National Revival

Readings for today: Jonah 1-4

Happy 4th of July! Today I’m praying for spiritual revival for our nation. A revival on par with what happened in Nineveh in Jonah’s day. A revival that would reach the halls of power. A revival that would break out in the streets. A revival so complete it would include the rich and poor. Great and small. Black, white, brown. Republican and Democrat. I’m praying for God to do a work so mighty. So obvious. So clear that it simply cannot be denied. And I am praying for God to get all the glory.

But let me be clear. I am not praying for revival so that America will be great again. Revival is never about us. Never about our wants. Our needs. Our desires. Revival can never be about our own greatness and it cannot be about our own glory. America, like any nation on earth, will only be great as she seeks the Lord. As she submits to His will. Confesses her sin. Repents from her wicked ways. Friends, our hope is not in democracy. Our hope is not in capitalism. Our hope is not in our military might and power or even the freedoms so many brave men and women have died to protect. Our hope is in Jesus Christ. He is our only hope in this life or the next. His name is the only name given under heaven by which we might be saved. His life, death, and resurrection is the only way we find redemption.

So I am praying for revival. I am praying we have the courage in our nation to face our checkered past. I am praying we have the humility in our nation to acknowledge our tragic failings. I am praying we find the strength to repent for the full measure of our sin. This can only come from the Holy Spirit, of course. Only by turning to Him can we find what we need to move forward into a brighter and more glorious future. The people of Nineveh believed God. They heard the Word and they got on their knees. Though they were a great city in a great empire, they humbled themselves before the Lord. They turned from their evil ways. They turned from their violent ways. They turned from their oppressive ways. And God saw their hearts. He relented of the disaster He was preparing for them. And over 100,000 people were saved.

A dear friend of mine shared recently with me that he believes we are living through extraordinary times. He is a pastor. He is a community organizer. He is a leader of non-violent protests in his city. He is African-American and serves a predominantly white congregation in the Deep South. When I asked him how he is feeling about the state of our country, he was excited. He believes there has never been a better time to preach the gospel and that’s why he’s on the front lines in his own community. He is out there sharing Jesus. Like Jonah, he is walking the length and breadth of his city calling for people to repent and place their trust in Christ. He is an inspiration to me. Now he knows how difficult things have become. He is not blind to the challenges of the global pandemic or the racial tensions or the economic shutdown. He is very aware of the impact these things have had on the people he loves and serves. But he also knows this is a time when the very ground beneath our feet has been shaken. Lives have been stripped down to the studs and there is a new openness to the gospel’s call.

Friends, we are living in extraordinary times in our extraordinary country. The task of forming a more perfect union has now come to us. The call to fulfill the vision of a nation where all people are created equal remains. Every generation must accept their responsibility to engage the hard work of bending the moral arc of the universe towards justice and peace. We cannot rest on the work of those who have come before. Each of us must now take our place. Shoulder our part of the load. Bear the responsibility God has called us to bear so that we can leave this nation in a better place than how we found it. Again, not for our sake. Not even for the sake of future generations of Americans. But for the glory of God alone. May we hear clearly the call of the gospel: “Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” America will find her greatness as she repents before God and gives herself away for the sake of the world.

High Places

Readings for today: 2 Kings 14-15, 2 Chronicles 25-27

High places. We see them pop up all over the place in the Kings and Chronicles. Often the righteousness of kings is judged on whether or not they tolerate them. What are they? Originally, they were sacred spaces where the Canaanite tribes worshipped their gods.  If you flip back to Deuteronomy 12, you read these words, “You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place.” (Deut. ‭12:2-3‬) Yahweh had set His people apart. They would be different. They would not be like any other tribe or nation. Because they were a nation of priests, they would worship Yahweh in the way He prescribed. “But you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there. There you shall go, and there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.” (Deut.‬ ‭12:5-7‬) 

Where was this place? Originally, it was the Tabernacle that traveled with them in the wilderness. After Solomon, it was the Temple in Jerusalem. This was the place where God had set His name and indwelt with His presence. This was the “place” the Israelites were commanded to seek when they worshipped. However, the travel could be difficult. The cost was high. It meant time away from the fields. Time away from home. After the kingdoms split, it meant possible defection by the northern tribes so the Israelite kings set up their own shrines (the sin of Jeroboam) and forbade their people from traveling to Jerusalem at the prescribed times. The people set up their own shrines to Yahweh on the very high places He once commanded them to destroy. If we assume the best of them, they were trying to worship Yahweh. Trying to remain faithful. Just not in the way He demanded or the way He deserved. At their worst, they adopted the worship practices of the locals and worshipped false gods.  

God cares about our worship. He cares about what happens week in and week out in local churches all over the world. Not because God is taking attendance but because God seeks worshippers who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. Worshippers who will give Him the worship He demands in the way He deserves. Worshippers who will not compromise. Worshippers who will honor Him as holy. Worshippers who refuse to make themselves the center of the experience. Worshippers who lay aside their wants, their needs, their desires, their preferences to come before the Lord in humility. To do anything else is to create a “high place.” A shrine to another god. And most of that time, that “god” is Self. The besetting sin of the Western Church is the idolatry of self. We are the object of our worship. Our satisfaction is the key performance indicator. We engage worship based on our own personal preferences. We refuse to honor God as holy. God as supreme. God as Lord. We are proud. We are arrogant. We think far too much of ourselves. And if the lives of the kings teach us anything it is this...God will not be mocked. We will be judged on the basis of who or what we worship. 

Where are the high places in your life? How has this season changed the way you think about worship? Worshipping God during a global pandemic looks much different than worshipping Him when things are going well. Worship has had to change to meet the demands of this season. Online. Virtual. Digital. Singing at home on your own is far different than singing in a crowd of fellow believers. Listening in your home with your dogs and cats and kids running around is far different than sitting in a sanctuary. Celebrating the sacraments feels far different than gathering in person around the Lord’s Table with your brothers and sisters in Christ. What will our worshipping life look like as we creep back to normal? Will I find myself craving more worship or less? Craving more fellowship or less? Craving more of God’s presence or less? And what do these things reveal about the state of my heart before the Lord?

Readings for tomorrow: Jonah 1-4

Deja Vu

Readings for today: 2 Kings 12-13, 2 Chronicles 24

As I read the passages for yesterday and today, I see a familiar and tragic pattern emerging. The same pattern that’s been in place since the Fall. Cain and Abel. The state of the world just before the Flood. Tower of Babel. The time of the Judges. Left to her own devices, humanity inevitably descends into godlessness. Violence. Suffering. Pain. Jehu is called to be God’s hand of justice. He executes God’s will in a brutal, terrifying fashion. It is a harsh reminder of how seriously God takes our sin and serves as a foreshadowing of hell. By contrast, the rise of Joash reminds us God always claims a remnant for Himself. A faithful people who follow His will and provide hope for the nation. Joash lived most of his life in faithfulness and the result is peace and prosperity and security. He restored the Temple. He cleansed the land of idolatry. He led the people back to true worship of the Living God.  

