February 28 - Make No Mistake - God Loves You!

 Read today’s texts first: Numbers 24-27; 1 Corinthians 13

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

We like to talk about God’s undying love,
but we cannot presume on that grace
or forget the great cost of that love.

It’s my nature and my job as an English teacher to find mistakes on paper.  It may even be a spiritual gift.  So I couldn’t help noticing that our readings today include 1 Corinthians 13 when we’re supposed to be in the middle of Mark. Coincidentally, we will read 1 Corinthians 13 again on March 28, and today is February 28 – it looks suspiciously like a mistake on the reading guide.  In case it was our mistake in the student handbook, I checked New Hope’s website and it is the same there.

Whether a mistake or not, I was glad to read about the unconditional love of God right after the slaughter of 24,000 Baal worshippers in Numbers 25.  I’m aware of how the justice of God was swiftly executed to protect His people from compromising with the sexual and idolatrous perversion of the Canaanite nations.  It’s appropriate that the setting for this flirtation with the daughters of Moab was called “Shittim.”  Israel was in deep!

It is sobering to read about the holiness of God and the dangers of “playing the harlot.”  We have our own battle lines of compromise within the church and among God’s people today.  Yes we are in a time of the new covenant where we like to talk about God’s undying love, but we cannot presume on that grace or forget the great cost of that love.  God’s wrath was poured out on His own sinless Son so that we could experience forgiveness instead of judgment.

“Lord, seeing Your justice and mercy together today was no mistake.  We want to live in that tension – aware of Your holiness, but grateful for the love that made it possible for that holiness to flow through us.”

February 27 - Let Us Bray

 Read today’s texts first: Numbers 21-23; Mark 6-7

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

If you are nervous about speaking for God,
take heart - He can speak through any dumb ass! 

I often wonder why God chose me to speak for Him.  From my first panic attack at age 15 teaching open session in the Hastings Foursquare Sunday School to blanking out in speech class in Bible college, I’ve never found a public-speaking comfort zone.  Now as a senior citizen, after over 4 decades of teaching and preaching, I still get sick to my stomach every time I have to preach in church.

Today’s readings bring me some reassurance, I think.  The story of Moses should be inspirational enough.  Here is an octogenarian slow of speech with no aspirations as a public speaker leading 2 million plus very vocal Jews for over 40 years.  But the story he tells in Numbers 22 is the ultimate illustration of what God can do through any “dumb ass” (where else can you get away with saying that). 

Not only do we see God’s almost unbelievable power (how many of your unchurched friends would believe this story?), but His sense of humour is brilliant.  This scene is as funny as any exchange between Shrek and his donkey: “What have I ever done to you?  Am I not your trusty donkey on whom you’ve ridden for years right up until now? Have I ever done anything like this to you before? Have I?”  You know Balaam’s thinking it, “no, actually you’ve never talked back to me before, ever!”  Then the angel gets in on it: “Why have you beaten your poor donkey.   The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she hadn’t, I would have killed you by this time, but not the donkey. I would have let her off” (30-33).   Balaam is out-staged by his donkey.  Eddie Murphy, eat your heart out!

Fast forward to the Mark passage and we see Jesus, coincidentally enough, making the dumb speak (7:37).  It doesn’t take a whole lot of deductive reasoning to see a possible theme developing - God is not limited by our inadequacies.  “Lord, may I never doubt Your ability to speak even through me.  You said if we don’t speak Your praises, even the rocks will cry out.  I believe it!” 

February 26 - Hitting the Rocks

 Read today’s texts first: Numbers 19-20; Psalm 28; Mark 5

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

May we never measure our understanding of
God’s will by our degree of comfort.

If only Moses could have read my devotional yesterday.  After Jesus showed us how to safely navigate through the storms of life, Moses hits the rocks, literally.  Instead of obeying God and using his words to refresh his people, Moses did things his own way, lashing out in anger.  Using his staff to strike the rock, twice, is a classic metaphor for authority abuse.

