Purge the Sweets

but they did not drive them out completely.  Joshua 17:13

I have a real problem with my sweet tooth.  If you leave sweet stuff laying around, I will eat it.  Last year at this time, I found myself at 223 pounds and set a goal of getting down to 200 by the time of Meghan’s wedding.  I really focused on the task at hand by exercising diligently, but more importantly I tracked what I ate and we eliminated the sweets laying around the house.  Not cut down, but eliminated  because once you have some sweets laying around, it starts a slippery slope.  It took a while, but slowly my cravings for sweets went away because they simply weren’t an option for me.  There weren’t any laying around.  Plus I practiced replacement therapy by substituting fruits and vegetables for the high calorie, high fat sweets.  I did not quite make 200, but I got down to just under 210.  It appears I am going to have to go down that path again. 

As Israel comes into the Promised Land, they are reminded over and over again by the Lord that they must purge the Canaanites from the land.  Not partially, but completely.  We know this was fully within their capability because in Joshua 17:17, Joshua reminds them that they have “great power”.   It was not too great of an obstacle that they could not pull it off.  Yet we know from Scripture and history that they did not clear out the Canaanites.  The Canaanites ultimately became a snare to them.  The Israelites never fulfilled the Mosaic covenant and never fully inherited the Promised Land and ultimately were driven out into slavery by the Assyrians and the Babylonians. 

There are many components of sin that have a definite allure.  I am sure that the reason they did not drive the Canaanites out was because of two reasons.  One was there was a certain attraction to the Canaanite forms of god worship.  We know from history that much of it certainly on the surface looked like it was attractive.  Drunken, sexual orgies probably looked pretty fun.  It took them all of 40 days while Moses was on Mount Sinai to “rise up to play” (Exodus 32:6).  The second reason is a false sense of self-confidence.  They believed they could co-exist with this temptation.  The answer is they could not and you cannot.

Temptations like pornography lurk 24/7.  You don’t have to go anywhere, you can get it anytime from the comfort of your own home.  The principle here is you cannot “dabble” in this sin or any sin.  You must eradicate it completely.  If you are dabbling, it is only a matter of time before you are indulging.  The progression is from allure to sin in a heartbeat away (James 1:14).  Dabbling in sin will rob you.  It must be purged completely.

Fortunately, God gives the ability to eradicate sin.  He does not leave you hanging on your own.  He gives you the power.  That is another post for another day.

No Neglect Allowed

“You shall not be allowed to neglect them”  Deut. 22:3

People are hurting out there.  Can I as a Christian ignore hurting people or people in need?  No, I can’t. Especially when it comes to my brothers and sisters in Christ.  Yet, I do, frequently.  Driving up on an exit ramp, my eyes meet a man with a sign asking for help.  My eyes turn away.  Oh, it is probably a fraud, I rationalize.  Or maybe it is thoughts like “Why can’t that guy go to a church and get help?” Or, I’m late and I don’t have time to stop.  Where do those thoughts come from?

If I am growing closer to the Lord, the neglect becomes harder and harder.  The presence of the Holy Spirit is so overwhelming.  It is not a guilt trip – it is true sorrow.  I know the difference.  Guilt comes from within me, sorrow comes from the kind of compassion Jesus felt.  I am saddened by the revelation of my sin.  I am saddened by observing a friend in need that I have chosen to ignore.      

The priest passed by the other side of the road. The Levite passed by the other side of the road.  Two religious guys.  Two stellar religious guys.  But the Samaritan mongrel stopped and helped.  He even went the extra mile as if to really show us what compassion truly means.  A Samaritan, the most despicable human being to the orthodox Jew of Jesus day.  

You see someone in trouble – help them.  A neighbor has responsibility.  Ignorance is not an option.  Deuteronomy 22 says it emphatically in reference to straying and fallen animals.  But the principle is larger – help them.  Deut 22:4 – you shall certainly help them follows the prohibition of neglect.  Not neglecting means helping.  Helping means stepping out of my comfort zone.

A God Appointed Leader

“These are the names of the men who shall apportion the land to you for inheritance”

When I played Little League baseball, I was pretty good so I was always selected in the top few draft picks in the league (thanks to Dad, one of the coaches).  However, in football, I was small until I got to high school so when I played junior high football, I was the booby prize.  I have remembered drafts of pickup games where other names are called and you get down to just you and one other guy.  That is embarrassing.  When I got to high school, I tried out for basketball (before I got into wrestling) and there was no greater discouragement at the time than not seeing your name on the roster when the list as posted.

