Seek the LORD

During our Friday night Bible study, we discussed the importance of seeking God intentionally.  Unlike the children of Israel who went up to the tabernacle or temple where the presence of God dwelt according the Law of Moses, Christians are now the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us (1 Cor. 6:19).  Somehow, someway, seeking God can be neglected in the shuffle of Christian service and spiritual disciplines, our actions becoming the end in themselves rather than drawing near to God in worship, praise and thanksgiving.

Going to a church service--is going to a church service.  Being in a particular place doesn't mean we are seeking the LORD or waiting on Him.  It occurred to me that going to church without seeking God is like going to the airport but never boarding.  The whole purpose of going to a bus, train station or airport is to take a mode of transportation to a particular destination.  Now it is likely we have been to a station to drop or pick someone up, and thus we fulfilled the purpose for going there.  But to go to a station and not drop anyone off, pick someone up or board transport ourselves, we have missed an opportunity.

Speaking for myself, I would never go to an airport unless I had a specific reason for going that involved the aforementioned activities.  Yet I confess I have gone to church services and did not seek the LORD:  I was just there to attend a service.  I participated in singing and heard preaching from God's word; I found insights interesting and enjoyed catching up with fellow believers.  But I didn't necessarily seek God.  I hadn't prepared my heart to approach the awesome, holy, almighty God like people who washed in a mikveh, put on clean clothes and brought their offerings to the priest to be sacrificed.  It is a good to go to church and be in fellowship with Christians, but seeking Christ ought to be central.

God's grace is wonderful, for even when we fail to prepare our hearts to seek God and are caught up in activities, God is able to speak and work wonders in our lives.  He is patient, compassionate and merciful.  God delights to reveal Himself to those who are far from Him and pursues the wandering soul--even if they have never been to a church service.  When we make God our destination, we will find Him when we seek Him with our whole hearts.  Psalm 27:7-8 says, "Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. ⁸ When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek."  In all our seeking and service, may we seek the LORD!

To God Belong Escapes from Death

"Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation! Selah ²⁰ Our God is the God of salvation; and to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death."

Psalm 68:19-20

The LORD reminded me today that to Him belong escapes from death, for He is the God of our salvation.  This is a theme found throughout the Bible, and the book of Daniel provides several examples.  Daniel and his companions were spared from death when Israel was defeated by Babylon, and they were brought to Babylon to be trained, tested and serve king Nebuchadnezzar.

When the king became furious with his wise men and astrologers who could not tell the king what he had dreamed and suggested his request was unreasonable, he ordered their execution--Daniel and his fellow Hebrews included.  They cried out to God in prayer and appealed for Him to reveal the king's secret in His mercy.  After praising God, Daniel went before the king and told him the dream and interpretation which concerned the latter days, and the lives of Daniel and the rest of the wise men were spared.

King Nebuchadnezzar later constructed a massive image of gold and commanded all his assembled princes, governors and leaders to bow in worship when music was played--or else they would be thrown alive into a burning furnace which was on site and prepared for the occasion.  When Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego refused to bow before the image, they were hauled before Nebuchadnezzar himself.  He gave them a final opportunity to bow and said, "If you do not fall down and worship before the image I made, that same hour you will be cast into a burning fiery furnace:  and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?"  Well, the king was given a first-hand opportunity to witness the God of Israel do just that, for He saved His servants who trusted in Him:  the LORD to whom belong escapes from death.  Though the heat was increased sevenfold, God preserved the lives of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.

After Babylon fell before the Medes and Persians, Daniel was promoted by king Darius to be first of three overseers of 120 princes over the whole kingdom.  Envious men proposed legislation with an aim to destroy Daniel, saying if someone over a 30 day period prayed to anyone other than the king, those guilty would be thrown into the lion's den--knowing Daniel would continue to pray to the God of his fathers.  It all happened as they hoped:  Daniel prayed to God, he was convicted under law could not be altered, and he was thrown into the lion's den.  What they had not counted on was God sent His angel to shut the lion's mouths and they were unable to harm him!  Daniel emerged from the den of ravenous lions unharmed.  To God belong escapes from death He grants to those who trust in Him!