Sometimes I think God was too hard on His friend Moses.  He let him outlive his whole generation and just when he’s about to enjoy the fruit of 120 years of hard labour, he’s barred from the Promised Land.  After 40 years of constant whining from 2 million ungrateful Jews, you’d think he’d be entitled to one angry outburst.  But God has a higher standard for those who represent Him in leadership.

Jesus, in Mark 5, shows us how to walk through the clamour of life with sublime peace.  Here is a man who is always in demand.  The only time He can pray is late at night or early in the morning.  He gets so tired that He can sleep on a rocking fishing boat in the middle of a life-threatening storm.  He is constantly being interrupted.  Even His interruptions are interrupted.  While ministering, Jairus pleads for Him to come heal his dying daughter.  While on His way, the woman with chronic bleeding reaches through the crowd around Him and grabs His garment.  Instead of being irritated, He takes time to find the woman and commend her for her faith.  That moment may have cost Jairus his daughter’s life, but that doesn’t seem to phase the One who is the “Resurrection and the Life”!

“Lord, I ask for that same kind of peace that only comes from doing what You ask me to do the way You tell me to do it and trusting that You will deliver on Your word.”

February 25 - The Still Big Voice

 Read today’s texts first: Numbers 17-18; Psalm 29; Mark 4

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

A proud leader can create waves
instead of calming them. 

I have often talked to my students or parishioners about the importance of tuning into the still small voice of God.  That’s how He chooses to speak to us most of the time – in the quietness of our spirit.  But we sometimes forget how powerful that voice is.  The psalmist reminds us with metaphors of thunder and lightning, breaking cedars and shaking deserts.  Right after we read about His thundering voice being “over the mighty waters” (2-3) we see that vividly illustrated in Mark 4.

After ministering all day, Jesus had earned a little shut-eye on the boat-ride back across Galilee.  He was rudely awakened, however, not by the crashing waves, but by the panicked disciples.  With an almost irritated reflex action, as quick and casual as you and I hitting the snooze button on our alarm clock, He calms the wind, the waves, and His disciples with three simple words: “peace be still.”  While He’s fluffing His pillow to return to dreamland, His disciples look at each other: “Who is this?  Even the winds and waves obey Him” (41).

Who is this indeed?  No wonder Aaron was to consider the priesthood a gift (Numbers 18:7).  To represent this amazing Jesus, our High Priest, is a privilege.  Speaking His words and bringing peace in the middle of rebellion, plagues, and any other storm we might face is a high calling.  Aaron’s budding rod is an illustration of authority that brings life.

So often those who have been given authority abuse it.  Power and pride can corrupt and the leader can create waves instead of calming them.  “Lord, my role as a priest, your representative, is a gift.  The big voice behind mine has limitless authority, but only when the words I speak bring peace, not strife - reconciliation, not retaliation.”

 

February 24 - Too Little Too Late

 Read today’s texts first: Numbers 14-15; Mark 3

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Sometimes there’s no way to redeem lost opportunities.

Sometimes I underestimate the importance of quick obedience.  I know God is merciful and full of grace so I have assumed on occasion that I can disobey initially then change my mind and everything will be okay.  Not so, as I can attest from personal experience and as we can see with the rebellious Israelites in Numbers 14.

Ten of the spies return with a faithless, fear-filled report and the people buy in big-time.  They doubt God’s ability to help them overcome the enemies occupying their promised land.  They say their fear is for their children: our little ones will become plunder (14:3).  Interestingly enough, it was their children who would defeat these same nations 40 years later:  God noticed the irony and was happy to point it out:: “your children, however, whom you said would become a prey – I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected.  But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness” (31-32).

Naturally when Israel hears that they say, and I paraphrase, “well when You put it that way, we’re sorry!  Why wait to die – we’ll go now!”  Too little too late.  God warned them that they had missed their chance and anything they do after the fact they do on their own.  Well they did just that, heading into battle “heedlessly” without Moses and the ark (in other words, without God) and they came running home tripping over the tail between their legs.

Sometimes there’s no way to redeem lost opportunities.  “Lord, may I hear You the first time and do what You ask when You ask.  My reading in Mark 3 reminds me that to be a member of Your family I must be quick to do Your will (35)!”

