A More Excellent Way

Paul exhorted the believers in Corinth to walk in the way of God's love and to desire spiritual gifts.  Being filled with the Holy Spirit and bearing good spiritual fruit is paramount for a Christian, and the greatest of these is love.  He asked in 1 Corinthians 12:29-31:  "Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? ³⁰ Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way."  While God has comprised the church of people who serve in a variety of roles and have spiritual gifts that differ from one another, God's love is what ought to govern us always.

Paul told Christians to earnestly desire the best spiritual gifts, and in saying this he is not pitting gifts God gives against one another in a sort of competition.  Even as we learn to choose to use the right tool for the job, the best gifts are those divinely suited for an occasion as He leads.  The operation of spiritual gifts prompt us to trust God and throw ourselves upon His mercy to help us use them wisely and appropriately.  It is likely one reason why Paul urged Christians to earnestly desire spiritual gifts is because they were not sure where a gift from God began or ended; gifts did not appear as apples or oranges that could be plucked from a tree.  Perhaps it seemed presumptuous to desire a spiritual gift because they were not clearly defined, browsed like wares at a market or exchanged for currency we possess.  When it comes to eating new foods, I often defer to people who have knowledge of that cuisine and what seems most appealing to me.

What we see and experience creates a predicament when it comes to spiritual gifts because under the guise of spirituality and usefulness we can desire spiritual gifts for fleshly reasons, for personal validation and status rather than the glory of Jesus and the edification of the church.  One gift may appeal to one person more than another, yet we ought to come to God willing to receive and operate in gifts that is not our personal preference--like when we attend a catered meal and the food is presented before us without us having a choice--and there is not trading allowed.  Even before we ever received a spiritual gift we may have been like Samwise Gamgee in the The Lord of the Rings who was not impressed or grateful with the Elven rope Lady Galadriel handed to him because the nice, shiny daggers Merry and Pippin received looked better.  It is good for us to make our requests known to God concerning particular gifts, yet we ought to rejoice in every gift of God He graciously and sovereignly gives us--even those not on our wish list.

God's wisdom is shown in our praying in faith to receive a gift as well as exercising faith to operate in it.  For a myriad of reasons I have observed people not respond well to spiritual gifts even when they were used "decently and in order" as Paul exhorted in 1 Corinthians 14.  The flesh loves to shine, to be seen to do well and be admired, but I have found spiritual gifts bring a sober caution and careful examination of the heart can require prompting from the LORD to step out in faith and obedience.  Using a spiritual gift has resulted in relationships abruptly ending and people leaving the church, yet God has given gifts for us to use as He leads.  The prophet Jeremiah spoke the word of the LORD that was rejected by God's people:  isn't it likely people can still be offended when the Holy Spirit moves today in a way that is not their way?  How important it is for Christians to walk in unity with Jesus Christ and one another as we are led and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do God's will, for then our relationships with one another can be deepened rather than divided over different gifts God gives.  If we ever make gifts our focus, we can easily lose sight of the Giver.

Before I ever asked for any spiritual gifts or desired them at all, I recall being offended as a teen by a fellow youth who received a spiritual gift.  I confess my initial reaction was not to praise the LORD or be encouraged to ask God for spiritual gifts but was like the hard-sleeping harlot who went before King Solomon to resolve a domestic dispute in 1 Kings 3.  She had accidentally smothered her infant whilst she slept, so she rose in the night and switched her dead child with her roommate's living son.  The women appeared before the king and both claimed the living boy was hers.  Solomon commanded a sword be brought and the living child be divided between them--it was fair they both receive half.  The real mother begged the child to be spared while the thieving woman callously agreed to the murder:  she was willing to cut a living child in half out of envy for her loss and lack.  When I heard someone had a gift I didn't, my heart in that moment resembled the envious woman, willing to divide over my own pride.  Brothers and sisters, may we confess and repent when our hearts are thus inclined and neglect to walk in love towards all.  May our compassion identify us as God's own children.

Do You...Dissemble?

