March 17 - The Mind of Christ

 Read today’s texts first: Deuteronomy 32-34; 1 Corinthians 2

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

St. Patty said it best: All that I am, I have received from God…Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me. 

Today is Kaitlyn’s birthday. It’s easy to remember, mostly because my oldest granddaughter is so special to me, but also because it’s St. Patrick’s Day. His legacy, combined with an obvious theme from our readings today, give me great hope for Katie's future.

Katie is the brightest, most precocious child I’ve ever known (her mom, my daughter Carissa, was close)! I remember when she was 7 and I was helping her make bracelets for her brother and little sister. I remember asking her some basic questions about her technique, you know, to make her feel smart. She must have suspected the questions were too patronizing because she stopped, squinted at me and asked, quite sarcastically, “how old are you?” I guess she thought I should know the answers without asking her. Her teachers at school must have had fun!

She will need that sharp mind, and the mind of Jesus who lives inside of her, as she faces a very challenging future. It’s not easy navigating through life, especially today, when there are so many fools out there trying to convince us there is no God (Psalm 14:1). But Moses reassures us: their rock is not our Rock; our enemies are by themselves (32:31). It was God’s presence that distinguished Israel from the heathen nations; it was God’s guidance that led them to victory against overwhelming odds. Paul said that even Satan and his minions, with their elaborate plans against us, are clueless. If they knew what was going on they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (2:6-8). Big mistake – their Waterloo!

St. Patrick, born Maewyn Succat, discovered he had the mind of Christ (2:16). Maewyn lived a normal childhood as the son of a wealthy landowner and magistrate in Britain. But tragically, at 16, he was captured during a raid on his village and then sold into slavery in Ireland. After six years Maewyn escaped to France and became a priest, adopting the name Patrick.  During his training, Patrick heard God calling him to go preach the gospel to Irish pagans. He went back to Ireland where he had been abused as a slave, established monasteries across the country, set up schools and churches, and converted many over 30 years of ministry. He died on March 17, the day we commemorate as St. Patrick's Day.

This quotation from St. Patrick is my prayer and God’s promise for me and for Kaitlyn: I am certain in my heart that “all that I am,” I have received from God…Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me.

March 16 - My Heart in my Mouth

 Read today’s texts first: Deuteronomy 30,31; Psalm 40; 1 Corinthians 1

MAXIMize YOUR DAY 

God’s law should continually flow from our hearts
to our mouths, from the inside out. 

Have you heard the expression, my heart was in my mouth? It simply means I was feeling very emotional or passionate about something or someone. It is the way we are supposed to love and obey God, with all of our heart and soul (30:2,6,10). If the law is applied from the outside in, then it can degenerate into heartless legalism. Can you say “Pharisee”? But it was always God’s intent to write His law in our hearts, even before Jesus made it possible for the Spirit of the Law-giver to live in us. And, according to all our readings today, His law should continually flow from our hearts to our mouths, from the inside out (30:14; Ps. 40:8-10; 1Cor. 1:5).

Jesus explained how we speak out of the overflow of our hearts (Luke 6:45). We can see and hear how true that is in the conversations of the newly-in-love. As the former president of Pacific Life “Bridal” College, I sat through countless pre-marriage sessions with couples who couldn’t stop talking about how much they loved each other. My job was to warn them of the day when that might not be the case, and to teach them how to continually fan the flames of romance.

In our OT reading, God is doing the same thing with His bride. He is essentially saying, you love me now when you need me to get you into the land of promise. However, when you start to prosper, you will forget me, mark My words. You will become enamored with other gods and your conversations will be about them, not Me (29:9-29; 30:15-20; 31:16-18). But He assures them and us, The Word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so you can do it! (30:14).

“Lord, I am loving this time we have every day to let Your Word fill my heart. Hopefully, it will overflow through my mouth (and from my blog) to encourage others!”

March 15 - Live Long and Prosper

 Read today’s texts first: Deuteronomy 28,29; Galatians 6

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

To “live long and prosper” has more to do with the life
to come , where “one man has gone before!” 

