On Fire!

A few days ago, while walking in my neighborhood at dusk, I stopped to stare in wonder at a beautiful sight.  In my neighbor's front yard was this gorgeous tree, on fire with spring color and waning sunlight.  It truly appeared to be on fire.  As I almost always have my phone when walking, I took this picture which, I promise, does not even begin to capture the glory of that moment, in which God reminded me of the burning bush of Exodus 3.  (If you have been walking with me through Romans, no worries!  We will get to our Romans text in a few moments!)

1Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

4When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

5“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6Then he said, “I am the God of your father,^a the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

7The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—

Here was Moses, just an ordinary Hebrew man, doing what he did every day (working for his father-in-law) when God appeared to him in such a surprising, wondrous way!  I could spend several blog posts examining the beauty of this theophany of God (the angel of the LORD), but will instead refer you to the source at the bottom of today's blog so that you can explore that concept on your own.1

Our main text for today is Romans 13:8-10.

8Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9For the commandments, “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet,” (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

This admonition from the apostle Paul applies to anyone ("neighbor) that the LORD brings into our "circle of influence".  Paul echoes the words of Jesus in Matthew 22:36-40 here.  He reiterates that a Christian may "follow all the rules" of Scripture perfectly.  However, if we do not show the love of God to those around us, we have ignored the two greatest commandments of them all.

As stunningly beautiful as was my neighbor's "burning bush", I am even more stupefied by the reality that this God, this immortal Being with no beginning and no ending (Psalm 90:2) desires a relationship with me, and with any person who truly seeks Him (Jeremiah 29:12-13 ).  He saw His people in their misery in Egypt and "came down" to rescue them, in the form of holy flames of fire that did not consume a bramble.  The Savior likewise, thousands of years later, was God-Come-Down, Immanuel - - God With Us - - (Isaiah 7:14), who came to rescue us from the slavery of sin. Jesus Christ, the Ultimate Theophany, who brings us into the "promised land" of eternal salvation! May His name be praised forever!  Baruch Hashem!2

How do we love our neighbors? If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, we must (as we should in all things) listen for His voice.  When He urges us to reach out to someone in love, we should do it.  So, the answer to how we love our neighbors is different for each of us.  There are some commonalities, of course - - - we are to feed the hungry and care for the sick.  We are to share the gospel of Jesus Christ's life and work, above all.  But, beyond that, we are to follow the leading of His Spirit, living inside us.

So, Believer, if He prompts you today, if He speaks to You today from a "burning bush", don't run the other way.  Listen!  And, then ... love your neighbor.

Father, I can still see that ruler, in my mind's eye - - - that little wooden ruler, given to every student at Clarkesville Elementary all those years ago.  I can see "The Golden Rule" written on it, "Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You", which is basically a restatement of Romans 13:8-10.  Please make me more sensitive to the needs of others and give me more opportunities to share the greatest news this world has ever heard - - - that in You is freedom and life and joy, forever!  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

1   http://www.gotquestions.org/burning-bush.html
2   Hebrew: Blessed be G_d!

Love Bus

My morning routine usually consists of reading about (favorite blogs) and watching (favorite news outlet) national and world events, succored by the large cup of coffee in my hand.  Then, as I'm doing now, I have my morning devotions and share with you via this blog.

A story that caught my eye this morning was a striking example of today's text, in action.

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”

Galatians 5:13-14

Paul is here in verse 14 quoting Jesus, who made the Galatians 5:14 statement in Matthew 22:39. Here's the verse, with context:

36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Note that the first and second commandments are not called by Jesus "the greatest suggestions".  No, they are commandments, which even supersede "the 10".  That is not to say they nullify "the 10", but rather that they overshadow them.  In other words, you can be keeping the 10 Commandments 100%. But, if you are not loving God with all your heart and showing that love by loving "your neighbor", you are living in disobedience.

Ok, so what was the story today?  I'll link it at the bottom of the page, but basically, it was this.  Two churches in east Cobb county, a wealthy suburban area outside of Atlanta, GA, sent their church busses into a very poverty-stricken area of downtown Atlanta, to pick up homeless people. For those of you reading this out of current time, or who live far from me, it was "in the teens" here overnight. These churches picked up about 100 homeless people in their busses last night, to keep them from freezing to death.

<crickets>  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re72di5phM0

You see, I find today's passage very personally convicting, because I am most often focused on making my own life very comfortable.  And, there's nothing wrong with taking care of one's basic needs.  But, frankly, I take it far beyond the basic level, "using my freedom in Christ to indulge my flesh" - - spending most of my time and resources on my own selfish desires.

So, when I hear a story about a church that extends Christ's arms to those who are quite literally perishing, both physically and spiritually, I am prompted to a lot of self-examination.  I don't usually like what I find.

Look, whether we like it or not, this is the truth of what Christ commanded us, children of God! Instead of our customary approach, which is to indulge ourselves and occasionally toss some crumbs to those who are dying, He asks us to flip the pyramid, to radically change the paradigm.  What He calls us to is a life of service to others, giving ourselves (our flesh) the crumbs left over.

