Epic or Holocaust? —just depends…

The prospects were bleak. The odds overwhelming. Most everyone else had retreated trembling to await their fate. They had no weapons for defense. Their leader had a sword but no idea what to do with it… They were stuck, helpless, like sheep without a shepherd while wolves ravage the flock.

The story is a very old one. Its setting is the stuff of an Epic, or a Holocaust, just depends whether a hero rises to the occasion.

Could it be a faint reflection too of the state of the Church in our own times? The world, the flesh and the Devil pose a daunting threat. The troops are 'caving' and vast numbers have misplaced their one Divine-issue offensive weapon—"the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

But there's hope, there always is when you're on the winning side, right? And there is a hero ready to step out and see what can be done. He's only one man, but he has a sword and he has armor (and a friend to help him carry it!) No, this is not the tale of David and Goliath. But perhaps the lesson is the same. Big enemy, but bigger God.

It just takes someone willing to believe it, and to step up courageously in His name, sword in hand, to see what God will do.

That someone was Jonathan. While his fellow countrymen scurried to hide themselves in caves and holes and rocks and tombs and cisterns(!)
I Sam.13:6 Jonathan looked at his armor-bearer and said, "Come on, let's go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised… It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few." I Samuel 14:6 He was ready and willing to step out 'as is' with just a young lad and a sword at his side, and see how God might choose to intervene.

It would be just chapters later that the young David, would challenge the mindset of the culture surrounding him with similar words: "For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" I Sam.17:26 No wonder he and Jonathan became bosom buddies! Each lived seeing beyond the visible enemy to the Invisible God--Lord of Heaven's Armies. And each in his turn dared to step out and see what God would do.

And God was pleased to act. Jonathan's sword took down twenty men in short order. Panic ensued. As did an earthquake! Now it was the enemy's turn to tremble in their boots. Mass confusion ensued and soon the enemy was destroying itself and fleeing in droves. "So the LORD saved Israel that day." I Sam.14:23 But it all started with a man saying, "Come on, let's go over and have a look...and see what the Lord will do."

Where does this kind of God-confidence come from? I'm pretty sure of one thing—it's not caught from hanging out in a cave commiserating with woe-be-gone companions about how bad things are. They are, no doubt about that. The enemy is strong. But we are God's people! And we've been given His Word. In it we are given all that we need for life and godliness in any age, (II Pet.1:3,4) because in it is the knowledge of God and of His commitments to His people via great and precious promises which are for all time.

Sin is rampant, in and out of the church, and no less destructive than the fiercest Philistine raiding party! But God's power to transform us is greater. He invites us to escape 'the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire' II Pet.1:4, again, by taking Him at His Word.

How then do we keep our confidence in the LORD of Heaven's armies, so that we are ready and willing to step out in faith and see what He will do on our respective battlefields?

I can't help noticing that sword Jonathan held. It was one of only two swords available to the Israelite army. (His father, King Saul, held the other one) Their oppressors had seen to it that they had no weapons with which to defend themselves. This is not the case for the North American church. We have Bibles aplenty! My hunch is that the reason we lack Jonathan's courage to emerge from our holes and see what God will do, is that we are more familiar with the culture that surrounds us than we are with God's Word.

Could it be that our culture has shaped our mindsets about sin, our selves and our God, more than God's Word has?

I love the Word. But it's been a long while since I read the whole of it. And with the New Year I've been considering what changes to make in the way I read it. I've slipped into a rather 'devotional' approach to reading (more on that another time?) geared toward finding nuggets for me rather than just reading for what God wants to reveal about HIMSELF! So I'm taking on a new system of reading that I'm really excited about.

I've read the Bible through before but never this way. And already, in just a week's time I'm encouraged by seeing the Big Picture of a Big and Holy God who is intent on Redeeming small and sinful man, no matter what. The theme is there over and over again, no matter what book or chapter you read, but it's never so plain as when you read across various genres and books in one sitting. And that is my new plan.