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. We see this dynamic played out over and over again throughout the Scriptures. I love what it says in 2 Kings 13:23, “But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now.” No matter how far humanity falls. No matter how bad things may get. No matter how much violence and suffering and pain may be taking place. God is faithful. God is true. God is steadfast. Immovable. He will not abandon us. He will not forsake His people. He loves us with an everlasting love. “For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psalms‬ ‭30:5‬)

I pray this brings you comfort today. I know we are all living through an extremely difficult season. I asked a retired pastor recently if he had seen anything like this in all his years of ministry. His answer was not even close. A global pandemic. Economic shutdown. Racial tension and unrest. Political division. It feels like the very ground is shifting under our feet. We see the mistreatment and murder of people of color. The rioting and looting. The assaults on our law enforcement. The vandalism and destruction of public monuments that include far more than just confederate statues. It’s hard to get our heads and hearts around the turmoil and chaos we’re seeing and experiencing. It’s tempting to rise up. Marshal whatever power and authority we have. Cling to our rights. Protect our livelihoods and property. Turn inward and make sure we remain safe. But God calls us to a different way. A better way. The way of Jesus. It is the way of prayer. The way of sacrifice. The way of empathy. The way of love. Now more than ever we need revival! Now more than ever we need to turn to God!

Readings for tomorrow: 2 Kings 14-15, 2 Chronicles 25-27

Leaving a Legacy

Readings for today: 2 Kings 8:16-29, 2 Chronicles 21:1-22:9

“And he departed to with no one’s regret.” Woof. That’s rough. To come to the end of your life with no one to mourn your passing. No one to make fire in your honor. No words shared at your funeral. Nothing to say in your obituary beyond your birthdate and death date. Perhaps Jehoram earned his fate. After all, he killed all his brothers when he ascended the throne. He enticed the people to abandon the worship of the Living God. He lost several battles. Suffered terribly at the end of his life, dying in great agony. He left Judah far worse than he found it. All in all, a terrible king.  

I’ve performed these kinds of funerals. Funerals where very few people attend. Very few words are said. Very few kind sentiments expressed. I remember a tragic funeral for a young woman who was kidnapped and murdered. She ran with a rough crowd all her life and it tragically caught up to her. All her closest friends could talk about was the way she partied. How much she could drink. It was heartbreaking. I remember a funeral for an older man who died from alcoholism. About three or four people showed up for his funeral and they all wanted it over as soon as possible so they could get out of there. No words to share. Nothing about love. Compassion. Family. He died pretty much alone. To no one’s regret.  

These moments are burned into my memory. I cannot shake them no matter how hard I try. They serve as a lesson to us all about how we live and why we live. To honor what’s truly important in life. God. Family. Friends. Seeking the lost. Serving the least of these in our world. Taking the time and making the time to live not for ourselves but for the sake of others. To give ourselves away in an attempt to make this world a better place. To leave this world better than the way we found it. It may be breaking a generational pattern in your family. Speaking kindly to friends in need. Helping a stranger. Sharing the gospel with someone you know. Maybe it’s serving in a particular mission endeavor at home or abroad. Or just taking the time to tuck your kids into bed at night and tell them a story. Sometimes the most significant moments of our lives are the simplest. 

Through it all, the most important thing we can do is seek after God. Ask Him for His wisdom to show us the way. To help make our lives count. Serving Christ is the best way to leave a legacy as we have seen over and over again throughout the books of 1&2 Kings and 1&2 Chronicles. The legacies of each king is measured primarily by how they honored God with their lives. Honor God and their lives and subjects were blessed. Dishonor God and their lives and subjects were cursed. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” (Matt. 6:33) Or, as my friend Ray Noah likes to say, “You take care of the things God cares about (lost people) and He will take care of the things you care about.”

Readings for tomorrow: 2 Kings 9-11, 2 Chronicles 21:10-23:21

Open our Eyes

Readings for today: 2 Kings 5:1-8:15

I have heard it said that the world has yet to see the power that would be unleashed through one man or woman who’s sold out to God. I disagree. I think we see such power all the time. Certainly in Scripture. Take the story of Elisha for instance. He’s a one-man wrecking crew when it comes to Syria. Ben-hadad wanted to destroy Israel. Invaded time after time. He had the best generals. Mighty men of valor like Naaman. The odds were surely in his favor. But Israel had one advantage...Elisha. A man who loved God with all his heart. From Elisha’s deep faith sprung wisdom and insight and even prophetic utterances. He thwarted the plans of Ben-hadad to such an extent that his counselors believed it was like Elisha was hanging out in Ben-hadad’s bedroom! 

Elisha posed such a great threat that Ben-hadad sent his entire army on a seek and destroy mission. Find him. Kill him. Destroy whatever city is giving him refuge. So Elisha and his servant wake up one morning only to see the Syrian army arrayed in all its might before them. It must have been an intimidating sight. The servant is immediately afraid. What will we do? How will we survive? But Elisha doesn’t miss a beat. He asks God to open the eyes of his servant so that he can see what Elisha sees. Horses. Chariots. The mountains ringed with fire from the army of the Lord. 

This is one of my favorite stories in all of Scripture because of the reminder that though my circumstances may seem bleak. Though I may undergo all kinds of trials and tribulations. Though I may suffer and struggle and hurt. Though the enemy wage war against me. Though the government or culture or society grow increasingly hostile to the gospel. No matter what may come, my adversaries - as numerous as they may be - are no match for the armies of the Lord! His sovereign hand continues to lead and guide and protect. His power cannot be measured. His wisdom cannot be fathomed. And if I will simply lift my eyes above the hills, I will see where my true help comes! (Psalm 121) 

Think about where we find ourselves as a culture today. We are drifting away from our Judeo-Christian moorings. Morality is changing. Truth is relative. Scores are abandoning faith altogether. We shouldn’t be surprised. We have only ourselves to blame. Christians largely became complacent over the last several decades, settling for a cultural form of the Christian faith that held no real power to transform. Rather than preach the gospel, we turned to moral therapeutic deism. Self-help with a little Jesus thrown in. As society continued its drift, we turned to political power, seeking to enforce our vision of the Kingdom of God. But for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So the harder we tried, the more pushback we received. The result is a nation that is becoming increasing hostile to the Christian faith. Would that we could recapture the spirit of Elisha! He sought no reward for his deeds. He never tried to turn his gifts into political power. Instead, he simply served his people with as much faith as he possibly could and he left the results up to God.

“Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.” (Ecclesiastes‬ ‭9:11) I frequently find myself in positions where I am weak. I have no power. No authority. I am not strong or swift or wise or wealthy. In those moments, I am tempted to despair. And that’s when God has me right where He wants me! God does His best work when I come to the end of myself. God does His greatest work when I get out of the way. God is at His most glorious when I am weak and afraid and lonely and have nowhere else to turn. All I have to do is open my eyes. See the power He has brought to bear. Sit back and watch Him go to work. Trust Him for the victory. 

Readings for tomorrow: 2 Kings 8:16-29, 2 Chronicles 21:1-22:9

Miracles

Readings for today: 2 Kings 1-4

Today’s reading is full of miracles. God healing the waters of Jericho. God filling up a dry land with pools of water. God creating a supply of never-ending oil. God raising a child from death. Miracles are hard for those of us raised in a scientific worldview to accept. We believe such phenomena need to be observable and repeatable or they can’t have happened. We believe there must be some kind of natural explanation so we do all kinds of mental gymnastics trying to explain them away. Surely the water wasn’t actually bad? Surely the water that filled the pools was a freak rain storm? Surely the woman just wasn’t aware of how much oil she did have? Surely the boy was just sick or unconscious or in a coma of some kind.

Miracles are by definition unrepeatable events. They are one-time occurrences where the Lord of the universe intervenes supernaturally in His creation. If one truly believes there is a God then one must conclude He is not bound by the same laws of nature He established that govern His creation. He is the Creator after all. Not a created being. He exists outside of time and space. He is truly free and unbounded. He is not subject to what He creates and therefore is able to act as He sees fit.

