Day 56: Just Deal With It!

Snail On A Watering Can by Ellie Crane

Jeremiah 29:4-7

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁴ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: ⁵ “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. ⁶ Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! ⁷ And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”

***

The book of Jeremiah can sometimes be a bit heavy for me, with all the doom and gloom that is foretold within its pages. As I read today, Jeremiah was under such attack, and even under the threat of death, because he kept telling people what they didn't want to hear. It didn't matter that every word was given to him directly from God. In fact, that really made it worse, because when people are living life by the seat of their pants, they don't want to hear about the mess they are making in their britches. People get really angry at  whoever dares to express judgment on them, even though the judgment is from God. They don't want to hear that what they're doing is wrong. They just want to shoot the messenger.

That's kinda what was going on during this time frame. He had been given the unenviable task of telling all the Israelites that God was so angry with them that they were going to stay in captivity to Babylon for seventy years! He'd even gone around wearing an ox yoke around his neck to demonstrate how the Jews would be under the rule of their captors. The yoke was broken during a confrontation with Hananiah, a false prophet who promised that God would release them from captivity within 2 years. The people wanted to believe the quack and disregard the real deal, so Jeremiah told Hananiah that the people would end up under an even heavier yoke, one of iron. I guess that's kinda like being ruled with an iron fist. Not fun. In any case, Hananiah died because he'd opened his big mouth and told such a whopping lie, saying it was from God.

So time has moved on a bit, and Jeremiah wrote a letter from Jerusalem to the elders, priests, prophets and everyone else who had been exiled. You already read the letter in the passage I quoted, so now I'm going to retell it with my own unique flare, as I'm so fond of doing. 

To whom it may concern, and it better concern everybody;
I had a little chat with God last night, and He has some things He wants me to tell you. You brought your circumstances on yourselves. I tried warning you about what would happen if you didn't straighten up and fly right, but you didn't want to hear it, did you? No surprise, I'm used to it by now. You always think you know better than I what's good for you, and then when you get yourself in a jam, you whine and complain about it.

Well, it's too little, too late. You're stuck in Babylon now, and you will be for a long, long time. I know it's not fun, but that's the way it is. I would suggest you accept your circumstances, and live your lives where you are. Build homes for yourselves! Plant a garden and eat what you grow. Settle down and get married! Don't think this is the worst time to bring a new child into the world, either. Raise a big family and enjoy them while you can! Trust me, you're going to be in this place long enough to see your own children grow up and have kids of their own, so don't let life pass you by. 

While you are there, don't gripe about the king that rules over you. Don't complain about the slave labor you're under. Whatever you do, do it to glorify ME. That means that no matter how much you hate doing what you're doing, you work hard and do a good job. Work to bring peace and prosperity to the city where I sent you. Pray for it, too. Because your welfare is dependent on the city's welfare. If it does well, you will too. But I'm not going to bless a slacker, so if you do a crummy job, you're going to be miserable the entire time.
You'd do well to remember that I don't plan to leave you where you are forever. At the end of 70 years, I'm going to come to your rescue and do all the good things that I promised you before. But that's a long time from now, so you'd better make the best of the situation you're in now.

Do you ever feel like that? Like you're stuck in a dead end job, or you're trapped in a living arrangement that you can't find a way out of? Grumbling about it only makes things worse, doesn't it? But if you'll quit feeling sorry for yourself long enough to start thanking God for something, you'll feel less crabby all the time. God can use you wherever you are. Look how many times He used people who were thrown in prison for no good reason! If He can use their circumstances, He can use yours. But only if you allow it.

Whatever you set out to do, even if you don't want to, do it to bring glory to Him. Be an example to other people. You may be the only Bible they ever read! (I know, another tired cliche, right?) Make sure that your pages are worth reading. For all you know, that may be the exact reason God has put you where you are.