February 23 - When God’s Got Your Back

Read today’s texts first: Numbers 12-13; Psalm 90; Mark 2

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

When you put God in front, He’s also got your back!! 

Moses had mellowed over 80 years.  Had Miriam challenged him when he was younger, things might have been different.  At 40, Moses killed an Egyptian for mistreating a Hebrew “brother.”  He was a gangster then, backing his boys in the hood.  But 40 years of herding mangy sheep around the backside of the desert taught him about humility.  What looked like misspent years uniquely prepared him for the demanding job of herding 2 million bleating Jews through another 40 years in the desert.

When Miriam questioned his authority, Moses apparently said nothing in his own defense.  But God had his back: he is faithful in all My household; with him I speak mouth to mouth… why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses? (12:7-8). If that wasn’t enough to make Miriam’s face turn white, the leprosy that followed sure did!  Fortunately, Moses, with a compassion that only comes from working through his own rebellion, looks past Miriam’s insubordination and asks God for mercy.  No doubt he remembered how his older sister had his back when he was just a baby in the bulrushes.

Joshua and Caleb had the same confidence God would have their back when the Israelites moved into the Promised Land (13:30).  Even the giants that the other ten spies saw everywhere (it was really only the sons of Anak) were dwarfed in comparison to the God who covered their backside against Pharaoh.  We see the same power in Jesus, who when questioned about His authority to forgive sins, healed the paralytic as proof (Mark 2:9-12).

“Lord, that is my desire: to know Your will and to do it, in my personal life and ministry.  Thank You that no matter what giants lay in wait ahead of me, You are bigger, and You’ve got my back.”

February 22 - Kill Me Now Lord

 Read today’s texts first: Numbers 10-11; Psalm 27; Mark 1

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Lord, if I ever say ‘kill me now’
please don’t take me seriously!” 

Moses is a funny guy, I’ll give him that.  He could be as sarcastic in his complaints to God as the people were with him: Moses said to God, “Why are you treating me this way? What did I ever do to you to deserve this? Did I conceive them? Was I their mother? So why dump the responsibility of this people on me? Why tell me to carry them around like a nursing mother, carry them all the way to the land you promised to their ancestors? Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people who are whining to me, ‘Give us meat; we want meat.’ I can’t do this by myself – it’s too much, all these people. If this is how you intend to treat me, do me a favor and kill me. I’ve seen enough; I've had enough. Let me out of here” (11:11-15 MSG).  God not only humored Moses during these rants (they were pretty funny!), He referred to him as a friend, one He was willing to talk to in person, “mouth to mouth” (12:8).

David, “a man after God’s own heart,” had the same kind of open and honest relationship with his Lord.  In today’s psalm he is again complaining about his enemies and their false accusations.  But as usual he comes around to acknowledging God’s goodness and his own determination to wait for the Lord (13,14).

However, in the Mark 1 reading, Jesus seems to be much further along in His relationship with the Father.  Here we see Him slipping away quietly before dawn to pray (35).  We don’t know how or what He prayed, but I doubt it would have the same level of desperation (and sarcasm) you hear from Moses or David.  Jesus faced the same kinds of problems with His disciples as they did with their subordinates, but those quiet times away with the Father seem to keep Him on a more even keel.  Nowhere did He ask for God to kill Him, but when that later became a possibility He quietly prayed “not my will, but Thine be done.”

“Lord, I need that kind of quiet, calm resignation to Your will to characterize my prayer life.  But in the mean time, thank You for Your patience when I complain like Moses and for a lot fewer reasons.  And if I ever say ‘kill me now’ please don’t take me seriously!”

Clouded Vision

 

February 21

Clouded Vision 

Read today’s texts first: Numbers 8 & 9; Acts 28

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Fear is not a factor as long as we’re with You,
but it sure would be if we were left behind. 

What was the significance of God leading His people with a cloud by day and a fiery cloud by night?  Why not something more illuminating, like the Bethlehem star or lightning from Sinai, or a cute little sunbeam/moonbeam?  A cloud seems foggy, uncertain, maybe a little depressing (like most days in Vancouver).  Is that really the metaphor God wants us to associate with His presence and His leading in our lives?

