Tag: Pondering Jesus as our Savior

Individually and as God’s Church, How Can We All Avoid Letting a Bitter Root Grow Out of Our Lives? Hebrews 12:15-17

Hebrews 12:15-17 English Standard Version

15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Arugula, Coffee, Dill, Dandelion Greens, Jerusalem Artichokes, Kale, Sesame Seeds, Turmeric, Ginger, Lemons and Limes and Grapefruits, Peppermint, Cocoa, Eggplant, Green Tea, Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Cranberry, Cabbage.

What do those foods have in common?

Your up and coming Thanksgiving Day feast – all those old family recipes lovingly passed down from the meal tables of one generation to the next?

Your own modern and contemporary efforts to load up the dinner table with an array of healthy salads, healthy spread of fruits and vegetables for the children?

Great ideas all around – healthy habits, physical health and wellness matter!

Well worth the time and effort for everyone whose task it is to prepare meals to foster a healthy body and a healthy mind through an array of very healthy food.

But, actually ….

The real intent of my listing the food items is for what they all have in common.

They all have a bitter taste when consumed.

We have probably overlooked or learned to cover up all those bitter flavors by adding various other food items such as some spices and sweet salad dressings.

Most of the time that is what is required to get us to eat those foods because the tasting of that bitter taste, learned early enough, means we rush to avoid them.

Despite the fact their nutritional values and their long historically well known healthy benefits for our bodily functions should interrupt, preclude our hates.

The bitter taste left in our mouths from these foods leaves a lasting memory.

Do we go out of our way to avoid them at all costs or decide to keep them on our tables, in our stomachs and in our lives – taking advantage of their healthiness?

On the other side of that “bitter taste” of food is ….

The bitter feelings associated with such emotional experiences as betrayal and anger and sadness, fear and anxiety and worry and depression.

Most of us have experienced the feeling of bitterness at some point, and can agree that it is a distressing emotion.

And once it rises, and takes “roots in our hearts” and “root in our souls” the feeling can linger and spread for a long time unless it is dealt with correctly.

The writer of Hebrews wrote this verse hoping to protect the early believers and the early church from the inevitable, undeniable destruction bitterness causes.

The image of a sour root growing up among a body of believers was a powerful way to remind God’s people about the dangers of letting unforgiveness and discontent well up within our hearts.

And as Ironic and even laughable as it will surely sound to some reading this, to say that if we are not careful, it can happen before we realize there is a problem.

Fortunately, the living and active Words of God’s Holy Scripture offers us the prevention and the sure reminder that there is a remedy and there is a sure cure.

What Is This Verse Talking About?

Simply put, Hebrews 12:15 is a clear instruction about guarding and protecting the integrity of a church body.

Each section conveys a sense of urgency to the command.

“See to it…”

This directive is given to everyone who is part of the church – leadership and lay members alike. All who would go to the greatest lengths possible to call themselves part of the family of God need to be ready to respond in obedience.

“… that no one falls short of the grace of God”

Repeatedly, according to our God’s Holy Scriptures, wrong heart attitudes like unforgiveness and self-righteousness can keep a person from receiving grace.

God will never force Himself on us, and so if we trust in our own goodness and lack humility, then we will all definitely miss out on the working of His healing grace not just in our hearts and minds, but in our neighbors’ hearts and minds.

“…that no bitter root grows up”

The lack of God’s grace in our lives results in a sense of bitterness. For when we are self-centered, we expect others, and God, to fill our needs all the time. We are more impatient, and more bothered when things don’t go the way we plan.

“…to cause trouble and defile many.”

What kind of trouble?

If our inner attitudes and thoughts are full of that bitterness, it will appear in outward words and actions and deeds that significantly impact those around us at home and in church negatively – and perhaps reach into the world beyond.

The Apostle Paul was very aware of this possibility in each of us. And he had no doubt seen how one person’s behavior could compromise a whole congregation’s health, and its influence in the world. He often mentioned this idea in letters to churches he had planted.

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (Ephesians 4:31).

Ephesians 4:31

“Your boasting is not good” (1 Corinthians 5:6).

“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness” (Romans 3:14).

This idea harkens back to warnings Jesus gave His disciples using the image of yeast, or leavening, being spread through bread dough and affecting the whole loaf. This represented how the wrong teachings of the religious elite would contaminate the minds and hearts of His followers, and weaken their witness to others.

“’But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matthew 16:11-12).

“…Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: ‘Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy’” (Luke 12:1).

Luke 12:1

What Is the “Bitter Root”?

Bitter roots have been born out of simple disagreements, or unintentional offenses.

However they start, it’s essential that the initial upset, frustration or hurt is dealt with. If the air is not cleared, the seed for division and pain is planted.

Once bitterness has settled into a person’s heart, into their souls it eventually comes out in harsh words or in actions that often impact others they talk to.

What Is the Message of Hebrews All About?

Authorship of Hebrews has long been debated.

Scholars have found evidence both for and against the Apostle Paul being the one who wrote it.

Other suggestions include Luke, Barnabas, Phillip and Apollos.

Whoever the anonymous author was, the purpose was to prove the authority of Christ and encourage believers to be encouraged, persevere in their faith walks.

The Epistle to the Hebrews was an attempt to reach at least two specific groups in the church at that time: specifically, Jews who had converted to Christianity but felt the need to pull back into the ways of Judaism which they understood, and new believers who had not yet fully learned and embraced following Jesus.

Many Hebrew Christians at the time were going through both severe social and economic, sometimes physical persecution from both the Jews and Romans.

Some were considering returning to their former religious life.

The Epistle to Hebrews was an attempt to remind these believers of Biblical truths, and to encourage, reassure them that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.

What Else Happens in Hebrews 12?

Hebrews Chapter 12 starts with the word “therefore,” which is used to refer to something that has already been stated, and also to build on it.

The author goes on, “since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,” and gives and impressive list of people of faith from the previous chapter. The author gives this directive to the followers of Christ:

“…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Hebrews 12:1-2

The next several verses talk about how we should welcome and value God’s discipline in our lives.

It is meant to bring us good, and to make us stronger spiritually.

And as we grow, we will begin to seek a new unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ – enrich ourselves in the taste of God’s Word (Psalm 34:8) shared at a time of meal and koinonia fellowship, communion – crucial part of God’s plan.

How We Can Apply This to Our Lives?

Those who truly want to follow Christ are called to a higher standard of behavior. Scripture gives us lots of guidance about what that looks like.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:12-13).

Colossians 3:12-13

This verse can be lived out in both spiritual and very practical ways.

In these contemporary times, in terms of our inward heart attitude: 

– Do not let old grudges fester or allow new grudges to take root
– Be content with what God has for you (Philippians 4:10-13)
– Study the Scriptures, Pray regularly together for others to be blessed

In terms of what we say and do outwardly:

– Avoid gossip
– Use our words to encourage and support each other
– Be ready to gently guide others in this area

In terms of how we communicate with each other:

– Share if you’ve felt offended or hurt by someone
– Be willing to try and work an issue out together
– Ask for help if you’re struggling with bitterness

Depending on our own current situations and circumstances, from whatever perspective or angle or theology or ideological bent life has dictated to us all;

You are either going to accept or will take great offense at the next statement:

Hebrews 12:15 contains a significantly encouraging message which can be as timely (mightily ironic and laughable also) today as when it was first written.

Ironically – For as humans, how we so easily, freely and decisively and directly we can be easily tempted to let disagreements or trouble make us hard-hearted.

But as God’s chosen and much beloved children, if we really want to, we can all ask for His power to cut away any root of bitterness and keep it out of our lives.

Ironically, while I was reading and praying and considering Hebrews 12 the other day, I just wondered, “Is it more difficult to live in peace or to be holy?”

Or is it easier or even tastier or more palatable to sit together at a table sharing and quietly or noisily or bitterly bearing our burdens, and smiling at each other.

Of course, when God commands me to do two things, I must 100% try doing both – steadfastly, immovably, whole-heartedly, obediently and faithfully.

Then I read, “Without holiness no one will see the Lord.”

Does that mean I will not see the Lord unless I am holy?

Or that others will not see the Lord unless I am or they are holy?

And is living in peace also required in order for me and others to see the Lord?

If others will see the Lord only through my peace and holiness, I consider that as an overwhelming and awesome an terribly accountable responsibility.

If I won’t see the Lord unless I am peaceable and holy, that is a terrifying threat.

The next verse, however, speaks about grace:

“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God.”

Of course!

Without grace, none of us can live peacefully together, and none of us can be holy. Without grace, we can’t be a peaceful, holy influence on others either.

That made me feel better.

Living in peace and holiness are important and necessary—and what a comfort it is to know that God’s matchless grace empowers us to live that way for him.

And when we fail, that same grace will forgive, accept, and encourage us to “make every effort” again.

It always comes down to grace.

1. Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.
Refrain:
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin!

2. Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
threaten the soul with infinite loss;
grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
points to the refuge, the mighty cross.
(Refrain)

3. Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
brighter than snow you may be today.
(Refrain)

4. Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see his face,
will you this moment his grace receive?
(Refrain)

If we genuinely want to receive the grace in the spirit in which it was first given!

If we truly want to receive the grace in the moment in which it was first given!

What should we all do, both individually and together, do to make these verses from Hebrews to come alive, to be made relevant and true, a revelation of God?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Heavenly Father, search my heart an search my soul, oh God, and help me to identify any seeds of bitterness that may be lurking within. There may be bitterness from recent events in my life or from things that happened long ago, but the bitterness still remains in my heart. Lord, by your grace please root out this bitterness and replace it with Your grace and forgiveness, mercy and kindness. In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.

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The Glory of our Mutual Relationship. Peek-a-Boo I See You! Playing Hide-and-Go Seek with God. Proverbs 25:2

Proverbs 25:2Amplified Bible

2 
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

I don’t believe it to be coincidence that C. S. Lewis started with a simple game of hide-and-seek when he penned The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. 

Please remember, The land of Narnia was only revealed in all its glory through Lucy’s participation in the process of intentional concealment and discovery.

Although Lewis may or may not have intended it as such, his story depicts the process of hide-and-seek that God often uses to reveal both His glory and ours:

Proverbs 25:2Authorized (King James) Version

2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing:
but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

The Process of Mutual Glory

He does not have to do it, but with an undefinable charity, God chooses to most fully glorify Himself by involving us, His Children, in the glorification process.

Lest we be overly concerned, it’s not as if we are snatching away glory rightly due Him by uncovering out what He has hidden. Instead, we bask in the glow of His glory when we do so, and become blessed by our closer proximity to Him.

Think of when God concealed Himself from Moses on Mount Sinai, for example.

God hid Himself from Moses, yet Moses’ face beamed after the experience.

Though no one an see God and live, God revealed only a backward glimpse of Himself to Moses, yet his servant radiated with a glory of his own because of it.

