Reminder of the Real Issue

Scripture: So she [Michal] helped him [David] get down to the ground through a window. Then she took an idol and put it in his bed, and covered it with blankets, with its head on a pillow of goat’s hair. 1 Samuel 19:12-13

Observation: In helping David escape, Michal places a life-size idol or "teraphim" in David's bed. These are household idols, and the same term is used to refer to the idol Rachel steals from Laban. Obviously, Michal just happened to have one of these idols on hand ... in the king's household.

Saul's reign is at the end of the time of the judges. We have seen Israel descend further and further from God, embracing foreign gods over and over, and receiving punishment for it. When they ask for a king, it is because they refuse to correct this action and return to Yahweh, and instead want a ruler to primarily fight against the Philistines who have taken their western lands. We are reminded here that even the king who was anointed by a prophet, filled with the spirit, given power by the Lord, and provided many victories in the name of the Lord ... has idols around his home. This remains the real issue for Israel and for Saul.

Application: Our world has terrible problems all around us. Some people are starting to report improvements on many fronts, ranging from the end of the pandemic, to improved social conditions. However, we are not addressing our real issue ... the desertion of faith in Jesus Christ. Without that, our nation will continue downward.

I must not be caught considering other improvements as a change in direction for our nation. All else is insignificant. The Lord has shown us his discontent, and many have responded to that, however many more have not. And we are still a land in need of true revival.

Prayer: Lord, we live in a time and place of ever worsening faith. Please guide those of us who love you and believe in you, showing us what we may do to bring your kingdom and love others. If it is your will, light the fire of revival. If it is not, then please come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Why the World Hates God

Scripture: When the king realized how much the Lord was with David and how immensely popular he was with all the people, he became even more afraid of him and grew to hate him more with every passing day. 1 Samuel 18:28-29

Observation: David has become the most popular man in Israel ... leader of the armies, desired by the king's daughter, and praised by all in songs. For this, Saul becomes afraid David will usurp him and thus hates him more and more. This will evolve into outright murder attempts until Saul is destroyed.

Saul hates David because David is successful, and his success is only explainable as a blessing from God. Saul therefore covets what David has. In fact, while Saul has literally everything he could want by virtue of being king, he is jealous of how the people recognize David's success, how David succeeds in battles against even the king's enemies, and how the king's family likes David. Again, Saul himself has all these things! His family honors him, he is still a successful war leader, the people sing of him as well. Yet Saul hates David.

Application: As God has deserted Saul, he is now of the world, and David is of God. Therefore, it is clear that the world hates people of God because ... they succeed by God's grace, mercy, and love.

I have no true ability on my own. As I have been successful - purely by God's blessings - others have hated me. When our church succeeds at being a place of caring and joy where people gather in peace and fellowship, others hate us and strive to negatively impact our activities. In all cases, this has nothing to do with the success of these same people. They can be successful, yet they hate the success of God's people.

Moreover, they hate our joy, our peace, our hope, our love. It is truly these characteristics they attack, seeking to diminish or end those elements of our life.

David was full of these characteristics, people all around respected that, so Saul - a man now living outside of God's influence - hated David. I don't have these characteristics in the measure David had, but to the extent that God's blessings have given me joy, peace, comfort, and happiness, others have hated me and attacked those specific aspects of my life.

The world hates God, and thus hates the characteristics of God ... love, joy, mercy, peace.

Prayer: Lord, you know I am struggling right now in finding joy. I desire a purpose in life that is defined by you, and as I result I understand I will be attacked on these fronts, as the world hates you. Please continue to give me your peace, love, joy, mercy, and blessings. I desire you all the more. Amen.