Apparently so.  And His people had to keep their eyes constantly on that cloud, day and night, to make sure they moved when it did (9:21).  It wasn’t a matter of God being with them; it was about them being with God.  This idea flies in the face of our me-centered theology today.  We like to think of God as a personal valet we bring along wherever we go, to make sure we have a sunny day, a warm, fuzzy feeling, and a parking place close to the mall entrance.

The uncertainty of following a cloudy vision, that can move us out of our comfort zones at any moment, is unsettling to say the least.  Paul is living proof.  He knew Rome was next on his list of must-see cities in his plans to travel the world, but I’m sure he didn’t plan on being under arrest for two years in

Caesarea, getting shipwrecked and spending three months on Malta, or spending at least two more years under house arrest in Rome.  But he was following the cloud.

“Lord, it’s not always clear where You are leading me, but if You’re moving I’m going too.  Fear is not a factor as long as I’m with You, but it sure would be if I was left behind."

 

February 20 - Fear is Not a Factor

 Read today’s texts first: Numbers 7; Psalm 23; Acts 27

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Our worst case scenario, dying, is our best case
scenario, being with Jesus forever. 

When we step into the realm of faith (yesterday’s devotional), fear is no longer a factor (yes, borrowing the phrase from a gross reality show is intentional!).  Even when we walk through a dark valley, with no idea where we are going and the shadow of death engulfing us, there’s nothing to worry about (Psalm 23:4).  God is with us.

A past journal entry on this day recorded the story of Sargon and I walking through the college singing an impromptu duet of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”  Yes, it was both a strange sight and a strange sound (the students had a good laugh at our expense), but it was also significant in other ways.  We represent two completely different people from opposite places in the world (Sargon is from war-torn Iraq), singing together because of the peace we now share in knowing Jesus.

I can imagine Paul singing the same kind of song while his ship was being torn apart off the coast of Malta.  He knew he was going to arrive in Rome in one piece so nothing along the way seemed to bother him.  Even the poisonous asp hanging off his hand (I read ahead to ch. 28) had no effect on him (quite literally).

The promise of Psalm 23 is true – when God is with us, goodness and lovingkindness follow us every day of our lives.  Our greatest fear, the shadow of death, has no effect when we realize death is just a doorway to “the house of the Lord” where we will dwell with Him forever (6).  Our worst case scenario, dying, is our best case scenario, being with Jesus forever.  “Thank You Lord that wherever I follow You, fear is simply not a factor.”

February 19 - The Faith Factor

 Read today’s texts first: Numbers 5 & 6; Psalms 22; Acts 26

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Reason will take you so far, but when we include
the faith factor, it all begins to make sense. 

Reason will only take you so far.  Paul was a logical thinker and a convincing speaker.  After his defense to Agrippa, the king was almost persuaded to become a Christian (28).  Festus, on the other hand, thought Paul was crazy (24).  Reason, logic and intellect will only take you so far – eventually faith must become a factor.   When we take that leap of faith and actually become a believer, it all begins to make perfect sense.

Notice I said “begins.”  I’ve been a Christian for over 60 years, but I’m still not ready to explain the significance of the jealousy ritual in Numbers 5 or the Nazarite vow in Numbers 6.  I am, however, far enough along in my faith journey to appreciate the incredible prophecies in Psalm 22.  David likely has no idea that he is prophesying a blow-by-blow description of Christ’s crucifixion.  He thinks he’s just complaining about another one of his bad days, but the Great I Am, who sees the future as if it’s the present, places words in his mouth of undeniable detail describing His death.

We know Jesus had something to do with this Psalm because He quotes it while hanging on the cross: “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” (1). Then David includes these incredible insights.

