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Walking Safely with God

Todd R 1 Comment

Many people, both Christian and non-Christian, think of obedience to God as a dreadful chore, something that robs us of our autonomy and joy.  Sometimes people refuse to believe in God because they reject His requirements, and sometimes people resent God because they see Him as making them labor in futility for the perfection He requires.  However, we know that salvation does not come from our obedience, but Christ’s, and through God’s grace He reveals Himself to us.  Then we learn that the rules we should follow come from a God who loves us and perfectly knows what is good and bad for us – far beyond our own knowledge.  Therefore, those rules become our freedom and joy when we follow them willingly.  He always knows the best and right choice to make.

Psalm 119 (the longest chapter in the Bible) is a meditation on the benefits of God’s laws for us, and verses 44-45 give us a picture of those benefits:

“I will keep your law continually,
            forever and ever,
and I shall walk in a wide place,
            for I have sought your precepts.”

The central idea here is that when we are obedient to God, we “shall walk in a wide place,” but what does that mean?  How does that benefit us?

Think about walking along a mountain path, or on stones crossing a river.  Does it make a difference how wide that path is, or how big and flat the stones are?  If we trip and fall on a narrow place, we may fall into a river or off a cliff.  However, if we fall in a wide place on a mountain path or on a very large rock, we may scrape a knee or our hands, but the consequences won’t be as severe as falling off a cliff!

Photo by Ante Hamersmit on Unsplash

The idea of walking in a wide place brings to mind the contrast between the consequences of following our own way versus following God’s.  Going our own way can not only have worse consequences now, in this world, but it can also have consequences in eternity.  Never repenting of going our own way at all leads to an eternity banished from God’s presence and blessings.  But even if we are saved, failure to follow God can rob others of God’s blessings for them that He intends through us and can influence our experience in heaven.  Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 that there are rewards in heaven for those who follow Him, as well as “loss” for not doing so.  So, doing whatever we please has consequences, some of which may be eternal.

In contrast, obedience to God is like walking in a safe place, where any negative consequence is temporary, or comes with a corresponding blessing.  We may get a scraped knee, but we don’t fall off a cliff, suffering permanent damage, death or other loss.  Following God’s word can’t keep all bad things from happening to you, but it can limit the worldly consequences, and eliminate the eternal consequences.

Therefore, seek God’s guidance and follow it, and we “shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts.”

It’s a better path to follow than any other.

Bible in a Year: Week of June 10 – 15

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Fellow travelers:

Below are the chapters to read this week if you’re following along in my Bible in a year schedule, divided into morning and evening readings.  Follow along any way you want: you can just do the evening reading, flip the morning and evening, or read it all.  Whatever works for you and your schedule!  It doesn’t have to be Bible in a Year for everyone.

Monday, June 10
Morning: Proverbs 13, Matthew 17
Evening: Deuteronomy 9

Tuesday, June 11
Morning: Proverbs 14, Matthew 18
Evening: Deuteronomy 10

Wednesday, June 12
Morning: Proverbs 15, Matthew 19
Evening: Deuteronomy 11

Thursday, June 13
Morning: Proverbs 16, Matthew 20
Evening: Deuteronomy 12

Friday, June 14
Morning: Proverbs 17, Matthew 21
Evening: Deuteronomy 13

Saturday, June 15
Morning: Proverbs 18, Matthew 22-23
Evening: Deuteronomy 14

Sunday, June 16
Morning: Proverbs 19, Matthew 24-25
Evening: Deuteronomy 15

Weeds are Good for You

Todd R 1 Comment

Are there people in the church, either in your own church, another local church, or somewhere in the global church, that seem a bit un-Christian?  Perhaps their doctrine is a bit different than yours, or perhaps they behave a bit differently.  Maybe they dress differently or have different standards in music.  They could have different political beliefs.  It could be anything.

Within a parable Jesus told in Matthew 13:24-30 is some wisdom about “those people.”  The parable is:

“He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.  And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’  He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’  But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

For this post, the key phrase in the parable is “No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.”  The wheat in the parable represents God’s people, and the weeds represent unbelievers in the midst of them.  The servants ask the master whether they should pull up all the weeds immediately, which seems like a sensible thing to do.  Weeds are bad for crops, right?

The surprising response is that the servants should “Let both grow together until the harvest.”  Why?  Because in the master’s judgment it is better for the wheat if the weeds are allowed to grow.  In other words, removing the weeds before the harvest – when God will separate the wheat from the weeds – would be bad for the wheat harvest.  Until the harvest, the master warns that we could “root up the wheat along with them.”

In Matthew 25 where Jesus tells of the final judgment in verses 31-46, it’s strongly implied that some of the “wheat” will be surprised about being wheat and some “weeds” will be surprised about being weeds.  In verses 37-39 Christians say: “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?”  In verse 44, unbelievers say: “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?”

Therefore, if the wheat and the weeds themselves can be unsure which they are, how can anyone else definitively decide who doesn’t belong, especially to risk damaging those who do belong.  There will always be true and false believers in churches until Christ returns, so remember: According to the Master, the wheat is better off with the weeds than without.  Especially if sometimes what we think are weeds actually aren’t.