Seeking the Promised Fruit

Scripture: If anyone separates from me, he is thrown away like a useless branch, withers, and is gathered into a pile with all the others and burned. But if you stay in me and obey my commands, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! John 15:6-7

Observation: Jesus gives his disciples this metaphor of the vine and the branches. He is the true vine, and we disciples are branches. The branches are where the fruit grows, but it is from the vine where they receive all nutrients. However, he also tells them that there is a consequence for separating from from the vine. Branches when separated wither and die, and then are only good for being burned as wood. However, branches that remain connected to vine produce fruit, and when that vine is Jesus they may produce fruit of their choosing, as they ask the Lord.

Application: I have seen branches cut from a plant in the spring and summer. At this time, when they are alive and leafy but then cut, they are green and supple ... but then over the next few days their leaves shrivel, they change color all over - the leaves and bark and internal wood - and become brittle and easily broken. They aren't just biologically dead by being cut from the tree, they are transformed into a dead and decaying thing.

The Lord promises that, if I remain in him, I will not just be alive, but I may ask for fruit from him.

Remaining in him means to obey his commands ... to avoid sins, love others, serve the Lord. I don't always do this well, but I wish to, and daily devotions in the word are a part of that.

The fruit I wish is ... meaning. I am a 55 year old man, with little to no understanding of my mission in life. I struggle to find joy in my daily work and activities. I am not even sure how to seek such joy and meaning. This is the fruit I ask for. I desire an understanding of the purpose that will give meaning to my journey and joy in serving the Lord.

Prayer: Lord, I ask it again. Please guide me this day to the purpose for which you intend for me, which will give joy and meaning to my life. May I walk with you on this journey. Amen.

Live a Life Without Worry

Scripture: Being kidnapped and held for ransom never worries the poor man! Proverbs 13:8

Observation: Though rich people may not have worries about daily living, they have other worries that the poor do not. This is just one example ... fear of kidnapping for ransom. No one tries to ransom a poor person, because their family has no money.

Meanwhile, the rich have no worries about how to acquire what they need to live, but they have every worry associated with retaining and maintaining that wealth. They worry about their home, livestock, land, harvest, servants. They fret about whom their children will marry and paying laborers. A poor person may worry about getting paid, and then affording the food they need, but not these other things.

Application: What kind of worries do I have in life that are a directly result of my earthly riches? I have regular conversations about ... the condition of my second house, my daughter's dancing, upcoming vacation travel, good restaurants, wine selections. These are ridiculous "worries". They are the worries of a rich man, the kind a poor man never has.

These worries all pertain to blessing I have from God, so my worries are rather faithless. If these are blessings, then they are also under the Lord's control, and thus not mine to worry about.

I should not behave like a rich man, but like a poor man who is blessed, and thus not worried about earthly items, but instead understanding how the Lord works in my life to provide. In this manner, instead of having different worries than a poor man, I can have no worries, and spend my energy honoring and worshiping the Lord.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for your love and mercy and grace and blessing. May I live a life of worship, not worry, for I know that you are my provider. Amen.

Solving the Wrong Problem

Scripture: But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and were very corrupt in the administration of justice. Finally the leaders of Israel met in Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. They told him that since his retirement things hadn’t been the same, for his sons were not good men. "Give us a king like all the other nations have," they pleaded. 1 Samuel 8:3-5

Observation: The people of Israel have problems. The most glaring issue is that they have turned away from God, resulting in their current issue of having their nation occupied by the Philistines. The current issue is that Samuel has retired and placed his sons in charge, and they are corrupt judges. It is this second issue the people seek to address by asking to end their government structure - God as their 'king' and some judge who is filled with God's spirit raised up from time to time to lead and resolve matters - and establish an earthly monarch.

In other words, Israel is full of evil and corruption, the people have turned away from God and no longer obey his laws and precepts, and that has now infected the behavior of their leader judges themselves. However, instead of addressing that issue, they choose to ... depose the judges for a king. Clearly Israel is solving the wrong problem ... seeking a leader to organize them against Philistine - embracing an earthly concept to solve an earthly problem - instead of returning to the Lord.

Application: What earthly problem am I wishing to address through some earthly method, instead of just surrendering it to the Lord, seeking his guidance and even his action?

