by R. Herbert | Aug 4, 2014 | Service
The words of Jesus concerning how many times we must forgive others – “till seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22) – are words every Christian knows and tries to keep in mind, but do we apply this principle in other, more positive areas?
Consider the story of Joshua. We remember Joshua as the great military leader who oversaw the conquest of the Promised Land, yet Joshua does not seem to have started out as a fearless leader. We see that in instructing him, Moses told Joshua twice to “be strong and courageous” (Deuteronomy 31:6-7), and when God formally commissioned him, He told Joshua to “be strong and courageous” (Deuteronomy 31:23). Then, again, in the opening chapter of the Book of Joshua God tells him three times to “be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6,7,9), and even the people of Israel encourage Joshua to “be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:18). So the man who became a great leader was encouraged on at least seven occasions to have the strength and courage he needed, then the statement doesn’t appear again. Eventually, in fact, once he grew in confidence, we find Joshua using exactly these same words to encourage the Israelites (Joshua 10:25)! Just as God, Moses and the people continued to encourage Joshua until he had gained experience and confidence, it is only as we persevere with encouragement and help that people come to where they don’t need it to the same degree.
When we look elsewhere in the Bible we see many other examples of this willingness to help others in an ongoing manner, to do good to them as many times as it might take. In the New Testament, the story of the Good Samaritan is an excellent example. The Samaritan did not just give some first-aid to the man in the ditch and go on his way – he worked through the problem step by step, with repeated actions: “He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’” (Luke 10:34-35).
In the same way, Paul tells us: “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak…” (Romans 15:1 ESV), and the plural “failings” or “weaknesses” does not just mean at one time, but through time – as long as there is a need. This is why Paul also tells us: “Let us not become weary in doing good” (Galatians 6:9), because the needs of others are often ongoing and at no time do we reach a point where we have “done enough” if a need still exists. If we can embrace the concept of forgiving others “till seventy times seven,” perhaps we should also be willing to continue to help others keeping this same attitude in mind.
by R. Herbert | Jul 31, 2014 | Growth
As the twelve tribes of ancient Israel neared the land they had been promised, two and a half tribes – Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh – looked at the land where they were on the eastern side of the Jordan River and compared it to the wilderness they had come through (Numbers 32).
Viewed from their new standpoint on the edge of the Promised Land, the eastern side of the Jordan looked good. Perhaps it wasn’t exactly flowing in milk and honey, but it certainly seemed better than the desert through which they had come. Moses tried to dissuade the two and a half tribes, but they insisted that it was what they wanted, so he allowed them to stay on the “outside” of the Promised Land, except for fulfilling their responsibility to help the other tribes in the conquest.
So under Joshua’s leadership, the men of the “Transjordan” tribes had to leave their wives and families and go with the other tribes to fight the inhabitants of Canaan (Joshua 1:12-16). When the dust settled, the men of the two and a half tribes were able to return to their homes, but they had seen first-hand the choice areas they could have inherited had they not chosen second best. Ironically, they still had to fight even though they had relinquished any part of the “first place” prize. But worse than that, the second place area they accepted was not as well protected, and was on the border of several of Israel’s enemies, the Ammonites, Edomites and Moabites. Their prize just wasn’t as good as it could have been.
In what areas of our lives do we accept “second place” without pushing for the best prize? In school or college we can accept less than what we could accomplish in assignments or grades if we just pushed a little harder. As young adults we may accept second best if we marry the first person who comes along. As spouses and parents we take second in one of life’s most important areas if we stop trying to develop our relationships with our mates and children. And as older people we take second best if we presume we are past doing anything much productive with our lives. We can be unconsciously accepting second best in any area of our physical lives if we accept what is “OK” but not great.
Just as importantly, in our relationship with God, do we settle for second place in being content with where we feel we are in our development at any particular point, just keeping up a comfortable routine? Or do we keep looking for ways we can keep growing, helping, pushing to accomplish more of what really matters?