Fruitful Religion

Todd R 1 Comment

Before Jesus began His public ministry, John the Baptist announced Jesus’ coming and prepared people for His message.  This, of course, generated opposition, and when the Pharisees and Sadducees came out to confront John, he told them to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance…Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees.  Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”[1]

Since Pharisees and Sadducees were often hypocrites, this is usually interpreted as John telling them to practice good works that flow from an inner righteousness, instead of keeping up a merely external appearance of following God.  I agree this is a correct interpretation, but I also think there is more than that to the fruit that John spoke of.

Paul wrote in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Could this also be part of the fruit John wanted his opposition to produce?

Perhaps John was telling the Pharisees and Sadducees that their religion didn’t produce “love, joy, peace”, and the other characteristics listed by Paul.  Jesus pointed out the lack of love in the parable of the Good Samaritan, that the religious leaders of His time would rather leave a man dying on the side of the road than break what they saw as legal obligations.  But did the Pharisees and others also lack joy and peace?  Since they strived to obey God’s law perfectly (but only on the outside) they likely felt constant pressure to live up to God’s perfect standards, instead of peace with their Maker.  Their relationships with others, who they saw as inferior to them, were distant and cold at best.  “Against these things there is no law,” yet the Pharisees and Sadducees failed to practice them.  They not only felt no joy or peace, but they also robbed others of their joy and peace by making them feel unworthy of God’s love.  They showed no kindness or patience to others.  They were not faithful to God by being gentle with people who were not like them.  They did not “bear fruit in keeping with repentance,” as John the Baptist said.

It’s easy to judge the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, since Jesus clearly exposed their inadequacies.  However, it’s a difficult challenge to ask ourselves: does our religion bear this fruit for us?  Does our practice of Christianity result in not only loving actions toward our neighbors, but also “joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” for ourselves?

Do we experience joy and peace in our relationship with God, or do we feel grief that we can’t live up to His expectations and do we still feel like God is disappointed in us?  Do we practice kindness and patience with others?  Are we gentle with those enslaved by the brokenness that rules this world?  Do we submit ourselves to the control of our God, who tells us to love Him and love our neighbor no matter what?

Fortunately for us, our salvation does not depend on our faithfulness, but on His faithfulness.  As 1 John 1:9 says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  We can never come to God too late or too often to ask for forgiveness and restoration.  His love for His people is steadfast and His faithfulness is without end or limit.  He is always willing to bring us back to the path that yields fruit for the Kingdom.  Jesus on the cross purchased for us a way to bear fruit!

Therefore, pray that we can all “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”  Fruit that brings us joy and peace, and that brings Him glory.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

[1] Matthew 5:8, 10

The God Over All Government

Todd R 1 Comment

We’d all like to live under a better government, but the only perfect, Godly government we’ll ever see is a monarchy under Jesus in heaven.  Until then, like it or not, we all have to live under imperfect governments.  We hope and pray for our government to be more Godly, more like the perfect government, and we should, as Paul wrote:

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” – 1 Tim 2:1-2

In addition to praying, there are many ways we try to influence our government.  In a democracy, we can seek to do this: by voting, by contributing money to political candidates, by working on a candidate’s campaign, by donating to lobbying organizations, by convincing others to vote differently, etc.  God may lead different people to participate politically in any of these ways, not at all, or in other ways.

However, none of these actions will be effective unless God is behind them, and the outcome we seek is what He also wants.  Only He can decide what are the right actions for us to take, and only He can decide which outcomes are best for His people, who He seeks to make perfectly Godly by His own definition of the word.  His purposes are to purify His people for eternity, not to bring about a perfect government in this broken world.  His purposes may not be our purposes, and where our influence is limited, His is unlimited.  Proverbs 21:1 tells us:

“The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD;
            he turns it wherever he will.”

Therefore, regardless of whether we think our government is Godly, our government is actually Godly in one way: that He is in charge behind the scenes regardless of how it looks to us.

There are a couple of verses in the book of Ezra that acknowledge this, but first just a little background.  Ezra was a priest and scribe who likely wrote the Old Testament book bearing his name, in addition to Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Chronicles, and possibly Psalm 119.  It is also thought that he helped compile the Old Testament canon (the list of which books do and don’t belong).

Ezra lived at the end of the Babylonian captivity of the nation of Judah, an exile that ended not because of the vigorous efforts of Judah to break free, but because God used foreign kings to free them, and later to pay for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.

After returning to their own land, the people of Judah were thankful for King Cyrus and King Darius, but ultimately, they knew God was behind it, and they determined to worship only Him, not Cyrus, Darius, or any other gods or men.  Ezra 6:22 says:

“And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the LORD had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.”

Ezra repeats the point in Ezra 7:27, referencing the principle from Proverbs 21:1 –

“Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem”

Our government is always in God’s hands, and He can do whatever He wills with it.  Pray that He will use it to bless God’s people, but also praise Him for all the benefits we may have, even under a hostile government.  Remember that God was behind Israel’s defeat by the Assyrians and Judah’s by Babylon, not just the return from exile.  It is by worshipping only God, not particular people or forms of government, that God’s people find their joy and peace.

“The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD;           
he turns it wherever he will.”