We could call it a process of mutual glory. God gets glory by hiding. We get glory by seeking – and finding our greatest satisfaction when we find Him. As John Piper put it, “God is most magnified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”

Do you ever wonder if God is playing hide-and-seek with you?

Even if it does feel like it sometimes, God does not play games with us.

Not even “peek-a-boo I see you, do you see me?” or “I hide-and-you seek.”

Or maybe it is you and I who are playing “peek-a-boo” and hiding from God?

Let me tell you, hiding from God does not work either.

This world does not give much attention to things eternal and invisible.

It is unfashionable, uncool, and extremely odd to be interested in God.

But I am with C.S. Lewis: “How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing, it is irresistible.”

When you meet God, there is nothing that compares to him.
There is nothing that could replace him.
There is nothing that could be better than him.

Acts 17:24-29The Message

24-29 “The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn’t take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near. We live and move in him, can’t get away from him! One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’ Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?

God does not play peek-a-boo or hide-and-seek with us.

Because he wants to be found.

He wants to be in real relationship with us.

God is not remote, he is near.

In fact, we cannot get away from him!

Being in the presence of God is irresistible once you’ve experienced it.
Being in the presence of God is a renewing experience.
Being in the presence of God is as good as it gets in this life.

St. Ignatius of Loyola has said “He who carries God in his heart bears heaven with him wherever he goes.”

Hiding and Seeking Forever

Only the One who already knows can hide.

That’s the whole point of the hide-and-seek game isn’t it?

The one who conceals knows where he or she is hidden, but no one else. 

It would not be all that much fun if the seeker began with infinite knowledge of the exact location of all those have hidden.

But if the Hider had infinite knowledge, He could systematically share it, piece by piece, with the seekers.

If the seeker was created with an innate instinct for seeking – and finding – the process would be the most mutually fulfilling one imaginable.

Psalm 119:17-24The Message

17-24 Be generous with me and I’ll live a full life;
    not for a minute will I take my eyes off your road.
Open my eyes so I can see
    what you show me of your miracle-wonders.
I’m a stranger in these parts;
    give me clear directions.
My soul is starved and hungry, ravenous!—
    insatiable for your nourishing commands.
And those who think they know so much,
    ignoring everything you tell them—let them have it!
Don’t let them mock and humiliate me;
    I’ve been careful to do just what you said.
While bad neighbors maliciously gossip about me,
    I’m absorbed in pondering your wise counsel.
Yes, your sayings on life are what give me delight;
    I listen to them as to good neighbors!

Sometimes I genuinely wonder if that is what Jesus wants us to learn when He taught us to pray for God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, it will be like?

Could it be an endless process of God hiding –wisdom, truth, reason for praise, beauty, complexity, or the depths of His love – and of our seeking Him out with all faces glowing, hearts burning, and voices gratefully proclaiming His praises?

I hope so.

I Fervently Pray it to be so … to the Glory of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Psalm 119:1-8The Message

119 1-8 You’re blessed when you stay on course,
    walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You’re blessed when you follow his directions,
    doing your best to find him.
That’s right—you don’t go off on your own;
    you walk straight along the road he set.
You, God, prescribed the right way to live;
    now you expect us to live it.
Oh, that my steps might be steady,
    keeping to the course you set;
Then I’d never have any regrets
    in comparing my life with your counsel.
I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;
    I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.
I’m going to do what you tell me to do;
    don’t ever walk off and leave me.

So, let’s get interested in God! Let’s dig deeper, let’s seek God with our whole heart and soul! No matter what is our situation, no matter how materialistic the world around us is, no matter how odd the world thinks we are, let’s seek God!

But even there, if you seek God, your God, you’ll be able to find him if you’re serious, looking for him with your whole heart and soul. (Deuteronomy.4:29, MSG)

Let’s get “crazy” interested in seeking God and finding God.

Let’s ask God to reveal and ignite our faith, refuel our faith, and renew our faith.

Psalm 119:49-56The Message

49-56 Remember what you said to me, your servant—
    I hang on to these words for dear life!
These words hold me up in bad times;
    yes, your promises rejuvenate me.
The haters hate me without mercy,
    but I don’t budge from your revelation.
I watch for your ancient landmark words,
    and know I’m on the right track.
But when I see the wicked ignore your directions,
    I’m beside myself with anger.
I set your instructions to music
    and sing them as I walk this pilgrim way.
I meditate on your name all night, God,
    treasuring your revelation, O God.
Still, I walk through a rain of derision
    because I live by your Word and counsel.

Let’s get interested in what God is doing in this world and how we can partner with him. Let’s get interested in God and his wisdom, his grace, his love, his peace, and his plan for this world! Let’s get interested in the ways of God.

Psalm 119:9-16The Message

9-16 How can a young person live a clean life?
    By carefully reading the map of your Word.
I’m single-minded in pursuit of you;
    don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.
I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart
    so I won’t sin myself bankrupt.
Be blessed, God;
    train me in your ways of wise living.
I’ll transfer to my lips
    all the counsel that comes from your mouth;
I delight far more in what you tell me about living
    than in gathering a pile of riches.
I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you,
    I attentively watch how you’ve done it.
I relish everything you’ve told me of life,
    I won’t forget a word of it.

Because there is nothing else in the world that can satisfy our needs, our wants, and our desires than God. There is nothing else in the world that can ignite our spirit. There is nothing else in the world that can hold our interest for eternity.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

To our God and soon coming Savior, I give You thanks. God, I pray today that You will reveal yourself to me and those in my life. May we have an encounter from the true and living God. I pray that the desires of our hearts shall be to seek after You that we may find You finding us, that we may know You as You know us and that we will be men and women after God’s own heart, who diligently, faithfully and over zealously seek after the maximum magnitude of their great God’s glory before our own. Amen.

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Am I Playing Hide and Seek with God? Do I Know this: Nothing in All of God’s Creation is ever Hidden from the Eyes and the Word of God? Hebrews 4:12-15

Hebrews 4:12-15Amplified Bible

12 For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged [a]sword, penetrating as far as the division of the [b]soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account.

14 Inasmuch then as we [believers] have a great High Priest who has [already ascended and] passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith and cling tenaciously to our absolute trust in Him as Savior]. 15  For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).

He who created all things seen and unseen, is present to all things seen or unseen at all times.

It is he who sustains all things in their being in every moment.

Nothing can hide or be hidden from his gaze.

Human beings, of course, are the only creatures in God’s creation who can conceive of the idea of hiding from God.

And there is a good reason for this.

We are the only creatures who have been given an intellect with which we can come to know the difference between what is morally good and what is morally evil, along with a moral will, the freedom to choose to do what is right, good and true, or refuse to go along with that knowledge for our own selfish reasons.

When we sin we are, quite literally, choosing to deny the truth.

And most of the time we know it.

But here is the kicker for us.

We have also been given a conscience.

God has written the instinct for the good into every human heart. And when we choose to go against that natural, God-given instinct, that is called sin.

Our conscience works in two ways:

Before the choice to sin, we experience the inner struggle between knowing that a given choice is wrong, which is matched against, and often overwhelmed by, the immediate desire for some kind of perceived immediate pleasure, or gain.

The second way conscience is experienced is after the chosen act is done.

If we have chosen to remain true to God’s law, we experience the peace and the satisfaction of knowing we did what was right, even if the result was suffering.

If, on the other hand, we choose to go against our conscience, we experience the bitter, burning pangs of sorrow and guilt.

Our greatest danger is in the fact that we can “numb” our consciences into silence by getting into the habit of sinning to the point that our conscience no longer stirs.

When this happens our souls are in real danger of losing all hope of eternal happiness with the Lord in heaven.

This is why a daily examination of conscience and prayerful reflection is a good habit to develop.

The brutal truth is, it is for our own good for us to develop, activate the habits of choosing the good and recognizing and turning away from all of the undeniably powerful temptations of immediate gratification we are constantly exposed to.

It is in choosing to defy our consciences that we also fall into the folly of trying to hide our actions, and our guilts.

We may be able to successfully “pull the wool” over the eyes of those we have sinned against, temporarily, or even permanently, but God, who sees all and knows all, cannot be hidden from, not matter how we try.

Our every action is before him and we will have to give an account for willful actions in defiance of his law on the Last Day.

All choices have their unavoidable and undeniable consequences.

They come whether we want them or not.

We are reminded here of the admonition in Deuteronomy 30:15-20 Amplified

Choose Life

15 “Listen closely, I have set before you today life and prosperity (good), and death and adversity (evil); 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk [that is, to live each and every day] in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments (precepts), so that you will live and multiply, and that the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you will not hear and obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you will certainly perish. You will not live long in the land which you cross the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore, you shall choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, 20 by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding closely to Him; for He is your life [your good life, your abundant life, your fulfillment] and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord promised (swore) to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Is it not wise, then, listen to God, to read and to study and pray over His Living, Active Word, to choose life and blessing, and foolish to choose death and curse?

If we choose life and blessing, there will be no reason to hide.

If we choose to do God’s will, to live in accord with his divine law written into our hearts, we will never have to hide.

But choose sin and no amount of hiding, no amount of trying to bury our heads deep within the sand will keep us from God’s eyes and his righteous judgement.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Holy and gracious God, you are the greatest of all. You are full of wonders that no mere human can ever hope to comprehend or understand. Lord, I seek to understand you, your Living and Active Word and your ways so that I can live according to your commandments. I pray for your divine illumination in my heart and mind. Help me see what you intend for me to see. Help me understand what you intend for me to understand. Open my eyes and my ears to see you and hear your whispers. Amen.

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Burying our Sins in our Backyards? Our Sin being Hidden in Plain Sight? Buried, Burying, Unburying Achan’s Treasures? Joshua 7:16-26

Joshua 7:16-26Amplified Bible

The Sin of Achan

16 So Joshua got up early in the morning and brought Israel forward by [h]tribes, and the tribe of Judah was selected. 17 So he brought the family of Judah forward, and he selected the family of the Zerahites; then he brought the family of the Zerahites forward man by man, and Zabdi was selected. 18 And he brought his household forward man by man; and Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was selected. 

19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I implore you, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him [in recognition of His righteous judgments]; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me.” 20 So Achan answered Joshua and said, “In truth, I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and this is what I have done: 21 when I saw among the spoils [in Jericho] a [a]beautiful robe from Shinar (southern Babylon) and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I wanted them and took them. Behold, they are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and they saw the stolen objects hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 23 And they took them from the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the sons of Israel, and [b] spread them out before the Lord. 24 Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the [royal] robe, the bar of gold, [c]his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and everything that he had; and they brought them up to the Valley of Achor (Disaster). 25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster on us? The Lord will bring you disaster this day.” Then all Israel stoned them [to death] with stones; afterward they burned their bodies in the fire. 26 Then they piled up over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor (Disaster) to this day.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Soon after they fell into sin Adam and Eve tried to hide themselves in the thickest of bushes and hide their guilt behind coverings made of fig leaves.