Daily, I try to think through issues and solve them. It is quite literally my job that someone pays me to do. That isn't so bad within the context of work. However, most matters in my life should be solved through prayer and surrender to the Lord. I may even discover that the issues are caused when I have failed to follow his instructions in the first place. And I am confident I would find that, when issues arise that are actually caused by the world reacting to my faith, the Lord will always protect me.

I need to stop solving the wrong problems, which are earthly issues where I seek earthly methods to find earthly solutions. The Lord is with me to assist with anything, if I will turn to him and honor him and trust in him.

Prayer: Lord, we have so many issues on earth right now. Those that are huge, I know I have no way forward but to pray to you for your worldwide support. However, the smaller issues that apply to my own life, I ask that you help me with. I surrender my depression, my thought life, and even my work to you. May I seek you to not just assist, but lead me in all matters. May I turn all aspects of my life over to you, thus addressing the issue of faith and trust, knowing that this will then solve all earthly matters. Amen.

Rejecting the In-Your-Face Truth

Scripture: Then the Lord began to destroy the people of Ashdod and the nearby villages with bubonic plague. When the people realized what was happening, they exclaimed, "We can’t keep the Ark of the God of Israel here any longer. We will all perish along with our god Dagon." 1 Samuel 5:6-7

Observation: The captured ark brings nothing but hardship upon the Philistines. This begins immediately with the overnight destruction of the idol of their god Dagon, then turns upon the people of Ashdod through disease.

There is an amazing revelation of the Philistines regarding their relationship with their gods and Yahweh. They adamantly establish here - and are even fearful of - the fact that Yahweh is all-powerful and totally capable of killing them and completely defeating their god. They have seen just the presence of the ark bring destruction of a large idol, and now see their people killed by plague. They fear the Lord, acknowledge how real and great he is, and openly state that their god is powerless against him.

And yet ... they ultimately will remain faithful worshippers of Dagon, continuing to sacrifice to him and worship his idol in their temple. Meanwhile, they will actively rid themselves of the Lord, and continue to attack the nation who is under the Lord's protection.

Application: There has never been good logic about why people reject the Lord. Sometimes that rejection is based on science, sometimes it is based on perceptions about rules. However, to me it seems that most of the time people reject God because he just doesn't fit into their lives.

The Philistines had a way of life. They liked the order they had worshiping something called Dagon, and they liked fighting wars in order to bring riches into their land. Therefore, it didn't matter to them of the fact that Dagon was meaningless ... and Yahweh was so powerful that he could wipe out entire cities and then prove his power through tests devised by Dagon's own priests. They weren't going to adjust their lives to align to these discovered truths.

And today, people have a way of life. That way likely involves an adherence to self-determination, which ultimately takes the form of any manner of self-fulfillment in daily life, like promiscuity, greed, laziness, or any other type of personal gratification. Facts about God and Jesus ... proof about hope and joy found through faith ... even when heard, they don't matter, because incorporating belief into their may require a change in their lives.

The alignment in this? It is when Palestine attacks Israel today, and people view Israel as the "bad guys" for reasons they likely can't explain, or at best are just ambivalent to a war occurring thousands of miles away.

People reject the truth - even a truth that is right in their face and obvious to any logical observer - because they simply don't want to impact their life and worldview.

Prayer: Lord, this is the task before us, which is to tell people more stubborn than the Philistines about Jesus. I often pray for revival and a great awakening. That may not be your will. However, I know it is your will to make Jesus known to any and all who will accept him. If we will not overturn the momentum of this nation, may we still reach the individuals with hearts prepared for you. Amen.

How I Search for You

Scripture: O God, my God! How I search for you! How I thirst for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. How I long to find you! Psalm 63:1

Observation: During a time when David has been forced from Jerusalem due to rebellion, he prays this ... that he longs for the Lord. In a "weary" land - a time and place where the fear of God doesn't exist, and thus the living water of God's love is absent - David searches for the Lord.