Day 28: My Name Is Hypocrisy

2 Kings 17:37-41

New Living Translation (NLT)

Hellenistic Tower of Samaria
V. Gilbert and Arlisle F. Beers

³⁷ Be careful at all times to obey the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands that he wrote for you. You must not worship other gods. ³⁸ Do not forget the covenant I made with you, and do not worship other gods. ³⁹ You must worship only the Lord your God. He is the one who will rescue you from all your enemies.” ⁴⁰ But the people would not listen and continued to follow their former practices. ⁴¹ So while these new residents worshiped the Lord, they also worshiped their idols. And to this day their descendants do the same.

Back in the days when King Ahaz was over Judah, and Hoshea was king over Israel, God got fed up with the disobedience of His people. Because of the idolatry going on, God decided it was time to make good on His warning, and Assyria went to war with Israel, taking captive all who lived in Samaria. So the Israelites were moved out , and people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath and Sepharvaim moved in and re-populated the whole area.

The newcomers knew nothing about God, but God knew plenty about them. He sent lions into the area, and a lot of the settlers were mauled to death. Finally someone went to the king of Assyria and said 'Hey! The new people in Samaria don't know how to please the God of this land! Will you send back one of the Israeli priests so he can teach everyone what to do?" So one of the priests went back to live in Bethel.

So now all the newcomers got to hear about the God of the Israelites, and how to serve Him. The problem was, that even as they learned to worship God, they didn't let go of their old lifestyles. They developed a fear for God, maybe even an abstract fear of God, but they just couldn't let go of their own idols, their traditions, their customs. Even though they appointed priests and made the right sacrifices to God, they never surrendered to Him, never lived their lives for Him. Even to this day.

So is this really about Samaria and its inhabitants? You bet. Historically, that's exactly who this story is about. But is that all it's about? Look around you. Heck, look in your closest mirror. Have we surrendered our own lives to God, completely? Or do we just give Him lip service?

Consider our society. The majority, a whopping 78% (as of 2009) of Americans claim to be "Christian". They post "Like if you love Jesus" on their FaceBook walls. They promise to pray for everyone who scrapes a knee. Heck, they might even attend church on Easter Sunday. But look beyond the social network news feeds for a moment and really look at what's going on around you. More than 70% of all young people will shack up before marriage. Slightly more than 40% of all births are to unmarried women. According to the latest statistics, about as many abortions take place every year as do births to single mothers. Supposedly only 4% of Americans claim to be gay, although I'm sure that the numbers are significantly higher if you count those who experiment with bi-sexuality. Support for gays and lesbians is through the roof. Well over half of all men and women have admitted to being unfaithful during a committed relationship. One quarter of all internet searches are for pornography, and it is estimated that 90% of children will view porn online before their 17th birthday. 

Is America really any better than Samaria was?

Maybe you or I don't fall into any of those statistics above, but does that really make us blameless before God? Consider for a moment... How often do you go have a drink or two at the bar? Or skip church on Sunday because there's a Nascar race or football game going on? Are we too busy with work to make time for our kids? Are we eating our meals in front of the TV instead of sharing the time with our family? Is there anything wrong with any of those things?

Well it depends. When is the last time you spent time really, really communicating with God through prayer or worship, or listening to what He has to say by reading His word?

Maybe we're no better than the Samarians after all.

Sorry I didn't link to the sources of my statistics. I googled them. You can too, and probably should, since statistics are constantly changing from year to year, and from poll to poll.

Day 15: Truth or Consequences

Deuteronomy 28:1

New Living Translation (NLT)

At The Entrance To The Temple Mount,  Gustav Bauernfiend 

Blessings for Obedience

¹ “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world.

Deuteronomy 28:15

New Living Translation (NLT)Curses for Disobedience

¹⁵ “But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you:

These verses, and the ones that follow them, are the essence of the Palestinian Covenant that God made with Israel. In this covenant, God has reaffirmed the promise that He made regarding the land which He would give to His people. That part is unconditional. But there is a conditional aspect to the covenant. That's what these verses are referring to. The "grace" aspect. The aspect where the Israelites write their own story, so to speak... or create their own (figurative) hell. Either obey and be blessed, or disobey and be cursed and scattered.

Sadly, the Israelites were, and are, only human. They mess up just like the rest of us do. They didn't keep God's commands, and so far, God has not set them high above all nations. Instead, Israel was, and continues to be, disobedient to God. They've been living the curses for thousands of years.