Later because of their acute awareness of the magnitude of their sin they also vainly attempted to run as far away as they could, hide themselves from God.

Adam and Eve’s son Cain thought he could hide the guilt of shedding his brother’s innocent blood by claiming that he was not his brother’s keeper.

Joseph’s brothers attempted to cover the magnitude of their sin of selling him into slavery by staining his clothing with an animal’s blood and crying, telling their father he had been devoured by a wild beast – causing severe distress.

Moses tried to bury his guilt in the sand after he killed an Egyptian.

King David also tried to bury the truth, cover up the depth of his sin of adultery by having Bathsheba’s husband Uriah the Hittite killed at the front of battle.

For a short time it seemed as though he had believed he had successfully buried the truth about what he had done, from the eyes of those who could cause harm.

But as we know in His time, God brought the magnitude of those sins into light.

Time and time again God’s revealing and convicting Word tells us about people who went to lengths, tried to cover up or bury their sins in one way or another.

I have just given you but a few examples of this but know there are many more.

In this Old Testament Lesson from the Book of Joshua we meet another person in a long line of “quiet” sinners who thought they could hide and secret their sins from all of the prying eyes of those around them and even from God!

In the story of Achan we hear how he treasured the spoils of mankind, carried them away in secret, literally tried to bury his sins in the ground under his tent.

But this is much more than history lesson.

In the Word of God to which we will now direct our attention for our devotional today – we will also see the depths of deceit in ourselves in the ancient story.

We too have attempted to cover up our sins and bury them in the deep recesses of our hearts and minds – moving quietly into our backyards and bury our sins.

As we read in the early verses of the Creation story, this the devil has often led us to believe the delusion we can, we will, cover up secret sins or private guilt.

Like Achan we may can hide much and then think our sin will not be uncovered.

But we need to remember we can hide whatever we want from the prying eyes of man but nothing can be hidden from God and the guilt of our sins still stands.

So today I pray God the Holy Spirit will lead each of us to consider one question:

“WHAT HAS BEEN “SECRETLY” BURIED UNDER OUR “Achan’s TENT?”

I. Stop hiding your sins and confess them to God

II. Trust that Christ was punished for your sins

Disaster had descended upon the Israelites.

After their spectacular victory at Jericho, where the walls came tumbling down, they were defeated by the people of Ai.

From a human perspective it should have been an easy victory against an insignificant city.

But the victorious army that Joshua sent against the Aites was soundly beaten and thoroughly embarrassed.

They were sent fleeing in retreat.

The Children of Israel were devastated by this defeat.

We are told in the verses leading up to our Old Testament Lesson that the “hearts of the people melted and became like water.”

Joshua was also left stunned and confused.

With his face in the dirt he poured out his discouragement and disappointment to the LORD in prayer.

The LORD then spoke to Joshua explaining what had happened.

“Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have secretly put them with their own possessions.”

During the previous battle against Jericho somebody had taken some of the things that were devoted to the LORD.

God had commanded that everything be destroyed.

God went on to explain the result of the magnitude of this secret transgression.

“That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is solely devoted to destruction.”

Our Hebrew [Old] Testament Lesson begins with the consecrated process that Joshua used to discover, uncover the one who had sinned against the LORD.

I.

In order to first discover and then reveal the guilty party all the Israelites were to appear before the LORD and he would start selecting first one tribe and then one clan, then one family, and then finally one person – to shed the spotlight.

Our text tells us,

“16 Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was taken. 17 The clans of Judah came forward, and he took the Zerahites. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was taken. 18 Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.”

Try to imagine what Achan was thinking as his guilt was slowly being revealed!

He could not run away and hide from what he had done.

Although he had buried the evidence of his sin under his tent God knew it was there. And very soon all his fellow Israelites would also know what he had done.

Like a runaway freight train God’s justice was bearing down hard upon Achan.

It probably came as a relief to Achan when Joshua said,

“My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide [bury, secret] it from me.”

Joshua asked Achan to confess the wicked thing he had done.

God obviously knew what he had done and he couldn’t hide it from God, Joshua encouraged Achan to give God glory, even high praise, as he confessed his sins.

“20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

Just as he had tried to secretly carry away the plunder, then secretly bury the evidence of his sin deep under his tent so too he had attempted to bury the guilt of the magnitude of his sin deep within the most secret recesses in his heart.

In his confession Achan exhaled all guilt to Joshua.

He breathed out the facts about how sin had taken hold of him and what he had done. He no longer tried to hide his sin. He stood up, confessed fully to Joshua.

Once again so that Achan’s story means more to us than a Bible History lesson let’s get back to the question that these verses of Scripture set before us.

“What’s buried deep under yours and mine Achan’s tent?”

“What’s spoils, treasures of sins, is buried deep in our own hearts “backyards?”

Is it a craving of yours or mine own body or a lust of your or mine own soul?

Perhaps you and I have buried a guilty pleasure or a secret addiction that you and I believe is unknown to anyone but you and me.

Are you and I being unfaithful in thoughts, words, or actions to our wedding vows? At our places of employment have we found a seemingly innocent way to “hold back our efforts,” cheat or steal? Are we living a lie at school or at church?

As we answer these questions, “What’s buried under our Achan’s tent?” let’s be brutally honest with ourselves and even more brutally honest with Father God.

Give all of our praise and honor and glory and HONESTY unto our Creator God!

Perhaps making confession We know He sees all we do and He knows all we see.

May we have the holy boldness to dare to echo King David’s words recorded in 

Psalm 69:5, “You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you.”

In the full presence of God, as Joshua stood before Achan, encouraged Achan, in Christ, we are also encouraged to stop hiding our sins and confess them to God.

Psalm 32 NASB

Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. A [a]Maskil.

32 How blessed is he whose wrongdoing is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is a person whose guilt the Lord does not take into account,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

3 When I kept silent about my sin, my [b]body wasted away
Through my [c]groaning all day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My [d]vitality failed as with the dry heat of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And I did not hide my guilt;
I said, “I will confess my wrongdoings to the Lord”;
And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [e]in a time when You may be found;
Certainly in a flood of great waters, they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place; You keep me from trouble;
You surround me with [f]songs of deliverance. Selah

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will advise you with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 The sorrows of the wicked are many,
But the one who trusts in the Lord, goodness will surround him.
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.

Today, God the Father offers all of us who are tired of running away from our secret sins and guilt that accompanies them a chance to confess them to him.

Like Achan let’s stop hiding our sins and confess them to God.

What’s buried under your tent?

What’s buried under my own tent?

What sins have you been “secretly hiding” “secretly burying” in your backyard?

What sins have I been “secretly hiding” “secretly burying” in my backyard?

Our best forever friends may not know about them, our family may be unaware of them but rest assured, God the Father, Son and Spirit, sees all and knows all.

Whatever sins you and I have tried to “successfully” hide from God and bury away from the prying eyes of all others will not and cannot long stay hidden.

Tell the gut-level truth to God.

Make NO excuses –

Tell NO Lies –

Do not blame others, do not even try to “hide” the shovel behind your backs.

Simply say, “God, for too long I have hidden these sins from you and others. I will no longer hide them from you. I will confess the secrets I have buried.”

II. So how did things end for Achan, his family, friends and the Israelites?

I suppose the story does not end the way we might expect nor with the outcome for which we might hope in the year of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 2022.

The consequences for Achan’s sins fell squarely on him and his family.

After Joshua sent men to retrieve the evidence of Achan’s guilt buried in the ground under his tent justice was carried out.

“24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today.” Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26 Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor (disaster) ever since.”

Achan received the punishment that God had said would befall anyone who did what he had done.

If we are honest with each other we probably have to admit that we are left wondering why things ended this way.

If Achan confessed his sin why was he still punished?

His confession seems sincere.

Isn’t the LORD a merciful and gracious God?

Isn’t the Lord slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love?

Perhaps it would be best to not to dig too deeply into the justice of a holy God.

From Achan’s example the Israelites learned how serious God is about sin.

If he doesn’t punish the guilty then he is not just.

Achan received the consequences for his actions and all the Israelites learned a brutally harsh and brutally sobering lesson from it.

Now as we look at the sins we have tried to bury under our tents should we be afraid to confess them?

If God is just won’t we be punished as Achan was?

The consequences for our sins should be even worse than what Achan experienced.

What do I mean by that?

Sin brings eternal punishment.

We should be unceremoniously removed from God’s presence forever in hell!

We should die eternally.

Imagine if our secret sins were laid out today for everyone to see.

And with God and everyone else looking at them we realized there is no escape—no place to hide.

Isaiah 53:5-10 NASB

5 But He was [a]pierced for our offenses,
He was crushed for our wrongdoings;
The punishment for our [b]well-being was laid upon Him,
And by His wounds we are healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all
To [c]fall on Him.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off from the land of the [d]living
For the wrongdoing of my people, to whom the blow was due?
9 And His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

10 But the Lord desired
To crush Him, [e]causing Him grief;
If He renders [f]Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His [g]offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the [h]good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.

As the stones of God’s righteous anger are about to strike us right now, as they struck Achan in those most ancient of days, our Savior Jesus takes our place.

Jesus takes our guilt and punishment upon himself.

That’s the truth we remember so vividly during Lent.

We again follow Jesus to the cross to see his sacrifice for us.

Our trust that Christ was punished for our sins is strengthened, by His stripes we were healed.

God said to Adam and Eve, “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:17)

God’s justice is stricter than any justice human courts have demanded.

It is absolute and unbending. The LORD said, “The soul who sins is the one who will die.” (Ezekiel 18:4)

In Romans 6:23 the Apostle Paul declared that “the wages of sin is death.”

There is one demand under God’s justice–complete holiness.

There is one sentence under God’s justice for not being holy.

That is eternal death—eternal separation from God in hell.

If we break God’s commandments only one time we must be condemned.

James tells us, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10)

Thank God that our Savior has kept the “whole law” of God in our place and suffered the consequences of our disobedience.

He was punished in our place to that we ourselves can escape punishment.

Today we have the opportunity to walk away from the sins that control us.

Unlike Achan we can live another day to serve God out of thankfulness and love.

The power of mercy and forgiveness in the believer’s life was expressed well by an anonymous author in a poem called:

THERE’S FORGIVENESS.

“Do not struggle alone, in fear and distress / As if there’s no hope, just your ugliness. Our Lord offers grace, not judgment deserving, / He longs for your love and your soon returning.

THERE’S FORGIVENESS. It’s tough cutting through the darkness of sin / Striving for answers, His favor to win. He stands with His arms outstretched and extended / To hold and restore you, just mercy intended.

THERE’S FORGIVENESS. Why search other places your answers to find / To fill the vast void and touch the divine. Lay down your excuses and learn to confess / Your sins and your shame to His holiness.

THERE’S FORGIVENESS. His promise is certain, “I will forgive,” / Cleansing and freedom, it’s yours to live. From no other source full joy will you find. / He is your victory, your peace so sublime.

