Falling into sin again after 40 years of serving the Lord, God’s people are told by a prophet that it is their fear of the world that has caused them to disobey. That’s not how the people understand it though. When the angel first comes to Gideon, this son hiding his threshing from the Midianites believes that God has forsaken them (Judges 6). Continue reading “Go in This Might of Yours”
She Gave Him Milk
Because Barak was reluctant to obey God’s commands though God had promised to be with him, Deborah told him that the glory that Barak could have gained from defeating Sisera would go to a woman. While shrinking back, Barak still tried to regain that glory on his own … but you can’t thwart God.
I. Judges 4:8-23. Deborah is remembered as the leader of God’s people in the battle with Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army. While Sisera marched against Israel with 900 chariots, it is Deborah who tells Barak to fight in the battle that the Lord would win for him. Jesus dying on the cross was part of God’s plan (Acts 2:23), and Gamaliel rightly warned the Sanhedrin that they could find themselves opposing God (Acts 5:39). You can’t thwart God.
II. Judges 5:7-31. Though Jael’s husband was a Levite, he was friendly with the Canaanites that had oppressed Israel for twenty years, so Sisera believed he had found rest and safety in his flight after the battle. Using her wiles to conquer her enemy, Jael gave him milk when he asked for water and curds in a nobleman’s bowl while she waited for him to sleep. Barak arrived to late to gain the glory as Jael had already “staked” out her victory.
III. Acts 4:23-31. The account closes with the idea that God’s enemies perish but His friends rise in His might. It’s not just important to be on God’s side but to be courageously and wholeheartedly serving Him. Though Peter and John had suffered at the hands of the Sanhedrin, they prayed for boldness and spoke about how futile it was to try to fight against God. His will will always be done. If you are cowardly like Barak, you won’t gain glory.
God always finds a way for His will to be done. You’re either with Him or against Him by your courage or cowardice.
As Though By Our Own
In recent years, the world has grown aggressively antagonistic to Christianity, and yet the church’s response has been to compromise with the culture and blend in to with every secular help agency to win souls. Rather, let us hold out the treasure of the gospel and point to Jesus no matter what the cost.
I. Acts 3:5-16. Peter healed a man lame from birth and an utterly astounded crowd soon came running. Had it been the expected alms, like the silver or gold that everyone expected, then perhaps no one would have taken note. But a complete healing of the man so that he could leap and praise God stood out dramatically. Instead of blending in, God’s power was at work. The gospel also heals us completely from sin, yet the church would rather be like every other agency to keep from being noticed.
II. Hebrews 7:11-16. Peter was quick to tell the gathering crowd that it was not by their own power or piety that the man was healed. Rather, he pointed to Jesus’ authority, power, and indestructible life. Being sinful, we can do little (Romans 7:18-20), but Jesus was sinless (Hebrews 4:15). Christians have often served without thanks, but when great things happen because God worked through us, we should acknowledge Him who is able to do all things.
III. Acts 12:21-24. Peter then preaches the gospel to them (1 Corinthians 15:3-5), explaining that is faith through Jesus (John 8:24) that distinguishes us. Yet, the Lord’s church attempts to compete with the world by means of the world. We strive to have the same programs and ministries, the same facilities and advertising campaigns that the world has. In doing so, we hope we’ll stand out enough to grow in numbers while not enough to incur the world’s wrath.
Because our Savior was on a mission (Luke 19:10), we who wear His name must be as well. We must have the courage to stand out in a world that stands against us.
In No One Else
God made a way for sins to be forgiven through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Seeking opportunities to proclaim that gospel should be what is on every Christian’s mind every day. For Peter this was true–even when he was hauled before the very group that had condemned Jesus.
I. Acts 3:6-26. For Peter, every encounter was an opportunity to serve in Jesus’ name. So, when he saw a lame beggar, he healed him. And, every interaction was an opportunity to tell the good news. So, when an astonished crowd gathered, Peter proclaimed Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, telling the crowd to repent!
Is this us? Or, do we allow the petty power the world wields to stop us from serving in Jesus’ name and proclaiming that which might offend?
II. Acts 4:1-18. This didn’t set too well with those in worldly power, who seized him and made it sound like he had done something wrong. Not to be shaken by how the world framed what he had done, Peter rightly describes their actions as calling him to account for showing compassion. Then, he tells them the gospel!
Shrinking back, we even say things like “we’re not allowed …” or justify to ourselves that our audience wouldn’t be receptive to the gospel anyway.
III. Acts 4:19-21. Peter wasn’t motivated by the worlds threats, tactics, or persecutions. He never reasoned that the Council couldn’t act because the people were all praising God! Because he knew Godly power, he didn’t care what the world might do to him–only about lost souls who needed to hear the good news!
For us to adopt this perspective, we need to be transformed (Ephesians 4:20-24) and to die to sin and self (Romans 6:5-8) to know our salvation.
How frustrating it must have been to be the world in the 1st century and discover that threats and persecutions no longer worked on Christians who used everything the world had the power to do as an opportunity for the gospel and continued to serve in Jesus’ name (Acts 5:40-42)! How can we similarly frustrate the world around us today?
Courage to Face the Cold
What courage to face the cold and chill
Of winter’s water, a pool unheated!
O Father, bless this soul — fulfill
This faith refusing to be defeated.
And when her heart would lose its zeal,
When trials of faith will surely fall,
May she love’s warmth and welcome feel,
To waver not in giving her all.
When friends forsake and foes revile,
When loved ones turn their shoulder,
When Satan tempts her heart with guile,
Let not her love grow colder.