The good news is the unconditional aspects of the covenant. Israel will, eventually, turn back to God and keep His commands, at which point God will gather them from all over the world where they have been scattered, and will establish them in them where He promised their forefathers. In that day, nothing will thwart God's promise. 

Now that I've summarized what my study Bible explains at length, I have some questions. Maybe someone can help me out. A lot of God's commands include sacrifices and such. As I understand it, the Jewish people have been trying to breed and raise a perfect red heifer for a long time, and thought they had one back in 2002, but it was disqualified for some imperfection or other. But...

This covenant and the commands were made prior to the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God. Doesn't He supersede the heifer? Why must there still be an animal sacrifice?

Day 14: Prepare For Rain

Deuteronomy 11:13-14 
New Living Translation (NLT)

Photo by Shorelander, Creative Commons Share Alike License

13  “If you carefully obey all the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and soul, 14  then he will send the rains in their proper seasons—the early and late rains—so you can bring in your harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil.

Prepare for rain. In Deuteronomy, the Israelites were about to take possession of a land that, according to the scriptures immediately proceeding these, God deeply cared for and always had His eyes on. A land flowing with milk and honey. A land that God blessed with an abundance of  life-sustaining precipitation. A land that God had deemed suitable for His chosen people.

Prepare for rain. It's my favorite line from the movie, Facing The Giants. The film portrays a lukewarm Christian high school, filled with a lukewarm football team, led by a lukewarm coach. In the scene that I like so much, a very NOT lukewarm man known only as "Mr. Bridges" is seen walking the halls after school, touching every locker as he prays out loud for the students.  He steps into the coach's office and gives him a message that he'd been led by God to give. A message that the coach is to be deeply rooted and bloom where he is planted. Curious, the coach follows the older man back out into the hallway and asks if he really believes that stuff. Mr. Bridges then tells the coach of a story he'd heard about two farmers. One believed God would provide rain in a drought, and prepared for the rain to come. The other did not. The one who had prepared reaped the benefit of the rainfall.

Prepare for rain. What does it mean to prepare? The dictionary defines prepare as to put in proper condition or readiness. In the scriptures I posted above, Israel is promised that if they carefully obey His commands, love Him with all their hearts, and serve Him in all they do, that God would provide the right amount of rainfall in each season, so that the harvest would be abundant. That sounds exactly like a proper condition, a readiness, for God to rain down His blessings abundantly.

Are you prepared for rain?

Day 12: How Was I To Know?

Numbers 22:31-34

New Living Translation (NLT)

Angel blocks Balaam's path. VisualBibleAlive.com

³¹ Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him.
³² “Why did you beat your donkey those three times?” the angel of the Lord demanded. “Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me. ³³ Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey.”
³⁴ Then Balaam confessed to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I didn’t realize you were standing in the road to block my way. I will return home if you are against my going.”


Everybody knows the famous story of Balaam and his talking donkey. This passage takes place immediately after the donkey found her voice. Aside from talking animals, this seems to be something that happens to me, all the time!

Don't laugh, it probably happens to you, too.

Seriously, let's think about this. How often are we so determined to do something, get somewhere, accomplish some major feat, and it just seems like no matter how hard we try, something gets in the way of our success? We might even call it Murphy's Law, although nobody's ever told me exactly who Murphy is.

Maybe it has nothing to do with Murphy. Maybe it's God getting in our way. Maybe He has placed an angel in our path, not so that we'll fail at life, but so that we'll fail in our attempts to do something that God ultimately knows is not going to be good for us.

What if every time we want to blame Murphy, God opened our eyes and we could see an angel standing before us with a sword drawn, asking us why we were so hellbent on being self destructive? Would we be like Balaam? Would we plead our case by saying 'how was I to know you were trying to redirect me to something better?'

Perhaps instead of always complaining that the world is against us, or that fate is against us, or karma, or Murphy, or whoever else, we should stop... think... and then ask God to show us where He wants to lead. Wow. Imagine how much less heartache we'd suffer in our lifetime if we just opened our eyes to what God is trying to show us.