I've outlined it in detail on a stand-alone 'page' at the top of my homepage. Just look for the tab that says, ‘JUST READ IT!’.  And I'd love it if you'd join me this year for the grand tour of God's Words to man across the centuries. So may we be ready to step out and see what our great God will do despite overwhelming odds. He is able!

--LS

"The LORD of Heaven's Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress." ^{Ps. 46:7}

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,…" Eph.6:17,18

"To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." II Thess.1:11-12 ESV

Planting Seeds…

When spring springs cold and the ground lies chill and sodden it’s a risk to plant seeds.

The seed may rot in the ground before it can germinate, or be scavenged by a watchful crow.
The seed may sprout only to succumb to ‘damping off’ disease.
The seedling may emerge to beckon a voracious slug and become his lunch.
The plants may fail to thrive for want of a better soil, a better season, a better care-taker.
Mysterious maladies, competitive willow-tree roots, invisible predators may secretly sabotage the whole crop by day. Or by night a blundering bear or hungry deer may un-do a whole season of diligence.

Why plant?

So I hang onto my seeds--boxes and envelopes and recycled plastic containers of them… from last year’s harvest, and the year’s before and before that… My cupboard grows cluttered with them. The names and the pictures stir hopeful ideals. But the planting of them seems so treacherous an alternative, so risky. I fancy the harvests they could produce but cling impotent to their potential in the package, fearful of the sowing. Yet how will a seed have any hope of growing to flower and fruit if it stays in my hoard for ‘safe-keeping’? There is no hope where the seed is not planted. It may seem safe, but it will die inside its shell over time. Its potential can only be realized where risk is taken.

The promises of God are like that. Seeds, that must be planted in the ground of life-as-it-is, by faith. Seeds that must be watched over in undying hope. When the promises of God are planted like seed in ground that is hard, and circumstances that loom destructive, to hope in their fulfillment is a daunting thing.

A child may well be hopeful when he plants his first bean seed in a cup in a sunny window, just knowing a miracle will happen. But what happens when his experience has brought disappointment? Or frustration. Or discouragement. How do we keep hope alive and keep planting those seeds?

I read that tough times are good for us; they breed endurance (how many times have I been reminded that I need to develop perseverance?) But that’s not all; endurance produces ‘experience’(KJV), or in other words, ‘proven character’, which in turn is supposed to yield hope (Rom.5). What then has derailed in my process of learning hope? Why am I so prone to ‘casting away my confidence’? I stood out in the garden leaning on my shovel staring off into space the other day and just felt the whole enterprise was hopeless. Plagued with such insinuations, I struggled through an afternoon of weeding and turning earth and finally managed to transplant some vulnerable seedlings from their safe hothouse to the wide world of the garden. I even tucked some sunflower seeds in the ground in hopes of glory to come. But I must say, the process which is usually a therapeutic ‘fix’ of soil and sun, was a struggle to hope against hope, and keep going. It was oppressive, these almost audible messages of hopelessness that overlaid my every thought and move that afternoon in the garden.

Ha! Did I say I was wondering about the ‘fight of faith’? Is it a real fight? This was more than an afternoon with the plants. It was a ‘heads-up’ to shore up my weaknesses in the area of persevering in hope and learning to ‘take every thought captive’. If the garden be the battleplace, then so be it. I’ve got to get training somewhere! Abraham stands as my hero of faith: “Who against hope believed in hope” (Rom.4:18) His hope lay in the future, secure in God’s unchanging promises. The fruitfulness of my garden has no such guarantee, but the fruitfulness of my life must be pegged to God’s promise and faithfulness—I am heir to Abraham’s promise: ‘Surely I will bless you and multiply you’ and to the sure hope of the ‘glory of God’. The fact that God has vowed it and it’s impossible for Him to lie gives us a refuge to flee to and “strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us” (Heb. 6:18).