I am doing my systematic reading through the Old Testament.  It can be real dry at times and sometimes my prayer is that God somehow reveals to me truth so I don’t just gloss over the copious detail in books like Leviticus and Numbers.  So in Numbers 34, something caught my eye.  God appoints leaders by name, one by one.  There it is – God actually names them in talking to Moses.  Interestingly, none of the leaders named in Numbers 34 come from the same family lines as those in Numbers Chapter 1.  These family lines failed in leadership as that generation died in the wilderness.  God appointed new leaders to go into the promised land.  What is it about Bukki and Elidad that made them right for the task?  Bukki didn’t audition for the role.  God knew his capability to lead so well he just named him.  We have a role, a place.  Have you ever considered that God is so in charge of the details of life that he has appointed us for a specific job?  How could anyone read of the details in the Pentateuch and not come away with a belief that God is not into details. 

I want to be on that team.  I don’t want to be cut out of the team.  I really want to be on the leader list somewhere.  Oh it may not be documented forever as in Scripture, but God has in mind something specific for me to do.  He has my name specifically in mind for some task.  If Bukki can make the team, so can you and I.

Is God Willing AND Able?

“I am willing, be cleansed” – Matt 8:3

As a parent, there is few greater thrills than being able and willing to help your children.  You don’t do everything they ask you to do, but when their request is in line with their best interests, if gives you great pleasure to help them.  That is why Jesus uses this illustration as an appropriate one when thinking of coming to God in prayer.  What good parent does not want to do the right thing for their children?  In fulfilling the requests of our children, they have to know that we are both willing and able to accomplish their requests.  Sometimes we are able, but not willing.  Our willingness is usually centered around whether it is in their best interests.  Uh, playing on the freeway is not in their best interests.  Sometimes we are willing, but not able.  Many times it simply does not fit our ability to deliver or it is a practical nightmare like “Can I have a pony?”. 

It was very freeing to see that Jesus is both willing and able to help us.  In the story of the boy with that is demon possessed in Mark Chapter 9, we find that the disciples were unable to exorcise the demons from the boy.  The boy’s father, no doubt frustrated by their inability to handle the problem cases (they healed others), turns to Jesus and asks Him “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us”.  The word translated “can” there is a word that suggests he believed that Jesus lacked the power to be able to heal the boy.  Jesus clearly had the power, but the boy’s father did not ask directly, i.e. he lacked faith. 

Then something even greater happens.  The father cries out to help him in his lack of faith.  In essence, show compassion to me because my faith is simply too small.  Enlarge my faith.  Jesus is willing, he is certainly able, and he even elevates our faith through His compassion.  Do we cry out?  Do we reach our wits end?  Paul writes when we are faithless, God remains faithful.  Do we know how to pray effectively? God prays for us (Rom 8:26).   

My faith is much smaller than the mustard seed because the mustard seed would get the tree tossed in the ocean (Luke 17:6).  While faith is a trait that we must possess, it is a gift that God amply supplies.  And he is willing and able to help that as well.  

Progress One Tooth at a Time

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  John 15:5

A number of years ago, I finally made the decision to get my teeth fixed.  They looked this.

My dentist had told me that if I did not get them fixed, it was only a matter of time before I would be on dentures because they would all fall out.  My bite was off.  So I went to the orthodontist and he set me on a treatment plan that would take more than two years.  It was a pain in the you know what.  You see teeth move quite slowly and they have to be slowly moved into place.  There is no option to yank them into place.  Our quick fix mentality as Americans just doesn’t fit well into the slow methodical movement of orthodontics.  However if I followed the treatment plan, my teeth would be fitted into place and all would be aligned.

So it is with growth in Christ.  It simply cannot right all of the wrongs overnight.  There is not quick fix.  Oh yes, we can confess our sins and God says He will forgive us but that cannot restore our relationship overnight.  Why does David say “restore to us the joy of your salvation” after he says to “create in us a clean heart”?  God is not a genie whom we can manipulate.  A relationship starts with the right treatment plan.  A steady intake of God’s word and investing in the relationship.  I used to view a steady intake of God’s word as a form of legalism, but that has changed.  Even when I don’t feel like it, I force my time into God’s word.  You see if I don’t, I might compromise my treatment plan.  I want steady growth, steady maturity.  God in return has made these times in the word incredibly joyful and revealed truths that I could never see through human eyes.  Spiritual orthodontics follows the right treatment plan.  I want my spiritual teeth in alignment so they look like below.