THERE’S FORGIVENESS. There’s no one beyond the reach of His arm / To pick up and pardon, to rescue from harm. Return to the Master of your faith’s beginning. / Give Him your all, and you’ll find yourself winning.

THERE’S FORGIVENESS. Yes, friends in Jesus, there is forgiveness. For whatever you and I have buried under tents of our lives there is forgiveness because Christ was punished for our sins.

As we “look under our tent” so to speak we will find sins that we try to hide from God and perhaps others.

Like Achan we are led to confess them and not to hide them any longer.

And today our story has a different ending than Achan’s.

The punishment for our sins fell on Jesus.

We are able to live a new life as he empowers us to overcome our secret sins.

Glory be to the Father an to the Son an to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, is now an ever shall be,

Worlds without end!

Amen, Amen and Amen.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Eternal Father, you know my past, present and future, nothing is unknown to you. Eternal Father, ever loving and ever Merciful Son, strong to forgive, strong to save, When I worry about what is ahead of me, please calm my fears with the knowledge that you go before me. Holy Spirit, I will never be alone because you will always be with me. You have promised that you will not fail me or forsake me and you are faithful to keep all your promises. Take away my fear and replace it with faith in your unending love. Through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Gloria Patri, Alleluia! Amen.

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Grace Greater than our Sin: We say God is trying to Hide Himself from us. Brutal Reality is we are trying too hard to hide our deceitful selves from God. Psalm 32

Psalm 32 English Standard Version

Blessed Are the Forgiven

A Maskil[a] of David.

32 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up[b] as by the heat of summer. Selah

5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

6 Therefore let everyone who is godly
    offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
    they shall not reach him.
7 You are a hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from trouble;
    you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
    which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
    or it will not stay near you.

10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
    but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
    and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Notice the first two verses of Psalm 32 tell us about a threefold liberation—our transgressions forgiven, our sins covered, and our sin is not counted against us.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, bless my soul and pass the joy!

But then we run headlong into this qualifier: “… in whose spirit is no deceit.”

In deceit we deliberately misrepresent ourselves; we retreat to our secret places, we deliberately and with much malice, give a false impression of our goodness.

Does God then count our sins against us?

I am still forgiven, but there is little less magnitude of max joy to pass around!

Deceit is about our deliberately, intentionally initiating a “secret conspiracy” to cover ourselves up, starting with covering up our failures even unto ourselves.

Without much effort at all we will immediately, if not sooner deny our sin, we will white wash it, reason it away, we will rationalize it out of existence, make excuses for it, compare ourselves to others whom we judge to be worse sinners.

From all of our best, worst efforts, to wall ourselves away from the bitter reality of exactly what is in front of us, with our deceit we no longer sense God’s grace.

Psalm 32:3-4 English Standard Version

3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up[a] as by the heat of summer. Selah

David himself confesses the dangerous effects of the magnitude of his deceit .

And his own personal awareness of God doing a “romp and stomp” on his soul.

“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away …. through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped.”

Talk about “Where’s the joy?”!

It was more like David was killing his own Joy with every secret effort he made.

But then David came to his senses:

Psalm 32:5 English Standard Version

5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

David acknowledged the magnitude of his deceit to God, no longer tried to cover it up, no longer tried to keep it locked up behind a thousand doors, locked up by a thousand and one different misshapen keys, deep in unwritten secret places.

With deceit finally confessed, sin is covered by God’s forgiving, healing grace.

When we deceive ourselves, we try to hide our sin.

When we deceive ourselves, we try to reason with our sin.

When we deceive ourselves, we try to rationalize it away.

Reasoning with sin is quite literally and scripturally impossible.

Rationalizing it away is quite literally and scripturally impossible.

When has anyone ever long kept a secret hidden away from God?

Isaiah 1:18-20 English Standard Version

18 “Come now, let us reason[a] together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
    they shall become like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
    you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel,
    you shall be eaten by the sword;
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Isaiah 2:1-4 English Standard Version

The Mountain of the Lord

2 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 It shall come to pass in the latter days
    that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
    and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
3     and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
    and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,[a]
    and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
    and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
    neither shall they learn war anymore.

The reality is that mankind will be judged by God and God alone

The reality of it all is the “nation of sin” will be judged by God alone.

The reality of it all is the relationship between man and sin will be judged.

The reality is God judges both the “nations of man” and “nations of sin” either trying to “live” in close harmony with each other or “at each other’s throats.”

The reality is God alone judges the maximum strength, durability of the walls these two “nations” have constructed to hide their efforts from “prying eyes.”

1 Chronicles 28:9 English Standard Version

David’s Charge to Solomon

9 “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

But there are only two true hiding places.

The Mountain of God – where we will all gather to learn only of His ways.

The Cross of Jesus Christ where Christ settled the matter – once for all time.

John 19:28-30 English Standard Version

The Death of Jesus

28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Our choices are crystal clear – believe God is deliberately trying to hide Himself from us, therefore we try hiding our sin from God, to live in harmony with sin, all the while moaning and groaning, crying and whining from our inequalities,

Or… Just brutally surrender ourselves to the .01% possibility of irrepressible joy.

Psalm 32:6-7 English Standard Version

6 Therefore let everyone who is godly
    offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
    they shall not reach him.
7 You are a hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from trouble;
    you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

“You are my hiding place,” the psalmist says to God.

Being covered by Grace is so much easier that covering over our deceit.

Being covered by Grace is so much better than covering over our deceit.

Being covered by Grace is so much healthier than covering up our deceit.

Being covered by Grace is so much the wiser choice than destroying our Joy.

Will we this day … Receive this Grace for the very first time?

Will we this day … Receive a fresh anointing of this Grace today?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Lord Jesus Christ, you are the name above every other name. Your name is like a fortified tower in which I can find safety and security. When I am troubled, I can find refuge and peace in your name. When I feel weak, I can find refuge and strength in your name. When I feel overwhelmed, I can find refuge and rest in your name. When I feel surrounded by pressures on every side, I can find safety, stability in your name. Your name is revealed! Your name is beautiful, Lord, help me to rely on you. Through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Stop Hiding. Be Humble. Get Honest. The Power of Being Honest with God About Your Struggle. Genesis 3:8-13.

Genesis 3:8-13 ESV

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool[a]  of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”[b] 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12  The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

From the time of the fall into sin, people have tried to hide from God in many ways.

Today many publishers and media outlets compete to attract people’s attention by making outrageous statements.

Some have even said, “God is dead,” and, “God is not good,” adding to the ways of hiding from God by going on the offensive against him.

There is nothing new about such claims.

Even 3,000 years ago, King David heard similar remarks and wrote,

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1).

Adam and Eve hid from God because they were afraid.

They knew they had disobeyed God and that evil had gained a foothold in their hearts.

In their shame, they could not face the Lord as he came to meet with them.

Adam tried shifting the blame to Eve.

By rupturing their relationship with God, they ­became estranged from one another.

Some play the blame game by saying that evil in the world is God’s fault, and they refuse to believe in him.

As alienation from God grows deeper, people hide from one another.

They fear that if their real selves became known, no one would like them.

But God forgives. Have you asked his forgiveness today?

What about that forgiveness – what was the plan there?

From the beginning, God walked in the garden to have fellowship with Adam and Eve.

Today’s passage tells us they hid from God.

What was going on?

Why did they want to hide from the Lord?

The answer is simple: as we learned from previous readings, they became self aware, they realized they had disobeyed God and were afraid and ashamed.

Sin is disobedience, and the result of sin is separation from God.

Disobedience builds a wall between us and our Creator.

Because of sin, we are afraid, we have fear and hide ourselves from him.

We inherited this tendency to disobey God from our first parents.

Because of their sin, we are unable to live the way God wants us to.

Yet God still wants to have fellowship with us and to walk with us each day!

He wants that walk so deeply that he went to extraordinary lengths to restore what we had broken.

In his Son, Jesus Christ, the Father will go the extra grace-filled mile to bring us back to his side.

Adam and Eve were afraid of what God might say or do to them if they were found out, because of their disobedience they both felt the deep need to hide.

While there certainly were consequences for their sin—consequences that we still experience today—there was also forgiveness and grace.

God continued to care for them.

He didn’t just leave them to themselves.

In fact, from the very moment of their sin God began to shape history toward reconciling Adam and Eve and all of their children to himself – he dressed them.

While God hates sin, he loves us and has gone to extraordinary lengths to bring us back to him. Forgiveness and grace are God’s gifts to his people every day.

There is a good, powerful, and loving God pursuing an intimate relationship with you and I and everyone else.

You an I and everyone else were created by Him and for Him, so that you might know Him and serve Him with a purpose.

Being gut-level hard honest with God about your feelings, struggles, sin, and questions is His desire. He doesn’t want you to keep hiding and feeling stuck. 

The Bible says God wants your broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17) because He is the only one who can heal you and help you overcome your struggle.  

God’s brutally Honest Feeling Towards Us

God does not want to “fix” our struggles.

He wants to heal us from it.

Our sin struggle is not the problem, though it can feel like it is.

You and I and everyone else can see the damage it causes in your relationships, job, and health. You, I and everyone else have tried various ways to break the pattern, break the sin-cycle, and nothing ever seems to work, so you feel stuck. 

The Bible explains why your efforts to break the habit or pattern don’t work…

  • “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.”—Romans 7:18

Ecclesiastes 3:10 says that God has placed eternity in your heart and made everything beautiful in its time. This is God’s honest feeling toward you. 

However, because of the brokenness in the world, we seek many things apart from God to fill our hearts – blame games, finger pointing, and find purpose.

But the Bible says we will never ever find true satisfaction until we live in the purpose for which we were created—to be in an intimate relationship with God. 

Brutally meditate, ponder upon where you are in your life in this exact moment.

How long have you been trying “everything you can, with every ounce of energy you have” to fill a ‘tiny’ hole in your heart and your soul that only leads to pain? 

There is good news.

There is always good news – despite what sin would have you believe.

There is hope.

There is always hope – despite what sin would choose to have you believing.  

God invites you to come out of hiding and open yourself up to His healing. 

Why You and I “Hide” from God

Let’s recap this …

Do you, I and everyone else find ourselves hiding from God like Adam and Eve?

Their choice to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden gave sin entry into the world and caused them to feel shame.

Romans 5:12 reads, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned.” 

Genesis 3 explains why we hide from God—because Adam and Eve naively hid…

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 

So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 

And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”—Genesis 3:8-11 (emphasis added) 

God’s Invitation to Be Honest with Him

God went to them – already aware of the situation – wondering their response.

God asked them two questions…

  • Where are you?
  • Did you eat from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?

In other words, God called out to them, God told Adam, I have created you for a relationship with Me, you disobeyed your father, and you are hiding in your sin.

All I require of you right now is for you to be gut-level and brutally honest with Me—this is why I am asking these hard questions.

“What can we do together to resolve this, to restore a right relationship again?”