• Despised by the people (6)
• Scorned and mocked by a gaping crowd gathered around (7,12,13,16)
• Poured out like water (water and blood flowed from His side) (14)
• Bones out of joint (effects of the crucifixion) (14)
• Incredible thirst (15)
• Pierced his hands and feet (16)
• Bones unbroken (17)
• Casts lots for His garment (18)
• The eternal effects of His death and resurrection (24-31)

This description could not possibly apply to David, but it vividly describes the last hours of the Messiah to come through his seed.

Once we include the faith factor it all makes so much sense.  The capacity of our Jesus to describe the details of His death more than 1000 years before He even appeared on planet Earth as the Babe in Bethlehem is mind-blowing.  “Lord, may I never doubt that You know exactly what’s going on and how it’s all going to turn out in the end.  Fear should not be a factor, but faith sure is!”

 

February 18

I Love it When a Plan Comes Together

 

Read today’s texts first: Numbers 3 & 4; Acts 25

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

• In God’s chess match, even P.O.W.s are still in the game.

• I’m okay with just being a pawn as long as I’m on the side and in the hands of the Chess Master!

Few people know this, but no one is surprised when I tell them: I was president of the chess club in junior high school.  It may have sealed my official “nerd” status, but it also taught me a lot about life.  I learned early on that I could win the war by conceding a few battles along the way.  While my opponent was deliriously distracted by taking my occasional knight or bishop, I was concentrating on the bigger picture.  While pretending I was retreating, I was actually maneuvering my castle and Queen in on his king.  And just when he was feeling completely superior, comparing his P.O.W.s to mine, I would crush his spirit with the completely unexpected “checkmate.”

That’s why I love being on God’s side in the war of good vs. evil.  Paul’s story is like so many of the great table-turning tales of the past: Moses and Pharaoh, Mordecai and Haman, David and Goliath.  Just when you think Paul is done, God, the ultimate chess player, gives him an audience with some of the most influential men of the Roman world and arranges an all-expenses-paid trip to Rome.  He maneuvers Paul into the next key city of His master plan to evangelize the known world with the gospel.  And Paul is the perfect man for the job - a natural-born Roman citizen, highly educated, and articulate enough to command the attention of Rome’s elite: Commander Claudius Lysias, Governors Felix and Festus, King Agrippa, and finally an appeal to Caesar.  In God’s chess match, even P.O.W.s are still in the game.

I call it the Calvary factor.  Satan’s greatest weakness is his pride – he is deluded enough to think he can win the war.  He can get so caught up in winning a few skirmishes that he loses sight of the big picture: the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood, for if they had understood it they would never have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:8).  Jesus snatched victory from the jaws of defeat on Golgotha with the words “it is finished.”  Translation – “checkmate” or in the words of A-Team’s Hannibal Smith, “I love it when a plan comes together!”

“Lord, You are the chess master, not me.  Sometimes I don’t see the big picture either, but as the Master Planner, You do.  I’m okay with just being a pawn as long as I’m on Your side and in Your hands!”

February 17 - Never Wish for Numbers

 Read today’s texts first: Numbers 1 & 2; Acts 24

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Stay focused on building big people;
let God build big groups! 

The book of Numbers delivers on the promise of its title: it begins by numbering the tribes of Israel.  While this may not be spell-binding reading, there’s much to see between the lines.  There were 600,000 fighting men, so likely well over 2 million altogether, including women and children.  This must have been the biggest campsite any of us have ever seen, including Woodstock!

And we know they weren’t all happy campers – these were Jews who love to complain and who had very good reason: constant setting up, tearing down, moving out, and then repeating the cycle ad

infinitum; wandering in a barren desert with nothing interesting to see or do; keeping children distracted from their constant hunger and thirst; trying to avoid wars with bloodthirsty barbarians while trespassing on their land; and knowing there’s more of that ahead when they finally get to the “Promised Land.”  How would we do with no kitchens, bathrooms (not even an outhouse), televisions, water coolers, air conditioners, shopping malls, or transportation options – for 40 years!

Then there’s their fearless leader.  Moses was an octogenarian when he started this parade to the Promised Land, and then he outlives them for another 40 years in the wilderness.  A well-earned retirement, a little golf, some puttering in the workshop, and a lot of Lazy-Boy action would be all I could think about when I turn 120!  Try leading 2 million complaining Jews through the worst possible conditions with little idea where you’re going and what you’ll find when you get there.  Then try to do that without a P.A. system and a good worship team to set the mood.

