Different Numbers, Same Team

When I played baseball on a team as a kid, the coach would bring out a big cardboard box with all the jerseys in it.  It was a mad scramble for people to find their preferred number because, unlike playing positions in the field or placement in the batting lineup that could change, this was the number you would wear all season long.  It was obvious that there could only be one pitcher on the mound and one #7 jersey, and this was difficult for some teammates to process.  Thankfully disappointment and grumbling didn't last long, and important life-lessons were learned:  sometimes you won't get the number you want, but it is fun to wear that jersey and contribute as part of the team by doing your best.

In His wisdom God chose to arrange the camp of the Hebrews as He led them through the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt.  His presence in the tabernacle was the point of reference to orient the campsite of each tribe.  The same was true for the Levites that were broken up into families with distinct roles in the service of the LORD.  For instance, Numbers 3:29-31 says, "The families of the children of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle. ³⁰ And the leader of the fathers' house of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. ³¹ Their duty included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they ministered, the screen, and all the work relating to them."  Compare this with Numbers 3:35-37:  "The leader of the fathers' house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. These were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. ³⁶ And the appointed duty of the children of Merari included the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, its utensils, all the work relating to them, ³⁷ and the pillars of the court all around, with their sockets, their pegs, and their cords."

I am sure the families of the Kohath and Merari had their preferences when it came to where they set up camp or what their responsibilities were in ministering before the LORD.  It is likely handing the ark, table of showbread and the menorah seemed a bit more important than planks of wood, pegs, sockets and cords, yet these were all necessary and vital to set up and facilitate the worship of God.  Even as God made a distinction between the families of Levi, so He made a distinction between different tribes of Israel and the order they were to break camp and travel according to His guidance.  This was not up for each tribe or individual to decide.  The only decision that people needed to make is whether they would submit to God and obey Him--and this decision needed to be made daily.

A similar dynamic exists in the body of Christ, the church.  Like a human body is comprised of many parts, so God has united Jews and Gentiles as one in the church with Jesus as our Head.  All members of the church are to care for one another, even if they are from a different denomination or "tribe."  No believer is gifted or called to do all things, but God gives responsibility and gifts to each one according to His will.  Let not the one God has called to carry boards think his role is less important than the ones that carry the ark of the Covenant, for we all serve the LORD Jesus Christ.  When we all submit to Jesus Christ in love and thanksgiving we will be able to serve Him together, united in His wisdom, grace and truth by the indwelling Holy Spirit.  Regardless of our current roles in a church, it is wonderful and fun knowing we have been chosen, called and are being equipped to contribute to the health and fruitfulness of the Body of Christ, giving all glory and honour to Him.  Let's be team players that follow Christ's humble example, doing faithfully what God directs us to do joyfully for Him.

Wise To Satan's Devices

Yesterday I read an article about a couple of male orcas named "Port" and "Starboard" that live off the cost of South Africa and are serial shark killers.  Over a short period of time, locals discovered large female sharks washed up on the shore with their livers and sometimes the heart expertly removed.  It is believed these killer whales single out their target shark, ram it suddenly from underneath, and this causes tonic immobility.  While the shark remains in this defenseless, catatonic state, the orcas are able to easily access and eat the parts of the shark they prize without much effort before seeking their next victim.

Similar to orcas which are the apex predator in the ocean, lions hold this title on land in Africa.  Lions are opportunistic hunters that stalk their prey, targeting the young or sickly.  They are not as picky as the infamous orcas Port and Starboard tend to be and will also feed on carrion or steal a kill from hyenas or dogs.  While lions do not have any natural predators, they are cautious about the animals they will try to engage.  The epic "Battle at Kruger" video shot during a safari shows a fierce conflict between a pride of lions, a herd of buffalo and crocodiles shows lions can try to bite off more than they can chew.  The strength of a few lions are no match for the strength of the herd.

The Bible compares Satan to a "roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."  It is important to point out Satan, unlike orcas and lions, is not an apex predator.  As the Creator of all things, God has power and authority over everything and everyone He has made--including Satan.  Like orcas, lions and hyenas have tactics they use in hunting, Satan does as well.  He prowls around seeking isolated, sickly and easy targets.  Satan looks for people who are in sin and are too proud to confess it and repent.  When we walk according to the flesh, pride and the wisdom of the world we are most vulnerable.  An unguarded heart is  like leaving the front door of a house wide open for a squatter to settle down in.  It is no surprise Satan waited to tempt Jesus until He was alone and hungry in the wilderness after a long fast.  After being rebuffed three times by Jesus Who spoke the word of God, Satan departed without success.

Paul's exhortation to the church is most relevant today in 2 Corinthians 2:8-11:  "Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. ⁹ For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. ¹⁰ Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, ¹¹ lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices."  Previously Paul wrote to the church and told them to excommunicate a man in the church who was in open and unrepentant sin.  Having done so, now they were to receive the man who repented and reaffirm their love to him with total forgiveness.  Paul urged them not to hold a grudge or have animosity towards anyone--even for his sake.  Then Paul revealed their lack of love and refusal to forgive would allow Satan to take advantage of them.  Like orcas and lions, Satan uses tactics to devour prey Christian believers ought to be aware of.

