The BEST of Intentions

The Best of Intentions

Good intentions are not enough in our worship. Obedience is!  In an intriguing story from King David's adventures, we catch a glimpse of an awesome God, in the most frightening sense of the word. David wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of the Presence of the LORD among His people, back to Jerusalem. In ancient Judaism it was the most sacred piece of furniture (dare I label it so casually?) in the tabernacle of God.  When Moses received the directives for proper handling of this holy thing, God said it was only to be carried by men of the holy tribe and in a very specific manner. (see Exodus 25) Rings were built into the sides of the ark through which long poles were to be passed. When it was necessary to move the Ark, priests were to carry it on their shoulders with these long poles.  Between the time of Moses and  David's reign several hundred years passed and these directions apparently were forgotten!

So, when David set out to bring the Ark back to Jerusalem, symbolically returning God to the center of the people's attention in his royal city, he did what seemed to be reasonable and appropriate. He even built a new cart to honor this holy thing before going to retrieve it.  After a proclamation, they set out to do this thing. (1 Chronicles 13:7-8) Uzzah and Ahio were tasked with guiding the oxen pulling the cart. David was celebrating before God with all their might, singing and playing all kinds of musical instruments—lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets. It must have been quite a parade/worship celebration. Until...  “they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put out his hand to steady the Ark. Then the Lord’s anger blazed out against Uzzah, and he struck him dead because he had laid his hand on the Ark. So Uzzah died there in the presence of God.” 

Right there, in the middle of trying to do a good thing, tragedy struck;  David didn't know why! First, he grew angry at the Lord.  “I try to honor You, and this is Your response?  You kill a good man?”   Then, on further reflection, he became fearful. He trembled in terror and he wondered how he could ever please the Lord if even his best intentions failed in such a spectacular manner. Only after time and research did he learn the proper way to move the Ark and thus to show reverence for God.

Good intentions are admirable, but they are not enough for a holy God.  We all wrestle with our will and His, with what ‘seems right’ and what ‘is right.’ As much as we might think that just ‘doing our best’ is acceptable, our holy God indicates that His desire is that we revere Him sufficiently to submit ourselves without reserve. When we argue with Him, resist what we know to be His plans, or take our lives into our own hands - we invite His displeasure.  Sobering, isn’t it? This little story from David's life helps me to understand that there is a right way and a wrong way to 'serve' God. I realize that I am giving aid and comfort to those who 'sanctify' a certain worship style or to those who are bent on writing rules and regulations for others in the name of God. That, however, is a shallow misuse of the principle of this story.

My intent is to point us beyond such legalities to our own relationship with God, where we know better in our heart, but where we choose to go our own way believing that God will 'cut us some slack.'

This IS true. If we fail to listen with an open heart and mind for the Spirit, plunging ahead with our ‘best intentions’ we will likely plant seeds that will produce an eventual harvest of alienation, fear, and ultimately death. He is a wonderful God who is worthy of our reverent, submitted, entire obedience. When the conviction of the Spirit comes ( and thankfully He doesn't strike us dead in this era!) let's have the humility to confess our failure and to accept the Spirit’s grace. Then, in His will, let’s walk joyfully into the full, rich life found in total obedience!

Here’s a word from the Word.  Read it prayerfully, thoughtfully, honestly.  Move beyond your own best intentions and learn to ‘keep step with the Spirit.’  

“How can I stand up before God and show proper respect to the high God?

Should I bring an armload of offerings topped off with yearling calves?

Would God be impressed with thousands of rams, with buckets and barrels of olive oil?

Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child, my precious baby, to cancel my sin?

But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple:

Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously— take God seriously.
- Micah 6:6-8, The Message

Time to make the donuts!

Vision teaches us the ‘why’ behind the ‘what.’  Lose vision and motivation dies.  The lead guy on the crew that installed the new boiler at our church last week wasn’t just putting pipes together. He was building something in which he took pride. He had vision for his work and it is evident in the quality work he left behind. He showed up with enthusiasm, a smile on his face, and a readiness to do the work.   Are you like Fred, the baker, the star of the old “Dunkin’ Donuts” ads who was up before dawn heading out the door because it was ‘time to make the donuts?’  Somehow you knew he was pushing himself out the door, that making donuts was a job to which he was faithful, but for which he was not terrifically enthused.  