I have personally witnessed miracles in my life. I have many friends around the world who testify to miracles they have seen. I have seen God heal those who are sick. I have even witnessed a resurrection. These are awe-inspiring events that drive me to my knees before the Lord. They are humbling because of how they bring you face to face with the power of God. But I also know many who question God’s miracles. They wonder why they haven’t seen God act in such ways. They wonder why God performs miracles for some and not others. They sometimes reject miracles simply because they seem so arbitrary and unfair. Such thinking only exposes the poverty of our spiritual condition.

We don’t deserve miracles. We don’t earn miracles. We don’t claim miracles. God is not a genie in a bottle who owes us three wishes. He cannot be manipulated or controlled or bound to our will. He is sovereign. He sees all of history and all of creation stretched out before Him all the time. He chooses to act as He wills to accomplish what is often a hidden purpose. Who are we to question His wisdom? Who are we to question His judgment? God never promises us life will be fair. He never promises to treat everyone the same. These are American ideals. Human ideals. And God is not bound to follow our limited understanding of justice. What does God promise? He promises to love us. He promises to be with us. He is faithful to us. He loves each of us with an everlasting love and that should be miracle enough for us.

Accountability

Readings for today: 1 Kings 22, 2 Chronicles 18-20

Do you have a Micaiah in your life? Someone who is willing to be honest? To give it to you straight? Someone who is unafraid to spare your feelings? Do you have someone in your life who holds you accountable? Who asks you hard questions? Who is willing to confront you on your sin? Do you have someone in your life who you listen to? Respect? Love enough to receive their critique well? Sadly, it’s my experience that most people, even most Christians, do not have such a person in their life. 

Ahab had such a person...and he hated him. "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil." (1 Kings‬ ‭22:8‬) Ahab was an insecure king. He didn’t want to hear the truth. He surrounded himself with people who would tell him what he wanted to hear. Sycophants. “Yes-men.” People who did not have Israel’s best in mind but only their influence and position before the king. This is one of the reasons power tends to corrupt. The more success and fame and influence one gains in life, the more one attracts such people. Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac and it takes great humility and intentionality to surround oneself as President Lincoln once did with a “team of rivals.” Ahab was clearly no Lincoln. It was so obvious, King Jehoshaphat immediately picked up on it as they planned their attack on Ramoth-gilead. Jehoshaphat wanted to hear from the Lord so he asked Ahab to call a real prophet. Someone who was willing to speak the truth. To share God’s Word even if it involved judgement. So Ahab calls Micaiah. And Micaiah delivers the bad news. "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, 'These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.” (1 Kings‬ ‭22:17‬) Ahab throws up his hands. I told you so. This guy has it out for me. He never brings me good news. And then Micaiah goes on, "Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the Lord said, 'Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, 'I will entice him.' And the Lord said to him, 'By what means?' And he said, 'I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he said, 'You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.'” (1 Kings‬ ‭22:19-22‬) 

This section is key. When we refuse to repent. When we refuse to humble ourselves before the Lord. When we refuse to listen to His voice. He brings judgment. He forces us to our knees. He actively opposes the proud. God sends a lying spirit into the sycophants that Ahab surrounded himself with. He uses the very means Ahab had chosen to insulate himself against the Word of God to bring about Ahab’s destruction. Let that sink in for a minute. These men were ALREADY lying to Ahab. In fact, they had based their entire careers on deceit and telling the king exactly what he wanted to hear. So God was not treating Ahab unfairly or unjustly. He simply was using their sin to bring about His sovereign will.

So let me ask again, do you have a Micaiah in your life? Someone who can speak hard truth to you in love? Someone who is bold enough to hold you accountable? Someone you submit to in humility? Someone who is close enough as a brother and/or sister and who is faithful enough to confront you on your sin? If you do not have such a person in your life then let me suggest you have made the same mistake - wittingly or unwittingly - as Ahab. You have surrounded yourself with people who do not have your best in mind and you need to go deeper. You need to challenge yourself. Make yourself vulnerable. Empower another person to hold you accountable. The reality is we do not “die to self” naturally. We must be forced to give up our life. We must be challenged to give up self. We must be held accountable as we struggle along this narrow way.  

Readings for tomorrow: 2 Kings 1-4

Grace

Readings for today: 1 Kings 20-21

One of the things that I’m always amazed by is the grace of God. The verdict on King Ahab is clear. He is not a godly king. He breaks all the commandments. He does not love Yahweh. He is as pagan as they come and yet God still reaches out to him. Still delivers him. Still rescues him from his enemies. It reminds me of what Paul says in Romans 5:10, “While we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son…”

God’s grace is truly unconditional and that seems scandalous to us. We can’t wrap our heads and hearts around it. God’s grace does not discriminate. It is there for the prodigal as well as the Pharisee. It is there for the sinner and the saint. It is freely offered to any and all whether they be black or white or brown. Rich or poor. Gay or straight. Old or young. God shows no partiality. All He asks is that we receive it. We trust it. We open our hearts to it.

Sadly, we too often reject it. Much like Ahab. Ben-hadad has gathered a massive force to bring against Israel. Thirty-two kings join him in this fight. They bring horses and chariots which were the Sherman Tanks of their day. They invade the northern kingdom of Israel and march right up to the gates of the capital city of Samaria. Ahab knows he can’t win. He offers all his gold and silver to buy them off. No deal. The army takes their positions. The trumpets are about to sound. Victory is assured. Israel will be destroyed. Ahab looks on helplessly from his position on the walls. And then he hears a voice at his side. A prophet has been sent by God. “Behold, I will give this great multitude into your hand this day so that you shall know I am the Lord.” Why doesn’t God leave Ahab to his fate? After all, he deserves it. He’s earned it. The just decree would be for Ahab and all who follow him to die. But God is merciful and gracious. He loves us with an everlasting love. God desires all to be saved and come to a knowledge of His truth. Even an evil king like Ahab.

What about you? Does this give you hope? Some of us have things in our past that we think God would never forgive. We have memories that bring us shame. We have seen things and done things that are terrible and tragic. And yet God still loves us. Warts and all. Does this discourage you? Make you think less of God? Perhaps you’re more like me and you wish God were more consistent. Be careful what you ask for! God’s grace is baffling to would-be Pharisees like us. That’s why Jesus had such problems with them. God’s grace seemingly bends and breaks His own rules for the purpose of drawing all people to Himself. Our story today only demonstrates the lengths God is willing to go in order to accomplish His saving purposes in our world. And as remarkable as this story is, it doesn’t even hold a candle to the scandal of the cross. God dying to save a world at war with Him. God dying to save a people in rebellion against Him. God dying to turn His enemies into friends. Amazing grace indeed!

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Kings 22, 2 Chronicles 18-20

The Word of the Lord

Readings for today: 1 Kings 17-19

I love the story of Elijah. I love his faithfulness. I love his courage. I love his passion. I love his heart. What makes Elijah so great was his ability to listen to the Word of the Lord. His sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. His humble submission and willingness to sit in God’s presence in silence. There was nothing great about Elijah. Nothing unusual. Nothing out of the ordinary. He was simply a human being. A human being like any other human being. A man just like any other man. But he was called to play a specific role in God’s Kingdom and the life of Israel.  

