The Best Friend
“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24, NKJV)
Cindy and I have experienced the joy of reconnecting with friends we have known over the years via the internet. While the dangers of the web have been well-documented, being brought closer to friends who are scattered throughout the country is no doubt a good thing.
I would not say that adding a friend on Facebook is being reunited. True unity is much deeper than that. But spanning distance and time to connect in some way with friends we have known is a slice of heaven. Consider the connections we will have there! People in Christ who have died before us. Our own great-grandchildren whom we don’t even know. Biblical saints and historical saints we’ve only read about. Childhood friends that we lost touch with but who found their way to Jesus…and eternal life. All will be present for this Grand Reunion!
In the meantime, our Lord made much of friendship. He eagerly desired to eat with the Twelve whom He called His friends. He told us to use the money of this world to make friends for ourselves. Even the one who betrayed Him Jesus called a friend. Likewise, we cannot survive without friends. Like the Borg we are part of “the collective.” We are social creatures that need one another and must give to one another if we are to be whole.
Jesus had many friends, and from the proverb above and the gospel accounts we must conclude that He was friendly. But Jesus also had many enemies. Religious people hated him and accused Him of having a demon. Roman soldiers mocked and abused Him. His own people rejected Him. Even His friends forsook Him. Jesus warned us that we should expect the same treatment. In fact, He warned us to beware when everyone speaks well of us, for it could mean that we are being false and only telling people what they want to hear rather than speaking the truth.
Yet with all the joys and sorrows of friendship, the proverb drives us on to seek the One friend who stays closer than a brother. I don’t know of any more beautiful description of Jesus, our Good Shepherd, who walks with us through every valley, who never leaves us or forsakes us, who restores our soul, and who prepares a place in heaven for us. He is the closest and most faithful friend I have ever had.
I wonder…how many friends would Jesus have on Facebook?
Dig This!
“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width.” (Exodus 25:17, NKJV)
The first time I read through the entire Bible I recall being quite bored with all the instructions given to Moses concerning the construction of the tabernacle. All the cubits, curtains, skins, gold, silver and bronze…but I didn’t see how it applied to my life.
It wasn’t until many years later when I took a class on the tabernacle that I discovered buried treasure. Everything pointed to Jesus and His work on the cross for us!
The Ark of the Covenant was where God would dwell among His people. It was a wooden box covered with gold. The Ten Commandments engraved on two stone tablets would be placed inside. It was God’s testimony of the covenant He made with Israel. They would keep His covenant, and He would make them a special treasure above all nations. Through Israel the Messiah would be born who would bless the entire world.
The Ark had a lid that God called a seat, for it is where He would “sit” among His people. But why did He call it the mercy seat?
As God appeared over the Ark, He was perpetually reminded of the covenant Israel made with Him to keep His commandments. But it didn’t take them long to violate the covenant. In fact, the tablets that would be in the Ark were the second edition. Before Moses could bring down the first edition from Mount Sinai the people had already broken the covenant they had sworn to keep. So Moses broke the tablets.
Later as God would look down upon the Ark and see the covenant, He would be reminded of the people’s sins. The law demanded justice. So God covered over the law with mercy. On the Day of Atonement the high priest would sacrifice the sin offerings, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. He would sprinkle the blood upon the mercy seat, and atonement would be made for the people. The blood covered over their sins; mercy covered over the law.
Do you see Jesus hidden in this? Like Israel, we have broken God’s commandments. His law calls for justice, but He has provided the atoning blood of Jesus sprinkled on our hearts. God’s mercy covers us, triumphing over justice. Instead of seeing our sins, God sees the precious blood of His Son, satisfying His justice and making us the blessed recipients of His unending love and grace.
Funny, isn’t it, how much can be found in a few instructions about a box? So many wonderful treasures exist in God’s word if we will simply dig them out!
The Least We Can Do
“The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.” (Exodus 15:2, NKJV)
It’s been quite some time since my last post, but seeing an old friend in concert for the first time in many years inspired me to sit down and write.
It had been a difficult escape. Ten plagues, Passover lambs and a Red Sea crossing later, Moses found himself, along with all Israel, on the other side of the sea. Pharaoh’s army had just drowned, being crushed by collapsing waves into a watery grave.