Day 4: Saving For A Rain-less Day

Genesis 41:34-36

New Living Translation (NLT)

Pharaoh puts Joseph in charge, Owen Jones 1869

34 Then Pharaoh should appoint supervisors over the land and let them collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years. 35 Have them gather all the food produced in the good years that are just ahead and bring it to Pharaoh’s storehouses. Store it away, and guard it so there will be food in the cities.36 That way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come to the land of Egypt. Otherwise this famine will destroy the land.”

So, Pharaoh had a couple of nightmares and couldn't find anyone who was able to interperet them for him. That is, until the king's butler remembered about Joseph, living life in the dungeons, who had once interpreted his and the baker's dreams. So at the butler's recommendation, Pharaoh had Joseph brought up to him, and spilled his guts about his nightmares.

Joseph told the king that it was God who provides the dreams, and the interpretations, and that God was showing him that there would be 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine. The reason he'd dreamed twice was God's assurance that it was going to begin very soon. 

Joseph encouraged Pharaoh to appoint a wise man to be ruler over the land, and officers to ensure that enough grain was set aside to prepare for the years of famine. Pharaoh was so grateful to know what his dreams meant, and for Josephs counsel about saving a portion of the harvest, that he decided to appoint Joseph as the ruler of the lands, second only to Pharaoh himself.

Most people have a savings account, or retirement fund. I wonder how many people set aside what Joseph had recommended? not 10%, but 20%. One fifth of everything. On our income, that seems like a lot. In fact, on our income, that would be impossible. It's a struggle to give God 10% at the beginning of each week. The thought of trying to live on a meager 70% is just incomprehensible. But I can't argue the wisdom! For 7 years, Egypt stored up 1/5 of all the grain harvested... and then for 7 more years, that 20% in storage fed not only the Egyptians, but people from all the surrounding nations who were affected by the famine, who had not set anything aside.

I have a friend who would insert the phrase here "that's God's economy!" And she would be right. When we are obedient with what God provides, He blesses it more abundantly than we ever could have imagined.

Day 20: 1 Samuel 3-15

Saul gets rebuked. Providence Lithograph Co.1902{ PD-23}

S: 1 Samuel 15:22-23 (New Living Translation)

22 But Samuel replied, "What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.23 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king."

O: I wanted to post this in a different translation than what i have been reading from. i like the way this one is worded more than the other versions. anyway, saul had just fought a battle against the amalekites as God had instructed him, but he only did it half-way. instead of annhilating everything and everyone, he (and his army) spared the king and the best of the spoils of war, insisting that they were for a sacrifice to the Lord. but that is not what God had instructed them to do, and samuel broke the news to saul that he'd been demoted.

A: there is such a lesson to be learned here, and i hope i'll remember it! when God tells us to do something, we'd better not do a half-assed job of it. God isn't going to accept any whiney "but I thought..." type of excuses.  God expects our total obedience, and there are consequences when we decide to hold back just a little for our own reasons.

P: Lord, remind me of this passage when i'm wanting to do things my own way! remind me that you'd rather have my total obedience than for me to do things half way and then try to pass off my disobedience as something that might glorify you... because disobedience NEVER glorifies you. i want to be a woman of integrity before you, God. shape me!

Day 17: Joshua 15 - Judges 3

Photo by Stan Shebs, Creative Commons Share-Alike license

S:
Joshua 22:5 (New King James Version)

5 But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

O: the israelites weren't very good about heeding the commandment or law given to them... what a fickle people!

A: i can't really stand in judgment against them... i'm just as fickle as the israelites were. it's like my faith-walk is more like a roller coaster.

P: God, thank you so much for the grace that i stand in... because i sure as heck don't deserve it. right now, i'm taking care to walk in your ways and hold fast to you... but will i still be tomorrow? next week? next month? what about after this 90 days through the Bible? Father, help me to keep my eyes focused on you, and not go wandering off as i've done so many times!

Day 12: Numbers 21-31

Balak is angry with Balaam. From VisualBibleAlive.com

S:
Numbers 24:11-13 (New King James Version)

11 Now therefore, flee to your place. I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the LORD has kept you back from honor.”
12 So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD, to do good or bad of my own will. What the LORD says, that I must speak’?

