powerful way than Hal Jordan's ring empowered him as a Green Lantern. We just have to be willing to trust that God knows all of the variables and the extent of HIs own power when calling us.

Have you felt God's call on your life? Have you experienced the prompting of the Spirit, urging you to take on a particular task for which you feel ill-equipped, unprepared, or utterly incapable? Remember that God provides the power to accomplish the work to which God calls you. And like the green lantern ring, God doesn't make mistakes.