Cedar of Lebanon

Psalm 92

 

 

“Those who do what is right will grow like a palm tree.
    They will grow strong like a cedar tree in Lebanon”.        

Psalm 92:12 NIRV

 

The cedars of Lebanon that the Psalmist wrote about, lived to be 120 feet tall and up to 30 feet in circumference. They were solid and strong; an immovable object. Here, the psalmist is using them as a metaphor for spiritually influential people.

 

In 2003 Mitch Albom released a book by the title of, “The Five People You Meet in Heaven”. It is a story about a man who dies at the age of 83 and goes to heaven where he meets five people whose lives were intertwined with his.

 

Each of us have people who have influenced us during our lives. Sometimes it has been in ways that we don’t even realize at the time, but God has used them to shape us and mold us to become the man or woman that we are today and will become in the future. They are the “cedars of Lebanon” in our lives.

 

Here is a brief summary of the five that come to mind for me:

 

• Bonnie was my high school girlfriend when I went away to college and as it turned out, she broke up with me. Weeks later I went for a walk in the winter night and fell to the ground crying out to God, “Why”!
• The following summer I met Ken. He invited me to a church that had a special interest for me – lots of pretty girls. God had other plans than romance for me though. Ken shared with me about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As a result, the direction of my life was changed forever.
• Ken invited me to a summer training program the next year in Lansing, Michigan. Following that summer, I dropped out of college and tried to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. Eventually, I developed a desire to “use basketball to share Christ with black inner-city boys”.
• Soon after that, a friend of one of my roommates called looking for volunteer basketball coaches for an inner-city ministry. Tom, and his boss Dick, eventually invited me to be on paid staff where I served for twenty-five years.
• In my first year as a volunteer I met Debbie who later became my wife. The rest is history as they say.

 

“It is good to say thank you to the Lord, to sing praises to the God who is above all gods. Every morning tell him, “Thank you for your kindness,” and every evening rejoice in all his faithfulness”.            Psalm 92:1-2 TLB

As I consider my list of five, I realize that God has been both kind and faithful to me over the years and decades. For that I am thankful. But it also occurs to me that maybe my list of five is not so much my “cedars of Lebanon” as God is. He is my “Cedar of Lebanon”. He is solid and strong; an immovable object. For that I am most thankful.

 

 

 

 

 

Good Guys Wear White Hats

Galatians 4:1-7

 

 

 

Rules are a part and parcel of our western world. If you break a rule, there are consequences, or at least there’s supposed to be. If you live by the rules, you’re considered a good guy. In terms of the old Western movies, you wear a white hat, because the bad guys, the rule breakers, wear black hats.

 

Paul knew well what it meant to live by the rules. In Philippians he referred to himself as, “a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless”. Paul lived according to the Law as well as anyone could. But it wasn’t enough.

 

Jesus spoke to the rich young ruler about the commandments. The ruler said that he had kept them all since he was a boy. You can hear his pride and self-righteousness in his words. But even before this exchange, Jesus had told him that only God is good. In other words, obeying the commandments can’t make you good. Uh oh. So much for white hats.

 

In Galatia, there were Judaizers, who were Jewish Christians. They believed that a number of the ceremonial practices of the Old Testament were still binding, and insisted that the Gentile believers abide by these, particularly circumcision. Paul responded in today’s passage with his attack on this belief.

 

“And that is the way it was with us before Christ came. We were slaves to Jewish laws and rituals, for we thought they could save us.  But when the right time came, the time God decided on, he sent his Son, born of a woman, born as a Jew,  to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law so that he could adopt us as his very own sons.”   Galatians 4:3-5 TLB

 

The Galatians, the rich young ruler and, before his conversion Paul, all thought that the Old Testament Law and rituals could save them. Clearly, that is not true. They are inferior to the freedom that we have that comes through Christ.

 

However, for us, it may not be the Jewish law and rituals, but our own set of rules and expectations; our own pride that leads to self-righteousness. Do we wear the right cloths; go to the right church; say the right things; pray in the right way? We have our own set of rules to make us feel like we wear a white hat, but that can enslave us in the same way that Paul described.

 

Bottom line: It’s not whether you wear a white hat or a black hat. It’s not about rules, but a relationship. It’s not about attending church, but being a child of God. It’s not about maintaining control, but surrendering control to Christ.

 

 

 

Friday Night Football

Galatians 4:1-7

 

Previous to my Senior year of high school, my Dad took a job in Morehead, Kentucky. However, I stayed and lived with family friends so that I could finish high school with my friends. At one point in the fall, my Dad returned to complete some final details for the move. While there, he attended my high school football game on a Friday night. Normally, I didn’t play much, but I really wanted to get into the game and make him proud.

