Psalm 70

Wait, don't get on the wrong plane.

 I am reminded of a Southern Gospel song that says when God is four days late, He's right on time. The song speaks of Lazarus' death, but the miracle wasn't too late; it was at the right time. Yes, there are times when our sins, actions, or plain old stupidity can keep God from intervening, but sometimes it just isn't the right time. What looks like a delay isn't; it is waiting for the right moment. This is a very, very hard lesson to learn. We still pray, God don't delay, but let us add as Jesus did, Thy will be done. 

Photo by Marco López on Unsplash

Judges 5

We are given a hint in this chapter on how God took away the advantage of the chariots: floods/rain (verse 21). I have to wonder if the soldiers fighting for Israel may have initially complained about having to fight in the rain. Yes, indeed, there might not have been rain there, and it was further upstream, but to me, it seems like something God might do. Do you think this is bad? No, it's the victory. 

Reminds me of a story I heard about Patton in WW2. It is said he entered a church, looked up, and told God that though he had thought the rain a curse, it was actually a bigger problem for the German Army and helped the Allies, so he admitted that God did right. Not bad for a man who, as I know, was a Christian.  

Photo by Saikiran Kesari on Unsplash

Judges 4

  To some, this may seem like, of course, Israel won, it was 10,000 against 900. This is wrong because first, the chariots carried 2 to 3 people in them, then it says that he took all the people with him, in other words, he took the tanks and the infantry. So, besides having the equivalent of tanks against foot soldiers, Sisera has foot soldiers too. How many might that have been? According to 2 Samuel 8:4, David took on 1000 chariots with 20000 supporting soldiers. If this is an example, then Israel was outmanned and outgunned. The problem for Sisera was that when his chariots failed (we aren't told why), he ran. My assumption is that even with more men, when what gave him an overwhelming advantage was taken, he ran. Which has me thinking he was little more than a bully. When it came to a fair fight, he was out of there. 

Our lesson: As always, trust God and don't trust in what appears to give you an advantage because it will fail.  

Photo by Stephanie LeBlanc on Unsplash

Love is Best Because It's Finite...NOT

 I have heard several times, especially in books, television, and movies, that what makes life, love, and friendship so precious is that they are finite. So they are to be enjoyed in the moment, knowing they pass. This sounds true if you live according to Ecclesiastes, “under the sun.” It is true in a way, I should say, if your life’s focus is here and now and on how things are. The problem with this is the same as the writer of Ecclesiastes sees that everything in this world is vanity, a vapor, and passing. The problem is it's a lie.

It is true that if we have eternal life in this fallen world, it would be little more than hell on earth. The truth we don’t want to accept is that life isn’t fleeting; it is eternal. Yes, human life is, but we are going to live beyond this life. In fact, part of what will make hell what it is is that we will be there forever, unchanging, and the horror that people see in living forever will be very real. I will note I am not denying eternal punishment, but I am saying that from what I see, the ongoing hell of hell will be us. God will give us what we have chosen all of our lives ourselves, and we won’t like it.

The good news is that God has created a way for us to have a life where love, friendship, and all we understand as truly good can last for an eternity. It will be in a place where eternal life is so different from now that eternal life will be heaven. Eternal life will be a blessing and not a curse. It is true because God is and will transform his people and the world into a place where His people will see that life is truly wonderful because it doesn’t end. Love is great because it is infinite, not finite. It might be hard to fathom, but it might be similar to a small child seeing an adult book, it has no picture, maybe none on the cover, and it is huge, it goes on forever (anything over 50 pages for a four-year-old would qualify). To sit and read it for hours would be for that four-year-old a sentence of death (maybe for some adults too, but follow my logic here). Yet for those who love reading, a big well well-written book is a joy, and being able to read (or listen for my audio fans) for hours is a gift. It’s a gift that the four-year-old can’t imagine, but if they are trained to love books, then they will find the joy, and what looked like torture is wonder and joy. If you're not a reading person, think about watching sports or racing for hours (I’m not this person). 

At the end of the day, I believe that this idea that love and life are best when finite cheats those things. It also sells those who long for them a bill of goods that will keep them from seeking love and life, which isn’t finite. It tries to convince them they are good where they are. As I said, it’s a lie. 

What makes friendship, love, and life so great is that they can be eternal. We may not be getting that version now, but it’s out there. 

Photo by Angely Acevedo on Unsplash

Jeremiah 11

 God begins by telling Jeremiah to remind the people that if they obey God's commands, He would fulfill the promises he made. Unfortunately, the people didn't listen. In fact, to explain the rapid descent into apostasy after the revival, Josiah brought about, God says that there was a conspiracy, a secret resistance to the policies of renewal that Josiah proclaimed. It explains how a people can seemingly go from faithful service to evil in such a short period. God also revealed to Jeremiah those who were plotting to kill him and promised that they would be wiped out. 

God knows what is going on. He's never surprised. We may be, but he never is, and he will bring justice in his time. 

Photo by Craig Whitehead on Unsplash

Judges 3

 Shamgar killed six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad (a long, pointy stick). He saved Israel, too. I find this curious, as other than what I wrote, there really isn't anything said about Shamgar. God used him to defend Israel with a farmer's tool. However, perhaps there isn't more to say because after this, there wasn't anything that really changed. 

There is one thing that I am reminded of when reading this, and that is that God can use the most common things to make the biggest impact. A reminder that God, as Paul says, uses the weak things of the world to confound the mighty.  

Photo by Florian Cario on Unsplash

1 Corinthians 8

 

Paul is very clear that he is willing to give up something forever if it will cause someone else to stumble. This is a strong statement and one I believe God is asking us if we are willing to do. We often say that our lives belong to Christ, and that may mean that we have to let go of something so that others will be brought to God.

Photo by Emerson Vieira on Unsplash