Again, the tension we see between our OT and NT readings helps us develop a balanced perspective. Those who think we will always be healthy and wealthy if we believe and confess God’s Word (the prosperity movement) love the promises of Deuteronomy (28:1-14): The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity (11).

If you believe that, you are right, to a point. If we do things God’s way we will always be better off. First of all, God is the Creator so He knows how things work. Most of what He asks us to do is common sense. If we are honest, hard-working employees, we will likely stay working and maintain a steady income. If we live good, clean, moral lives we will avoid self-destructive addictions. If we love our families we will take care of them and teach them well, and they will likely grow up to be successful like us. On top of these natural consequences is the supernatural God factor. God will look out for us when things are beyond our control.

However, how do we explain the hardship Jesus endured. Prosperity teachers will say Jesus went through all of those things so we wouldn’t have to. Okay, what about Paul, or for that matter, the rest of the apostles and persecuted believers of the New Testament churches? Did you notice Paul’s comment about his big handwritten letters at the end of his epistle (6:11)? Did you also pick up on the illness he had when he first preached in Galatia (4:12-15)? He said that the Galatians felt so sorry for him that they would have been willing to give their eyes to him.

I suspect Paul had some type of eye disease that made it difficult for him to write (that’s why he had other people transcribe his letters). There’s good support that this was a chronic condition, and may have been what Paul called his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). Whether it was or not, we can’t categorize Paul’s life as healthy and wealthy (2 Corinthians 11:23-27). Stonings, beatings, shipwrecks, snake bite, illness, prison, and, oh yeah, martyrdom - none of those things seem prosperous.

Paul does confirm the promises of Deuteronomy, though - we will reap what we sow, but if we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life (6:7-9). That’s what it really means to live long and prosper (take note Trekkies)!  “Thank You Lord that Your promises of prosperity are true to those who trust and obey, if not completely in this world then most certainly in the world to come (where one Man has gone before!).”

March 14 - Loopholes or Whole Hearts

 Read today’s texts first: Deuteronomy 25-27; Galatians 5

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

The law tries to conform us from the outside in,
but God’s Spirit transforms us from the inside out! 

As the OT laws become more specific, from taking care of your ox to protecting your privates in a fight (25:4,11,12), we can see the inadequacy of external laws. We may chuckle at some of them because society has changed so much, but in reality man’s attempts at writing laws are far more detailed.

The Rabbis expanded on God’s simple sabbath rules in the Mishnah, with its 39 major categories and hundreds of subcategories, from tying certain knots to writing adjoining letters. While in Jerusalem on Shabbat, I was fascinated (and a little frustrated) watching the hotel elevators automatically stop on every floor so we wouldn’t violate any work rules by pushing a button.

The western world has its own share of overly specific laws. In Normal, Oklahoma, it is illegal to antagonize a dog by making funny faces (seems “normal” to me). In Memphis, Tennessee, they still have a law in the books that forbids women from driving unless a man drives another vehicle in front with a red flag to warn other motorists!

Lawyers make a living studying hundreds of law books looking for loopholes. It’s human nature. I caught my granddaughter with a juice box in the family room after just explaining that eating is confined to the dining room. Her response – “I wasn’t eating; I was drinking!” I need to write my own Mishnah!

Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gives us God’s perspective on the law. We need the law to show us how corrupt our sinful nature really is. But after Jesus fulfilled the demands of the law for us, it is now possible for the Law-giver to live in our hearts. Our sinful nature is transformed by His nature. His divine attributes, the fruit of the Spirit, begin to guide our actions in every situation (5:22-25), exceeding what the law demands (Matthew 5-7). The law tries to conform us from the outside in, but God’s Spirit transforms us from the inside out!

“Lord, thank You that I no longer live for myself, looking for loopholes to excuse my sin. I can live for You, loving You and others with my whole heart.”

March 13 - From Slaves to Sons

 Read today’s texts first: Deuteronomy 22-24; Galatians 4

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

As slaves we should know the Law, but as sons
we can know the Father - the Spirit of the Law. 

You’ll notice that the New Hope reading plan is more chronological (in order of their historical timeline) than sequential (in the order the books appear in the canon). However, the combinations of the OT and NT readings may also be related by theme. For example, reading Paul’s gospel-centered perspective on the law (Galatians) while wading through the most detailed sections of Jewish law (Deuteronomy) may be more than a just a happy coincidence.