Every runner knows that as a race progresses, if you stop pushing harder, you start falling back. Perhaps that analogy is worth keeping in mind. In the ancient Olympics and other athletic games and contests, there were no “second place winners” – only the first place finisher for each event was considered a victor. The names of those achieving second and third place were not even recorded. This is why the apostle Paul wrote: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24). We should run our Christian lives as though there were only a first place prize; we should live as though we will not settle for less. Like the ancient two and a half tribes of Israel, we will still have to keep fighting even if we do settle for less. So if we are going to have to run anyway for second place, why not run that bit harder, as Paul urges us, for first? And remember, in the Christian race we are really only competing against ourselves. So why settle for second place when everyone can win?
by R. Herbert | Jul 28, 2014 | Discipleship
Many believers do not realize that the term “Christian” is actually one which arose relatively late in the development of “Christianity.” Acts 11:26 tells us that as the new church developed, the disciples were first called Christians in the Syrian city of Antioch. This was a cosmopolitan city with a diverse population, and the believers were perhaps called Christians (from the Greek word Christos – the “Anointed One” or “Messiah”) to distinguish them from Jews in the area.
So if the believers were not called by the name of Christ at first, what were they called and how did they refer to their beliefs? The believers were certainly known as “disciples” and referred to themselves as “brothers,” “members of the household of God” and even “saints,” but the earliest known term describing what these early believers believed, the religion they followed, was simply “the Way.” Acts 9:2 tells us that Saul sought to apprehend believers: “… so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.” (See also Acts 18:25-26, Acts 19:9 and other instances.)
Now why was early Christianity referred to as “the Way”? Interestingly, Judaism had long thought of the Torah as a “way” in that it dictated a way of life which was synonymous with walking rightly before God, a way of righteousness described in the Book of Isaiah: “…This is the way; walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21b). The ancient Jewish Dead Sea Scroll community at Qumran also followed a “way” which, for them, was more a way of ritual and observance of the law.
But for the Christians there was a Messianic aspect to the term. Isaiah 40:3 (a verse quoted several times in the New Testament) says: “…prepare the way of the Lord…” and for the early disciples, Jesus, as the Messiah promised throughout the Hebrew scriptures, was the living embodiment of that way – and, of course, he himself had said: “I am the way.” But let’s look at that affirmation a little more closely – Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). In saying this Jesus made it clear that he was not only an embodiment of the right way of life, but he was also the “way” in the sense of being a road, a path, a way to the Father. This verse tells us, in fact, that Jesus is the only way to the Father. God is certainly a respecter of those everywhere who do good (Acts 10:34-35), but Christians accept the words of Christ that ultimately it is only through Him that we find the way to eternal life.
So this earliest of terms for Christianity carries a lesson within itself. It is very easy to think of Christianity as “a faith” – a distinct set of beliefs and doctrines to which we subscribe; but the words of Christ and the understanding of the earliest believers show that Christianity is not just “a set of beliefs,” but a way of life, and a way upon which we travel toward the person and nature of God. This “Way” involves the desire and effort to live as Christ did through Christ living in us and we in Him. “The Way” is not only about beliefs, though these are, of course, important – it is about how and where we walk.
And the way in which we walk may be the “narrow way” (Matthew 7:14), but it is not a single-lane pilgrim’s track – it is a way in which we share the walk with others: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another…” (1 John 1:7 and see also 1 John 2:9-11). This is something we see throughout the Book of Acts – the earliest Christians knew there was only one “Way,” and that our calling is to help others along that way as well as to walk in it ourselves.
by R. Herbert | Jul 23, 2014 | Overcoming, Warriors of the Way
They hurl toward us at thousands of miles a second; if it were not for the earth’s protective magnetic field, life on this planet would suffer massive amounts of radiation from the charged particles emitted from the sun. Also, if it weren’t for our planet’s magnetic field, our atmosphere would be gradually “worn away” by those solar particles knocking air molecules out into space.
Thankfully, as it is, Earth’s magnetic field acts as a giant shield from which most of the charged solar particles are deflected. Some, however, do stream down into the funnel-like weak fields at the magnetic poles, and those particles then collide with atmospheric gas molecules causing the surreally beautiful auroras we know as the “northern lights” and “southern lights.” Next time you see a photo of those auroral lights, or see the lights in the sky, be thankful for the invisible shield we have!
