Don't Feed the Birds!

I spent the first half of this week at the Collaroy Centre which hosted the "Refresh" conference put on by the Calvary Global Network.  It was a lovely spot with the benefits of sound biblical teaching, fellowship, and worship of God.  The lush area was home to many varieties of beautiful and loud birds like sulphur-crested cockatoos and rainbow lorikeets.  In the outdoor seating area signs were placed on the tables which read, "Do Not Feed the Birds."

There are several reasons provided in Australia for people to restrain themselves from feeding wild birds.  One reason is the offer of free food (which may not be the most healthy for them) can reduce their ability to forage for food in the wild.  If they are conditioned to regular feeding their diet will also not be as varied as it should be.  Whilst those are valid reasons, another reason is most likely why the Collaroy Centre prohibits people from feeding birds.  According to the ABC, "Animals that expect to be fed by people can become aggressive, harassing people for food when they are hungry."  Nobody trying to relax on the veranda wants to be swooped by aggressive, squawking birds, and birds have been known to rip into wood and do serious damage to property.

Thinking about feeding wild birds reminded me about what is written in Galatians 6:7-8: "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. ⁸ For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."  The lustful desires of the flesh could be likened to wild birds that when fed become increasingly aggressive and do great damage.  Sulphur-crested cockatoos are notoriously persistent after they have targeted wood on your home.  Passive deterrents are often not enough!  Many people have been forced to guard their homes from the birds by netting and spraying the pesky parrots with the hose until they understand the house is not worth the trouble.  Feeding wild birds invites mischief, and choosing to feed the flesh creates far greater problems than money or hard labour alone can repair.  It creates sinful struggles you carry everywhere, and only Jesus can provide deliverance.

Sowing seeds will produce a crop according to the variety of seed sown, and when we sow to the flesh we will certainly reap corruption.  It is sowing to the Spirit - having the good Word of God implanted in our hearts and walking in obedience - which results in blessing and eternal life.  We do not earn salvation by our good works, but as born-again citizens of heaven we are divinely enabled to walk uprightly.  One cannot help the fact wild parrots roost nearby, but we should think twice before feeding them.  We all have fleshly desires, but they are to be governed in submission to God.  When it comes to seeking to placate the flesh in ways which do not edify or leads to sin, we must take intentional action to stop doing wrong, repent, and choose to do what is godly.  Passive deterrents may not be enough when the flesh has been stirred even by mistake.  Praise the LORD He has given us the wisdom from His Word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to make godly decisions.

When we are vigilant to avoid indulging fleshly lusts, we create a safeguard for our lives and prevent trouble.  It is in seeking the LORD and doing what is right that results in enjoying the victory provided us through faith in Jesus.

Consider Jesus!

"Happiness depends on what happens," I have heard some say, and often this is true.  Feelings are useful but are also fickle.  One moment we can be happy and carefree, and the next we can feel the weight of the world upon us.  An example of this phenomenon is seen in Haman after he was invited by the queen to a special banquet with the king.  He had not only enjoyed the hospitality and company of the king and queen, but he had a banquet the following day to look forward to.  It seemed everything was right in the world.

Esther 5:9 reads, "So Haman went out that day joyful and with a glad heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, and that he did not stand or tremble before him, he was filled with indignation against Mordecai."  Haman was in a great mood because the privilege afforded him, but the sight of Mordecai sitting there filled him with anger.  All the happy feelings were gone in an instant because one man was sitting when Haman wanted him to stand in respect.  How amazing is this!  After calling his family and friends Esther 5:11-13 says what happened next: "Then Haman told them of his great riches, the multitude of his children, everything in which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and servants of the king. ¹² Moreover Haman said, "Besides, Queen Esther invited no one but me to come in with the king to the banquet that she prepared; and tomorrow I am again invited by her, along with the king. ¹³ Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate."

Haman had all the wealth, fame, power, prestige, and relationships one could hope for, yet he felt all his possessions and honour were nothing because one person refused to do what he wanted.  Haman could not perceive it, but it was not Mordecai who robbed him of any glory or honour:  it was his own pride which defrauded God.  In robbing God of glory by demanding honour for self, Haman experienced deep dissatisfaction.  A mistake Haman made was thinking he would feel better if he was rid of the sight of Mordecai and all the Jewish people (just for good measure).  There is no genuine peace or comfort to be found in this world, but our stubborn unbelief reckons it can be found if other people or our circumstances change.  Pride and vanity always lead to great disappointment, misery, and sorrow circumstances cannot touch.

Praise the LORD we are never at the mercy of men or our feelings when we seek God and rejoice in His mercies which are new every morning.  There is fullness of joy when we deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Jesus looking unto Him.  When we consider all He endured for us sinners we find encouragement to persevere even in the most difficult times.  Hebrews 12:3 states, "For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."  The word in the Greek translated "consider" is more than "think about" but to "estimate and contemplate."  It is an accounting term, weighing the evidence and drawing a conclusion based on facts.  When I pass a $20 note to buy a loaf of bread which costs $3, the associate considers the price and money offered and deems it sufficient to finalise the purchase.  In the same way we are to consider the love of Jesus displayed on Calvary for us and press on in faith - not because we feel like it, but because He loves us.  Looking at life through the powerful lens of the resurrection we are enabled to walk in God's power infinitely greater than our own.