In a Bible passage I read today, God identified a sin in His people we likely never recognised as sin because it is a word I have never heard anyone say (in everyday discussions):  to dissemble.  You may not recognise the word because it is in the King James Version of the Bible, but the practice of dissembling is a natural part of everyday life in our modern day.  Though it impacts our actions and words, it is wicked deception that lurks out of sight in our hearts and likely out of our minds because of the influence it can wield over our motives and intentions that remain unspoken.

Webster defined dissemble in this way:  "To hide under a false appearance; to conceal; to disguise; to pretend that not to be which really is; to pretend that to be which is not; to make a false appearance of."  To dissemble is hypocrisy, and there are copious examples found in the pages of Scripture and in our own lives.  For instance, the Pharisees came to Jesus to ask a question about paying taxes under the guise of seeking spiritual insight--when their real motivation was to seek an opportunity to accuse Jesus and turn people against Him.  2 Samuel 4:6 tells of Rimmon and Rechab who went into the king's house under the pretence of picking up wheat with the intent to murder Ishbosheth the king as he slept in the heat of the day.  It seems it was not out of the ordinary for them to gather grain, and they used this reason to keep guards at ease and enable them to carry out their murderous plot.

God spoke of this sin specifically after Achan disobeyed God and stole the spoil of Jericho for himself.  God said to Joshua in Joshua 7:11, "Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff." (KJV)  God did not only know about the wedge of gold, silver and garment Achan stole and hid in the midst of his tent but how Achan and his family also "dissembled," translated "deceived" in the NKJV.  Perhaps Achan volunteered to usher Rahab and her family to safety but he could have done so to look for valuables.  He could have worn loose fitting clothing on purpose so concealing items would have been easier.  I am reminded of Judas who was offended Mary "wasted" valuable oil by pouring it on Jesus because it could have been sold and given to the poor.  John 12:6 shows Judas dissembled in his heart:  "This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it."

Studying the word "dissemble" and considering my own heart today has resulted in my confession of sin and a rekindled desire to walk in sincerity and truth.  We can easily avoid the appearance of sin by burying our motives behind good deeds or actions that are not wrong in themselves.  It is perfectly acceptable to pick up grain if your job is to deliver it; it is good to give to those who lack.  David may have gone out on the rooftop under the pretence of praying or enjoying an evening breeze when his real motive was to see if the pretty lady who lived nearby was bathing with her window open again.  After his deceptions were laid bare, David sang in Psalm 51:6:  "Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom."  By God's wisdom may He reveal when we dissemble in our hearts so we might repent and embrace the truth rather than living a lie.

Running With It

It is wonderful to teach the truth of God's word and for people to receive it gladly and run with it.  Years ago I led a course to equip people to share Christ, and it was great to see people put what they had learned into practice and exert more effort in doing outreach I never thought to do.  The people of Nazareth could have been impressed and pleased to hear the gracious words of Jesus as He read from teh scroll of Isaiah and addressed them in the synagogue.  "And to think--this is the son of Mary and Joseph who never went to proper school!"  Sadly for them, blinded by unbelief, they were offended by the Messiah who outshone them and sought to kill Him.

Another kind of "running with" suggests something is carried beyond what was originally intended.  I have seen this when Christians embrace a particular doctrine to the point they become divisive and sow discord among the brethren.  Verses out of context can be "run with" to support extreme and even erroneous views.  The works of Luther and Calvin I have read where they sought to push back against the "papists" were embraced by their followers and run with to the point we now have Lutherans and Calvinists.  In one sense Luther was not a Lutheran; Calvin was not a Calvinist.  I do not fault these reformers because their adherents carried their words further than they did.  These distinctions came later as their theological works were examined, further refined and more precisely defined.