Application: There is no doubt that the here and now is a spiritually a "parched and weary land where there is no water." I do search for the Lord every day. I find him for sure ... in the beauty of nature, the love of family, the word of scripture, and the assistance he gives in my life. However, he isn't always in the faces of others, the behavior of groups, the words broadcast widely, or the gripping fear of many hearts.

How I long to find the Lord again in all these places.

Prayer: Lord, my Lord and my God, I praise you for your greatness. You have made all things, and you command all things. You are the source of joy, and the judge of the universe. It is by your will and your might and your love that everyone and everything is. May I find you this day and every day in this land. May this land return to you, and your living water flow again as a revival of joy and peace in our communities. I long to find you everywhere. Amen.

Wanting to Believe

Scripture: When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and said, “Do you believe in the Messiah?” The man answered, “Who is he, sir, for I want to.” John 9:35-36

Observation: This man is one born blind whom Jesus has healed. The man was then questioned by the Jewish leaders, and after being pressed he declared that certainly Jesus was a man from God, for it is known that no other healer or prophet had ever been able to cure a person born blind. Upon hearing about this question and the man's answer, Jesus gets direct ... asking the man if he believes in Messiah.

This question seems primarily about the man's understanding of the concept of Messiah. It appears Jesus is asking if the man is familiar with the idea that there will come a savior from God, specifically intended to provide hope and salvation to all mankind, and that this is a special kind of person sent by God, not just another prophet. In other words, Jesus is asking if the man believes in the idea of Messiah. The man - even though he himself has declared Jesus to be a great man of God - has not yet connected up Jesus as Messiah, for he says he wants to believe in a Messiah, if only he knew who it was.

Application: The blind man had been healed in the most powerful way possible, yet didn't connect up that Jesus was therefore the most powerful man of God in history. Likewise, around us is proof that God is the loving creator who loves everyone, yet so many people do not connect up the proof with the fact.

If asked about God, how many people today would provide a similar response ... that people want to believe, if only they knew of a source for such belief? If I asked people if they believed in God, most would probably give a yes or no answer, but deep down I feel like, for many, the answer is more along the lines of ... 'I want to believe if only I could be shown evidence.'

Or maybe that's the actual issue today ... they actually don't want to believe. They no longer want peace, hope, joy, and love. They want to define their 'purpose' through conflict, show their strength out of their fear, a declare their hurts as their unique strength. They place value in earthly labor and experiences, and as a result even embrace emotional hurt and struggles instead of desiring God's love.

Do they want to believe in the Messiah? What if the answer is "I don't care who he is, because no, I don't want to believe"?

May we find more people who desire the peace, joy, and love of God, so that we can begin a better conversation.

Prayer: Lord, perhaps now we are at a new turning point in society. May that include a new desire to find joy, or at least to escape fear. As some people do seek that, help your Church be prepared to ask them if they believe, and have an answer for those who want to believe. Amen.

What We Ought to Do

Scripture: Then they went on up into the hill country of Ephraim. As they passed the home of Micah, the five spies told the others. "There is a shrine in there with an ephod, some teraphim, and many plated idols. It’s obvious what we ought to do!" Judges 18:13-14

Observation: It is obvious what an army of Israel ought to have done ... to tear down the shrine, destroy Micah's false idols, and punish both he and his priest as is described by the law. What they did instead was steal the idols and other elements of the shrine, coerce the priest into leaving Micah, and eventually setting them all up in their new city to be worshipped by the entire tribe of Dan.

There was an obviously right thing to do according to God and the law, and instead the spies from Dan did the exact opposite, and yet still considered that as the obvious thing they ought to do.

Application: Every day, there are situations where this is something obvious I ought to do in order to better honor God, and many times I do the exact opposite. Perhaps I don't think of that action as the obvious thing I should do, but I still ignore the obviously right action in order to do something that is different. Often that different action isn't even for my betterment, but I just ... choose wrong.