It was Adam, Eve’s opportunity to “come clean” with themselves, have serious conversations with God, to live and work together again with their Father God.

It is really no different today than if a parent approached their child with an awareness of something “out of place” and they want to hear from their child.

They want to know “what happened?” and “what role did you play in that?”

It is an opportunity for us to work together to restore our relationship.

God is extending mercy and forgiveness by saying:

“Your coverings are insufficient.”

“Here are some real clothes …”

I invite you to come to me and tell me what you’ve done. I will cover you. 

God is good and all the time He loves you, me an everyone else even when we all collectively struggle in a sin cycle. He wants everyone to come out hiding from…

  • Sin
  • Him
  • Others 
  • Yourself 

Hiding only traps and isolates you because you are created for a relationship with God and others.

Because of the fall, we all have the disease of a rebellious nature that seeks pleasure and desires to rule our own lives.

This fallen nature wants to determine good and evil for itself. 

For Adam and Eve, there was still a consequence for their sin.

But God showed provision and mercy by killing an animal so they could be properly covered.  

  • “Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.”—Genesis 3:21

You and I and everyone else have undoubtedly already experienced any number of consequences from our sin, desire nothing more but find the thickest patch of bushes too, but here, God wants to provide all of us a way for us to be healed and regenerated.

He wants to show you and I and everyone else maximum possible mercy. 

So then, as we’ve explored being honest with God, it’s time to honestly ask,

Hmm, “Do you, me and everyone else want God’s sovereignty, or do you, I and everyone else want God to leave me alone, allow me to keep going in my sin?”

God is good, and all the time God is good – God is not trying to keep you and me and everyone from goodness, but rather God is protecting you and I and everyone else from evil. Once you, I and everyone else can finally see God from this new perspective, you start to see His plan for your healing, freedom, and purpose. 

What Does It Mean to Be Honest with God?

God does not expect us to be sinless, but He does invite us to be honest.

Being honest with God means… 

  • You show Him your heart
  • You open yourself up to vulnerability
  • You talk with Him about the ways you self-protect
  • You tell Him about your sin struggle
  • You let Him know what you are thinking and feeling
  • You admit your weaknesses

“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”—2 Corinthians 12:9-10

How to Be Honest with God…

As you come to know the power of being honest with God about your struggle, you also realize…

  • Hiding your of sin is expensive–it costs you peace of mind, peace in relationships, and sometimes financial peace.
  • You are tired of the cycle. You feel stuck and want to move forward.
  • You are experiencing the damage of your sin and pain. You see how your relationships, health (physical, mental, and emotional), and finances are being impacted. 

Being Honest with God 

Stop hiding. 

As mentioned, hiding only traps and isolates you.

It creates an environment where the power of sin is bigger than the power of God in your life.

But God wants to flip this around for you.

He wants you an I an everyone else to come out from our hiding places so He can finally shed His ultimate light upon the darkness and begin to heal us all. 

  • “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”—Proverbs 28:13
  • “O God, You know my foolishness; and my sins are not hidden from You.”—Psalm 69:5
  • “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.”—Psalm 139:1-2

Be humble. 

There comes the inevitable point when you, I an everyone else want to be healed more than the sum total of our concern with what other people will truly think.

Though this can be a low point from the world’s point of view, it’s actually the place where our Sovereign God’s power begins to sweep over us all and we begin to finally experience the freedom and understanding we’ve been searching for. 

  • “When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom.”—Proverbs 11:2
  • “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time…”—1 Peter 5:6
  • “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”—Matthew 11:29-30

Reach out.  

When you, I and everyone else are honest with God, He will likely start to speak to everyone of us about our reaching out to get the help we all need to overcome our hopeless sin struggle. 

This can be brutal, this can be overwhelmingly scary, but it’s also a moment to trust Him.

You and I are not meant to take on this burden alone.

You, I and everyone else absolutely need every God ounce of maximum support. 

  • “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment.”—Proverbs 18:1
  • “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”—Galatians 6:1-2
  • “For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety.”—Proverbs 24:6

God knows your struggle.

God knows my struggle.

God knows everyone’s struggle.

He still pursues every single one of His beloved children so He can heal us all and fulfill the purposes He has for your life, my life and everyone else’s life.  

The day we decide to stop hiding, be humble, and get gut-level honest with God, it will change our lives.

It is the day the Holy Spirit touches your heart in a new way—a way that opens up a path to God’s abundant healing and regeneration. 

It is a powerful moment because we are finally taking a critically important step toward God’s invitation to begin restoring all those broken and hurting places of sin and shame and hiding self, and become confident in who you are in Him.  

It is time to know you are never alone,

It is time for me to know I am never alone

It is time for everyone else to know they are never alone and our Father God simply wants us to take a walk in His Garden, heal you, me and everyone else.

Reach out and take the next step of healing today.

Walk out and away from the bushes and take the next step of healing today.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Creator God, your hand threw the stars into space and the same hand reaches down to me with a gentle touch. I don’t have the strength to deal with the situation I am facing, please uphold me with your righteous right hand. I don’t know what to do, please help me. You say that I do not need to be afraid or dismayed because you are my God and you are with me. Help me to know your presence in the midst of my circumstances and draw strength from you. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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Getting Gut-Level Honest with God. Giving God our Bitterness. Psalm 137

Psalm 137Complete Jewish Bible

137 By the rivers of Bavel we sat down and wept
as we remembered Tziyon.
2 We had hung up our lyres
on the willows that were there,
3 when those who had taken us captive
asked us to sing them a song;
our tormentors demanded joy from us —
“Sing us one of the songs from Tziyon!”

4 How can we sing a song about Adonai
here on foreign soil?
5 If I forget you, Yerushalayim,
may my right hand wither away!
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I fail to remember you,
if I fail to count Yerushalayim
the greatest of all my joys.

7 Remember, Adonai, against the people of Edom
the day of Yerushalayim’s fall,
how they cried, “Tear it down! Tear it down!
Raze it to the ground!”

8 Daughter of Bavel, you will be destroyed!
A blessing on anyone who pays you back
for the way you treated us!
9 A blessing on anyone who seizes your babies
and smashes them against a rock!

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Repentance and Forgiveness ….

Deuteronomy 30:1-3 English Standard Version

Repentance and Forgiveness

30 “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.

And when all of these things have come upon you, the blessings and the curses which God had set before His Children in those ancient of Days – their Exile.

And the people call them to mind (thank you Holy Spirit) among all the nations where the Lord their God has unceremoniously driven them – into their exile, to the rivers of Babylon where they now sit defeated, angry and bitter. Psalm 137.

And when all of these things have come upon us, the blessings and the curses which God has set before His beloved Children in these most modern of days – (I will leave it to the reader to fill in their own personal “blessings an curses.”)

And when we the Children of God call them to their own minds (thank you Holy Spirit) among all of the places among the nations, where the Lord our God has unceremoniously driven us – where we now sit (wherever our backsides are), where we contemplate our own senses of deep defeat and anger and bitterness. (However any of us today, God’s children identify themselves with Psalm 137)

Those exiled Children of God in those ancient of days now long gone, were called by God to return to Him with all of their hearts, with all of their souls.

Today, from where ever it is we ourselves feel we are about to forever languish in our extended, indeterminate periods of personal exiles, God is calling us too.

You, the reader, might now have the very distinct impression this devotional is about our entering into a time and season of repentance – true, but not exactly.

There is something critically important which needs to be addressed first before we get to God’s call upon our lives to enter into an extended time of repentance.

That critically important something is – our getting gut level of God – to beyond the one place where our anger, our bitterness and our defeats keep us all prisoners.

Psalm 137, this song of the embittered exiles, this prayer comes to us white hot.

Its raw, open, and continuously salted wound forbids our tendency to ask the questions we so desperately to have answered but are simply far too bitter to ask, give smooth answers in the face of impossible to conceive personal cruelty.

The personal injuries go indescribably, undeniably deep – deeper than we dare to even minimally make even a minimal effort to conceive, try to identify with.

As you read, sing, this song, dare to imagine the scene that birthed this psalm.

The Babylonian guards taunted Jewish slaves, saying, “Hey, sing us a song about how your God is the greatest!” Though the slaves refused to sing, they also refused to forget. They stayed angry and bitter about Babylon’s injustice.

Maybe you know a person who was victimized.

Maybe you were the one whose trust was being abused, victimized or violated.

Maybe you are the one who can so quickly and painfully and bitterly identify with the absolute rawness of the emotions being expressed in these few verses.

Something at work or about your work …

Something about your marriage …

Something about your relationship with your children …

Something about your relationship with someone who thought had your best interests in mind, but then, when the iron sharpened the iron – it was betrayal.

Maybe you are the one whose wondering – Why God? or Where is our God now?

Maybe someone is right now bullying, mocking or has mocked your outrage.

Kicking sand in your face and refuses stop despite your most tearful pleas.

Maybe we are among the many who were raised to think that there are not too many real and actual victims in our world, we suspect most sufferers “by their own behaviors, asked for it” or “brutally deserved, got what they had coming.”

But the psalms do not tolerate keeping such a distance from human suffering.

They make us grapple with the depths of our own personal knowledge and our own pained up experiences of “man’s inhumanity towards man,” bitterness.

They make us grapple with ourselves where we ourselves simply refuse to go.

The Pandora’s boxes of our hearts and souls for which we long trashed the key.

They make us grapple with evil’s reality, demanding that we hate injustice and oppression. They experience, and express, anger on behalf of we, the oppressed.

Psalm 137 stuns, us with the depths of its emotional impact on our entire souls.

And the question needs to be asked before we get to anything called repentance,

Can we ourselves be that gut level brutally honest with ourselves, with God?

Bitterness is a pill no one wants to swallow, forcibly shoved down their throats.

Being bullied or mocked and scorned is nowhere anyone wants to live for long.

Living with the bitterness of betrayal constantly in your mouth is no way to eat, the constant reminder of its taste is definitely no way for anyone to enjoy a life.

But, there it was for those exiles – the reality and all of its excruciating tastes.

Blessings and curses…the bitter taste of God’s blessings, daily eating the curses.

The desire for exacting revenge at all costs, and chewing and swallowing on the chance to bless your enemies with every imaginable curse at every opportunity.

Hating evil is critical for a healthy spiritual life.

Feeling like you are eating, digesting the evil is quite another matter entirely.

Feeling like we need to vomit evil onto someone, if not everyone else, in our sphere of influence, including ourselves, is a feeling we need to acknowledge.

We need to acknowledge before God the depths of exactly where we are in life.

As the Psalmist who wrote Psalm 137, as the ancient editors left it there for us,

There is a definite need for us to be brutally honest with ourselves and with our God, acknowledging and affirming the correctness, necessity of true honesty.

It is absolutely Okay with being brutally honest with yourself and with God too.

Psalm 137 is clearly meant to completely, utterly bust up our sin hardened soul.