The life Jesus lived and the price paid with His shed blood is a payment which covers all sins and overcomes all difficulties for those who trust the LORD.  It may not always feel like we are loved or remembered by God, but look at the price paid in our ledger!  Our adoption papers have been signed with the blood of the pierced Son of God, and His claim on our lives and souls endures forever.  Now as a child of God, how does that make you feel?  Feelings won't be enough to keep you going strong when everything seems against you, but who Jesus is and what He has done and does will.

Confidence in God's Deliverance

I've been enjoying reading through Esther lately, and it is amazing how God brings fresh insights to familiar passages.  Haman was incensed by the Jew Mordecai's refusal to give him reverence, and so great was his pride punishing Mordecai was not enough:  he would exterminate Mordecai and his people as well.  Having the favour of the king, Haman was able to write the doom of the Jews into law.  When Mordecai heard these evil tidings, he put on sackcloth and mourned publicly.  Esther the queen, seeing her cousin in such strife, inquired concerning his welfare and heard the news for herself.

Mordecai urged Esther to use her privileged position as queen to gain access to the king to plead for her people.  At first she resisted, citing a law which endangered the lives of all who approached the king without a summons.  Esther 4:13-14 reads, "And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. ¹⁴ For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"  Mordecai was a man of great faith in the God of Israel who faithfully delivered His people from great trouble when they cried out to Him.  Even when the destruction of the Jews was decreed by command of the King of a world empire, never for a moment did Mordecai doubt God could or would save the Jews.

Mordecai did not plead with Esther as we might, conveying she was their only hope for survival.  He did not don sackcloth to wring his hands in despair, worrying from where deliverance could come:  God would deliver His people without doubt.  The question was, would Esther be willing to be used to that end, even at the risk of her own life?  God would surely raise up relief and deliverance for the Jews from somewhere, and Mordecai did not presume to know where.  Mordecai believed God had elevated Esther to her position as queen not because of her great beauty, but because God intended for her to serve Him to her full extent in her current station.  Mordecai was convinced if Esther refused to act and remained silent, she was resigned to her own destruction.

Brother and sister in Christ, this is true for us!  God is a deliverer and a Saviour, of this we can be certain.  The question is, will we submit to serve God in our current role and relationships to the utmost so God can work His wonders through us?  Do we have the faith of Mordecai, believing God would raise up relief and deliverance for His people from somewhere - even when the source is obscured from our sight?  Do we look upon God with such confidence?  May it be such hearts and eyes of faith in the power and compassion of God are found in all God's people.

Called by Name

"But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. ² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you."

Isaiah 43:1-2

God did a phenomenal thing in birthing the Jewish nation out of slavery in Egypt.  It was a demonstration of love and grace which rivals the salvation God has provided Jew and Gentile through faith in Jesus Christ.  See what God said to the Hebrews in in Deuteronomy 7:7-8:  "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; ⁸ but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt."  God set His love on His people because He loved them; He chose them because He would keep His word to redeem them.  God did not save His people because of their goodness, but because He is good.

Though Israel would later demand a king like the other nations, forsake His Law, and bow down before idols, God did not disown His people.  Though He chastened them to repentance with famine, drought, war, and captivity, the God who formed and chose Israel would protect and uphold them.  He delivered them to the Syrians and Babylonians for their iniquities, but He would remember them and cause them to enter the land He promised to their fathers once again.  Even in the darkest times He commanded them to fear not because He was their Redeemer.  The rivers would flood but would not overwhelm His people.  Though the fire raged hot they would not be burned from His memory.  He said, "I have called you by your name; you are Mine."

How glorious it is, that the one who formed and knows us would call our name!  In the book of Esther young maidens were prepared for one year before going into the presence of the king of Persia.  Esther 2:14 details what occurred after appearing before the king:  "In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch who kept the concubines. She would not go in to the king again unless the king delighted in her and called for her by name."  One word which stands out in this verse is "custody."  The luxury afforded the concubines of the king provided comfort, but individual freedom was restricted.  A woman who appeared before the king was not free to go wherever she wanted but would remain in seclusion unless the king "delighted in her and called for her by name."  I imagine many tears were shed in this house as many women languished in their youth with silence from the king, pining to be remembered and delighted in.  How the clouds would lift to be called by your king by name!

God delighted in Jacob and gave him a new name.  God blessed Jacob in Genesis 32:28:  "And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."  God claimed Israel as His treasured inheritance, and the New Covenant by the blood of Jesus in no way lessens the impact of the grace and goodness God has shown the Jews.  It is amazing how through Jesus Christ all people can have fellowship with the Creator who delights in us and calls us by name.  We languished in a prison awaiting death for our sin, but at the call of our Saviour Jesus Christ we have come out of darkness and into His marvellous light.  God promised to be with His people, and Christians are reminded of God's word to us in Hebrews 13:5, "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  The Almighty God delights in us and calls us by His name, and let us eternally praise and worship Him for this!