Some wonder how much of the OT law applies today. The ones with timeless application are obvious. For example, the Ten Commandments fit our day as well as the day they were written. But some of the laws we’ve been reading lately relate to camp cleanliness, slavery, multiple marriages, farming, dated construction techniques, etc. They have no specific application to our life today in a developed nation. Relax, you are not sinning if you don’t leave your house carrying a shovel when you have to relieve yourself (23:12-14). Toilets and indoor plumbing have rendered that law unnecessary. Yet, the intent of protecting ourselves from disease still applies.

Paul helps to shape our perspective with his Spirit-inspired common sense approach to the law. When we were slaves to sin, the law was helpful in guiding us toward the promise of a Saviour. But when Jesus came and finally fulfilled the law, His followers were adopted - from slaves to sons, with the Spirit of the Father now resident within them (4:1-7). “Lord, thank You for redeeming me as a slave and adopting me as Your son. You guide me every day, not by the letter of the law but by the Spirit of the law who lives inside me (Romans 7:6)!”

March 12 - God’s Curse, Our Blessing

 Read today’s texts first: Deuteronomy 19-21; Galatians 3

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

The curse Jesus endured became our blessing!

It’s sometimes difficult to read through this section of the law - it seems so harsh! But, we must remember how barbaric the middle eastern culture was at this time in history (and by comparison, still is today). The Judaic law was far more just and civilized than any ancient culture of that day. In fact, the way Jesus applied OT law (Judeo Christian values) has become the foundational justice system of most developed nations today.

But what struck me this time was the practice of raising the bodies of those guilty of capital crimes on a pole as an example to others. According to 21:23, anyone who is raised on a pole is under God’s curse. Coincidentally, our reading in Galatians quotes that same verse in reference to Jesus: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole” (3:13).

Think about that. We are all law breakers, guilty of the harshest of judgments. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a). We deserve to be put up on that pole, but Jesus, God’s only Son, became cursed for us, sinless yet sentenced to die on that cross in our place: the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23b).

Reading about the law reminds us of how much we need God’s amazing grace. If we were to be justified by the law then we would die, but instead we are justified by faith in Jesus. That’s what the book of Galatians is all about. Paul is addressing those who are trying to undermine faith in the gospel message by emphasizing the works of the law. The law can point out our sin but falls short of saving us. “Thank You Lord for doing what I couldn’t; fulfilling the demands of the law in my place. The curse You endured became my blessing!”

March 11 - The Man Who Would Be King

 Read today’s texts first: Deuteronomy 16-18; Psalm 38; Galatians 2

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

Two avoid the pitfalls of power: study God’s Word
every day and remember He is God & you are not.

The above title I borrowed from a novella written by Rudyard Kipling. It features two British adventurers who, through superior knowledge and firepower, become revered as gods by the people of Kafiristan. They rule there as kings until one of them is bitten by his kafir wife and bleeds. Because gods aren’t supposed to bleed, they suffer rejection by the kafirs and an unpleasant end to their lives. The title and the plot are fitting to what will happen in Israel.

The Israelites, as God’s chosen people, were supposed to be ruled by God (1 Samuel 8:6,7). But God, who sees man’s choices before they’re made, knows that someday they will want to have a human king, just like the other nations. He warns them well in advance what can happen when you give a man that kind of god-like power. The three areas of temptation come into play: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). They will tend to gather women (lust of the flesh), wealth (lust of the eyes), and weapons (eg. horses=power=pride of life) (Deuteronomy 17:14-17).

The same thing can happen today with God’s chosen people, His church. Some Christians don’t want to be directly accountable to God so they set up their pastor to rule as their priest and king. That way, instead of feeling personally responsible, they can sit back, complain when things don’t go well, and get rid of their pastor when they discover he or she was human after all!

But God gives two simple rules for leaders to avoid the pitfalls of power: study God’s Word every day so you remember that He is God and you are not, and never consider yourself better than those you lead (17:18-20). “Lord, I have learned, sometimes the hard way, that You are my God and King; any influence I have comes only through submission to You!”