I need to repair this element of my life. I must begin leaning into prayer and the Holy Spirit for strength in determining my actions, and then doing what I truly ought to do based on God and my belief in him. I cannot do the opposite anymore.

Prayer: Lord, please give me strength this day and every day to do your will. I ask that you forgive me of my sins, and erase them from my ledger, giving me a new heart this day. I desire to be closer to you, and to be worthy to draw closer. Amen.

It All Comes Down to This

We're living in a world that keeps breaking,

But if we want to find a way to change it ...

Love God and love people.

God's Three-Step Orchestration

Scripture: His father and mother didn’t realize that the Lord was behind the request, for God was setting a trap for the Philistines, who at that time were the rulers of Israel. Judges 14:4

Observation: The impending conflict between Samson and the Philistines is set in motion when Samson desires to marry a Philistinian woman. Though his parents try, Samson will not be dissuaded. It is a very odd request, as Samson has been raised a Nazirite and thus his life is dedicated to God, and marrying a foreign woman is expressly forbidden by God. However, verse 4 clarifies that this is being done by God, for the purpose of trapping the Philistines into fighting with Samson.

God could have used almost any catalyst to initiate such a conflict. He could have ... had the Philistines attack an Israeli city, or had Samson simply lead a group in rebellion against the Philistines, or created a confrontation between any number of of people that escalated. Using (what appears to be) a lust-motivated marriage that violates God's rules seems ... convoluted and inconsistent at best. However, there are three possible reasons for this approach:

1) Samson needed his heart changed. Thought dedicated to God, Samson did not have animosity toward the Philistines, as apparent by his desire to marry one of their women. He needed to first be changed. This happened when he was cheated by a combination of both men he had befriended, and the woman he loved.

2) Samson needed the humiliation of Israel to become personal. After being cheated, his wife is given to another man. This is done without any regard for him. At that moment, Samson understands that the Philistines are willing to do anything they like to any Israelite.

3) Samson needed to realize the plight of his own people. Yes, Samson has no killed some Philistines, but it is true that 'they started it' and he is the victim. Yet the Israelites are so oppressed that they hunt down Samson and surrender him to the Philistines, simply because "the Philistines are our rulers" (Judges 15:11). 

When all three of these conditions are fulfilled, Samson's full power in the Holy Spirit manifests, and then he becomes the leader of Israel. These conditions could not have existed without the setup God orchestrated.

Application: There are situations in my life that truly make me wonder about ... what could God possibly be up to that he would allow such a scenario. Some of these scenarios may just seem strange. A couple of them have involved pain and humiliation. Now I can see that when this happens - to me or others - God is likely preparing us for something more, just like he prepared Samson.

God prepares us by ... making our heart open to caring about the situation or circumstance where he wants us to focus, then making that important to us, and finally giving us a broader context in which to help others. This requires time. For Samson, even these few verses likely required a year or more. For others, the process may take a lifetime.

I now care about how Christians are being targeted as a result of cultural trends in the US. I don't yet know what to do about it, but I suspect that will come. Perhaps it will be cases-by-case empathy. We shall see. But I see this pattern from God now, my heart is changed, it is personal to me, and I look forward to living into God's plan.

Prayer: Lord, here I am, ready to serve as you would have me do. Thy will be done. Amen.

Attraction Follows Desire

Scripture: "But some of you don’t believe me." (For Jesus knew from the beginning who didn’t believe and knew the one who would betray him.) And he remarked, "That is what I meant when I said that no one can come to me unless the Father attracts him to me." John 6:64-65

Observation: It is a confusing statement, when Jesus says that only those whom God "attracts" or calls can come to Jesus. It has a ring of predestination, or favoritism, or judgment, all of which do not have positive connotations. We believe God knows all things and thus knows who will believe in Jesus, but it is a harder fact to think about God pre-selecting Jesus' believers. This would imply that some individuals do not have free will - they are mandated to follow Jesus - while others are cursed from birth to never receive the gift of salvation.