 

Finally, the coach called my name and I went in on offense. It was a running play to the opposite side of the field. The runner was probably thirty yards away from me, but I was desperate to do something, anything to impress my Dad. So I picked out an overweight lineman that was huffing and puffing, and put the hardest block on him that I could. He hit the ground with a great thud, and exhaled whatever air he had left in his lungs. To this day, I don’t know if my Dad saw me do that or not, but it was for him.

 

In Galatia, there were Judaizers, who were Jewish Christians. They believed that a number of the ceremonial practices of the Old Testament were still binding, and insisted that the Gentile believers abide by these, particularly circumcision. Paul responded in today’s passage with his attack on this belief.

 

“And that is the way it was with us before Christ came. We were slaves to Jewish laws and rituals, for we thought they could save us.  But when the right time came, the time God decided on, he sent his Son, born of a woman, born as a Jew,  to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law so that he could adopt us as his very own sons.”   Galatians 4:3-5 TLB

 

Paul knew well what it meant to try to live by the Law. In Philippians he referred to himself as, “a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless”. If you read this verse carefully, you will see that Paul defined himself according to his perceived ability to obey the Law. But in today’s passage, Paul suggests a better way for believers to define themselves.

 

“Because you are his children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. He is the Holy Spirit. By his power we call God Abba. Abba means Father. So you aren’t a slave any longer. You are God’s child. Because you are his child, God gives you the rights of those who are his children.”      Galatians 4:6-7 NIRV

 

The Law does not define who I am. My job, my family, my church, the things that I have done, even my personality, does not define who I am. But my Heavenly Father does. I am His child, and like my earthly Dad on that fall evening years ago, I want my Heavenly Dad to be proud of me, so that someday He will say to me, “You are my son. With you I am well pleased.”

 

 

(This was actually my second devotional on the same passage. The following was my first. You decide which you like better.)

 

Life is Good

Genesis 3:14-15

 

Adam & Eve had it good in the Garden of Eden. For them, “Life is Good” was more than kitchen appliances; it was more than a catchy saying; it was more than clever merchandise. It was paradise. There was no sickness, no growing old and no death. It was perfect unity between each other and with God. Life couldn’t get any better.

 

But with one small decision, that all came crashing down. Their decision brought guilt, shame and death into their world. And not only their world, but it continues today. Like a stone hitting a pond, their self-destructive decision continues to ripple over the millennia into our lives.

 

Instead of looking at how good they had it, they looked at what they thought they were missing. They believed that they could decide what was best for themselves. They wanted full control of their own lives. They believed that they knew better than God. They rationalized what they wanted to do, and did it. Sound familiar?

 

What was the result? Satan was cursed. Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden; from Paradise. Hope, purpose and peace were all taken away from them as a consequence of their actions. But not all hope was taken; not forever.

 

“You will strike his heel, but he will crush your head”.

Genesis 3:15 The Living Bible

 

This promise given to Adam and Eve brings hope for the future to come through the Savior. Indeed, God did have a plan for the good of mankind. And He has a plan for you and for me. All good gifts come from God. We need only to have faith and patience; and then trust in His goodness; in His faithfulness; in His love.

 

Jeremiah 29:11 says: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

 

This is the hope that we live for; the hope that God is faithful and good; that we can

trust Him no matter what happens. Jesus has won the final victory. Life IS good.

 

 

 

"Hello. My Name is Joe."

Psalm 139:13-24

 

After introductions, what do you say next? How do you answer the question, “Who are you”? Is it in terms of your job, your school or maybe your church? Do your children, your spouse or your parents define who you are?

 

 

For some it is something they have done, possibly an addiction. When introducing yourself at a meeting you give your name and say, “I am an addict”. What is it that defines you; that goes to the core of your being; that is the bottom line of how you truly feel about yourself?

 

In his prayer, David wrote the following about how he defined himself:

 

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.”

 

He understands that although he had biological parents, God was his true creator. In polite conversation, we tend to not disclose our inner being. But God created our inner being, and not only did He create it, it is “fearfully and wonderfully made”. That means that there is nothing to be ashamed about who we are.

 

The definitions of guilt and shame are very similar, but significantly different. Guilt means that we feel bad about what we did. Shame means that we feel bad about who we are. God is saying through David that we need not feel ashamed of who we are, because God created us.

 

Finally, Paul wrote this about who we are:

 

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”         Ephesians 2:10

 

God has created you for a unique purpose to use the gifts and abilities that He has given you through His grace. God is the potter, and you are His clay. He defines who you are. He has prepared good works for you to do.

 

“Hello. My name is Joe. I’m a creation of God and a follower of Christ Jesus”. Who do you believe you are?