Elijah was a prophet. A man set apart to hear the Word of the Lord and deliver it to God’s people. The Word of the Lord came to Elijah, telling him there would be a famine in the land and to go and live by a brook where the ravens would feed him. When the brook ran dry, the Word of the Lord came to Elijah and told him to go to Zrephath where a widow would care for him. When the widow’s son died, the Word of the Lord came through Elijah to raise him the dead. The Word of Lord challenged Elijah to risk his life and confront King Arab. Queen Jezebel. 450 prophets of Baal. After a miraculous victory, the Word of the Lord opened Elijah’s eyes to see the coming rain. When Elijah ran for his life, the Word of the Lord again came to him bringing comfort and peace. 

Notice where the power lies. Not in Elijah. Not in his strength. Not in his confidence. Not in his power. No, the Word of the Lord has an authority all its own. A divine power to tear down every stronghold and every high thing that sets itself against the knowledge of God. It is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe, Jew and Gentile alike. And if there is anything that sets Elijah apart, it is his obedience. Simply his willingness to hear and obey, seemingly without question. This is what makes him great. 

Do you want to be great in the Kingdom? Do you want to do great things for God? Do you want the abundant life Jesus promises? Do you believe you will do greater things than even Jesus himself? As He promises in John 14:12? “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John‬ ‭14:12‬) You don’t need wealth. You don’t need education. You don’t need professional success and achievement. All you need is obedience. A humble spirit. A willing heart. God specializes in using such vessels for His glory in the world. 

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Kings 20-21

Shalom

Readings for today: 1 Kings 15:25-16:34, 2 Chronicles 17

Today’s reading highlights what happens when a nation or a people or an individual abandons God. We descend into chaos. We drag everyone down with us. Everyone who is under our authority. Everyone over whom we have influence. Everyone who lives under our rule and reign. Jeroboam was an unfaithful man. Though raised up by God, he quickly abandoned God’s ways and refused to obey God’s commands. Particularly concerning worship. He set up idols in his cities so his people wouldn’t go down to Jerusalem. He set up a new priesthood to replace the Levites. He builds new temples and shrines and establishes new cultic practices. In essence, Jeroboam creates a whole new religion to replace that which God established in His Word. The result is judgment. Jeroboam dies. A battle for the throne ensues. Kings are murdered. Families massacred. Entire households wiped out to the last man. It is brutal. It is bloody. It is like an episode of Game of Thrones.

Chaos is what happens when humanity tries to live without God. This is the central message of the Bible. We are sinful and corrupt to the core. We are selfish and greedy. We have a lust for power that will never be quenched. Given the right set of circumstances, all of us are capable of great evil. If there’s one thing history demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt, it’s that human beings are totally depraved. The evidence is overwhelming. The case is convincing. God’s verdict is just. We all deserve death. We all deserve judgment. We all contribute to the chaos of our world either by the things we do or the things we refuse to do. And that’s why we need Jesus.

Jesus is the prince of peace. The destroyer of chaos. The one who holds the authority over life and death. Sin and evil. The one who died in order to save. I love how one of my favorite authors, Paul Scherer, once put it, writing in the midst of World War II - “(Christ) stands not at the circumference but at the center of the human experience because sin stands there: to be met in the gospel with more than love; to be met with rescue. (In Christ) all that could become man in God and all that could become God in man got into the world to work out His holy will, not around the edges but from the very heart and core of all that is worst and most irrevocable about living. The 20th century, the death that rains out of the skies, stripped and broken lives wandering forlornly across the frontiers of Europe, war chattering its red insanities on the horizon of every day that dawns, your life, my life, with their old habits that cling like barnacles to a ship’s hull, all of it piling up into weird and monstrous shapes! The hand that lays hold of such a world is terrible, crushing empires; but pierced, bringing life again out of death. Lifting all our wrong and all our rebellion until it becomes as it were God’s own, and He Himself becomes it’s victim. There is no deliverance out of the process of history. There is only deliverance in it, and that by a God who is not alone outside it or against it but in the process Himself.”

Friends, the only hope we have for peace in the midst of our chaotic world is Jesus. The Prince of Peace. The Author of our salvation. The Name that is above every name. The Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God. And the good news of the gospel is that He has come to deliver us! He has come to rescue us! He has come to meet us right where we are in the middle of all we are going through! He will never leave us or forsake us! He will never abandon us to our fate! He is with us. He is for us. And if we will simply humble ourselves and turn to Him, we will find Him waiting with open arms. May we turn to Him as a nation. As a church. As individuals. So that we may receive the peace that only He can bring.

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Kings 17-19

Privilege

Readings for today: 1 Kings 15:1-24, 2 Chronicles 13-16

There is quite a bit of conversation in our culture today about privilege. Fundamentally, it rests on the premise that we bear some kind of responsibility for the actions of past generations. For Americans, this is a tough pill to swallow. We are hyper-individualists. We do not believe we should be held accountable for something someone else has done. We especially believe we shouldn’t be held responsible for the mistakes of our parents and grandparents and great-grandparents, etc. We even turn to the Bible to back up our claim. “Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die…The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” ‭‭(Ezekiel‬ ‭18:4, 20‬) And I certainly affirm this is true. We are responsible - each one of us - for our own choices in life. At the same time, we must listen to the whole counsel of God which clearly teaches that generational sin is also a reality. “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus‬ ‭34:6-7‬)

Think about what we read today. Abijam takes over as king after Rehoboam dies. For three years he reigns in Jerusalem. He walks in all the sins of his father and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord. Of course, not everything he does is bad. The Chronicler paints a bit of a different picture for us. The high point of Abijam’s reign was a great victory over Israel that came about because he trusted in the Lord. But in the final analysis, Abijam is weighed and found wanting. “Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah. He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father. Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem, because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.” (1 Kings‬ ‭15:1-5‬) Now if Ezekiel 18 were the only dynamic in play, Abijam would rightfully be judged for his sin and his family deposed. No son to sit on the throne. No lamp in Jerusalem. A new line would begin. But Abijam is the beneficiary of what one could call “Davidic privilege.” God choosing to overlook his sin because of His great love for David.

White privilege works similarly but in the opposite way. Whereas Abijam benefits from the righteousness of his great-grandfather, we who are white (especially men) benefit from the unrighteousness of our forefathers. The historical facts are clear. The founders of our country - even going back to the first white colonists in Jamestown - clearly set up a system to benefit wealthy, white, land-owning men. These were the only people eligible to vote. The only ones eligible to hold public office. They were the shapers of public policy. Even the phrase - “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal” - was on the face of it untrue. Those who penned those words did NOT believe such equality should extend to Native Americans or the African slaves they owned. The result was generations of systematic discrimination and oppression towards those of a different color. At the same time, our nation was in its ascendency. Wealth and resources and power and influence was being created at an astronomical rate. But again, only for those who had access. (Read: White, land-owning men) Yes, a civil war was fought and many white men gave their lives to end slavery but that didn’t mean the end to oppression or racism. See this excellent video by Phil Vischer - aka “Bob the Tomato” from VeggieTales - for more information. The point of all of this is that those of us who were born white were born into a system specifically designed for our advantage. Yes, that system has changed over the years. Yes, attempts like Affirmative Action and others have leveled the playing field to a certain extent. But the efforts have fallen too far short. There is still so far to go. The fight for justice and equality is an ongoing, generational one.