This is what seems to have offended others, and of course is not what Jesus is saying. Jesus is just saying something he has said other times, which is that only those people who accept the Holy Spirit and thus are open to having truth revealed to them, will then have that truth revealed. Someone must declare themselves open to the truth of God's love to then ... see that love, be attracted to it, and desire it enough to pursue Jesus.

Application: As our society becomes more and more bifurcated, I see there is this other division forming ... those who are responding to crisis with a longing for peace and hope and love, and thus may be attracted by God; and those who are responding with anger and a desire to take control themselves, and thus are rejecting anything other than earthly means of action.

It is that choice that opens or hardens a heart. It is that choice that aligns to what Jesus is saying about God "attracting" people to Jesus. It isn't an act of pre-selection, but rather it is a human choice to desire a renewed life, which then opens the relationship.

Prayer: Lord, all around us we see this strong division forming in the world. We all talk about it, and we all see it, and certainly you have always known it. While the world acknowledges this division along political and ethnic and social lines, I know it also exists when it comes to hope. May we find ways to blur that line. May we find ways to help those with no hope, at least desire some hope. This would be a first step toward your attractiveness toward them. Amen.

A Difficulty for New Believers

Scripture: They replied, "You must show us more miracles if you want us to believe you are the Messiah. Give us free bread every day, like our fathers had while they journeyed through the wilderness! As the Scriptures say, 'Moses gave them bread from heaven.'" John 6:30-31

Observation: As the people are asking Jesus for more bread - more miraculous feeding - they draw a parallel to manna. They call it bread from heaven, given daily by Moses, to justify their request that Jesus give them bread daily. When Jesus explains how they have misunderstood the scriptures and misapplied the purpose of miraculous feedings, they people grumble, causing Jesus to even clarify what it means to be called to him in faith.

Application: Just last night, we were talking about how new believers in Jesus can get confused when aligning their new understanding of faith with other belief systems. They can believe that concepts like ... spiritualism is just an extension of the idea of eternal life in heaven, or energy vortexes make sense since God created rocks and crystals, or zen practices can enhance daily prayer. It is hard to understand why these statements are not true without deeper understanding of Jesus.

In this example, the people had misunderstandings about what manna even was (it wasn't bread, nor from Moses), why it was provided (it wasn't a standard practice of God to simply rain down food every day), and the purpose of miracles in the first place (they aren't magic designed to build belief). With these mistaken baseline assumptions, the people grumbled when Jesus explained the basic concept of salvation by faith in Messiah.

None of these means these people couldn't eventually set aside their old practices and flawed assumptions for a deep relationship with Jesus. They may someday understand. However, patience would be required.

Prayer: Lord, I want to be careful considering myself a person with a mature understanding of faith, for I know that I can be flawed and wrong in so many ways. At the same time, our church is largely a collection of those new to faith, who often struggle with some of the basics and with finding the differentiation between your truth and good-sounding but flawed secularism. If I ever have a roll to play in helping with this, may your Spirit guide my words and my understand, and may not my own flawed thoughts be passed to others. I am not a shepherd to these sheep, but I may be a dog who aids in keeping them organized. But thy will be done. Amen.

Miracles by Our Definition

Scripture: "Stranger," Gideon replied, "if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors have told us about—such as when God brought them out of Egypt? Now the Lord has thrown us away and has let the Midianites completely ruin us." Then the Lord turned to him and said, "I will make you strong! Go and save Israel from the Midianites! I am sending you!" But Gideon replied, "Sir, how can I save Israel? My family is the poorest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least thought of in the entire family!" Judges 6:13-15

Observation: Gideon meets the Angel of the Lord, and when the angel says the Lord is with him gives a reply questioning this fact, for God has not done miracles for his generation. However, when the angel says the Lord is about to rescue the people by sending Gideon himself, Gideon questions this, declaring it impossible because his family is the least of the least of Israel.