To boldly go where no one would dare to go before – the depths of their souls.

To bust up every last vestige of ourselves so, God and God alone can, piece by painful piece, reshape it, reshape us, put our souls and ourselves back together.

Being Honest With Ourselves and Being Honest with God

The best thing we can do for ourselves, our connection and our relationship with God is to be hyper-zealous in expressing our vulnerability before Him.

This means being brutally honest with our selves (Psalm 51, then Psalm 32) and being even more brutally honest with Him.

Please tell me, what relationship is healthy without being brutally honest?

If we absolutely value them as much as God absolutely does, there are none and yet we still seem to think we can’t or shouldn’t be as honest with God as is with us and therefore we also absolutely need to be with the entirety of ourselves.

Our honesty solves a million hurts before they can even be formed and it is the beginning of breaking walls already created.

I can hear you right now,

“But God knows everything, so why do I need to be honest with Him?”

It is about the relationship.

It is two sided.

He knows but He wants your whole heart.

This means when we take a step of faith, as being absolutely vulnerable requires, He knows we heard Him, He know we listened, He delights in us.

“But let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 9:24

He delights in us as we see Him for who He is – that He is absolutely loving, kind, merciful, forgiving and righteous and just.

This means unhesitatingly taking all of your heartaches, your worries, your thoughts, and your sins to Him!

Being brutally honest because HE DOES KNOW but when we bring Him these things, we submit them to Him as well.

When we lay them at His feet where they belong, unexplainable peace will follow, Peace even when we are still in the situation because He is with us.

I remember walking down the sanctuary hallway at church and feeling deeply frustrated about where God had placed me. I didn’t want to be there. I wanted to feel different. I thought, “eh I can’t be used here. I don’t even want to be here.”

I knew God knew all about my frustrations but when I prayed about it, He changed my heart.

Does this mean all of a sudden that I loved my church?

No, but my prayer changed after I laid my heartbreak of that season down.

My prayer changed from, “Please change this situation” to “Jesus, please show me something more of yourself because I see too much of myself to be any use here.”

I wanted to know why because He is a loving and just God.

All of a sudden, I wanted to stay where I had wanted to hide and flee from, to see just exactly how He was going to do it. I constantly fought with thoughts about why here, but God was faithful in putting a fire of impacting others in me.

He wants to change my thoughts, He wants to transform, shape our thoughts, but we must FIRST allow Him to. This starts with laying them down before Him.

Step 1: Know what you are thinking.

When I started this blog, I prayed to God to use me through these words He gave me. I made a promise to God, myself to be honest about where I was, even when it wasn’t pretty because when I admitted to the struggles, could change occur.

Have these efforts been a Success or Failure – I cannot say …. the blog continues and so, therefore does the works of God – to continually shape, reshape my life.

My Life is still My Life, but I daily pray my life gradually becomes more like His.

This is why we must be vulnerable with Him. He wants to turn our heartaches into triumphs, but He won’t force His way in. He wants us to hand Him all the keys to our Pandora’s box and help us walk away from them and not fall back in.

He absolutely wants to show us how to live abundantly.

This also means doing so truthfully.

I didn’t like where I had been planted by God at first and it did not change just because I thought I could get used to bitterness, no it took a change of thoughts.

I had to pray daily, continuously that God would use me in spite of me and show me something new there. That He would give me a mission. And WOW, He did!

Step 2: Tell Him what you are feeling and thinking.

Admitting where we are takes strength.

Let me be honest with you, it takes guts.

Can we admit we are NOT strong enough to beat defeat bitterness on our own?

Can we admit we are NOT able to fix our defeat and bitterness ourselves?

Feelings are fleeting but boy, they are painfully real when you experience them.

He is not afraid of what you are feeling – but we are absolutely afraid of them.

Let the entire truth of God through His Living Word overtake all your feelings.

I told Him where I was at with it.

I didn’t like it, but I chose to accept it.

To trust that His reasons are better – Proverbs 3:1-12, 16:1-7, Isaiah 1:17-20

Step 3: Let His Word speak to you.

Our knowledge and experience of our Savior Christ is absolutely greater than our knowledge and experience of our bitterness, our fears and our worries.

Knowing these awesome truths led me to chase after Him.

To seek what He wanted with whole lot more love over what I did at the time.

Now, I would not take it back, but you know what they say, hindsight is 20/20.

Genesis to Revelation: He knows the beginning, the end with every in between.

“A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.” President Theodore Roosevelt

In a miracle of the cross, Jesus teaches us to love our enemies – even when our greatest enemies are not those who have embittered us – but is only ourselves.

So we trust vengeance to him alone.

Psalm 137 shows there is no room for false piety or trying to appear respectable.

Reading, Praying, Studying, Sharing, Magnifying the Word of God means we can be brutally honest with God about what we ourselves are brutally feeling.

We can even bring our worst kind of bitter anger to God and lay it at his feet.

Because God so love the World …. Because God so loved every single one of us, God got brutally honest in His expression of desire for everlasting relationship.

On a Hill far away …. stood an Old Rugged Cross … the emblem of suffering ….

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

1. Jesus, keep me near the cross;
there a precious fountain,
free to all, a healing stream,
flows from Calvary’s mountain.
Refrain:
In the cross, in the cross,
be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find
rest beyond the river.

2. Near the cross, a trembling soul,
love and mercy found me;
there the bright and morning star
sheds its beams around me.
(Refrain)

3. Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
bring its scenes before me;
help me walk from day to day
with its shadow o’er me.
(Refrain)

4. Near the cross I’ll watch and wait,
hoping, trusting ever,
till I reach the golden strand
just beyond the river.
(Refrain)

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He Trains My Hands for War and He Trains My Fingers for the Battle, and He also Trains my Heart and my Soul to Care. Veterans Day 2022. Psalm 144:1-2

Psalm 144:1-2Amplified Bible

Prayer for Rescue and Prosperity.

A Psalm of David.

144 Blessed be the Lord, my Rock and my great strength,
Who trains my hands for war
And my fingers for battle;
2 
My [steadfast] lovingkindness and my fortress,
My high tower and my rescuer,
My shield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who subdues my people under me.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Do you ever feel like you’re in the middle of a war?

The Christian life isn’t always a warm and fuzzy experience.

Sometimes we find ourselves on an actual battlefield in the mist of an actual war either fighting to stay alive against an enemy who desires nothing more than to take away our life or trying to help the local populace as they fight it as they also struggle mightily just to survive and live their everyday lives within it.

My own father and my wife’s father both fought in the killing fields of Korea.

More contemporary – we think of the long conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan which which lasted twenty years, just concluded approximately 2 years ago.

More contemporary – we think of the ongoing War in the country of Ukraine.

In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons. Herodotus

War does not determine who is right – only who is left. Bertrand Russell

Only the dead have seen the end of the war. George Santayana

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. Albert Einstein

The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war. Norman Schwarzkopf

The two most powerful warriors on earth are patience and time. Leo Tolstoy

The most powerful, only undefeated warrior of all time is Almighty God.

The most vulnerable warriors of all time is by far – All of Mankind who bears the brunt of the war, the widows, the orphans who are inevitable left behind.

But even in peace there are always the sounds of battle and of great wars ….

Sometimes we find ourselves in a spiritual battle.

It’s easy to feel vulnerable and exposed at times like these.

We must remember, however, we are not fighting these battles in our own strength.

God offers unshakable security for his people – Psalm 46, 61, 62, Psalm 121.

In faith, and in war we struggle to grasp the tremendous contrast between God’s almighty power and the weakness of even the mightiest of warriors.

Micah 6:6-8ESV

What Does the Lord Require?

6 “With what shall I come before the Lord,
    and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with[a] thousands of rams,
    with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,[b]
    and to walk humbly with your God?

While we are cognizant of the dangers and deceits and vulnerabilities of our human flesh and of this world, we are far more impressed by the power of God.

Then, we respond with gratefulness as we pray and think of all those abundant blessings that come to families who are covenanted to God, the Father an God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and are purged from the influences of the world.

What a joy to see children walking in the indomitable strength of God’s truth!

What more blessed state can there be in this world than to witness generations of children and grandchildren faithfully fighting injustice and serving the Lord?

To hear the beloved children of God singing and chanting for all nations to hear:

Psalm 144:1-2 ESV

My Rock and My Fortress

Of David.

144 Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
    who trains my hands for war,
    and my fingers for battle;
2 he is my steadfast love and my fortress,
    my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
    who subdues peoples[a] under me.

God’s Boot Camp

In Psalm 144:1-2, King David praised the Lord, recognizing that it was God who had enabled him to win the victory over his enemies.

Moreover, the Lord had taught him how to fight and protected him in battle.

David used similar language in Psalm 18:

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety … He trains my hands for battle; he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow. (Psalm 18:2, 34, (NLT)

Psalm 18:2,34 NLT

What does God’s boot camp entail?

How does he train us for war?

The term “trains” here refers to an exercise in learning.

Consider this nugget of truth from the passage: you may not know why you’re in a battle, but you can be absolutely sure God wants to teach you something.

He’s walking you through an exercise in learning. 

God’s boot camp involves teaching us to depend on him.

If we never faced a battle, we’d never learn to lean on God for strength and protection.

What does Psalm 144 seek to teach us? 

Verses 1-2

This psalm brings together war and peace—the complete destruction of God’s enemies and the absolute protection of all of God’s people—at the same time.

Biblically, these are not unusual themes, especially when we look at the history of redemption. At the Red Sea, there is both the destruction of God’s enemies and the preservation of God’s people. The same thing can be said for Noah’s ark and the worldwide flood. These are pictures of God’s redemption for the church.

This psalm introduces David as the great warrior whom God has taught to fight.

Battle language is not unusual for God’s men.

Towards the end of his life, the Apostle Paul claimed that he had “fought a good fight for the faith (2 Timothy 4:6-8).”

While it is true that God fights for us, He also teaches us to fight.

We learn that our weaponry is not carnal (2 Corinthians 10:1-6),

Paul Defends His Ministry

10 I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— 2 I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

and our enemy is not flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:10-12).

Put on The Whole Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Between here and heaven, there is a battle to wage. Every Christian must face his Goliath in the Valley of Elah, and Apollyon in the Valley of the Humiliation.

Our enemies are demonic powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness that hyper-dominates in powerful institutions of men.

We can only battle in the power of His might, in the strength that He gives us.

If we attempt to take on these terrifying enemies in our own strength, we will most certainly be decimated.

Any believer who has attempted it can testify to that.

Psalm 144:2 Common English Bible

2 God is my loyal one, my fortress,
    my place of safety, my rescuer,
    my shield, in whom I take refuge,
        and the one who subdues people before me.

Although David is thankful for his God given ability to fight Israel’s battles, his focus is almost (he is human) exclusively upon God’s defense and intervention.

Therefore, he refers to God as his only strength, fortress, high tower, shield, and deliverer – (see also Psalm 18:1-3, Psalm 46, Psalms 61 and 62).