It was the aftermath of a great conflict between light and darkness, good and evil, truth and lies, the Spirit and the flesh, life and death. Now the LORD had delivered them and put Pharaoh forever behind them. But who could boast? It wasn’t their knowledge that had triumphed. It wasn’t their military skill or diplomacy. It wasn’t even their righteousness, for the people had murmured and complained the entire way. It was clearly the LORD who saved them, and there was nothing left to do but to sing a song of praise.
“The Lord is my strength and song.” We have often thought of the Lord as being a mighty fortress, a strong tower, or our Rock, but have we thought of Him as a song? If He is a song, then what song is He? How do we sing Him? On this day He was a victory song—a song of overwhelming praise and gratitude.
“He has become my salvation.” Is this not a beautiful picture of Jesus, whose name means “Yahweh is salvation?” God, who appeared in the flesh to redeem us from our sins.
“He is my God.” There is something so endearing and intimate in this. He isn’t merely the far-off Creator of the universe, but He is my God—the One I trust; the One I seek; my protector and provider, my guide through the maze of life.
“And I will praise Him; my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.” Here in the aftermath of the destruction of their enemies and the promise of the future, Moses couldn’t help but praise and exalt God Almighty. It was the least he could do.
Has the Lord brought you through a Red Sea? Has He parted the waves of impossibility to deliver you from your enemy and bring you into His arms of infinite love? Has He whispered into your ear beautiful promises of His grace? Then there is nothing to do but to praise and exalt Him. It’s the least we can do.
God in the Details
“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15, NKJV)
Our family is on vacation in Arizona. We are celebrating the 70th birthday of Cindy’s dad. We broke up the journey by spending the night in Las Vegas. After an evening of driving through “the strip” and visiting a local shopping mall, I went to bed. I awoke early in the morning to catch up on my Bible reading. I read the verse above.
I got to thinking…what will Las Vegas look like when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of Christ? What will become of the high-rise casinos? What will He do with all those slot machines? What about the amusements? The roller coasters, shows and restaurants? What will happen to the guys on the street advertising a girl in your room in twenty minutes?
I couldn’t wait to leave the city. Somehow I felt dirty just being there. I think I know how Lot felt when the sins of Sodom vexed his spirit. No wonder as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Jesus must first judge the world before its kingdoms belong to Him. Cities that have destroyed so many lives will themselves be destroyed. But what a glorious day it will be when wherever we look we will see righteousness.
There was one redeeming thing about our visit: a billboard as we entered the city. It simply read, “God is in the details.” Nothing escapes His notice; He will bring everything into judgment; but He is very, very, very patient. Good thing for us…
Constant Contact
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” (John 15:4, ESV)
We just got back from our annual Summer Camp. There is nothing else that quite compares with being with children and youth for a week in the mountains to seek God. He is always faithful to show up and touch hearts.
I remembered my own experience with church youth camps growing up. I felt the reality of God in a way that I could never again doubt His presence. But when I came down off the mountain I soon found myself drifting back into my old ways. How I longed for the closeness I felt with Jesus to continue…
In our Friday morning session my son Justin shared about ways everyone could not lose the spiritual ground they gained at camp. His message inspired me with an illustration. I think many times we look at camps, retreats or other “mountain top” spiritual experiences as the time we “fuel up”, as though we are an automobile with an empty tank. But I don’t think this is the best way to view it. Rather, we should think of ourselves as the monorail at Disneyland. We must be in constant contact with the Power Source. These special retreats are times for required maintenance, but then we get back on track again. Jesus wants us always to abide in Him so that we can always bear fruit for the kingdom. The only way to keep from spiritually drifting is to always dwell in His presence, connected to the Source. Are you receiving your power from Him today?
Snatched from the Fire
“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment…then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.” (2 Peter 2:4, 9, NASB95)
Hell has fallen into disfavor these days—not among the heathen who seem content to go there, but among the believers who avoid the subject altogether. We seem to forget that Jesus spoke more of hell than of heaven. Do we think ourselves better than Him? We look with contempt upon “fire and brimstone” preaching, yet it was such a sermon by Jonathan Edwards that was an integral part of the Great Awakening. While no one in his right mind wants to abide in hell, neither can we dwell in comfortable complacency while those around us perish in its flames. If we avoid the subject, then we deprive heaven of its greatest weapon against sin, the world and Satan. It is only thoughtful consideration of hell that causes us to flee the wrath to come and rush headlong into the loving arms of Jesus.
