Remembering God

"When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands."

Deuteronomy 24:19

God is able to use forgetfulness or being absentminded as an opportunity for blessing.  God knows that we who remember also have the capacity (and even tendency!) to forget.  If a farmer forgot a sheaf of grain in the field, he was not to go retrieve it:  that would provide food for the stranger, the fatherless and the widow.  I wonder if this happened to farmers as often as I forget a pot on the stove that needs cleaning when washing dishes!  The sink being empty of dishes, I often remove the drain plug only to see another pot or dish to wash I had forgotten about.

A forgetful farmer was to be always mindful of the God who commanded him to leave the forgotten sheaf in the field.  He was to remember the promise of God's blessing upon all the work of his hands should he trust and obey.  It is an amazingly good exchange, to leave a sheaf in the field that will benefit others to receive the enduring blessing of God upon all the works of your hands--forgetful though you might be.  I wonder if people intentionally "forgot" a sheaf in the field, left extra olives on the trees or grapes on the vines so they could be partakers of blessings of God for their liberality to others in need.

There is a beautiful balance here of God's provision for the needy and their need to work for a living.  Ruth did not wait for barley to be shoveled into her bag at home but braved the heat of the day to glean in the field of Boaz.  Olives that remained were high in the trees and needed to be brined before eating; the grain in a forgotten sheaf still needed to be threshed, winnowed and ground into flour, roasted or sprouted.  God is good to provide for the rich and poor alike through many means, and it is a blessing to be able to work, eat and enjoy the profits of our labours.  All our increase is a gracious gift from God, and those who are generous and mindful of God's blessings are even more blessed.  There is even a blessing in forgetting when we remember our great God.

Rest in God's Grace

Zerubbabel was a Jewish governor of Judea who came out of the Babylonian captivity and was used by God to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.  Haggai and Zechariah were prophets and contemporaries of Zerubbabel who encouraged him in the work.  Great difficulties and obstacles were prevalent:  the busyness of the people in their own affairs, opposition of enemies, and even satanic attacks.  Zerubbabel had a massive task before him that loomed like an impassable mountain.  The foundation had been laid, but how would the work be completed?

In the face of great discouragement and his own inability to do the work, an angelic messenger said in Zechariah 4:6-9:  "So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts. ⁷ 'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" ⁸ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: ⁹ "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you."  By the grace of God the immense job would be accomplished Zerubabbel could not finish by the might of Persia or the power of combined effort.  The Holy Spirit would turn mountains into a plain easily navigated.  God would see the capstone of the temple laid, and in that day it would confirm the truth of what the angel spoke.  God used Zerubbabel to complete this monumental task by His grace.

As we move into a new year there is always the temptation to lament past failures than rejoice in new beginnings.  It would be safe to say this year did not go according to the "plans" many had:  trips and holidays were cancelled as a pandemic swept across the globe, weddings and gatherings were impacted, the economy and jobs were negatively affected and social distancing restrictions imposed upon freedoms we took for granted.  In light of what has happened and all the work that still needs to be done, we might imagine our efforts to accomplish God's work is a waste of time.  On the contrary!  When God is doing the work by the power of the Holy Spirit, His grace is sufficient for all seasons.  Before God what appears to be insurmountable opposition is laid low when His people trust and obey Him.

Explorers have devised ways to conquer the highest peaks on the globe, yet only the Holy Spirit is able to make a mountain a plain by His grace.  Heavy equipment and dynamite have removed great swaths of stone and soil, but we cannot by hard labour be born again, forgiven from sins, or go to haven by our efforts:  it is by the grace of God through faith in Jesus this impossible transformation is done.  Paul wrote to believers in Philippians 1:3-7:  "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, ⁵ for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; ⁷  just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace."  Through faith in Jesus Christ we are blessed with the Holy Spirit by God's grace beginning to end.  Like Zerubbabel, may we be His faithful servants who rest in God's grace.

Jesus Proclaims Peace

"When you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it. ¹¹ And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you."

Deuteronomy 20:10-11

God commanded His people to proclaim peace to distant cities, thus providing an opportunity for lives to be spared.  Those who responded to the offer of peace from Israel and chose to open their doors to them would be spared.  Cities who refused to accept the offer of peace would be beseiged and every male would be slain.  The choice of life and death was placed before the enemies of Israel according to God's grace, and this reminds me how God is not willing any should perish.  In light of God's warning that judgment will someday come to this world, 2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."