They streak through the sky at rocket-propelled speeds, and if it were not for the invisible overarching coverage of the anti-missile system known as the “Iron Dome” employed in Israel since 2011, the rockets fired by Hamas would strike many cities and other occupied areas, randomly killing thousands over time. It is a two-stage process. Carefully monitored radar batteries detect the incoming missiles and then protective counter-missiles are launched to intercept them. When Israelis see the effects of their Iron Dome system in action, they are thankful for the shield they have to protect them from the fiery missiles of their enemies.
They can flash into our minds at the speed of thought itself – wrong attitudes and specific thoughts of anger, or perhaps lust or greed. The apostle Paul tells us that we need a shield against these incoming threats as well: “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 3:16). The shield of faith is the Iron Dome and the magnetic field of Christian life. Like them, it is an invisible shield, but one without which we would be severely spiritually injured. Unlike the earth’s magnetic field, however, our spiritual shield doesn’t just sit there protecting us effortlessly. In that sense it is like the Iron Dome system that relies on careful radar monitoring of incoming missiles and then their destruction. For us it is the exercise of our faith that is our protection. This involves the same kind of continuous alertness to warnings and then action. We do this through regular study to be able to identify the real nature and threat of “incoming fire” on our spiritual “radar screens,”and then the application, in faith, of God’s help to route the attitudes and thoughts that are contrary to God’s way: “… taking every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5B).
“Incoming!” is one of the most urgent warnings in military life. Our mind’s warning of wrongful incoming influences should be a signal to us, too, that defensive action is necessary. It needn’t be stressful, however. The more diligent we are in utilizing the shield of faith, the more it becomes learned behavior; and we can concentrate on enjoying life and accomplishing what we need to do. That is after all the purpose of the magnetic field, of the Iron Dome, and of the shield of faith.
by R. Herbert | Jul 17, 2014 | Encouragement, Problems
“… those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint”
(Isaiah 40:31).
Isaiah’s wonderful lines regarding the renewing of our strength carry an even more encouraging message than we might immediately recognize. First, Isaiah compares our strengthening to the flight of eagles. Eagles have very large wings in relation to their body size – which doesn’t make them better “flappers” for flying, it makes them able to soar on air currents that carry them long distances and to great heights. They are wonderfully designed for this soaring flight and often spend only a couple of minutes out of any given hour actually flying on their own strength. In fact, without the air currents that lift and speed the eagle, it is actually not an impressive flyer. It requires a great amount of energy to flap those great wings and lift the large body, and it is as the eagle utilizes the power available to it from air currents that it soars and its strength is literally renewed and multiplied.
The analogy for those “who hope in the Lord” is obvious. We may be able to accomplish a certain amount on our own strength, but if we choose to accept the power of “the wind” (Acts 2:2), our strength is renewed and expanded and we can rise to much greater heights. But Isaiah doesn’t stop there. After comparing God’s strengthening of us to the flight of the eagle, he speaks about the strengthening of those who run and those who walk. These are clearly descending levels of strength and apparent accomplishment. Soaring is better than running, running better than walking.
We all have days when we feel that we spiritually soar with God’s help, others when we feel we are not that high, but are moving along steadily – running, as it were; and yet other days when we feel we are just plodding pilgrims slowly putting one foot in front of another. Some days, pain, worry, fatigue and failure take their toll on us, and we just don’t seem as spiritually energized. But that’s doubtless Isaiah’s point in the descending order of soaring, running and walking – God promises to strengthen us however our day is going.
In his excellent book If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat, John Ortberg makes the point that it is natural and not wrong that we have such widely different days. Jesus knew what it was to receive God’s strength to do His work on soaring days – days of healings and other miracles. He also must have experienced slower days when he had to cope with doubting and unbelieving friends as well as dealing with the hostility of enemies. And finally, Christ knew what it was like to need the strength even to walk – as he carried the heavy stake on which he was to be crucified. The truth is, if we seek God and stay close to Him, we can often soar – but we can’t always soar. Some days we soar and some days we just feel sore. As Ortberg perceptively concludes, sometimes it is just important that we keep going despite our weakness. In the last analysis sometimes it takes more character to walk than it does to soar. In those situations, Ortberg reminds us, maybe God prizes our walking even more than our running or soaring.
Recent Comments