Finally, the prophet Jeremiah spoke of prophets who ran to speak though God had not sent or spoken to them:  they ran bearing a deceitful message of their own hearts.  Jeremiah 23:21-22:  "I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. ²² But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings."  Rather than running without being sent or spoken to, prophets in Jeremiah's day would have done better to stand in God's counsel and cause God's people to hear His words.  There is a literal example in 2 Samuel 18 of a man who ran without a message after the death of Absalom.  Ahimaaz was very keen to run and bear tidings to king David that the LORD had avenged him of his enemies.  Joab refused to send Ahimaaz and instead directed Cushi:  "Go tell the king what you have seen."  Still Ahimaaz was undeterred, for he wanted to run.  Apparently he liked running, and from happened later he was known for his running--for his stride and gait was recognised from afar.

Joab asked, "Why will you run, seeing you have no message ready?"  Ahimaaz did not answer.  He just said, "Let me run."  So Joab permitted it:  "Run."  Ahimaaz was a very good distance runner, but he had not been given a message.  Cushi, on the other hand, had been an eyewitness of what occurred and was sent by Joab to tell the king what he had seen.  While Cushi bowed and obeyed, insistent Ahimaaz continued to pester Joab to let him run after Cushi--whom he overtook by way of the plain.  In the passage we have two runners who went two different paths, one who loved to run and the other with a message.  What this section of scripture illustrates to me is the importance of being sent by God, hearing His words and speaking them accurately.  We are called to carry the good news of the Gospel wherever God sends us, but we must take caution we do not run with God's words to justify going beyond what He has said.  We disciples who have received the Great Commission and go into all the world ought to stand in God's counsel and cause people to hear God's word--rather than running because we want to run, competing with others when we ought to compliment.  Standing in God's counsel is what we ought to run with.

Pray in Faith

God is sovereign and supreme, and He is faithful to accomplish His good plans and purposes.  Though He rules over all, God is easily moved by the prayers of people who trust in Him.  God does all things without instruction or direction, yet He yields to answer prayers of His children as a king graciously responds to a humble request of his subject.  God is not whimsical or impulsive as our prayers can sometimes be, and it is a timeless wonder He chooses to respond to our cries.

We observe God answered the prayer of Isaac offered on behalf of his wife Rebekah in Genesis 25:21:  "Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived."  Isaac was likely very well-versed with God's promise to make of his father Abraham a great nation and the very long time he and Sarah waited before he was conceived in his mother's womb.  God waited until a miracle was required, and the deadness of Abraham's flesh and Sarah's barren womb were easily overcome by God's power.  Isaac interceded in prayer for his wife, and God answered his prayer when Rebekah conceived.

The joy of conception and the expectancy of becoming parents was overshadowed as Rebekah suffered an uncomfortable pregnancy.  Rebekah also prayed to God as it says in Genesis 25:22-23:  "But the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If all is well, why am I like this?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. ²³ And the LORD said to her: "Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger."  God revealed why her stomach felt like a cage match and much more than a sonogram ever could about the future:  she was going to have twin sons of whom God would make two nations.  At the request of Isaac God took action and gave Rebekah conception, and God responded to her inquiry by speaking to her and even told her of things to come.

God's ways of answering prayers of faith are more varied than the people who bring their problems, heartaches and hurts to the LORD.  In the Bible we see God often answered prayers in unexpected ways.  When God sent venomous snakes among His people who complained and murmured against Him, they asked Moses to pray that God would take away the snakes.  God responded to their prayer in a different way in Numbers 21:8-9:  "Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." ⁹ So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived."  Rather than removing snakes to prevent additional people from being bitten, God made a way of healing for those who were dying--and anyone else who would be bitten.  The bronze serpent on a pole people looked at and were healed foreshadowed the coming Messiah Jesus who would be lifted up on a cross, that whoever believes on Him might not perish but have everlasting life.

When we are distressed by the fruitlessness of our efforts, life become a massive struggle and tussle, when we want dangers and what puts us in fear taken away from us, we can come to God in prayer.  We can intercede on the behalf of others and bring our requests to the LORD knowing He is inclined to hear us and will answer according to His grace and in His time.  Because the LORD is at hand we are wise to heed Philippians 4:6-7:  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  Peace is not found by obtaining our desired outcomes but by knowing and trusting Jesus Christ who is our peace and is always faithful to hear and answer prayer.