In contrast Psalm 68:21 says, "But God will wound the head of His enemies, the hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in His trespasses."  The wicked men who conspired against Daniel and accused him, by the command of the king they were rounded up with their families and the lions broke their bones in pieces before they came to the bottom of the den.  As Nebuchadnezzar learned--following God saving him from his deadly pride--that all His works are truth, His ways judgment, and all who walk in pride God is able to abase.  King Darius declared in Daniel 6:26-27:  "I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. ²⁷ He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions."

God or Mammon

"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

Luke 16:13

"Mammon" is a word I have never heard in everyday conversation, and this is a likely factor why it is not understood.  The most common alternative in Bible translations for mammon is "money" (capitalised in the NIV), but the meaning is greater than dollars and cents.  In his book The Call, Os Guinness goes beyond a definition to provide a useful description that helps us better understand Christ's meaning:

"Jesus' use of Mammon (Aramaic for wealth) is unique--he gave it a strength and precision that the word never had before.  He did not usually personify things, let alone deify them.  And neither the Jews nor the nearby pagans knew a god by this name.  But what Jesus says in speaking of Mammon is that money is a power--and not in a vague sense, as in the "force" of words.  Rather, money is a power in the sense that it is an active agent with decisive spiritual power and is never neutral.  It is a power before we use it, not simply as we use it or whether we use it well or badly.

As such Mammon is a genuine rival to God.  The recurring biblical demand confronts us:  "You shall not worship the work of your hands."  Jesus challenged his hearers to choose one master or another--God or Mammon.  Either we serve God and use money or we serve money and use God.  Ultimately we follow what we have loved most intensely to its natural destination--eternity or death--"for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Guinness, Os. The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life. Thomas Nelson, 2003. pages 134-135)

God is the Creator and giver of all gifts, and good things God has provided can lead to a spiritual mutiny in our souls, and our flesh tends to corruptly serve the gift rather than the giver.  Jesus illustrated the impossibility of serving two masters:  if one master said to kneel and another demands the servant stand, only one of the commands could be followed.  A servant obeys the master he loves, whilst the master he disobeys he plainly loves less.  Loyalty to Jesus Christ can be shown in our Spirit-led stewardship of the wealth He gives us, and if we are ruled by money we are not walking in obedience to God.  Our flesh suggests it is possible to please both masters, as if wealth and gain is a guarantee of God's approval--that wealth and God are the same--bringing down God to the level of money we control.  Jesus struck a contrast between God and mammon so His followers would not fall for this selfish ruse.  What we serve demonstrates who we love most.

In contract negotiations for big money in sport, government or business people will say, "It's not about the money."  It would be naive and deceitful to say money has nothing to do with it, otherwise people would contribute their skills, talents and time without financial renumeration.  Jesus put Himself opposite mammon because our desires, ambitions and needs are God's rivals we naturally side with.  In denying ourselves, taking up our cross daily and following Him, we are called to look to Jesus to guide us in giving when we would rather sock it away or spend it on ourselves.  Our flesh would rather have  the financial security that comes from having money in the bank when God would have us learn to find our present and eternal security in Him alone.  As we regularly give a portion of increase God gives us back to Him (1 Cor. 16:2), the power money once had over us is shattered and we begin to realise the inestimable wealth we have in Jesus.  If money management is a pain point, the LORD may stretch  us on the rack of divided loyalty so we might repent and experience the freedom and joy of giving freely as God does to us.