Truth is, I find I don’t have all the answers to responding when doubts fly. That day in the garden singing the old hymns was a start. Filling my mouth with thanks to God for every little thing I could see (and the things I can’t yet see that I’m trusting Him for) helped. By prayer, turning all my efforts over to Him for whatever results--only that His Kingdom come, His will be done on this piece of earth and in this heart and in the lives of those my prayers touch… these are the seeds I planted that afternoon while I plugged away at pulling weeds and turning soil and tucking little seedling into place in hopes of brighter days to come…

For every little prayer of faith is a seed planted. As it must be planted in hopes of what is not yet seen, that means I open myself to potential for disappointment--a big bad word in the book of my personality. But I’m called to confidently plant seeds anyway for the Kingdom’s sake. Will cold springs and damp rot, slugs, insidious roots and wild animals thwart my best efforts? Perhaps. My call is to be faith-filled, to persevere, and to plant the seeds God supplies. The rest is up to Him.

And seriously, I do have some beans to get planting, come what may, today!

--LS

‘Though the fig tree should not blossom
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail
And the fields produce no food…
Yet I will exult in the LORD,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.’
Hab.3:17,18


‘Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character,
and character produces hope,
and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.’ Rom.5:2-5


'Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.' Ps.31:24


'Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.' Ja.5:7,8


'For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.' Heb.10:36

'Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.' II Cor.9:10,11

P.S. If you’ve read all the way down here to the very last morsel, may I bless you with some faith-building  music I found this week? Laura Story has her own story of trusting God through real trials—her husband is facing a brain tumor.  The  songs of trust and praise that this has yielded are precious.  A playlist of her songs is available on YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CSVqHcdhXQ&feature=BFa&list=AV4oVf-d_DwKDCIGIf8Ri4NE-9jfiELxTu&index=1

Don’t miss “Blessings”   and  “Perfect Peace” (my favorites)!

 –LS

Thy Kingdom Come

A couple blogs ago I was thinking about the why and wherefore of the promises of God, wondering: Could it be that our generation has collected promises selectively, choosing the ones that cater to our earth-bound comforts and overlooking the others?  Or maybe it’s just that our whole orientation to the ‘why’ of the promises is warped.  They’re not about us, but about Kingdom living, about God’s character, about where He wants our focus.

I had an email in response, introducing me to “Dog and Cat Theology”. Huh-what? No, this isn’t something sponsored by the SPCA, and I agree, the terminology sounds almost sacrilegious, but here’s what it’s about:

‘Using an illustration of "cats and dogs" and how each relates to its master, Cat n Dog Theology challenges Christians to see how we tend, like a cat, to use our Master mainly for getting what we want. The illustration points out the difference between "us living for God" and "God living for us". The average Christian while saying he lives his life for God is actually living his life to get from birth to death in the safest, softest, easiest and most comfortable fashion possible -- and often just uses God to keep him safe, soft, easy and comfortable - and to keep the difficulties, trials, tragedies and adversities away’ (Dr. Gerald D Robison)

Oh. Ouch. Sort of a ‘me-ology’ rather than a ‘theo-logy’ which is none so subtle when you picture it. If you’ve ever known a border collie or a ‘Garfield’ you can conjure up the analogy nicely in your mind. The border collie is all-eyes on the master, awaiting his command, eager, ready, living to carry out his every wish. Garfield is, well, more intent on the service due him. Not a very complimentary comparison.

The trouble begins with thinking God’s promises are there to enhance my comfort, guarantee my success or otherwise establish my ‘kingdom’.  What are they for?  To hang onto like good luck charms?  To bring us success?  When the idealism of youth fades with the experience of age into guarded skepticism, people who once claimed to believe now accuse God of failing to keep His part of the deal.* They have counted on things that haven’t materialized or been deeply hurt by unexpected losses. What promises were they claiming that are not a part of the package deal? What am I believing that’s not part of the ‘bargain’? What exactly has God promised? And where do my hopes lie?

That hallmark passage on faith—the Hebrews 11 “Hall of Fame”-- ends with this sobering reminder: “And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised…”.  They looked forward to a salvation they did not see.  Jesus had not yet come.  Did they feel ‘blessed’ (as heirs with Abraham of the blessing) as they were being sawn in two or wandering destitute? Only by faith is there ability to ‘count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds’ (James 1:2) Our full redemption is yet future. The trials are readying us for it.