Those who are born again by faith in Jesus can resist the devil and he will flee.  Yet if we justify disobedience to God and refuse to love or forgive others, we give Satan opportunities to attack and devour us.  The devil does not deserve the credit for many of our troubles, for many are self-inflicted wounds by unbelief and countless other sins.  It would be foolish for a sheep who chose to wander from the shepherd and the flock at night to blame being caught and cut in a fence on the existence of wolves.  When the sheep stay close to a vigilant shepherd the wolves will have little opportunity.  Having knowledge of Satan's tactics to divide, confuse and capitalise on our unloving and unforgiving hearts, we are equipped with God's wisdom and strength to avoid these common pitfalls.

Encouragement in Christ's Work

God who created us and provides for all our needs is able to bring encouragement when we need it too.  There may be some people whose constitution resembles iron, impervious to pretty much everything other than rust.  I have grown in my appreciation of the encouragement God brings that unexpectedly reveals how much I needed it.  The best encouragement comes from God, and He is able to use countless means and ways to apply it to our hearts and minds.  Even when our hearts are wearied by troubles, the LORD knows how to minister to and through us.

I took encouragement today from the benediction at the end of the book of Hebrews.  Hebrews 13:20-21 reads, "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, ²¹ make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."  Our God is the "God of peace," the almighty LORD who brings healing and wholeness by His grace.  We who were once strangers and far off from God have been brought near by the Gospel, united with the risen Christ.  As Jesus died and rose again, so we were once dead in sins and now have been raised to new life through the covenant in His blood shed for us.

Unlike those whose gods are crafted by the design of men from stone or wood that cannot speak, see, hear, know or do, the LORD Jesus is our Good Shepherd.  He protects and provides for us continually, and makes us complete in every good work to do His will.  God is working in us what is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, and this requires trust and submission to Him.  Perhaps we thought we could be merely passive observers or beneficiaries of this work without personal investment, yet we are called to work out our own freely received salvation.  It may surprise you it is to those who labour and are burdened Jesus tells to take His yoke upon us and learn from Him in Matthew 11:28-30:  "Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  Our labours and burdens are too much for us alone, and thus Jesus calls us to come to Him and find rest--not a rest from labour or a promise of a trouble-free existence--but a new life sustained and encouraged by Him.

What is "well pleasing" in God's sight is often very different from what is pleasing to our view.  We want to see people or trying circumstances to change, whilst God is using those things to change us, make us complete in every good work to do His will and works in us what is well pleasing in His sight.  The God of peace that united the resurrected Son of God with a glorified body is able to finish the work in us He has begun by His grace.  We are often weak, forgetful, foolish, lazy and clueless about God's work, yet He is faithful.  God speaks to us and teaches us through His word, and the indwelling Holy Spirit continues to guide and leads us even when we are reluctant and contrary.  Today Jesus is making us complete in every good work to do His will, working in us what is well pleasing in His sight.  Knowing this, even when things are tiring, painful and hard there is always encouragement found in Jesus. 

The Aroma of Life

It is easy to read the Bible and imagine believers in scripture were a heartier stock than the modern-day believer, that we share little in common with them because they were vastly more faithful or fruitful.  Christians like Paul were used by the LORD to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles, faced fierce persecution from all sides, and he remained steadfast in faith.  We can also look at missionaries, worship leaders, pastors and teachers who seem unfazed by life's problems.  Our fellow Christians who have suffered many major things beyond our experience seem to fare better than we do with our struggles over minor things.

The problem is, this isn't true.  It may be true we do wilt easily under the pressure others have discovered strength in God to overcome through faith, but know human frailty since the fall into sin has been constant.  Even Paul was transparent about struggles most people can identify with, and we might assume such troubles were beneath him.  Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 2:12-13, "Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, ¹³ I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia."  Though Paul preached Christ though Whom we find rest for our souls, it did not follow Paul always experienced it.  He had an open door to preach by the LORD, yet he had no rest in his spirit.  Initially the trip to Macedonia was not pleasant either.

He explained in 2 Corinthians 7:5-6:  "For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. ⁶ Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus..."  Paul's spirit was not at rest in Troas, and in Macedonia the body had not rest either:  there were troubles, conflicts outside and fear inside.  While Paul was in a downcast and depressed state, Titus brought with him a comforting message from the church in Corinth.  He reported how well they received his corrective and instructive letter and took appropriate action to honour God in the church.  Paul rejoiced to hear this good report.  God placed the apostle Paul in the body of Christ the church, not only to bring forth the truth of God's word, but to receive the consolation by Christ's love and encouragement through His people.

Have you ever lacked rest in your spirit since coming to Christ?  Have you ever faced trouble and conflicts without and fears within?  Have you ever felt lonely or downcast?  If so, you have more in common with Paul than you may have thought.  And if you know Jesus Christ, having been born again, you are connected with the same Saviour who gives rest and comfort for our souls.  2 Corinthians 2:14-16 can be a source of encouragement for all Christians as we praise Him despite pain:  "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. ¹⁵ For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?"  The fragrance of frankincense is released when it is crushed, and when our souls are crushed by difficulties the fragrance of Jesus Christ is dispensed to the world to lead people to salvation by faith in Him.

Paul being downcast and crushed by circumstances can be an encouragement to us who also struggle.  Paul was not sufficient for the troubles common to life and people, and neither are we:  only Jesus Christ is sufficient for these things, and He is infinitely so.  Paul's attitude and flesh led him to be downcast, yet Jesus always leads us in triumph.  Thanks be to God who comforts the downcast and through us diffuses the aroma of Life leading to life.  The crushing circumstances of life have a way of leading us and others to Jesus.