O: 
Balak seemed a little dense to me. He couldn't quite grasp that Balaam was going to obey God, and that God was not going to curse the israelites.

A: 
it is so common for the world to offer rewards and honors for being disobedient to God's word. it's like bribery. and sometimes it would be so easy to take that path. and in some ways, don't i? little things on a daily basis... even when i'm not actually being disobedient, how many times do i stay silent when someone else is talking inappropriately, or telling offensive jokes... do i laugh, or maybe ignore it, or do i speak up and say "that's offensive"?

P: Father, i try to be a good witness to those around me, and in the big things, i think i do a pretty good job. but in the little things, i often fail... i don't speak up for what is right because i want to fit in... and once in a while, i may even join in... especially when it comes to gossip. i struggle with gossip. why do i do this? the reward of being accepted by my peers? Lord, i need to remember that the only approval i should be seeking is yours. help me to remember that, so that i might honor you instead.

Day 9: Lev. 15-29

From VisualBibleAlive.com

S: 
Leviticus 26:3-4 (New King James Version)

3 ‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them,
4 then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

O:
God was giving the Israelites the conditions of His provisions. Later in the chapter, God lays out the terms of disobedience.

A:
Why do we, as humans, fail to grasp the simplicity and significance of this? walk with God, and He provides for you, and protects you. step out of His will and you're stepping out from under His umbrella of protection. and then when we get drenched by the storm, whose fault is it? there's this common misconception in america today, i hear people all the time asking "why is God punishing me?" and people responding saying that God doesn't punish people like that... well, not true! when we live our lives in defiance of God's will, He does punish us by allowing calamity to befall us. we aren't all like job, living uprightly and righteously and undeserving of punishment, being allowed to be tested. yes, we go through tests and trials, but many of those, if we were to trace them backwards, are a result of our own stupidity, a consequences of our own disobedience to God. 

P:
Father, i screw up so frequently, and there are so many areas of my life that i know i do not fully submit to you. help me to let go of those areas, and give you full control. not just temporarily, but permanently! thank you for allowing us to live under grace, and not under the law. thank you for your unending patience and love for me!

Day 2: Gen 17-28

Scripture: 
Genesis 22:9-17 (New King James Version)

Rembrandt's depiction of the sacrifice 

9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.”
12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide;[a] as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.

Observation: 
what strikes me about this passage is two-fold... not only is abraham 100%, unwavering in his obedience to the Lord, but he has raised his son to be equally as obedient, even when asked to do the most unimaginable thing!

Application:
This passage has always, my entire life, troubled me. what if i were in abraham's shoes? could i have trusted God enough to provide an alternative and spare me from what He asked? would i be so obedient as to strap my child down on an alter and raise a knife above her chest? (and have i raised my daughters to be so trusting and obedient? no, my kids would have knocked me six ways to sideways and taken off for the hills.)

i'd like to think that i could say yes, i'd be so obedient, and so faithful. heck, i'd like to even use the excuse that "nobody really knows what they would do in that situation, we just have to thank God that He would never ask such a thing of us". i remember my mom used to say something similar when i'd ask about being totally obedient to God in certain circumstances.

but i'm without excuse. i KNOW the answer. i would not be so obedient. i'd be bawling and screaming and throwing a major temper tantrum before the Lord and in the end i'd tell him forget it, find someone else. my obedience would have gone only so far as to get to the destination and build an altar. and then i'd have sat there. and sat. and sat. but not in my wildest dreams can i imagine being so obedient that i would be willing to put my child on that altar. i would not have the kind of faith that God would stay my hand and provide a suitable offering at the last minute. 

i would fail the test.

Prayer:
God, i can't even begin to say how sorry i am that i'm so stubborn, and that my faith and trust in you is so shaky at times. i guess i don't get any brownie points for honesty, but God, i can tell you this much... i'm extremely thankful that your grace and mercy cover my weaknesses. and i do really want to become more trusting, more faithful, and more obedient to you! teach me to trust you more, Father, but please, let my tests be a little less gut-wrenching than abraham's was.