At the beginning of every homeschool year I used to set time aside to find specific encouragement from the Word for my year and to see what God had in mind for our year’s focus. Inevitably promises would come to my attention, often promises directed originally to Israel—and I would take them for my own and inscribe them in my teacher’s notebook to keep before me throughout the year, to encourage me in my endeavors to teach my kids…I look back now and wonder whether I misunderstood some of those words. Where I expected fulfillment that very year in the form of x, y, or z, could God have had a far bigger picture in mind that spanned whole lifetimes? If all my children are to be ‘taught of the Lord’ did that end with Grade 12? Did it show in their being super scholars with top grades? Did they love school and devote themselves to theology studies? Or is this process an ongoing lifelong learning under His patient tutelage, for mother and children alike? Every year I wanted a new promise for a fantastic year--something to fuel my hopes.

Now I’m old enough to know that every year isn’t spectacular and not all learning is a love affair, nor is every teacher an endless inspiration (I wasn’t anyway!) Some of my former students are loathe to crack another book. One is an avid reader. None is keen on more school. But what of the promises of God? I will always run into trouble (and disillusionment) when I think the promises of God are about the success of my Kingdom (my endeavors) and forget that ultimately His promises are about His Kingdom purposes. They reveal to me His eternal intentions, based on His character. They aren’t primarily for my benefit and my pleasure except as I am a steward of His Kingdom and fulfilling His purposes.  And I may not see now how they fit into the plans He is working out through me. Promises call for patience, some of them right up till the coming of the Lord! Am I content to be the patient farmer waiting for rain and the growing of the crop that is under his care, but beyond his ability to produce? (See: James 5:7,8)

I look at Paul’s prayers for the believers he was ‘growing’ and am struck by their focus. Nothing here about material comfort or success but everything about comprehending their inheritance in God so that they can be fruitful for His glory and the sake of His Kingdom….

--that your love may abound…….so you’ll be blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness TO THE GLORY OF GOD (Phil1:9ff)

--that you may know His will……so you’ll walk in a worthy manner, bearing fruit, growing in knowing God…grateful to be part of His Kingdom (Col.1:9ff)

--that you may know Him, and the hope, inheritance, and power that come with that! (Eph.1:16ff)

--that you may comprehend the love of Christ and be filled with it. (Eph.3:16ff)

He admonishes them in terms of their Kingdom calling: ‘Walk in a manner worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.’ (ITh.2:12), always looking beyond present troubles to a future hope and living in terms of it—“our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a Saviour… who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body!” (Phil.3:20,21) “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.” (Phil.3:2)

I am asking myself this week:
What if I were to live as if the Kingdom of God were the most important thing? as if the gathering together of everything under the headship of Christ were really the goal of life (Eph.1:10)…how would that change the way I look at today? If I saw all the sad things, bad things, hard things and glad things, yes, and even the ‘same old’ things that I face on any given day—as opportunities to further the Kingdom of God, as chances to further His agenda in my life and those around me… and the means? His power, His promises, His gifts through His body…And me? just a cog in the works, a joint of the whole, a steward with a mina, an heir of this Kingdom I am contributing to by my service!

Can I re-orient my thinking to seek first His Kingdom, think first of His perspective, pursue always His glory and  hang onto His promises as tools to these ends?  I can make a beginning in prayer:

Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done on earth, just like it’s done in Heaven—without question, without grumbling, without obstacle or delay--today, in my life, in my family. Make us Kingdom-seekers, with mindsets transcending the ‘now’. Teach us to “do all things without grumbling or questioning, that [we] may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom [we] shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life…” (Phil.2:14-15)

To God be the glory for the great things He will do in each of us as we trust in His promises and pursue His calling “Today”.