So what do we do? Should we be ashamed of the color of our skin? No. Should we feel a sense of shame over the world our forefathers created? Yes. Should we acknowledge it as a broken and sinful system and seek to dismantle it or reform it or align it with God’s justice and righteousness? Absolutely. Should we judge our ancestors harshly? Not so much. Like Abijam, each of them was a complex individual capable of great good and great evil just like every one of us. The historical context in which they lived was far different than the one we currently live in. And we should be humble enough to recognize that a hundred years from now, future generations will look back and judge us for our own blindness. Ultimately, equal access, equal opportunity, and equal treatment under the law are aspirations that will only become reality in the Kingdom of God which is why the mission to proclaim the gospel to the nations is so urgent! Only when we bow the knee and cast our privilege before the throne of King Jesus will true freedom, true justice, and true peace appear.

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Kings 15:25-16:34, 2 Chronicles 17

National Pride

Readings for today: 1 Kings 13-14, 2 Chronicles 11-12

“After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places. And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.” ‭‭(1 Kings‬ ‭13:33-34‬)

“When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him.” ‭‭(2 Chronicles‬ ‭12:1‬)

Following Jesus is hard. Jesus tells us as much. It is a costly life. A life of perpetual sacrifice. A life of constant self-denial. A life of service to the lost and least and underprivileged. Narrow is the way that leads to salvation and Jesus Himself is that way. As Christians, we exchange our lives for His life. Our ways for His way. Our loves for His love. And this is what makes it so hard. Jesus willingly and gladly for the joy set before Him gave up everything in order to save us. He refused to use political power to accomplish His goals. He refused to use military might to accomplish His aims. He loved His enemies. Prayed for those who persecuted Him. Forgave them with His dying breath. He refused to use violence. Refused to use the awesome power at His command. Over and over again, He met hatred with love. Anger with gentleness. Suffering and pain with empathy. Becoming a Christian means taking on His mantle. It means living according to His truth. Walking in His way. Receiving His life.

The same was true in the Old Testament as well. Over and over again, Yahweh calls His people to trust Him. To believe in Him. To walk in obedience to His ways. Over and over again, they make the same mistake we make. They place their trust in their own power. Their own strength. They make alliances with foreign nations in order to secure their territory. They marry foreign wives to shore up their political position. They lean on their own understanding, creating high places and shrines and temples to different gods. Hedging their bets. Covering all their bases. Compromising their faith. And God’s response? Judgment.

And what is God’s judgment? It is simply God honoring the choices we make. So when Jeroboam sets up idols in Dan and Bethel and calls his people to worship them, God gives them over to their foolishness. If they are going to place their trust in idols of metal, then they will have to live by the decisions they make. Rehoboam follows God for a period of time but then begins to trust in his own strength. He becomes prideful and arrogant. And God gives him over to his foolishness. If Rehoboam is going to trust in his own military power, then Rehoboam will have to fend for himself against the might of Egypt. It never goes well, does it?

I cannot tell you how many times I have sat in my office counseling Christians who find themselves in crisis. Almost every time they have abandoned God. Sure, they come to church occasionally. Sure, they still acknowledge His existence. Sure, they give a little money here or there. But they have left His ways far behind. They have chased after idols of their own making. It may be the youth sports they’ve allowed to dominate their family schedule. It may be their work they’ve allowed to take over their lives. It may be their pride that keeps them from ever truly connecting with a church or other believers. It may be money or success or professional achievement that they’re chasing. It may be affirmation or acceptance from others. It could be any number of things but they always end up crashing and burning because God honors the choices we make in this life. He holds us responsible for our sin. He will not be mocked or used or taken for granted. He is not sentimental, soft, or weak. At the end of the day, either we will say to Him - “Thy will be done” - or He will say to us - “thy will be done.”

And what is true for us as individuals is also true for us as a nation. The challenges we face are a direct consequence for the attitude we have towards God. We have abandoned Him. And I’m not talking about taking prayer out of schools here. I’m talking about our national arrogance. Our belief we are exceptional among all the nations of the earth. Our trust in our wealth and power and resources and ability. We have been far too proud for far too long and God has given us over to the consequences of the choices we have made. The idols of individualism, consumerism, materialism, racism, and classism have failed us. Our absolute hatred for those who are politically or socially different than us is tearing us apart. Our selfishness, greed, and arrogance is killing us. Our only hope is repentance. Humility. Learning to walk in the ways of love and compassion and generosity and grace once again.

Servant Leadership

Readings for today: 1 Kings 12, 2 Chronicles 10

“If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” (1 Kings‬ ‭12:7‬)

We have a leadership crisis in our world today. We see it in politics. We see it in business. We see it in the church. The prevailing model is ego-centric. It cares only for the accumulation of power and wealth and influence and control. It is self-promoting, self-protecting, and self-serving. It tends to attract abusers, predators, and narcissists. The hallmarks of arrogance, deceit, lust, greed are all present. And people are suffering as a result. It may be the abusive father who uses anger to make his wife and children cower. It may be the pastor who uses his position to prey on vulnerable women. It may be the politician who manipulates the gears in the system for his personal benefit. It may be the businessman who continues to rake in billions while taking away healthcare benefits for his employees. It was Lord Acton who once said, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” None of us are immune.

Solomon’s son rises to power after his father’s death. As he ascends the throne, he calls in his father’s counselors. Men who have overseen the most glorious chapter in Israel’s history. Men who have also witnesses the moral failings of the wisest king who ever lived. Their counsel to him is to back off. To give the people of Israel rest. They have spent a generation serving their king. Building cities. Serving in the army. Toiling without end. Fulfilling Solomon’s every whim. If Rehoboam will but honor them. Love them. Serve them. Consider their good above his own. They will be loyal forever. Sadly, Rehoboam chooses another path. One suggested by the young men who’ve grown up with him in the palace. They are privileged. Spoiled. Arrogant. Entitled. And they counsel him to try and outdo his father. The plan backfires spectacularly. Rehoboam loses 80% of his kingdom.

Of course, Jeroboam isn’t much better. Raised up by God to serve as king over ten of the tribes of Israel, one would think Jeroboam would remain faithful. But he is arrogant and afraid. A deadly combination no matter who you are. He is afraid he will lose his kingdom if he allows his people to worship Yahweh in the Temple. So he creates his own shrines to Yahweh. Golden calves representing the Lord. Perhaps following the example of King Solomon, he reduces Yahweh to yet another pagan deity. He sets his idols up in Dan and Bethel. Appoints his own priests. Establishes his own feast. Attempting to mirror what God has established for His people. The plan backfires spectacularly.

What would happen if we set our hearts to serve rather than be served? What would happen if we set our hearts to love rather than react out of fear? What if we responded to another person’s pain and suffering with compassion rather than dismissal and disdain? What if we honored one another as image-bearers of God rather than dehumanize and tear down those we don’t know? Can you imagine what the world might look like if instead of trashing Colin Kaepernick when he first took a knee, the NFL took the time to listen to his concerns? Worked with local law enforcement in the cities where they have franchises to develop community programs to help people? Used the wealth and power and influence of both owners and players to address systematic racism and implicit bias in our communities? Sadly, they chose to close ranks and defend their brand. Perhaps they’re an easy target. What about each one of us? What if instead of laughing at the racist or sexist jokes at work, we refused to tolerate them? What if we intentionally created space in our lives for those who are different than us? What if we listened more than we spoke? What if we simply called evil “evil” and good “good” rather than justify it because this or that person is “on our side” in the culture war? What if we stopped settling for the lowest common denominator in our national leaders? What if we stopped watching media outlets who only appeal to our basest emotions? What if we sought to serve in our homes, schools, communities, businesses, and churches?

I believe God is searching for men and women who will faithfully follow Him. Men and women who will deny themselves rather than promote themselves. Men and women whom the treasures of this world have no hold on because their treasure is already laid up in heaven. Men and women filled with the fruit and gifts of the Spirit. Men and women who embrace the way of Jesus who said in Matthew 20:28, “The Son of Man didn’t come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.”