Certainly none of us want to be the stereotypical, self-righteous person with a bony finger in people’s faces, saying, “Turn or burn!” But when we consider those around us who will soon perish and enter an eternity of unthinkable suffering, how can we say we have the love of God if we don’t warn them with tears to turn from this corrupt generation and save themselves from the unquenchable lake of everlasting fire?
If you saw your neighbor’s house burning down, and knew he was in there, how hard would you try to pull him out?
The Least I Can Do
“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.” (Luke 16:10, NKJV)
I don’t know about you, but I tend to walk right over the clothes on the ground on my way to something more important. I heard of a man once who lived in a commune. Everyone was into being free to be himself. The only problem was that no one was into doing the dishes. So the dishes stacked, the cock roaches gathered, and the house stank. All of this freedom finally resulted in the man leaving the commune because he couldn’t handle the stench.
Often, it seems, we don’t have time for the “little” things—dishes, laundry, correspondence, mowing the lawn, greeting our neighbor, or telling others how much we appreciate them. But these little things lead to bigger things. Sometimes our heads are so far in the clouds that we can’t see the opportunities right before us.
God has not called us to great feats but to being faithful in little things. When I look for leaders I look for those who are faithful in the little things. Who stays to clean up after everyone else has left? Who shows up when no one else comes? If I recognize these qualities in a potential leader, then how much more does God?
So the next time you may be tempted to leave that dish in the sink, step over those clothes, or keep that letter unanswered on your desk, consider that Someone is watching and deciding if we are fit to be entrusted with the true riches.
Steeped in the Word
“O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” (Psalm 119:97, NASB95)
What if we were truly to love God’s law and meditate on it throughout the day? How would it affect our lives? What if our every thought was the word of God? What if every word that came from our mouths was what Jesus would say?
We are what we eat. Whatever we feed upon, that is what we become. If we feed on the sludge of this world, then that is what we can expect to become—sludge. However, if we feed upon the pure milk of the Word…if we love it as much as our daily food, then we will become the Word. That’s what Jesus was. He was the living Word—the Word that became flesh. If we want to become like Jesus there is no other way but for us to be steeped in the Word, so that we become what it is.
“God help us to meditate in your Word day and night so that we may become like Jesus and prosper in all we do!” (Joshua 1:8)
The Best Meal
“In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” (John 4:31-32, NKJV)
I love food. I need only look in the mirror to see the evidence. The disciples also loved food. That’s why they left Jesus at a well in Samaria while they picked up some lunch. Jesus was on a different kind of mission. A Samaritan woman with a trail of broken relationships came to the well where Jesus was resting. What happened next is a marvelous study of effective evangelism. Not only was the woman made a believer, but she spread the news to her entire community.
When the disciples returned they urged their Teacher to eat. But Jesus already had lunch. Sharing the gift of God with this broken woman was all the food that He needed. The expression of joy in her face beat anything the disciples could have brought back from the market.
Last night we fed local children, youth and adults in our mall with over 100 hotdogs, chips and soda. Those who helped us serve were overjoyed. Several young people came inside to check out our youth group. A random act of kindness made acquaintances who will hopefully become friends. When it was all done we just had to give God thanks. The Lord was there in those smiling faces and in the joy in our hearts to share. It was the best meal I’ve had in a long time!
The Right Stuff
“Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29, NASB95)
Over the weekend I heard about a survey of ninety-somethings. They were asked if they could do it all over again what they would do differently. Here are the top three responses:
1. They wish they had taken more risks.
2. They wish they had taken the time to enjoy the journey more.
3. They regret that they spent so much of what they had on this life and had little for what lie ahead.
We who have bowed the knee to Jesus Christ have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken or taken away. Jesus taught us to make this kingdom our first priority rather than our lives in this world. When we consider God’s amazing love, mercy and grace, when we take inventory of all the blessings He’s given us, then we are compelled to express our gratitude through works of loving service to Him. We take risks for His kingdom; we rejoice and give Him thanks in every circumstance, enjoying what He has given us; and we make it a priority to do things for His kingdom and His righteousness. In so doing, we lay up treasures in heaven and finish our race with no regrets.
One day we will all stand face-to-face with The Consuming Fire. Everything we have done in this life will be tested in that fire. The wood, hay and stubble of our lives will be consumed. What will remain will be the non-consumables—gold, silver and precious stones—those things we have built upon Jesus Christ. May God help us have reverence and awe today, building with the right stuff!