“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
II Cor 1:20-22

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful”.Heb 10:23


--LS

P.S. *If there is anyone in your life who has grown disillusioned with the Christian life, I highly commend this book to you:
Has Christianity Failed You? by Ravi Zacharias
For an overview of what it contains see my review at: http://thestackofdawn.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html

Too Good to be True

Here they are-- the same disciples who have given their lives to follow Jesus and learn from Him. Just days before, Jesus had  found them ‘sleeping for sorrow’ in the garden--exhausted with grief that He was to be taken from them (Lk.22:45). And now they are disbelieving for joy! He has indeed risen from the dead. The women have already seen him but their testimony was thought to be an ‘idle tale’ Lk.24:11 So now Jesus has appeared to the eleven—inviting them to see his hands and feet and know that He is no ghost! Having seen, they ‘disbelieved for joy’. It seemed just too good to be true. He has to ask for something to eat to bring them to their senses.

And yet, these are His chosen witnesses, chosen to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins to all the nations, beginning here in Jerusalem where they are presently huddling.

This phrase: “they disbelieved for joy” jumped off the page at me this week as I finished up the Gospel of Luke trying to imagine what that first “Easter” week was like. How many things do I likewise disbelieve because they are just too good to be true? Not that I would say I don’t believe them but... perhaps actions speak louder than words?

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me… when I am weak, then I am strong…the joy of the Lord is my strength…Be strong in the Lord—the power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in me… all authority has been given to my commander who authorizes me therefore to go in His name and make disciples…

Furthermore, I have been given everything that pertains to life and to godliness through the knowledge of the One who calls me to share His own glory and excellence. (II Pet.1:3) And here we come full circle. It is through His promises that I partake of His nature. Through His promises I escape my own sinful bents.


What has He promised? What did He promise those first disciples? Jesus knew it was going to take more than seeing to propel them to go and tell the news. And the world would need more than their eyewitness account to believe and repent. So Jesus promised them His presence in the form of His Holy indwelling Spirit. “I am sending the promise of my Father upon you.”(Lk.24:49)

Do I have any less than that? This same Spirit is the seal of my salvation, the guarantee of my inheritance to come, the One who lives in me to strengthen, teach, empower, and remind me whose I am! I’m His--accepted in the beloved, created in Christ Jesus for good works that He’s already got planned, chosen to bear fruit, given all the resources of Heaven to accomplish this end. What more is there?


There’s a learning to walk by this Spirit, and live by faith in His leading—to keep step with Him.  It occurs to me that this same message we are called to preach, we are first called to live.  That is, repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  Do we ever outgrow it? This is good news that keeps on being good—not too good to be true, but sometimes we act like it is.  How often have I wallowed along through an hour or an afternoon or a whole day or week in some frame of mind not characterized by ‘righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’, missing out because I fail to confess where I’m at and agree with God about it!  “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven!” (Ps.32:1)  I get what David’s saying when he finally got sick and tired of groaning about in coddled sin and determined, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD” and lo and behold—“You forgave the iniquity of my sin”  SELAH!  If there was ever a TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE—that would be one.  It’s a promise we can live on:  If  we confess our sins, He’s faithful and just to forgive and cleanse…(I Jn 1:9)

Funny thing is, when I try to enumerate these ‘precious and very great promises’ that Peter refers to as being so effectual in a believer’s life, I tend to come up with a lot of ‘me’ oriented blessings.  And my list tends to be things I want now…

What I see instead in Peter’s words is that  the promises aren’t primarily for my comfort and blessing, but to re-orient me from sinful desires to God’s desires, in fact His nature.  For it is in His promises that I see His eternal purpose—His Kingdom agenda…"so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire."
The other thing you can’t miss in reading II Peter, is the promise that’s on Peter’s mind as he is writing.  It’s one we hardly think about in modern times, certainly not a promise we hear preached.  It has gotten to seem rather ho-hum, rather too incredible to be true in my generation.  It is the promise of Jesus' coming. 

"Where is the promise of his coming?” scoffers will say.(3:4)
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness”(3:9)
“But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”(3:13)

This isn’t the first promise that comes to mind for me.  It seems so far off, so disconnected to my present needs.  And yet it is this very promise that Peter says will have a purifying effect on the way we live.(3:14)   Could it be that our generation has collected promises selectively, choosing the ones that cater to our earth-bound comforts and overlooking the others?  Or maybe it’s just that our whole orientation to the ‘why’ of the promises is warped.  They’re not about us, but about Kingdom living, about God’s character, about where He wants our focus.