From the exact and exacting moment we put our full and complete faith in God for our redemption and our . salvation, we are to depend on him for everything:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5–6, ESV)

Spiritual battles teach us to pray:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7, NIV)

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

The Lord Is Your Rock

Don’t let the battle shake you from your firm foundation in Jesus Christ. 

God wants to teach us that Jesus is our rock.

The Hebrew word for “rock” used here is tsur. 

It highlights the stability and protection that God supplies whenever we are in the battle.

God’s got us solidly covered.

He won’t hesitate or weaken from one day to the next.

The word translated as “fortress” in the original language means “a fortified defensive structure.”

As our stronghold, God surrounds us like a heavily armed and fortified military camp.

Nothing harmful can get through the high-walled fortress that God has built around us.

The Lord is loving, kind, and loyal; he will provide a fortress for us in the storms of life. He is our high tower, our deliverer, our shield, and our refuge.

God promises that he is the one who will subdue our enemies.

The battle cannot be fought and won using flesh and blood weapons:

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. (2 Corinthians 10:4, ESV)

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12, NLT)

In Ephesians 6:10-18, the Apostle Paul outlines a six-piece set of armor, our spiritual defense against the enemy of our souls. The armor of God may be invisible, but it’s just as real as military equipment. When we use it properly and wear it daily, it provides rock solid protection against the enemy’s onslaught.

Let God train your hands for war and you will be supernaturally equipped with the only firepower needed against Satan’s attacks.

And remember, God is your protection and shield.

Bless him and praise him! You don’t have to fight the battle alone.

Because all battles and all wars belong exclusively unto the Lord, our God!

It is God who goes before us – He who created the heavens and the earth!

It is into God’s hands unto which we are grateful for those who fought for us:

To care for Him who hath borne the brunt of battle, for his widow, his orphan.

closeup of a rusty dog tag with the text thank you veterans written in it, on a rustic gray surface

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Dear Lord, Today we honor our veterans, worthy men and women who gave their best when they were called upon to serve and protect their country. We pray that you will bless them for their unselfish service in the continual struggle to preserve our freedoms, our safety, and our country’s heritage, for all of us. Lord God, Almighty Father, creator of mankind and author of peace, as we are ever mindful of the cost paid for the liberty we possess, we ask you to bless the members of our armed forces. Give them courage, hope and strength. May they ever experience your firm support, gentle love and compassionate healing. Be their power and protector, leading them from darkness to light. To you be all glory, honor and praise, now and forever. Amen.

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A Lesson in Temptation: “I Give You only Good things because I have only Loved you with an Everlasting Love!” Genesis 2:4-9

Genesis 2:4-9Amplified Bible

4 This is the history of [the origin of] the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day [that is, days of creation] that the [a]Lord God made the earth and the heavens— 5 no shrub or plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to [b]cultivate the ground, 6 but a [c]mist (fog, dew, vapor) used to rise from the land and water the entire surface of the ground— 7 then the Lord God [d]formed [that is, created the body of] man from the [e]dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being [an individual complete in body and spirit]. 8 And the Lord God [f]planted a garden (oasis) in the east, in Eden (delight, land of happiness); and He put the man whom He had formed (created) there. 9 And [in that garden] the Lord God caused to grow from the ground every tree that is desirable and pleasing to the sight and good (suitable, pleasant) for food; the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the [experiential] knowledge (recognition) of [the difference between] good and evil.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

In the beginning, as God created and then developed his new world, he formed a perfect garden in which he could live in loving relationship with human beings.

Because of His Everlasting Love for us, God ­wanted humans to flourish, and He wanted all of this creation to flourish through their care and stewardship for it.

In that perfect Garden of Eden human beings lived together in harmony with the rest of creation, happily, joyously, serving and communing with God.

There humans were free to eat from any tree they wanted—except from the one which God specifically identified: “the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

What did God know of the “Tree of the knowledge of good and evil” which He deliberately withheld from humanity ears?

What exactly did God know of the power of the “Tree of the knowledge of good and evil” should humanity ever become partakers of the fruit on that one Tree?

Why did God even create that Tree in the first place if He knew the enormous risk He was taking by even placing the Tree before their eyes and taste buds?

Surely God already knew the magnitude of both the “good and evil” outcomes which would manifest itself – should mankind become aware of good and evil.

Maybe you know how this story goes by now—humans disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit, bringing great chaos into God’s good world (Genesis 3).

Why did they eat the fruit when they were told not to?

Well, it all began with the unceremonious arrival of temptation and desire.

They were coerced, tempted to think that the fruit would make them like God, knowing good and evil, thus began temptation, desiring what was forbidden.

They were tempted to think that God was keeping good things from them.

Temptation is just the uncompromising inner feeling that we are the most independent people on the face of this planet called Earth.

That we know quite literally everything there is the ability for us all to know.

That’s something that we all go through as a kid.

Now, this lifestyle that I’m in, the same thing exists!

But it’s 10 times worse, because I am 10 times older but not so much the wiser, because of the internet, the “information super highway,” literally everything “good and evil” is right at mine and our own children’s fingertips and disposal.

When you’re in the limelight, when the full magnitude of the limelight is always available to anyone with a desire to “know” and you can get anything you want, whenever you want it and you can “encode” this limelight and keep it “secret,”

Label it “My Eyes Only” and store it in clouds behind highly complex passwords known only to users and owners of those clouds, the most intrepid of hackers.

And of course, the knowledge of God, the Father and God the Son and the Holy Spirit, from whom there is no such thing as secrets which can never be known

But we know that only because of our Heavenly Fathers everlasting love for us, He continually and continuously desires to keep His connection to His children.

Temptation and desire will always continue their efforts at singing their songs deep into our vulnerable souls – constantly enticing us to stay away from God.

It is a song and dance show they know quite expertly – ticket sales at an all time high every single moment of every single day – directly into every last ear drum.

And we listen …. and listen …. and listen …. and listen some more

So, our desire to return to God’s perfect Garden gets further and further eroded.

But perhaps we also end up forgetting, while we and our hearts and our souls are exclusively tuned in to, listening to temptation and desires radio station,

God has His own radio station ….

Psalm 19:1-5Amplified Bible

The Works and the Word of God.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands.
2 
Day after day pours forth speech,
And night after night reveals knowledge.
3 
There is no speech, nor are there [spoken] words [from the stars];
Their voice is not heard.
4 
Yet their voice [in quiet evidence] has gone out through all the earth,
Their words to the end of the world.
In them and in the heavens He has made a tent for the sun,
5 
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.

And it too is continually and continuously playing its message ….

Proverbs 1:8-19Amplified Bible

The Enticement of Sinners

8 
My son, hear the instruction of your father,
And do not reject the teaching of your mother.
9 
For they are a garland of grace on your head,
And chains and ornaments [of gold] around your neck.
10 
My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent.
11 
If they say, “Come with us;
Let us lie in wait to shed blood,
Let us ambush the innocent without cause;
12 
Let us swallow them alive like Sheol (the place of the dead),
Even whole, as those who go down to the pit [of death];
13 
We will find and take all kinds of precious possessions,
We will fill our houses with spoil;
14 
Throw in your lot with us [they insist];
We will all have one money bag [in common],”
15 
My son, do not walk on the road with them;
Keep your foot [far] away from their path,
16 
For their feet run to evil,
And they hurry to shed blood.
17 
Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net
In the sight of any bird;
18 
But [when these people set a trap for others] they lie in wait for their own blood;
They set an ambush for their own lives [and rush to their destruction].
19 
So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain;
Greed takes away the lives of its possessors.

When Rabbi Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13), he was not casually suggesting it was all about someone else or something else is drawing us into temptation.

We are responsible too.

Dealing with life’s temptations and desires calls for an acute awareness of the high energy tempting ­power of sin. It includes recognizing that others, like the proverb writer and our parents, acknowledge the powerful temptation of sin.

The words of the tempter can seem so impossibly enticing or desirable, and they will eventually, inevitably wear us down. Temptation is everywhere in our lives. A wise person knows this. A wise person hears the proverb writer say, in effect, “temptation and desire takes away the lives of those who give in to it.”

Temptation and Desire will always, forever, play and sing their enticing songs.

Truth: Sin always will remain an impossibly self-destructive irresistible force.

Victorious living through Christ Jesus our Savior does not mean freedom from temptation’s desire, nor does it mean freedom from mistakes. E. Stanley Jones

We all have many vulnerabilities that can sidetrack us from reaching our goals.

Pray! Recognize the times when you’re most likely to give into temptation, and make it harder for a single moment of weakness to sabotage your best efforts.

It’s terribly sad when we continuously and continually, irresistibly, succumb to the songs of temptation desire and we just end up hurting others and ourselves.

Truth also is that the Word of God for the Children of God is also irresistible, always and forever an continually and continuously playing its powerful song.

Hebrews 4:12Amplified Bible

12 For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged [a]sword, penetrating as far as the division of the [b]soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Listening continually, continuously, everlastingly, to that particular ‘GOD’ song, how­ever, will enticingly, inevitably, leads us to life as God intended it.

Master Rabbi Jesus put it this way: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

For the everlasting love of us …

Consider Jesus’ temptation. First, the Spirit drove him into the desert.

That reminds us that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God with one purpose for us, and that purpose is the redemption of the entire creation.

Why the wilderness? Because the wilderness is the barren habitation of lizards, snakes, scorpions, barbed plants, buzzards and such like. It is representative of the world of sin, the world of the devil, the world of lies, deception and death.

It was there, on the devil’s own turf, so to speak, that Jesus encountered the devil and defanged his power to tempt, entice and to overpower humanity.

Jesus was at his weakest, physically speaking, after 40 days without food, but even at his weakest, he made short work of the devil’s best stuff—satisfaction of physical appetites (“turn these stones into bread”), power, and wealth and influence (“rule all the kingdoms of the world”), and self-indulgent arrogance (“show how important you are by jumping off the temple wall and making the angels catch you”).

When it was over, the angels waited on him. He ate a legitimate meal, provided from the Father by the angels, not a meal the devil offered. And all this was only the starting point of his long journey to Jerusalem to be crucified, killed, buried and and three days later to be resurrected unto glory — as one of us for all of us.

What more could we ask? The very God we are afraid doesn’t like us, is fed up with us and won’t forgive us again, is the God who loved us so much that he sent his Son, not to condemn the world, but to save the world (John 3:16-17).

Take heart

In Christ Jesus, God has done for us what we could never do for ourselves.

He has taken our sins on himself, forgiven us, reconciled us with himself and made us a new creation in Christ—redeemed, healed in mind, spirit and body and perfectly unified with him.

Though we do not yet see what he has made us to be in Christ Jesus our Savior, we can trust his word that at his appearing, we will be like him (1 John 3:2).