“So often I’ve aspired to see numbers grow, as a youth pastor, an associate pastor, a senior pastor, and a college president.  But Lord, I’m no Moses, and I now would rather focus on quality than quantity.  I’ll stay concerned with building big people; You can deal with building big groups!”

February 16 - Prosperity Thinking

 Read today’s texts first: Leviticus 26 & 27; Acts 23

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

May we never measure our understanding of
God’s will by our degree of comfort.

I love it when there’s harmony between my daily Old Testament and New Testament readings, where each enhances the other.  But I’m also starting to love the rare occasion where there’s apparent incongruence between the two, like today, because it’s in that search for connection when deeper truths are revealed.

Leviticus 26 is about God’s blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.  The blessings seem to imply prosperity: fruitfulness (4), health (5), freedom from enemy oppression (6-8).  The Word-Faith teachers love this stuff!  But when we fast-forward to Paul, we see him faithfully following God’s will and being persecuted by everyone, from Jews to Romans to fellow Christians.  The Word-Faith teachers seem to have problems with Paul.  I remember one article in the Voice of Victory magazine blaming Paul for his chronic “thorn in the flesh,” because he prayed three times instead of claiming his answer the first time.

So are Paul’s difficulties the result of a lack of faith, or worse, disobedience?  That’s where the deeper study proves helpful.  My devotion yesterday settled the ownership question already: prosperity is not about our wealth, health or comfort.  Fruitfulness is about saving souls, not stock options.  Some prosperity teachers measure your spirituality by the size of your Cadillac or the cut of your Armani suit, but even if you are buried in both, neither will arrive with you in heaven.  Paul understood that prosperity was advancing God’s Kingdom, not building his own.  God was allowing Paul’s enemies to provide free transportation and access for Paul to evangelize Rome (11) – now that’s true fruitfulness, freedom and prosperity.

“Lord, may I never measure my understanding of Your will by my degree of comfort.  The prosperity of Your Kingdom is the true and lasting reward of obedience.”

February 15 - God’s Perfect Economy

 Read today’s texts first: Leviticus 25; Psalm 25 & 26; Acts 22

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

We’re not here just to make a living and acquire things; we’re here to manage God’s resources and serve
His purposes. 

I learned a biblical principle from my brother that helped me earn hundreds of thousands of dollars.  It wasn’t my brother the pastor; it was my eldest brother, the businessman.  He discovered while buying rental houses that the economy went through 7-8 year economic cycles, coincident with the Sabbath year.

The principle of the Sabbath is not just to revitalize the land as it lays fallow for a year: the changes in buying and selling that year also revitalize the economy.  Without that intentional correction, the economy will adjust itself – the hard way.  Spiraling inflation ends in a minor or major recession.  If you time it right you can sell one house high and buy the next one low, which both of us did for serious profits.

The Sabbath of Sabbath years, the 50^th year of Jubilee, cancelled all debts, returned all property to its original owners and allowed for the emancipation of all slaves.  Nowhere in biblical history do we hear of Israel actually doing this, but the concept is brilliant.  Chronic poverty, long-term debt, exploitation of workers, and so many other social problems connected to ownership and greed would be eliminated. The principle was a reminder that God owns everything and that we are only stewards of His property.

“Lord, this foundational truth must undergird everything we do on this planet.  We’re not here just to make a living and acquire things; we’re here to manage Your resources and serve Your purposes.  That’s when we’ll experience the jubilee that comes from true rest and complete freedom!”

February 14 - Celebrate Good Times, C’mon!

 Read today’s texts first: Leviticus 23 & 24; Psalm 24; Acts 21

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

It is Your will that I sleep sweetly, rest regularly,
and party hardy! 