In other words, Gideon doubted God because of a lack of miracles. However, when the angel told him of what the Lord was about to do, Gideon doubted it because it was impossible ... it would take a miracle! Gideon questioned God due to a lack of miracles, but then rejected the idea of the miracle about to be done.

Application: How often have I asked God for something that would take a miracle, and then when the outcome was complete and the matter remedied, not considered what happened to be a miracle? I have done this at least a few times I am sure. And I have seen others due to over very great matters. In some cases, they prayed to God but then believed the matter was resolved without God. In other cases, they weren't believers in God and thus didn't even ask, yet I know they received a miracle anyway.

Recently, I have been asking God for miracles when it comes to the nature of our society, our country, and the matters that plague it both literally and metaphorically. Some of these may soon be resolved, and these are of God's miracles for certain, and not by human hands.

It is easier to ignore God's work when a matter is improved incrementally - like expelling the Midianites, or developing protection from a virus - rather than a magical flash of a miracle. Incremental changes, lead by people, don't always meet our definition of a miracle.

Much of what we need will be improved incrementally, perhaps over years. I know I will look back someday and know it was done by a miracle of the Lord, since it cannot be done any other way.

Prayer: Lord, again today I pray for a change in the trajectory of mankind. We are in a time of continual fear and anger, with cultural and racial wars abounding. Fixing this will take time, but will also require the changing of hearts in billions of people, which is by all definitions a miracle only you can do. May your Spirit do exactly that. Amen.

Ignoring the Solution for Decades

Scripture: So the Lord let them be conquered by King Jabin of Hazor, in Canaan. The commander-in-chief of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoiim. He had nine hundred iron chariots and made life unbearable for the Israelis for twenty years. But finally they begged the Lord for help. Judges 4:2-3

Observation: Israel sins some more, is conquered by a king of Canaan, and exists under this foreign occupation until the call upon the Lord again. This "unbearable" time when they failed to call upon the Lord lasted ... 20 years!

Israel has been told - and in fact has already seen in three previous cycles - how they are protected when they honor Yahweh, then defeated when they fail and turn to other gods, then saved again when they return to Yahweh. Yet here, we see the fail-and-return part of the cycle require almost a generation. There are adults who will be part of the coming battle against Sisera who have never known a time in their life when the Canaan king wasn't oppressing's them. They know that there is a way out of this ... honor God. However, they fail to do this for two decades.

Application: There is data that proves those who believe in Jesus have more hope, more joy, and more peace than those who don't. Not a total amount of these things, but more. So we sit in a time in human history when so many people need hope and joy and peace ... and there is almost no talk about Jesus as the solution.

I can talk all I want about the work of satan in doing this, but the truth is that mankind is in full collaboration. This is our nature. Not only is God a last resort we seek in times of trouble, but sometimes he is the resort we turn to long after the "last" resort was pursued years before.

Israel - the chosen people whom have been rescued over and over through tremendous miracles reinforced into their cultural psyche of centuries - didn't even try to seek God's help for decades. Today, the United States - a people blessed with the greatest natural and economic riches ever conceived in human history, and with its own history of miraculous salvation required at every turn to bring this nation into its current state - doesn't just fail to return to God, but now actively rejects God and even actively rejects the idea that our nation was ever dominated by a culture of Christian faith throughout all aspects of society.

How long until we return to God? Decades? Ever? We know we desire peace, hope, joy. Why won't we simply seek it in the most obvious and time-proven way?

Prayer: Lord, we need the revival of our communities, towns, cities, regions, states, and nation. It is daunting to think of the evil inertia at work in our country. This is a challenge only you can overcome. May it be your will to do so. Amen.