The 10 Letter Word

Sometime during my life, "punishment" became a bad ten letter word that was an indicator of a heavy-handed parent, one who might as well admit to abusing their child.  I can understand serious concern how consequences for doing wrong are meted out because parents, teachers and others in positions of authority have committed abuses, but the Bible shows punishment in itself is not sinful or morally wrong.  God punishes evildoers, and what those in authority must understand is they are not God and must answer to Him for their deviation from love, mercy, compassion and justice.  It is the love and fear of God that ought to govern God's people in the administration of discipline.

I have experienced leaders at schools, camps and the workplace who embraced positive affirmation to a degree that made me squirm with discomfort more than harsh censure.  Instead of identifying bad behaviour and enforcing a clear boundary with corrective measures, some feel compelled to tell everyone how wonderful and amazing their conduct has been.  Had those words come from my mouth, I would have been guilty of lying through my teeth based upon my observations and convictions.  Sometimes bad behaviour occurs when a boundary and clear consequences were not adequately spelled out, and once this is done there is no excuse for those in authority not following through with their own stated policies when there is clear, willful disobedience.  When leaders neglect to take appropriate action, a warning is reduced to an idle threatening which leads to habitual and greater transgression.

Webster defined "punishment" with important distinctions:  "Any pain or suffering inflicted on a person for a crime or offense, by the authority to which the offender is subject, either by the constitution of God or of civil society. The punishment of the faults and offenses of children by the parent, is by virtue of the right of government with which the parent is invested by God himself. This species of punishment is chastisement or correction. The punishment of crimes against the laws is inflicted by the supreme power of the state in virtue of the right of government, vested in the prince or legislature. The right of punishment belongs only to persons clothed with authority. Pain, loss or evil willfully inflicted on another for his crimes or offenses by a private unauthorized person, is revenge rather than punishment."  There are different kinds of punishment that are to be done in an appropriate way in the fear of God.  Punishment is not merely inflicting pain as retribution--"You angered me so I will hurt you"--but has the aim of instruction, correction and restoration.  When punishment is abandoned for vengeance, we transgress upon God's sovereign territory.

I remember years ago there was an unruly youth at a centre where I worked.  We had a simple disciplinary approach taken from soccer for the kids who attended:  a yellow card was a warning, and a red card meant ejection.  While we always encouraged the children and praised good behaviour, we also needed an effective way to communicate what behaviour was unacceptable.  After serving more red cards to one youth than all other children combined, I sought the LORD and His wisdom because the red card punishment was not resulting in correction or reformation.  I was led to consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 18:15-17:  "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' ¹⁷ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector."

My immediate response was, "That's not going to work."  But I chose to heed God's word and put the principle of Jesus' teaching into practice.  I had a conversation with the youth who claimed to be a Christian.  I explained that if I needed to give a red card again, we would have a chat with all the kids at the centre, that the youth would be prohibited from entry until there was a change of heart and willingness to follow the rules.  It wasn't long before the red card was issued, the conversation was had before all the children, and the youth was not permitted to attend.  A couple months later, we were all blessed by God's answer to prayer when the youth returned willing to apologise and had a different attitude.  There may have been a couple of yellow cards given after that, but never again a red card.  I cannot emphasise this enough:  it was not our system but God who made all the difference.  God was faithful to His word and loved me and the unruly youth enough to teach us all valuable lessons that made a difference for good.

I urge you brother and sister in Christ:  trust God enough to put His word into practice concerning administering punishment and discipline to those God has entrusted to you.  Love is shown by being patient and kind, by being slow to anger and not keeping records of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).  Abuse of authority is unloving, and it is also unloving to neglect appropriate discipline.  Should the temper flare and the flesh bristle with offence, immediately stop and examine your own heart before the LORD, repent of vengeful desires, and humble ourselves before God.  Then, even when it feels uncomfortable, have a conversation where you specifically identify the boundary and how it was transgressed.  Seek the LORD for what are appropriate consequences should the line be willfully crossed again.  Proverbs 13:24 says, "He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly."  Praise God He is gracious and merciful with His administration of discipline to us when we err, communicating His love without fail.