Christians often think of Old Testament law like nonchristians view the church - boring and oppressive.  But the church today, just like the Israelites of old, should be party central!  The emphasis on the Sabbath and the annual feasts remind us of the abundant life we are supposed to be enjoying.  Five of the seven national holidays were to be times of celebration with the family and community of believers.  Sprinkled throughout their description are reminders of the Sabbath, when everyone should cease from “laborious work.”  Rest and recreation are vital in living life to the fullest.

We live in a stress-filled, sleep-deprived world.  Greed and materialism are ripping people off of a good night’s sleep, a good week’s rest, and true holiday celebrations.  TV and the internet are stealing our sleep, Sunday shopping has replaced the Sunday family dinner, and holidays have become exhausting.

Christians are not much better.  It may not be greed that drives us to an early grave, but even our desire to serve God can become an excuse for workaholism.  You may have heard, “it’s better to burn out than to rust out!”  Hey, take it from me, after experiencing the debilitating symptoms of burn-out, there is a better option.  The most effective Christians are those who’ve learned how to enjoy life.  They stand in attractive contrast to the road-weary, bleary-eyed, sad souls looking for a better way to live.

“Lord, help me keep the balance You so clearly established in Your Word.  It is Your will that I sleep sweetly, rest regularly and party hardy!”

February 13 - Aversion to Perversion

 Read today’s texts first: Leviticus 20-22; Acts 20

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

God help us to hate the sin in our world as much
as we love the sinner. 

When God has a sex talk He holds nothing back.  Leviticus is not a bedtime story for children.  It seems like God wants to warn His people about every conceivable sexual sin, from threesomes with a mother and her daughter to orgies in the barnyard, with the livestock!  Where’s the parents’ advisory on these chapters?

The point of these details on immorality is to alert His people to the kind of perversion they will encounter among the pagan Canaanite nations:  you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them …. I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples (20:23, 24).

Satan cannot create – only God has that kind of power.  So the devil takes what God has designed for good and twists it, or “perverts” it, to be used outside of God’s intended purpose.  He has done just that with music, dance, and, most insidiously, sex.  The most sacred expression of loving intimacy between a husband and wife has been debased to animalistic lust.

God’s graphic descriptions should make us as angry as it does Him.  It’s that hatred of sin that will keep us from being sucked into the vortex of perversion that is as prevalent now as it was then. Unfortunately, the twisted thinking of the world has crept into our churches, our Bible colleges, and yes, at times, even my own life.  It’s what Paul warned his new converts about (20:30).  Sometimes we need to be shocked out of our complacency.

“God help us to hate the sin in our world as much as we love the sinner.  We live in an upside-down world, but You came to set things right-side-up.  What can I do to right things in my own life, and in the lives of those I can influence?”

February 12 - Who Are You?

 Read today’s texts first: Leviticus 18 & 19; Psalms 13; Acts 19

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

It’s not about who I am; it’s about whose I am,
and about who’s “I Am!”

Talk about your identity crisis.  The seven sons of Sceva were so impressed with Paul that they all tried to be like him, attempting to cast out evil spirits in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches.  The demons saw the incongruity: we know Jesus, we know Paul, but who are you? (15).  If you know the rest of the story, you can add one more “s” to the usual alliteration - the seven “streaking” sons of Sceva.  When you don’t know who you are, you have good reason to be running scared and naked!

We can only discover who we are when we know the One who created us.  He alone knows us fully - past, present, and future.  He is our Way, our Truth, and the Source of abundant Life.  Sceva’s kids represent those who know about God, but have never taken the time to know Him personally.  They are posers, hitchhikers on the road of life, relying on someone else’s faith to make things happen.

David, a man after God’s own heart, knew how important it was to stay connected to the source of His identity.  When he felt separated from God, his enemies, like the demons of Acts 19, exalted over him (Psalm 13:2).  But when he trusted in God’s lovingkindness, he experienced salvation (5).  God says to His people, in the Leviticus reading, that the only way to truly live is my way – I am the Lord (18:5).  That phrase is repeated over and over again.  The “Great I Am” has no identity problem.  When Jesus declared He was the “I Am,” the power behind that declaration knocked His enemies on their backsides (John 18:6).