So, here's what I'm going to do and what I challenge you to do also.  I'm going to make a change (can you hear Michael Jackson singing in the background?), a change based on what the Holy Spirit has been saying to me about this passage.  This will not make me a Christian, because the Bible is plain that a person can't work oneself up into being one.  I'm a Christian because of my faith in Jesus Christ.  Period. What making this change will make me is (hopefully) more obedient to my Master's command. What my obedience will achieve (because obedience always achieves this) is a greater expansion of the kingdom of God, even in ways I'll never realize or see.

Father, how can I become more and more like my Savior unless I am obedient to Your Word?  So often I am tone-deaf to the Holy Spirit.  Lord, open my eyes and ears and hands, and not only mine, but those of your Church ... so that all may know Your love, the only love which transforms. In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/church-gathers-homeless-get-them-out-cold/np7MW/

And More Weapons . . .

Good Morning!

This morning, we continue to look at the remaining weapons that the apostle Paul lists in this passage (Ephesians 6:12-20), weapons which are essential for enabling us to bring honor to God as we live out our Christian faith.

Helmet of Salvation
One of Satan's biggest lies is to cause us to doubt that we really belong to Jesus Christ.  Another "biggie" is to cause us to believe that there is little we can do to further God's Kingdom.  This is why it is imperative for us to remember two truths:
1.  Once we have embraced Jesus as our Savior, we are His, forever and ever.  Regardless of our emotional state at the moment, we are His.  Regardless of how we wander, we are His.  Regardless of the mistakes we make, He is waiting for us to turn back to Him in confession and deep repentance.  He is waiting with open arms.
2.  Every Christian is crucial to God's plan to bring Him glory.  There is no such thing as an insignificant Christian.  In fact, if Satan is slamming you up against a wall, very likely God wants to use you in a powerful way, and this is why Satan is opposing you so greatly.  Never believe that you are insignificant.  Some of you reading this may have physical limitations and believe that, because of that, you are finished, done, washed up.  Well, my dear, that is a lie.  As long as you can think, you can pray.  We'll talk more about that later in this post.  Get to praying, as often as you can.  Satan hates that.

So, don't let Satan "get inside your head" about this and discourage you!  Put on that helmet of salvation every day.  You are a child of the King, a resplendent daughter (or son)!  Get out there and GLEAM!

Sword of the Spirit - God's Word
Psalm 119:89-120
I was just reading this passage and I encourage you to go read it also.  The Psalmist is painting a beautiful picture of how much God's written Word means to him.  (Of course, at that time, the only written word he had was the Old Testament law, which is why he constantly refers to "your law".)
In Hebrews 4:12, the writer (whom many believe to be Paul, others Luke or James...it's disputed who the author was) tells us straight up how powerful God's written Word is:
"For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart."  (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
The Bible is alive.  How is that possible?  What the writer is saying here is that the Bible can cause cataclysmic change in people's lives when they read it, just as if it were a living person.
In the Ephesians passage, Paul says that the Bible is the sword of the Holy Spirit.
So, the living Holy Spirit, the 3rd Person of the Holy Trinity, uses this mighty sword to change lives. How amazing!
Christian, do not neglect the daily reading of this Book.  Read it prayerfully and reverently and allow the Holy Spirit to change your life through the reading.  The Bible is God's personal, special message to us, His Children.  Don't underutilize this powerful weapon!

Prayer
How do you view prayer?  In a previous post, I went into great detail about this topic and I won't rehash it here.  But, please remember that prayer is one of your most powerful weapons, Christian! Paul began this dissertation of spiritual weapons with Truth and ended it with Prayer.  Bookend and bookend.
One thing I want you to notice here is that Paul, as a minister of the gospel, asks the Ephesians to pray for him, specifically that he would be given the necessary boldness to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ as he should. This is what every godly minister of the gospel hopes that his congregants will pray for him.  Do you pray for your godly pastor?  Please do!  It matters.  Boldly proclaiming the truth of the Word of God is a fearsome responsibility.  Our godly men in the pulpit need all the prayer and support they can get.  It always touches my heart when our pastor prays right before his sermon and asks the Holy Spirit to guide his words and not to let him stand in the way of what the Holy Spirit wants to say through him.  I appreciate my pastor and hope that you appreciate yours too.  If you don't, pray harder for him and about what you can do to support him.  He is God's man for your church at this time and needs your prayers.

Love
Well, love is not mentioned in this passage, but I mention it here because love is the super-weapon.  In another letter of Paul's (to the Corinthians - - 1Cor. 13) he devotes a whole chapter to the pre-eminence of love.  Jesus called love "the greatest commandment" in Matthew 22:36-40.  See John 13:34-35.
Read these passages and reflect on how love should be in everything we do. No matter what spiritual weapon we wield, we should cover it in love.  Just as faith without works is dead (James 2:14), wielding these weapons of spiritual warfare is useless, without love.

We'll talk more about love in a later post.

So, there you have them.  "Put them on" every day so that you can walk in spiritual victory!
"But, thank God!  He gives us the victory over sin and death, through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Corinthians 15:57)

Oh Father God, thank you for the precious instruction You give us in Your holy Word.  Thank you for telling us how to please, honor, glorify, magnify You.  Thank you for these weapons, with which we can claim victory over the Evil One, our Adversary.  Thank you that "we can do all things through Christ our Savior, who gives us strength."  Help us to be dedicated to use these weapons daily and throughout the day.  Help us to remember to love You, and to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves.  We love You, Lord!  In Jesus' name, amen.