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Kings 13-14, 2 Chronicles 11-12

God is Faithful

Readings for today: 1 Kings 10-11, 2 Chronicles 9, Proverbs 30-31

God is steadfast in His love. God’s mercies are new every morning. God’s forgiveness is unconditional. We know these truths. We declare these truths. We hold fast to these truths. But God is also just. God will not be mocked. God disciplines those He loves. He is faithful to judge as He is to show mercy. God is sovereign. He reigns and rules over all He has made. His commands are to be followed. His laws obeyed. And woe to the one who thinks they are wiser than Him. Woe to the one who thinks he can ignore God. Woe to the one who is faithless. None of us get a pass before the judgment seat of Christ.

“And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and they have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my rules, as David his father did. Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of David my servant whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes. But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and will give it to you, ten tribes. Yet to his son I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name. And I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel. And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever.” (1 Kings‬ ‭11:31-39‬)

Solomon was one of Israel’s greatest kings. His wisdom was unfathomable. His wealth uncountable. His political power unassailable. He lived in glory and splendor all of his days. People traveled the earth to hear him speak. Queens and kings came to pay homage before his ivory throne. He was a legend in his own time. A man of immense gifts. He built cities. He raised the Temple. He contracted great palaces and beautiful gardens. His armies were powerful. Stationed all over Israel, they kept watch and protected the nation. But Solomon grew proud. Arrogant. Selfish. He started to believe his own hype. He believed he was above the law. He felt he was the author of all his blessings. So his heart turned from the Lord. He began to create other temples. Raise other shrines. To the gods of the women he had married. Ashtoreth. Chemosh. Milcom. He made sacrifices to them. He honored them alongside Yahweh. And he was judged. The kingdom torn from his descendants.

You and I are no different. Even as Christians, we come under God’s righteous judgment. Yes, we escape the final judgment of hell through the shed blood of Christ but we are fools if we think that God doesn’t still judge us for our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. We are ignorant if we think we have some sort of “fire insurance” that gives us a pass to do whatever want in this life. Jesus makes it clear in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” There is no wiggle room here, friends. If you love Christ, you will love His Word. If you love Christ, you will accept His discipline and rebuke and correction. If you love Christ, you will make it your aim in life to follow in His ways. This is why we see the church so weak in America today. She has lost her first love. She has taken the grace God offers for granted. She has compromised her faith for the sake of political and social power. The results have been devastating. I believe God is ripping our nation apart in judgment. Tearing us into pieces because we simply will not obey Him. He is raising up adversaries from within and without. He is giving us up to the lusts of our hearts, our disordered passions, and our debased and corrupt ways of thinking. (Romans 1) Our only hope is repentance. Humble submission. Full confession of our sin and reception of His forgiveness. God will mercy if we have but the humility to seek it.

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Kings 12, 2 Chronicles 10

Finding Joy amidst our Sorrows

Readings for today: Ecclesiastes 7-12

Often lost in all Solomon’s talk about vanity and emptiness and chasing the wind is the number of times he encourages the reader to enjoy life. Enjoy the time they have been given. Enjoy the hours and days of blessing. Enjoy the seasons when life is good. Yes, you will experience bad times. Yes, you will experience hardship and adversity. Yes, you cannot place your trust in wisdom, wealth, influence, or a good name. But you can still find joy. Simple pleasures of feasting, friendship, and family. 

“In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.” (Ecclesiastes‬ ‭7:14‬)

“And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes‬ ‭8:15‬)

“Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do...Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.” (‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭9:7, 9-10‬)

“Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.” (Ecclesiastes‬ ‭11:9‬)

To be sure, Solomon is encouraging a “sober” joy. A joy tempered by the realities of hard work, adversity, judgment, and death. A deeper joy that transcends superficial happiness. A joy that springs from a deep love of life and all the blessings God has given. The profound joy that comes from a life lived before God in this world. The joyful life for Solomon is not all bubbles and rainbows and unicorns. It’s a utterly realistic joy. A joy that acknowledges the harsh truth about our broken world. A joy that walks eyes wide open to pain and suffering. A joy that doesn’t run from trouble. 

I’ve been a pastor for over twenty years. I’ve spent countless hours counseling people from all walks of life. I’ve served congregations on the East Coast. The Deep South. The Midwest. For the last ten plus years, I’ve been out West here in Colorado. A common thread running throughout all my conversations is the universal desire for happiness. A craving for joy. But it’s a joy without hardship. A happiness without sorrow. An unrealistic expectation that life can be lived...indeed should be lived...without pain and suffering. In the most extreme cases, the person seems to believe God “owes” them such a life. It’s why one of the most frequent questions I have to help people wrestle with is “Why, God?” Why did God let this happen to me? Why didn’t God protect me from this tragedy? Why does God allow suffering? Why does a good God allow evil to exist in the world? Such questions, at their best, reveal the longing we all have for the world to come. The world where God will wipe away every tear, end all injustice, and heal every hurt. At their worst, however, they reveal a deep misunderstanding of the world around us. A false expectation that this life can be lived without experiencing hardship and pain. Solomon is clearly confronting the latter attitude. 

So how do you experience the world? Especially today’s world? When you wake up in the morning, what’s your expectation? Do you walk into life eyes wide open to both the good and the bad? Are you willing to embrace the ups and downs? Do you understand that life will be filled with pleasure and pain? Accomplishment and adversity? Struggle and success and failure? And do you seek the deeper joy God offers us in Jesus Christ? I love what Jesus himself says in the Sermon on the Mount, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (Matthew 6:25) You say, how naive! What rubbish! I struggle with anxiety about all sorts of things! My family. My children. My future. My business. My health. And yet, as Jesus continues, “which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? (Matthew 6:27) What has all that worry gotten you besides ulcers? What has all that anxiety gotten you except a prescription for medication? The reality is you can only control so much in this life. Not just personally but corporately as well. Letting go and letting God is a key component to finding true peace in this world. And the good news is your Heavenly Father knows what you need before you even give it voice. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew‬ ‭6:34‬)

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Kings 10-11, 2 Chronicles 9, Proverbs 30-31

Pursuit of Happiness

Readings for today: Ecclesiastes 1-6

Ecclesiastes. The most depressing book in all the Bible. So depressing in fact that many have questioned why it was even included in the canon of Scripture. Tradition tells us Solomon wrote this book in his old age as he looked back on his life with deep regret. You may remember he started out well. Asking for wisdom from God when he could have had riches and honor and power. But over the years, he fell into temptation. He did all the things kings were not supposed to do according to Deuteronomy 17. Acquiring incredible wealth. Marrying many women. Accumulating great military power. As a result, he began to believe his own hype. Trust in his own strength. Rely on himself and his own wisdom to make his way in the world. He forged alliances with many nations. He allowed for the worship of many different gods. Especially for his harem. Over 700 wives and 300 concubines. Craziness. The result was apostasy. Solomon lost his first love. And it is his regret that we hear so clearly as we read this book and it should serve as a warning to us all. If the wisest and wealthiest and most powerful king in the history of Israel can fall away, so can we. And this is why we must read this book. Because we’ve been given a window here, friends. An opportunity. Life for many of us, pre-COVID, was simply unsustainable. We were running too fast. Redlining our lives. But then came the shutdown. All of sudden we were reminded what life at a slower pace looks like. We were reminded what meals around the family dinner table felt like. We were reminded of some of the simpler things like evening walks, family games, cooking and cleaning together, lots of laughter and joy. Friends, life doesn’t have to go back to the way it was before this crisis hit. You do have a choice. You can keep chasing all the vanities that exist under the sun and be exhausted and busy and miserable most of the time or you can start chasing that which is eternal which only comes from God and leads to happiness.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus asks this question. Very similar to the one Solomon asks in Ecclesiastes. What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul? Or as Solomon puts it, What does man gain or profit by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? Is it wealth? Honor? Power? Pleasure? Wisdom? All these things are vanity according to Solomon. The Hebrew word for “vanity” literally means “hot air.” Smoke on the wind. A breath of vapor on a cold day. They are here today and gone tomorrow. There is no substance to them. Certainly nothing eternal about them. Think about all your accomplishments. Everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve. Think of the hours you’ve put in. Think of the energy you’ve invested. Think of the sacrifices you’ve made. Think of the stress and anxiety you’ve had to endure. Is it really worth it? A generation comes and a generation goes. How many of you remember know what your great-grandparents accomplished? How many of you even know their names?

