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.”