But I am wandering far abroad from the disciples ‘disbelieving for joy’ [I have in mind a Part II: “What God hath not promised!” But that’s for another time.]   Let me get back to the  joy and the wonder of Jesus being alive in us through His Spirit.  Jesus declares us blessed for believing even though we haven’t seen Him.(Jn.20:29)  And judging from His patience with Thomas, He will walk us through our areas of unbelief too: "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe" (Jn. 20:27) till we are chock-full and overflowing with the joy.  

“…whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.” (I Pet.1:8,9)


And isn’t that what the promises are for?  to give us hope to hang onto so faith can grow strong until our salvation is complete!  Incredible.  Let’s believe with joy!

--LS


“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Rom.15:13)

ALMS? ALMS? ALMS for the POOR?

My thoughts have been all over the place this week but this image of begging for alms has captured my imagination.  Beth Moore did a Bible Study on a woman’s prayer life which included this image of a cup held out to God to fill… and I got to thinking about the poor of Jesus’ day.  What did the Good News mean to them? Is there any application to my own life? 

Jesus said He came to “proclaim good news to the poor”(Lk.4:18). What good news?  And why did He call the poor blessed? What did He offer them?  We know He healed the sick, fed the hungry crowds, and even raised the dead.  What did He offer the poor?  On the one hand He assumed there would always be poor people and He did not hand out money, or create jobs for them.  But He clearly saw them as potentially blessed, fortunate, in a good position for all he had to offer…"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”(Lk.6:20)


Now, I know we can sanitize this and customize it to ourselves with the sense that it is the ‘poor in spirit’ that He meant and this is partially true, but I wonder if there’s more to it.  I investigated the implications of “poor” [Thanks to  BLUELETTERBIBLE ] and found that this use does not refer to merely a pauper or day laborer who scrapes by due to his hard work.  It means a beggar, destitute in every way—lacking not only money but significance, powerless to improve his lot, absolutely dependent on the alms of others. It is related to the concept of roving about in cowering wretchedness out of fear.

I have difficulty relating to this physically given my standard of living.  Who of us in this culture is so bereft?  And why does Jesus single out the poor as His favorites?  I’ve been mulling this over, even looking to identify any beggarly elements in my life that have not responded to the Good News of the Kingdom!  What is that news?  Do we miss the fullness of it because we are not in actual fact destitute physically?  What does the beggar have that Jesus commends?

He has an empty cup that he’s desperate to have filled.

He is not self-satisfied or distracted with comforts or oblivious to his state.  His outstretched hand demonstrates his need.

He’s not rushing about spending money for ‘what is not bread’ and working his life away for ‘what does not satisfy’. He’s all ears, and all eyes for some passerby that will plink in a coin.  In short, he’s dependent on mercy.


God’s economy is so full of paradoxes. The beggar is rewarded with a Kingdom while the rich have no inheritance -- He fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty (Lk 1:53) -- He gives strength to the weak and humbles the mighty…

He’s always on the look-out for a hungry heart, an alms-cup if you will, to fill and empower. "For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” (II Chron 16:9)  And He’s not impressed by our assessment of our condition when our hearts deceive us into thinking we are adequately filled:

“For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” (Rev.3:17)

A poor beggar doesn’t have these delusions. He’s bankrupt and knows it.

It’s possible to be so deluded that I worship what is mere ashes and cannot see the lie in my hand (Is.44:20).  Scary.  This is the pull of idolatry.  No wonder God constantly called his people to remember where their possessions came from. To remember that all they were blessed with was a love gift from the One who was their very source of life.  I love that passage in Deuteronomy where Moses goes over these things with the Israelites and reminds them God has set His love upon them and they are His chosen and treasured possession (7:6,7)

This is in fact the good news to the poor and powerless.  God invites such to know Him, to share His inheritance, to be filled with His Spirit, to live in His power… The Bible is replete with invitations to come to Him, be filled with Him, delight in Him*…He wants to fill my cup to overflowing—to be as living water to me, eternally springing up.  If that is not my experience hadn’t I better have a look in my cup and see what’s in there?