The Bible says even the earth is subjected to vanity. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:20-21) And that’s why the Apostle Paul will go on to say that all creation is groaning. Just like all of humanity is groaning. Waiting for the day when all things will be made new. All wrongs be set right. The curse of sin broken. The weight of sin lifted. The burden of sin removed. We all know deep down that nothing in this world endures. Nothing done under the sun will go with us. Not our wealth. Not our possessions. Not our reputations. Not our achievements. No matter how great they may be. The things of this world were simply not made to endure and that’s why Solomon says there’s nothing new under the sun. It’s like the world’s set eternally on repeat. The things we’ve said. The things we’ve seen. The things we’ve heard. All the things we’ve done. None of it’s new. It has been already in the ages before us. And so Solomon concludes, It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. The more we see the world for what it truly is, the more our hearts break. All you have to do is look around. Well over 100K dead so far from COVID-19. Millions of dollars of damage from the riots and looting of the last several weeks in cities all across America. Violence between police and protestors. Racial tensions erupting yet again because of how we’ve failed to face our history honestly and pursue justice and reconciliation for people of color in our country. The more we see these things, the more helpless and hopeless we are tempted to feel. And that’s exactly where God wants us. At the end of ourselves. The end of our strength. The end of our wisdom. The end of our ideas. The end of our resources. For at the end of it all. Where our groanings meet creation’s groanings, there we find yet Another groaning with us. The Holy Spirit. Paul says, The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how to pray so the Spirit Himself prays for us with groanings too deep for words…Friends, what Paul essentially is saying in Romans 8 is that for the Christian – and this is where we have the advantage over King Solomon. King Solomon for all his wisdom focused too much on things done under the sun – and that’s why he got so depressed and discouraged - whereas we Christians know the One who reigns and rules over the sun. So as we fix our eyes on Him, we can trust that the Holy Spirit is at work. Searching the depths of our hearts. Gathering up all the broken and shattered pieces of our lives. Pulling together all the vanity of vanities that so often mark our lives and bringing them into the holy of holies to present them as an offering before the Father. And what do we receive in return? Grace. Mercy. Peace. Contentment. Joy. In short, true happiness. Why? Because we have confidence that our Father’s work is NOT vanity. And His promise is that He will work all things together – even all the violence and suffering and heartbreak and pain we’re seeing and experiencing in our world today – for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. 

So instead of looking for hope in all our vanity under the sun, we should be looking to the One who reigns and rules over the sun. The One who first set the sun in motion and called the stars by name. The one who built the storehouses for the winds and first filled the streams. The One who dug the ocean’s depths with His own hands and raised the mountains high. We look to the One who loved us so much He gave us His only Son. Friends, Jesus Christ redeems us from the vanities of this life. He Himself embraced the vanity of this world so He could set free us from it. He endured the vanity of vanities of the cross so He could save us. And as a result, the work you and I do now carries eternal weight. The lives you and I lead are eternally significant. Because Jesus rose from the dead, our labor is never in vain.

Readings for tomorrow: Ecclesiastes 7-12

The Consequences of National Sin

Readings for today: 1 Kings 9, 2 Chronicles 8, Proverbs 25-26

I can’t help but reflect on our current cultural crisis as I read the passages for today. God appears to King Solomon a second time after the dedication of the Temple and says this, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.” (1 Kings 9:3-5) So far so good. If Solomon remains faithful, he and his kingdom will be blessed. If Solomon follows God’s rules. Obeys God’s commands. Walks in all God’s ways. God will be faithful. God will dwell in the Temple. God will watch over Israel and show His great love to her. Furthermore, God will establish descendants who will sit on the throne of Israel forever just as He promised David…Solomon’s father…the man after God’s own heart.

“But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And this house will become a heap of ruins. Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the Lord has brought all this disaster on them.”(‭1 Kings‬ ‭9:6-9‬) Some might ask here if God’s promises are conditional. No, they are not. God’s discipline is as much a reflection of His love as His blessings. One cannot be in relationship with God and expect only affirmation. God is faithful. He will convict. He will judge. He will right every wrong in our lives, in this life or the next. If Israel stays faithful, she will experience blessing. If Israel abandons her faith, God will not abandon her but she will experience His judgment. The same is true for Solomon. Probably even more so as leaders are held to a higher standard.

Now consider where we find ourselves in this cultural moment. Our leaders have largely abandoned God. Their behavior is often immoral and unjust. Their attitudes arrogant and rude. Their words are crass and inflammatory. They cannot be trusted because they are - by and large - ungodly people seeking their own selfish ends. I know this is a bold and broad statement but I believe their own words and actions convict them. And frankly, the average person is not much better. In a democracy, we elect the leaders who best represent us. So before we criticize those in power, we must look in the mirror. We too are selfish. We too are arrogant. We told have largely abandoned God. Is it any surprise that riots and unrest have broken out? Is it any surprise there is so much anger and outrage in our communities? Is it any surprise that so many other nations are asking what has happened to America?

And still there is hope. Hope for revival. Hope for spiritual renewal. Hope for national repentance as we humble ourselves before God. Christians should be leading the way. Humbly acknowledging our grievous sins against Native Americans, African-Americans, and people of color. Humbly acknowledging our greed and selfishness and pride. Humbly acknowledging our lust for violence and sex and outrage. Humbly acknowledging that none of us is righteous. Not one. All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory which means all of the systems we create socially, politically, economically, etc. are by definition corrupt and unjust on some level. And this means all of us are victims and perpetrators of injustice on some level. We all have a part to play in creating the mess we’ve made and we all have a part to play in cleaning it up.

God blesses the humble. God blesses those who confess their sins openly and honestly before Him. God blesses the nation that repents. The nation that bows the knee to Him. Now, more than ever, our country needs Jesus. May the church be bold in her witness as she humbly, sacrificially, generously, graciously, mercifully shows the world a different way!

How Great is our God!

Readings for today: Psalms 146-150

I love these final Psalms. They extol the greatness of God. I can imagine all of Israel gathered at the Temple singing them at the top of their lungs. Wave after wave of sound ascending to the heavens. Their hearts on fire. Their passion for God enflamed. Their love for Him crescendoing. Their worship overwhelming the senses. It’s a powerful thing to witness. 