May always courage be hers to last
As she possesses to now begin,
Whatever without, in drought and draft,
To trust your spiritual powers within.
Watch Forthright Press for an upcoming release of prayers and poems in verse.
Your Gentle Breeze
Come to me a word, O Lord,
a word of faith and love and power,
to lift me up and place me high
upon a safe and solid place.
You see my zeal for You, O Lord,
as God who leads the hosts of heavens —
your hunted servant nearly dead,
among a people who spurn your Name.
They turned their backs upon the covenant,
refused to obey, and served false gods;
Their worship’s vain, by man’s traditions,
they seek to silence and maim your servants. Continue reading “Your Gentle Breeze”
For We Cannot But Speak
People have done all kinds of things while sleepwalking–cooking, driving … even killing–to wake up without a recollection of their actions. That’s how some believe the Holy Spirit works in our lives, that it takes us over and we have no choice but to do what it forces us to do. Usually assemblies of these folks will have multiple people at once babbling in tongues, dancing, jumping, fainting, or rolling around. But, is that how we see God’s Spirit working in the lives of first century Christians? Rather, like a boy who has just caught a big fish and can’t help but tell others about it, we see the Spirit giving them boldness to edify and evangelize.
I. Acts 4:17-31. It must have seemed overwhelming to Jesus’ followers who didn’t yet have the Counselor to be told to go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Jesus had commanded. What a difference there was between the group in Acts 1 of about 120 huddled within the walls of the upper room with the gospel message hidden within them to the same group accused in Acts 5:28 of filling Jerusalem with their teaching. That difference was the gift of the Holy Spirit given to them at baptism (Acts 2:36-39).
II. 1 Corinthians 14:26-33. Without the complete Word of God written that thoroughly equips us today (2 Timothy 3:16-17), God used the lesser gifts of tongues, prophecy, and knowledge early in the first century to impart and attest to His Word, but these would end (1 Corinthians 13:8-13) and had largely ended by the time the gospels and epistles were written and circulated (Hebrews 2:3-4). But, God was never about chaos. Even when He chose to use lesser gifts to impart His Word, the spirits of prophets were subject to the control of the prophets. Those through whom God used to speak in languages they hadn’t studied, prophesy, or present knowledge were to take turns and choose to remain silent at times. God did not take them over but equipped them through His Spirit.
III. Romans 8:9-11. Though we were given the gift of God’s Spirit dwelling within us at baptism, we (probably in reaction to the misuse of how He works in us by groups around us) act like we don’t have the Spirit within us and largely ignore this gift. Though we know the great commission that Jesus has given to us, we huddle within the walls of our upper rooms with the gospel message that a lost world so desperately needs to hear hidden within us. Like Acts 1 followers, we pray that God will change the world to make it more receptive and tremble in fear of politically-correct persecution. But, after the Acts 2 Christians had been beaten and threatened not to speak in the Name of Jesus anymore, they prayed instead for boldness to edify and evangelize … and the Holy Spirit equipped them to do so.
Understood within the proper context, we have an incredible gift–God’s Spirit living within us to guide, equip, strengthen, and embolden us to live as Acts 2 Christians. Are you ignoring it or guarding it (2 Timothy 1:13-14) to use for God’s Kingdom?
Evading Duties
The first stanza is based on M.B. Steinmetz
Give me courage to squarely face my life —
Evading duties cannot bring me peace,
Nor can encircling self with indulgent vices.
If I am blind to fear, restore my sight,
To prepare for a worthy passage with you, O God.
Let no excuse impair my soul’s condition,
Always discontent with my present state;
To pull at the hidden roots of a bitter spirit,
That Christ might larger loom in spiritual sight,
The lens to see the world and eternity.
The World Is Large, and I Am Small
The world is large, and I am small,
What can one person do?
It seems to be an order too tall
To pull just myself through!
How, then, to bring another soul
To love and serve the Lord,
Much less to make the world my goal?
For that, how small’s my sword!
O God eternal, open my eyes
To power beyond my mind,
To love where saving deeds arise,
To words that seek and find.
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Will Not Lead to Your Glory
When we look at the time of Judges as God’s people seeking to live for Him in an evil world all around them without compromise or complacency, the parallels to today are evident.
One of the greatest struggles is having the courage to do what God asks when it is so easy to shrink back.
I. Judges 4:1-10. Barak had already been told by God to free His people in battle. This is what the prophet, Deborah, told him when she summoned him. Yes, Barak was reluctant to obey. Lacking the courage to do what God had asked of him, he put his trust in Deborah rather than God. If she would go with him, he would obey. This road, she told him, would not lead to his glory.
II. James 4:17. We often read this account and teach about headship. Because a man wouldn’t obey, his glory was given to a woman. But there’s more going on here. Barak’s sin was one of omission. He knew the good he ought to do, but he chose to do nothing. This was Adam’s sin as well. While his wife was being tempted by the serpent, Adam, who was with her (Genesis 3:6) did and said nothing. The saddest struggle God’s people have today in an evil culture is our inaction in the face of opportunities for the Kingdom that God gives us each and every day.
III. 2 Peter 1:3-4. Jesus, however, seized the opportunity to die in our place, so we might share in His glory. Because He obeyed, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him (Hebrews 5:7-10). Therefore, the road that leads to our glory is one of obedience to God’s commands. We must NOT do what we should NOT do, and do what we should do.
This means, unlike Barak, living out what the pages of Scripture tell us to do or don’t do while surrounded by an immoral culture that calls for you to compromise or be complacent.
Do you have the courage to obey though you may be the only one around you to do so?