Is it possible that ‘the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things’ (Mk.4:19) have entered in to choke out this life He offers?  No wonder Jesus gives so many warnings about riches.

The potential hazard with hanging onto a half-empty cup (which is all you get when you count on the world for alms) is that it invites filling by all the wrong things. Or as Beth Moore puts it: “An unsatisfied soul is a stronghold waiting to happen.” God’s word pictures it this way: "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Jer.2:13


Still God invites our response to His unwavering love, invites us to fill our hearts only with Him and accept no substitutes.

“Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.” Is.55:2,3

“Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.” Jonah 2:8

He urges us to hold loosely to all other possessions and persons (Lk.14:33) and seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness.  All the rest will be added on, and our cup filled in the process.

Maybe we can begin where David recommends: “Pour out your heart before him…” (Ps.62), emptying the cup so He can fill it with the Real Thing—Himself. "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." Jn.7:37,38 


God is the ultimate alms giver.  These reflections have spurred me on to be sure to get my cup filled in secret with Him so I can leave my post as beggar and follow Him.  Not sure what all that will entail practically but I’m pretty sure it has to start with the exchange of my poverty of heart for His love, “…And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” (Eph.3:19)


I want this to be my prayer:
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Ps.90:14


--LS

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The more I see in the Word the more I see how rich I am in Him.  I can’t quit without enumerating some of the ALMS freely given us as converted beggars and now sons and daughters of the King!

As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and [yet] possessing all things .II Cor6:10


And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. II Cor12:9,10


I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me….Phil.4:13


Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? James 2:5


I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Rev.3:18-19


Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.Lk.12:32-34


He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Rom.8:32


Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. Is.55:2


"Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Zeph.3:16,17

A Forgotten Prayer

“Don’t be afraid, your prayer has been heard.” Lk.1:12


Everyone was praying.  Zechariah too, on duty burning incense.  An angel appears bearing God’s reply.  Zechariah is dumb-founded.  Had he not expected a response?  Had he given up believing?  But the God who does more than we can even ask or think (and never forgets a prayer) had a surprise in store for him.  Not only would there be a baby in his old age, but this would be a son, a special son-- filled with the Holy Spirit before he was even born, a son who would be ‘great before the Lord’ (Lk.1:15)


Zechariah had wanted a son and had prayed.  How long had it been since he had stopped asking, stopped hoping, stopped planting the seed?  But God had not forgotten the faith He’d planted in Zechariah’s heart.

And I wonder, what prayer have I prayed long ago with high hopes and young eagerness that has now dwindled in the face of unfulfillment.  Or perhaps faded into cynical disillusionment.  Things don’t ‘seem’ to be turning out as I’d dreamed.  Time to check the dreams against the promises of God to my heart perhaps.  What has He promised?  Am I planting seeds of faith, praying with hope, looking eagerly for God’s intervention in my days?

Zechariah is left quite literally dumb-founded.  Skeptical of the angel’s good news he is left unable to voice his doubt. “You will be silent, unable to speak because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”Lk.1:20 In silence he will wait to see God perform His purpose.  He will have no say in the matter.  But he does have a role to play—when his days in the temple are complete he will go home and celebrate with his wife.  And in God’s time, God’s promise will be fulfilled.  Despite Zechariah’s lapse of faith, God remains faithful.  How reassuring.   But perhaps for me it is not yet too late to call to remembrance the promises given, the prayers prayed in eager faith, and to echo a different reply, Mary’s reply.

When this same angel, Gabriel, came to Mary she asked for some clarification of how his words would come true but was commended for believing.  She had the benefit of hearing Zechariah and Elizabeth’s miracle story of course and the reminder that with God ‘nothing will be impossible’.  Then she simply responded: “Let it be to me according to your word.”  That’s the kind of heart response I want to have. 
Let’s share our miracle stories and remind each other that nothing is impossible for our God… then let’s unearth those old God-given hopes and prayers and waft them to heaven like sweet incense while we wait and celebrate what is yet to be.  And we shall see what God will do, when the time is right.



“Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” Lk.1:45