Delineating Reapers from Sowers

Scripture: The reapers will be paid good wages and will be gathering eternal souls into the granaries of heaven! What joys await the sower and the reaper, both together! For it is true that one sows and someone else reaps. I sent you to reap where you didn’t sow; others did the work, and you received the harvest. John 4: 36-38

Observation: Jesus has spoken to the Samaritan woman the well, who has returned to the town to state she has found Messiah. As the townspeople come out to see, Jesus tells this to his disciples ... that there is a great harvest coming, and he is preparing them to reap that harvest, for others have sown the seeds. This seems to beg a question ... who has done the sowing? In this example alone, there are at least four possibilities:

1) The prophets, who have provided context for the good news of salvation from the promised Messiah

2) Jesus himself, who has made himself known and continues to do so through the Holy Spirit

3) Circumstances created by God, which have made people hunger for peace, mercy, and clarity

4) The woman, who has now gone into the city to raise curiosity among the people, and who even at that moment are coming to seek the truth

For many Jews at that time, it seems they would only care about the first two sources of the message, and even then, in combination. They believed the prophets declared a coming Messiah, and when Messiah came it would be obvious by his nature. However, Jesus seemed to be telling the disciples to pay attention to the second two types of "reapers". Circumstances has created conflict with the Samaritans, to the point they questioned Jewish rules and authority, and yet they hoped for salvation and truth; The woman, sinful and outcast as she was, went into the city declaring a question so provocative - is this the one? - that everyone came out to see.

Application: When it comes to telling others about Christ, we may think about how to tell others about Jesus, point to prophetic words and the connection of his actions, etc. However, it may be more effective to lean into the situations of the modern day, and simply wonder if ... perhaps ... there is a God with a promise of love who may improve these situations.

Would we dare to simply talk about today's circumstances - the division, hate, and fear around us - and then ask people 'is it possible that Jesus could provide the hope and peace you desire?' Or could we even tell one person this, and allow them to go collect others whom they know feel the same, and say 'let's check it out'?

Can the fear, anger, and trepidation in the hearts of so many become the source of sowing?

Prayer: Lord, I am full of confidence in your ability and desire to use everything going on in the world right now as a source of your truth, your love, and your message of promised salvation. May some strong seekers begin wondering, and asking others to 'come and see'. May we help connect up the circumstances to a desire to find a different outcome that is born from you, and not from this evil world. Amen.

Unbelief is Not Real

Scripture: But if you are unwilling to obey the Lord, then decide today whom you will obey. Will it be the gods of your ancestors beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites here in this land? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15

Observation: The last line of this verse is famous ... it is, in fact, hanging in a framed picture six feet from where I sit ... "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." However, the first line of this verse is more provocative. It demands a binary decision. If anyone is unwilling to obey the Lord, then they must decide whom or what they DO obey.

There is no such thing as unbelief, or simple rejection of God. Belief is a universal truth of mankind ... everyone believes in something as the central motivating focus of their life. If that central focus isn't God, then it becomes something else. In the time of Joshua, this may have been the rituals and sacrifices and mantras and practices defined by some other belief system and directed toward carved idols. Today, this other focus may be one's self and the creature comforts afforded by money, or it may be honor achieved through expertise in a field of study.

Some will declare they "choose not to believe", but of course unbelief in God is a belief itself, and often comes along with a secular focus in life. Even when that focus is "good" - like a focus to help the homeless - it is still just a belief system that comes with everything from theories about life, to ritual work and practices, to public pronouncements of its virtues.

So Joshua's famous declaration for his family is truthfully a binary choice ... will you believe in Yahweh, or will you believe in something else? Unbelief isn't a reality in the human experience.

Application: I am reminded in this that, one of the great discussions to be had with a "non-believer" is ... "what do you believe?" Everyone believes in something. Today, the answer could very well orbit around social causes, ranging from race issues, to vaccine safety, to political policies. These are all belief systems, and anyone who has these 'causes' as a primary focus in their lives is not serving the Lord.

Yahweh, the Lord God almighty, and Jesus Christ his son, and his Holy Spirit here among us, are the primary focus on my life. I may spend my days working a job, but the Lord is whom I serve. I will have no other motivating focus in my life.

Prayer: Lord, even as I work today, may I always have you as the motivating focus of my life. Me and my house will serve you, oh Lord, and you alone. Amen.