  

I pace myself through the routines of church business,  doing the invisible chores that maintain the organization, gladly because they support the vision God gave me. My vision is not to maintain a building, however. It is to build a community of people who make a noticeable difference for the Lord Jesus in our corner of the world! If I lose sight of the bigger mission, (and there are those days) the tedium can become overwhelming. Then I realize I need to look up, to catch another glimpse of that glorious Church that my Lord Jesus will find worthy of commendation. I believe whole-heartedly that the only hope for this world is the Gospel of Jesus Christ; a message that transforms people into amazing saints, infuses life with purpose and meaning, and lets us live in the promise of eternal life. I want as many people as possible to hear that good news, to experience the love of Christ, and that is the vision that keeps me going!

·         Friend, do you know the 'why' behind the 'what' in your life?

·         Is there a God-given vision that draws you to love God with devotion?

·         Do you have vision for your family, your church, your daily vocation, your neighborhood, your financial management…. Yes, for all of life?

Some of you are thinking, "Yeah, Jerry, I've heard this hype before. My 'vision' is just to hang on one more day. Mostly I feel like Fred, the baker and it’s just time to make the donuts”  

If that’s you, take charge now. Stop letting life lead you and make a decision to become a person who lives ‘on purpose.’ Hit the pause button. Take a day off and spend it in prayer, not in front of the TV!  Invite God, the Holy Spirit, to renew your understanding that you "are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:10, NLT) God is purposeful. God is concerned about you and able to use you - but you must make yourself available and let Him mature the vision in you. Borrow the prayer that little Samuel prayed in the dark when the voice of the Lord echoed through his heart - "Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening." (1 Samuel 3:9, NIV) When he prayed, God showed him a plan and then the boy worked and waited faithfully on that plan for years - in the process becoming a key person in Israel. Invite Him to speak, then wait for the answer.

Here's a word from the Word for you today.  "Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer in large, clear letters on a tablet, so that a runner can read it and tell everyone else. 

But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. 

“Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked; but the righteous will live by their faith." (Habakkuk 2:2-4, NLT)
_______________________

I'm pressing on the upward way,
New heights I'm gaining every day;
Still praying as I'm onward bound,
"Lord, plant my feet on higher ground."

Lord, lift me up and let me stand
By faith on heaven's table-land,
A higher plane than I have found:
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

I want to scale the utmost height
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I'll pray, 'til heaven I've found
"Lord, lead me on to higher ground."

Higher Ground - Johnson Oatman, Jr.
Public Domain

Reboot!

Reboot!

If one of my computers start running slowly or drops the network connection, the first thing I do is a reboot! I have learned that just shutting it down and starting over usually gets things going again.  It’s a simple fix, yet very effective in most cases.  Don’t you wish that life had a reboot sequence?  A relationship go sour, every effort to make it better apparently only making things worse.  Wouldn’t it be great to hit a reset?  A choice is made that proves to be much more costly or difficult than you thought it would be – reboot!  I’m just dreaming, right?  In a sense, I am.  There is no quick fix for life. But …

 God does provide fresh starts. "Anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!" (2 Corinthians 5:17, The Message)  When we bring our broken, regretful, sinful life to Him we find forgiveness, restoration to our God, and hope to start anew.  King David fell hard.  As he reached the pinnacle of influence in Israel, he looked away from the LORD and down into the courtyard of beautiful Bathsheba. Lust became adultery. Adultery became murder. Murder became conspiracy.  Guilt chewed him up from the inside out.  Then, in a dramatic way, Nathan, God’s prophet, confronted him with his sins, publicly.  “God sees, God knows, God holds you in contempt!”  What would he do? Where could he go?  Was there any hope?

Psalm 51 is the song he wrote in his repentance. "Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to sinners, and they will return to you. Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness." (Psalm 51:8-14, NLT)   I love the way one of those lines reads in The Message. "God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. " (Psalm 51:10, The Message)

A persistent theme in the Scripture is restoration.  God is a restorer who reaches out to offer a new perspective, to erase our guilt, to create a whole new way for us where there seems to be no way.  The grand culmination of earthly history is a renewal of all things.  In the final words of the Revelation, Jesus says,  “Look, I am making all things new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give the springs of the water of life without charge!" (Revelation 21:5-6, NLT)  We don’t have to wait for the Final Day to receive a fresh start.  He is here now.