When I am in Ethiopia, I have the privilege of worshipping with a sorts of different churches. Most of them Pentecostal in one form or another. When they sing, it is a whole body experience. Dancing. Swaying. Clapping. They sing without any sense of self-conscious pride. No insecurities at all. No worries about the number of verses or choruses on repeat. No debates over personal preference. They simply sing from their hearts. Their joy is palpable. They love singing together. They love being together. They love worshipping before the Lord. It is powerful.  

Like Israel, they praise the God “who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.” (Psalms‬ ‭146:7-9‬) They recount God’s goodness. They praise God’s greatness. My interpreter helps me understand each chorus and verse. They sing about God’s provision. God’s protection. God’s miraculous healing. God’s deliverance from evil. 

Like Israel, they praise the God  “determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure...He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry...He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes...He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.” (Psalms‬ ‭147:4-5, 8-9, 16, 18‬) In the rainy season they experience the blessing of abundant water flowing, bringing life to their dry land. Flowers bloom. Crops flourish. Herds increase. The grasslands are rich and full and green. 

Like Israel, they know when they praise God, they are joining their voices with the heavens and the earth. The heavenly host and the saints who have gone before them. They join the great cloud of witnesses around the throne of God to give Him the worship due His Holy Name. “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!” (‭Psalms‬ ‭148:1-4‬) 

Oh how I hope and pray for the day when we can abandon ourselves to worship in the way Israel once did! Oh how I hope and pray for the day when we can put aside all pretense and pride and self-consciousness and insecurity and consumeristic thoughts and attitudes and worship God like our Ethiopian brothers and sisters! Oh how I long for the day when we would come face to face with our God! See Him for who He is! Worship Him in Spirit and in Truth! Give Him the praise He deserves! The worship He demands! Fall on our faces before His throne, casting all our crowns before Him! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Kings 9, 2 Chronicles 8, Proverbs 25-26

Heal our Land

Readings for today: 2 Chronicles 4-7, Psalms 134, 136

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” ‭‭(2 Chronicles‬ ‭7:14‬)

If there was ever a verse that spoke directly to our cultural moment, it would be this one. In this passage God is speaking directly to His people. He is telling them that in times of national hardship. When the rains don’t come and there is drought. When the locusts swarm and there is famine. When disease strikes and there is death. One could further add, when there is warfare and conflict leading to death and destruction. When natural disasters hit and there is suffering. When pandemics arrive on your shores. Racial tensions stirred from within. Violent community uprisings. Economic disasters. Shelter-in-place orders that seem arbitrary and capricious. Fears of government takeovers or police brutality. When these things happen, the most important thing God’s people can do is turn to Him.

It begins with humility. We humble ourselves before His face. We lay aside all our pride. All our arrogance. All our thoughts, opinions, and ideas on what’s gone wrong and why. We take all the solutions we come up with and cast them at His feet. We acknowledge our weakness. We acknowledge our foolishness. We acknowledge the simple fact that we are sinners and therefore have this tendency to corrupt everything we create or touch. We confess our natural inclination to make everything about us. Our natural instinct for self-promotion. Self-preservation. Self-indulgence. We come before God with open hands, recognizing there is nothing we bring to the table when we are in His presence except our sinful, broken selves.

Second, we pray and seek God’s face. We come not to offer God our wisdom, our solutions, our thoughts or ideas. We come seeking His face. We come seeking His wisdom. We come seeking His ways. We come with a willingness to obey. A willingness to walk the road He lays out for us. We come seeking His Kingdom, not our own. We come seeking His will, not our own. We come seeking His favor and His grace because we know our resources are all tapped out. This is what it means to pray in faith. We pray trusting God knows what’s best. We pray believing God has what’s best in mind for us. We pray with the sure and certain knowledge that God loves us and longs to save us.

Finally, we turn from our wicked ways. We repent. We actually make changes in our life. We actively seek to align our hearts with God’s heart. Our ways with God’s way. Our thoughts with God’s thoughts. We intentionally seek to become more like Jesus. The perfect and beloved Son of God. The One who relinquished all His rights and privileges in order to reach down to save us. The One who traversed the heavens to come to earth to rescue us. The One who gave everything up in order to deliver us from sin and death.

Friends, I know we are living through challenging times. I know 2020 feels like a year we could all just forget and drop in the ocean. But I also know it is times like these where God’s people often do their best work. As we humble ourselves. As we pray. As we repent. As we cry out God, the Holy Spirit goes to work in our hearts and minds transforming us more into the image of Christ. Embrace the work, my friends! And trust God with the results!

Readings for tomorrow: Psalms 146-150

Powerful Prayer

Readings for today: 1 Kings 7-8, Psalms 11

The prayer of King Solomon at the dedication of the Temple is one of my favorites in all of Scripture. It’s serves as a great model for us as we think about our own prayer life or prayers during times of great cultural upheaval like the one we’re currently living in. It begins with an ascription of praise for who God is and a recognition that He is utterly transcendent. 

"O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart...” (1 Kings‬ ‭8:23‬) Solomon acknowledges the greatness of God. His majesty. His glory. His splendor. He is not just one among many gods. He is alone is the true God of the heavens and the earth. He is also a God defined by faithfulness. Eternal loyalty. Steadfast love for His covenant people who are the humble recipients of His blessing. This attitude is truly the starting point of prayer. Prayer must begin with an understanding of who God is and who we are. We are not the same. We are not on the same level. God is the shepherd and we are the sheep. God is the potter and we are the clay. God is the king and we are his servants. Prayer place us in a humble position before the Lord. This is the ONLY posture one can take when we come before God in prayer. 

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day...” (1 Kings‬ ‭8:27-28‬) As we come humbly before the Lord, we are assured of His promise to hear us. To listen. To attend to our prayers. God hears every word. Every cry. He sees every tear. He knows the secret thoughts of our hearts and He delights when we bring those before Him openly and honestly. Solomon makes it clear that the Temple’s primary purpose is to serve as a house for prayer. A place where Israel can come before God and lay their requests before Him. 

God not only listens to our requests, He also hears our confession. Throughout this prayer, Solomon acknowledges the inescapable reality of sin. It is ubiquitous. It is epidemic. It is simply part of who we are as God’s people. So when a man or woman sins. When God’s people sin collectively. Whether against neighbor or friend. Through systems of oppression or abuse. When Israel suffers defeat at the hands of their enemies or the rains are shut up in the heavens or famine strikes the land. When viral pandemics rage, economies fail, racial tensions rise, and shelter-in-place orders are laid down. In those moments, if we will humble ourselves and pray and seek God’s face, God promises to “hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know...” (1 Kings‬ ‭8:39‬)

God will do all these things in such a way as to make His name great upon the earth. Even in Solomon’s prayer, there is a missional, outward-facing component. "Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name's sake (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.” (1 Kings‬ ‭8:41-43) God desires to fill the earth with His glory. Israel is called to serve this very purpose. In the way Israel orders her life and faithfully serves her Lord, she will be a witness to the nations and to all of creation of the steadfast love of God. 

You can see why I love this prayer so much! As I said above, it is a great model for us to follow in our own lives as we ponder and reflect on the challenges we face individually and collectively. Passages like this invite us to bring our requests before the Lord and trust Him with the results. Because of Christ, Christians have access to the Father in ways Solomon, in all his wisdom, could never have imagined! Because Christ sits at the Father’s right hand interceding for us continually, the door is always open. The way to the Holy of Holies always clear. We have a standing invitation to come before our Heavenly Father with the blessed assurance He will always listen. When you pray for yourself or the world in which we live, pray with this eternal promise firmly fixed in your mind and heart. 

Readings for tomorrow: 2 Chronicles 4-7, Psalms 134, 136