“Lord, I long to know You more, and to discover more about my own identity in the process.  It’s not about who I am; it’s about whose I am, and about who’s ‘I Am’!”

February 11 - A Reasonable Faith - Part 2

 Read today’s texts first: Leviticus 15-17; Acts 18

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

When we give a “reason for the hope within us, “
let’s make sure it is reasonable and irrefutable. 

The reasoning continues in Acts 18, this time passing from Paul to Aquila and Priscilla, and then to Apollos (4,19,25,26,28).

The tedious task of stitching tent canvas allowed Paul many hours of training with fellow tent-makers, Aquila and Priscilla.  On a side note, notice how they were introduced to us with the husband’s name first (2), in typical Jewish fashion, but then later on by the wife’s name first (18; Romans 16:3; 2 Timothy 4:19) – very atypical!  Priscilla apparently developed a prominent teaching gift and became more active in ministry than her husband.  So much for the view that believes Paul discriminated against women in ministry.  The strength of Priscilla and Aquila, like Paul, was sound, reasonable teaching.

Naturally they were drawn to Apollos, who was known for teaching about Jesus “accurately” (25), though he was limited to John’s mentorship.  After P & A finished enlightening him, he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ (28).  How does one prove Jesus is the Christ?  Frank Morrison, an agnostic lawyer, set out to disprove the resurrection of Jesus.  He was so changed by the overwhelming evidence for it that he became a Christian.  The book he finally wrote, entitled Who Moved the Stone, presents compelling arguments that prove the historical accuracy of Christ’s death and resurrection.

In sharp contrast to that kind of reasonable thinking is the way the Jehovah Witness community has misinterpreted today’s Leviticus reading on eating blood.  I remember when our B.C. government had to step in to save some of the sextuplets born to JW parents who refused their much-needed blood transfusions.  The command in Leviticus clearly concerns “eating blood” and the reasons are physical (health concerns) and spiritual (this was a ritual from the pagan idolatry of Israel’s enemies).  To allow innocent children to die unnecessarily over faulty exegesis is not only unreasonable, it’s criminal.  And it unfortunately brands every other Bible believer with the inaccurate notion that we are mindless and superstitious.

“Lord, may I follow the pattern set by Paul, Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos in presenting a reason for the hope I have within me.  It is a hope based on truth that is both reasonable and irrefutable.”

February 10 - A Reasonable Faith

 Read today’s texts first: Leviticus 13 &14; Acts 17

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Faith, if it’s based on truth, should be reasonable. 

Christians often appear as mindless fanatics to our sophisticated world: “I live by faith – don’t confuse me with the facts.”  While I’d be the first to admit there are times when God’s mind exceeds the capacity of my own mind to understand it, I also think that faith, if it’s based on truth, should be reasonable.  That’s why I taught a class on science and the Bible at PLBC.  I want future church leaders to be able to give a reason for the hope they have (1 Peter 3:15).

Paul felt the same way.  He reasoned with these very intellectual Jews and Greeks (2,17), proving to them Christ died and rose again (3).  So convincing was he that many of them were “persuaded” to come to Christ.  Of course people come to faith through a spiritual decision, not an intellectual one. But for the message to penetrate the spirit, it has to get past the defenses people build into their thinking.  This is particularly true with Westerners, Europeans, and others from intellectual and sophisticated societies.

Fortunately, the Bible is truth, and bears up under scrutiny.  I saw a reader-board sign outside a United church that said “The Bible: Infallible – no; Inspirational – yes.”  That doesn’t work for me.  If something is not fully true, then how can it transform my life?  Jesus said to all the Genesis skeptics and evolutionists out there, I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?  (John 3:12).  The Bible must be true in its history and science if we are to believe its spiritual principles.

Even the details of the health and spiritual limitations on diet and cleanliness in our Leviticus readings are reasonable.  That’s why the Israelites were so far ahead of the pagan nations around them.  “Lord, thank You that Your Word is true, on all levels.  It has withstood the scrutiny of skeptics for thousands of years and becomes more recognizably reliable with each scientific discovery. Trusting You and Your Word is the reasonable thing to do!”