Gather up the broken dreams, the sins, the mistakes, the failures; yes, even your ‘successes,’ and take them to Jesus Christ. Lay them down and leave them with Him.  God says, "And I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart." (Ezekiel 36:26, NLT)   Now, that’s a reboot. 

_________

Abba, I am deceived by illusions of self-sufficiency.

I think I can fix my life, create my own happiness;

But my sin deepens, my regrets multiply.

So, here I am, heart open; hands extended.

I ask for a fresh start, a new heart.

Take the chaos, and Spirit who rests on us

Draw something beautiful from it all.

Hold me close to You,

Whisper hope anew, the promise of life eternal.

In Jesus’ Name, I ask this.  Amen

Doodling in the dirt?

Doodling in the dirt?

The young man was passionate, stating his convictions in unambiguous terms.  To him, it was an issue of stark black and white, no room for compassion! Then I pointed out a person sitting about 5 feet away who was what he condemned.  Thankfully, he was not so self-righteous as to be unaware of how his words were heard. He blushed as he realized how unloving his words were at that moment.

Truth and love; are they in conflict or are they complementary? 
Need we toss our convictions about what is right and true overboard in order to be a person who is loving and accepting? 
Or, flipping that around, need we jettison love and respect for others so that we can remain committed to our convictions about the truth?

Christians living in a culture of tolerance find themselves in this struggle all the time. Those with a high view of Scriptural authority do not have the luxury of re-writing passages that deal with sexual behavior, with divorce, with roles in the family, with discrimination,  with materialism, even with the exclusive claims of Christ as Savior.  The Word speaks to those issues compelling us to yield our will to God’s revelation. There is Truth to be found and the Lord promises that we will find His highest purpose when we submit ourselves to Him.  Yet, in the middle of this, the Gospels show us a life of love, illustrated clearly in the Man who is Truth personified, yet one full of deeply authentic love for all.

In the 8^th chapter of John we learn about the powerful transformation that comes when Truth and Love act in concert.  A woman was dragged before Jesus by men who loved the Truth!  “She is a sinner,” they said without thought for her. “What are You going to do about it?” they challenged Him.  She was an adulterer. There was no question about her guilt.  The Lord saw more than a ‘sin’ standing in front of Him. He saw a person. "Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.” Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt." (John 8:6-8, The Message)  Why did He doodle in the dirt? Didn’t He feel any urgency to straighten out this situation? No, in fact, He didn’t.  Our first mistake in our love of the Truth is feeling like we have to fix all the wrong in us and others today.  Salvation is a kind of healing and it’s a process.  Need we wade into somebody’s life swinging the sword of truth when we barely know them or their situation?  Jesus called on these men to recognize their own need, too.  

 Truth is much more complex when we see it in the context of our own duplicity of nature! After the men’s hearts were pierced by the Spirit’s conviction, and they wandered off quietly, He turns to the woman.  He does not minimize her choices to sin. Instead, He offers her love and  challenge: "Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”  (John 8:10-11, NIV)

Sometimes the most loving thing we can do is take some time to doodle in the dirt. While we’re at it; we pray, we think, we listen, and we learn to be led by the Spirit. The glory of God’s judgment is that it is not set ‘in the moment,’ but emerges from the full context of our lives.  Oh yes, He holds us accountable for our choices.  The Man who hung on the Cross in love is also the One who sits on the Judgment Seat.  But, in his infinite wisdom, He weaves all the threads of our life together.  He sees the whole picture, knowing why we did what we did, knowing how we might have made a better choice, and He is our Advocate!  It makes me want to shout, “Hallelujah, what a Savior!”

Here’s a word from the Word.  Notice the uncompromising Truth set in contrast to the amazing Love.  I pray it will give you the same kind of hope that I find in the promise of salvation and that it cause both you and me to be people who know how to take some time to doodle in the dirt before we take on all those sinners who live around us. "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him." (1 John 1:8-2:5, NIV)

___________

You are my life,

O precious Christ!

You are to me

The pearl of greatest price.

O holy fire,

Love's purest light!

Burn all desires ‘till

You are my one delight.

O conquering King,

Conquer my heart!

And make of me a pleasing gift to God.

I come to You.

I run to You.

There's no greater joy

Than knowing You.

My love for You will never die.

Jesus You are my life!

Jesus You Are My Life

Steve Fry

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