In constant and continual conflict against our own desires and temptations, then, we can each take heart. Christ is with us and for us, drawing us to him and away from sin, but when we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, who not only set the example for us, but also made atonement for the sins of the whole world, including ours (1 John 2:1-2).

The lyrics neither Temptation and Desire don’t want you to hear God singing is,

“No, my children, I am not keeping good things from you. See, just as I did long ago, I give you good things to eat, to love you, to heal you and to nourish you. By this gift from my hand, may you realize that you cannot flourish apart from my love.”

“First and foremost Consult God, not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think neither long nor hard about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you were tempted to do but tried and failed in, but concern yourself instead, with what it is still possible for you to do.” Pope Saint John XXIII

The Christian life is not about making one better at resisting temptation. It’s about making you new. Many people struggle to overcome temptation because they do not see the distinction between the two. But when you become a new creation in Christ, everything is possible for Christ becomes possible for you.

Trust him. He did it for you!

In the name of God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

God, my Father, Beautiful One, Your grace is awe-inspiring, and every day, I see more and more how wonderful Your salvation is to me. Lord, mold me, shape me into Your image. Change my heart. Conquer my mind. Fill my soul. Control my hands and my lips. I do not want to abuse the grace You bought for me on the cross. Guide me to use my freedom, not for sin, but for love and good deeds. Pray I will never ever forget how precious the grace is that You have given to me. Fix my eyes upon the cross and on the day my lowly body will be transformed to be like Your glorious body. Angus Dei! Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F48PTgcFdco

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Acknowledging Our Holy Discontent! Acknowledging, Allowing Ourselves to be Overcome by our Savior. Mark 1:12-13

Mark 1:12-13Amplified Bible

12 Immediately the [Holy] Spirit forced Him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted [to do evil] by Satan; and He was with the wild animals, and the angels ministered continually to Him.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

“I can resist everything but temptation!” says the Irish Poet Oscar Wilde.

“I generally avoid temptation unless I cannot resist it any longer.” Mae West

“I can resist anything but temptation!” says the bumper sticker.

“Temptation is the devil looking through our keyholes. Yielding is opening the door, inviting him in to stay and live with us for awhile.” Billy Sunday

As Christians, we know that temptation toward sinful, illegal or destructive things needs to be resisted, and yet we often find ourselves losing the battle.

That is not only frustrating, it can get downright depressing, it can even make us start to raise inner doubts, question whether God still loves, cares about us.

The promised land was just across the Jordan River, but the land on the near side of the ­river looked good for grazing.

So the tribes of Reuben and Gad petitioned Moses to let them settle in that area.

In doing so, they faced the temptation of settling in a place determined by their possessions rather than by the Lord’s promise.

When Moses challenged them, choose their “stuff or choose God” the tribes relented, agreed to go with the others across the Jordan to conquer the land.

Settling down and being content an being fulfilled merely with the things of this earth around us is so tempting.

The more we have, the easier it is to focus solely on this life.

Rather than keeping our eyes on the promises of God, we tend to see the things around us and be satisfied with them.

Christian faith is supposedly marked by our measures and our degrees of holy discontent with earthly treasures.

That choice, that decision and those affirmation are easy when things are easy.

That array of things, perhaps not no easy to live with when things are difficult.

But as Chris­tians, we need to long for Christ and his kingdom even when things are good, because we know Jesus is the greatest example, the greatest mentor.

Mark 1:9-13Common English Bible

Jesus is baptized and tempted

9 About that time, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. 10 While he was coming up out of the water, Jesus saw heaven splitting open and the Spirit, like a dove, coming down on him. 11 And there was a voice from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.”

12 At once the Spirit forced Jesus out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among the wild animals, and the angels took care of him.

We all face temptation.

No one is immune from temptation.

The bad news about temptation is that it usually doesn’t happen when we’re ready for it.

It usually happens in those moments when we’re tired, or sad or disappointed about something.

And while we all face temptation, when we give into it, we often feel really bad.

We wish we were better about fighting it or saying no to the things tempting us.

Immediately after being baptized by John, immediately after hearing all of the wonderful all thumbs up accolades and affirmations from His Father in Heaven, we read that Jesus is immediately driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit.

What prior planning and preparation did he have?

Complete Faith and Trust in His Father God and the Holy Scriptures!

What preparation did he ask for as a precondition to entering the wilderness?

Complete Faith and Trust in His Father God and the Holy Scriptures!

What time did His Father God give him to “pray and study himself into shape?”

Complete Faith and Trust in His Father God, His perfect understanding and interpretation of the Holy Scriptures as taught to Him! Psalm 119:1-16

What resistance did Jesus offer up to His Father in Heaven before His entering?

None but implicit and innate trust in the truth found in God’s Holy Scriptures!

Hebrews 4:11-16Amplified Bible

11 Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience [as those who died in the wilderness]. 12 For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged [a]sword, penetrating as far as the division of the [b] soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account.

14 Inasmuch then as we [believers] have a great High Priest who has [already ascended and] passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith and cling tenaciously to our absolute trust in Him as Savior]. 15  For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. 16 Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].

Jesus is so much more than a role model

The fact that Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are teaches us at least three things.

One thing is Jesus’ perfect reliance on the Power of God through Scriptures.

One thing it teaches us is that just as Jesus overcame every temptation, so we need to follow his example, make every effort not to fall to temptation either.

But there is so much more here to acknowledge, and it makes all the difference.

If Jesus were merely a great role model that we should follow, there would be no hope for us.

Following Jesus would then just be another of the world’s many religions — humanly devised systems of coping with bad behavior and plagued consciences.

The other thing these temptation passages teach us is Jesus overcame every temptation in our place, as one of us, both representing us and substituting for us before God.

Notice where Hebrews 4 places the emphasis:

First, Jesus is presented as an incomparable High Priest (v. 14).

The job of a high priest is to mediate on behalf of the people toward God.

He offers the sacrifices and acts as the go-between to get everything straightened out between sinning people and God.

In religion, this concept keeps people mindful of the need to behave better and establishes a hierarchy of humans that can exercise control over the masses.

The Gospel is not, can never become, another religion

But the gospel is not another religion.

The gospel tells us that the real and true High Priest is God himself, the Second Person of the triune God — the one who became Jesus Christ. He died and rose from the dead in glory, and now is in heaven as a glorified man and the Son of God at once, making actual peace between sinning humans and God.

Jesus did not sin; he took all the sin of humanity onto his own shoulders.

But all the sin in the world was no match for the Son of God. In him, sin, all sin, found its demise. In Christ, God destroyed the work of the devil and defeated sin — our sin — once and for all. This is not religion; it is the gospel of our Savior.

That is why Hebrews 4 emphasizes the truth that Jesus sympathizes with us in our weaknesses, and the truth because of Jesus doing what he did regarding sin, we can come forth with a holy discontent for the world and a holy boldness to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We find the same emphasis in Hebrews 2:17-18.

He became like us humans in every respect for the express purpose of being a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God.

He can help those who are being tested because he was tested like they are.

How does he help them?

By his sacrifice of atonement (restoration to fellowship with God) and by being merciful (He forgives you) and faithful (He will do it every time).

Hebrews 3:12-19Amplified Bible

The Peril of Unbelief

12 Take care, brothers and sisters, that there not be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving [a]heart [which refuses to trust and rely on the Lord, a heart] that turns away from the living God. 13 But continually encourage one another every day, as long as it is called “Today” [and there is an opportunity], so that none of you will be hardened [into settled rebellion] by the deceitfulness of sin [its cleverness, delusive glamour, and sophistication]. 14 For we [believers] have become partakers of Christ [sharing in all that the Messiah has for us], if only we hold firm our newborn confidence [which originally led us to Him] until the end, 15 while it is said,

“Today [while there is still opportunity] if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your heart, as when they provoked Me [in the rebellion in the desert at Meribah].”

16 For who were they who heard and yet provoked Him [with rebellious acts]? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose dead bodies were scattered in the desert? 18 And to whom did He swear [an oath] that they would not enter His rest, but to those who disobeyed [those who would not listen to His word]? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter [into His rest—the promised land] because of unbelief and an unwillingness to trust in God.

If we will only 100% fully and completely Trust him

Influenced by all this temptation, how do you get in on all this grace and mercy?

With such an astoundingly horrible track record of disobedience to rely upon,

I believe what makes resisting temptation difficult for many people is they don’t want to expend any of the necessary effort to discourage it completely.

Hebrews 3 says, “Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God” (v. 12, NRSV)

It goes on to say, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (v. 13).

How does sin deceive us?

One way is by telling us, in effect: “Ha! God won’t forgive you this time. You’ve crossed the line, pal, and the jig’s up. His mercy only goes so far, you know, and frankly, it’s reserved for those who clean up their act and stay in shape — not for the likes of you, you old filthy worn out completely useless ugly bag of sin.”

Look how verse 14 puts it: “For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end” (NRSV).

In other words, trust him.

Trust him to do what he says he does for you — forgives you. Trust him to be what he says he is for you — faithful.

Trust him to know what he’s doing.

Trust him to love you the way he says he loves you.

Trust him to be the Creator, the Redeemer of his Creation that he claims to be.

How can you lose out on such a great salvation?

The same way you would lose out on a million dollars if you got a letter from the bank telling you someone had put it in your account, but you did not believe the bank and never went to take it out — by not believing, by not trusting in God.

By not trusting the giver of the gift. By not trusting God to love you and forgive you and transform you and make you his own child like he tells you he has already done (Ephesians 2:4-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 22; 2:13; 1 John 3:2).

Good news

The gospel really is good news!

Trouble is, for many of us, it seems too good to be true.

We want to have at least a short list of “do’s and don’ts” to separate the wheat from the chaff.

But God gave us no list.

God’s purpose in creation was to let us prove ourselves.

The plan was explained to us within the Psalms (139) before we were born.

We were weaved enough there to qualify for the opportunity to choose against temptation here to prepare for eternal life, the greatest of all the gifts of God.

He gave us himself.

In Christ, I thoroughly believe we have everything we need for salvation.

John 16:29-33Amplified Bible

29 His disciples said, “Ah, now You are speaking plainly to us and not in figures of speech! 30 Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; because of this we believe [without any doubt] that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now [at last] believe? 32 Take careful notice: an hour is coming, and has arrived, when you will all be scattered, each to his own home, leaving Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]

We are not worth caring about or saving because we convince him we are; we’re worth caring about and saving because he decided we are and he did it by Christ.

In the name of God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father God, my only believable and faithful Way Maker, My Chain-Breaker, My Promise Keeper, My Light of my life in the Darkness of sin, I know that You want me to resist temptation. I know You have not allowed any temptation to befall me which is beyond my strength to resist. In You, I have the freedom to choose not to sin, and You have given me Your Spirit to stand firm against temptation. When I am tempted to sin, help me instead to focus on Your goodness to me that is demonstrated by the cross. Fill me with Your Spirit and make me hate sin as much as You do. You have bought my life with the precious blood of Your Son and in His name, I pray. Amen.

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