About 2,000 years ago, shepherds who kept watch over their flocks by night experienced an angelic proclamation of peace God provided to all the world by sending Jesus Christ.  Luke 2:13-14 reads, "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ¹⁴ "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"  To a world languishing under judgment and death as a consequence for sin, the Light of the World Jesus Christ came to save.  There was no room for newborn Jesus in the inn, yet we are given the opportunity to open ours hearts to Him in faith and surrender our lives to Him.  The well-known carol exhorts all people:  "Joy to the world! The Lord is come.  Let earth receive her King!  Let every heart prepare Him room and heaven and nature sing."

When you move into a new house or renovate rooms, there is an opportunity to arrange furniture.  Rooms can be set up to serve as a bedroom, office or theatre.  The pool table can be sold to make room for a lounge, and the cars can be parked outside to convert the garage into a workspace.  It is important we understand that opening our hearts to Jesus at one time does not guarantee He has the place of honour in our lives today.  Like hoarders acquire vast quantities of goods which restrict their movement and access, our hearts and lives can be cluttered with thoughts, ambitions and desires which crowd out Jesus.  In the Song of Solomon his wife couldn't be bothered to rise from bed to let him in!  They shared a bed together, yet his wife was more concerned about the inconvenience of rising to open the door and having to wash her feet again.

This is similar to what happened with the church of Laodicea Jesus addressed in Revelation 3.  They had become self-confident and self-reliant and believed they had need of nothing--yet Jesus revealed to them spiritually they were wretched, poor, blind, miserable and naked.  Jesus Christ said to them in Revelation 3:19-20, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. ²⁰  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."  Jesus stood at the door and called out to the church to open to Him with the promise of renewed fellowship.  We can open the door of our heart and affections to many things:  have we opened up to Jesus, having made room for Him?  He stands at the door of all our hearts and proclaims peace today, and may we open to Him as humble subjects who serve Him joyfully.

Kept From Stumbling

During my pilgrimage of following Jesus, I have received bad news at times which shocked me deeply.  Most specifically, I have been dismayed over allegations and scandals concerning Christians.  I don't know what is more hard to process looking back:  how a Christian or pastor could be in sin or that I felt the sins of which they were guilty were beyond the realm of possibility.  Many times Christians and I have been left with the broken pieces of a shattered testimony of God's faithfulness by stumbling saints.  How easy it is to assume the ones who have the words of life will always follow them without fail!

One of the blessings that come from these tragic moments is the chance to pause for self-examination:  if a pillar of the faith could topple, who can say that could not have been me?  Peter was quick to say he would not be scattered, stumble or deny Jesus but that very same night he did all three.  No man is without faults, and unless these are recognised and repented of time will only magnify them.  2 John 1:7-8 shows the tension between knowing there are deceivers in the world and to ensure we are not one of them:  "For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. ⁸ Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward."  It is good any faith in ourselves or man would be shaken, no, destroyed entirely, lest we imagine anyone can be righteous apart from Jesus Christ.

Another thing I have observed is how Satan delights to use the fall of a Christian as a blemish upon prior fruitfulness by the grace of God.  He would even seek to employ the fallibility and hypocrisy of those who follow Jesus to claim Jesus is not worthy of being followed or trusted.  I am grateful Jesus Christ stands righteous alone, pure and undefiled from the folly of the saints He delights to save.  When saints fall into sin and scandal erupts, many times the faith of people is exposed as shallow and they fall away:  faith in a pastor or ministry leader cannot comfort or save a soul in those trying times.  Jesus prayed for Peter his faith would not fail, and Jesus prays for all His sheep who can be heavily laden with sin and weights.  We will fail Him, but our faithful Saviour will never fail us.

When we place Christian leaders on pedestals their fall becomes greater and more damaging.  We ought to hold all people in high esteem, and we should hold Christians accountable to walk righteously and godly in this present age.  Proverbs 28:13-14 says, "He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. ¹⁴ Happy is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity."  Judas felt the twinge of guilt and hung himself; Peter was broken for sin and chose to repent and return to Jesus.  Since we are not called to judge another man's servant, we do not need to justify the behaviour of an erring servant to others:  that is for his Master to do.  Our call is look upon our righteous Saviour with eyes of faith and consider Him in all we do, that we might be pleasing unto our LORD and not stumble others.

Instead of being lifted up with pride we have not fallen into sin which resulted in scandal, let us humble ourselves under the almighty hand of God that He might exalt us in due time.  If we keep our feet it is the firmness of our foundation which must receive all credit.  As it is written in Jude 1:24-25, "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, ²⁵ to God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen."  God keeps us by His grace, so may I keep my eyes on Him with joy and thanksgiving.