June 24 - ANSWERS - Exodus 20:4

⁴ You shall not make

for yourself an idol

Exodus 20

 

Yesterday, we talked about idolatry. And that includes mental idolatry – creating images in our minds about what we think God ought to be.

 

With that in mind, I googled the phrase, “I can’t believe in a God who …”

 

Let me list a few – in fact, the first three I found -- and then let me tell you how to understand them from a Christian point of view!

 

·         I Can’t Believe in a God Who Lets Innocent People Die.

·         I Can’t Believe in a God Who Lets People Suffer.

·         I can't believe in a God who would Send People to Hell.

 

First, God doesn’t send people to hell!!! That statement is trump card that people often try to play – How could a loving God let people rot in hell?! This leads people to several alternative conclusions, like “I reject God and the Bible because he’s obviously mean and cruel” or “Since I believe in the loving passages about God, I, therefore, reject the existence of hell.”

 

Here’s the answer: God doesn’t send people to hell! He invites people to heaven! God is light and life. He is love and forgiveness. He is grace and peace, power and hope. It is by his gift and pleasure that we live. And without him, our natural trajectory is death. And death is, by definition, hell. It is a separation from light, life, love, peace, and power.

 

From the beginning of time, God warned people that if they separated from him (sin), they would die. It’s the natural and inevitable consequence of sin. Indeed, if God is the creator, then pushing the animating force of all creation away from us (sin) is us robbing ourselves of life. It separates us from God. It creates hell.

 

That’s not God’s plan!

 

In fact, he loves us so much that he risked everything – including his own Son – to get us to choose life rather than death, heaven rather than hell. He’s a gentleman. He won’t force this decision. But God doesn’t send anyone to hell! He invites us to heaven.

 

Suffering, especially the suffering of the innocent, is a next objection. First, let’s admit that suffering is real. It is painful, horrible, and often grotesque. And if our hope is in earth, if this world is all there is, then I can understand why people would say, “I reject God and the Bible because a good god could never create so much pain.” Many, therefore, reject God. And indeed, it’s often those who have suffered who are angriest at God.

 

But here’s the mental shift … What if earth – especially an earth ruled by brokenness, sin, betrayal, greed, and death – is not God’s plan?! If we say that this is all there is, then it is sad and hopeless … and God may indeed be cruel. But what happens when we change lanes, shift mindsets, look up, and think more eternally? What happens when we realize that God has come to redeem this world? Do you believe that sin breaks things and causes suffering? And do you believe that God instead promises us a future with no more mourning or crying or pain and with death being no more (see Rev 21)?

 

Jesus said, “In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Did you see the lane change? Will you adopt the mind shift? God is good. He does not desire suffering! Indeed, he chose to suffer so that we could be eternally free of suffering. And therefore he stretched out (and continually stretches out) his arms. “Come to me all who are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest.”

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy whose testimony

involves a mind-shift

(I always told God who God

Had to be based on my priorities,

my philosophies, my politics,

my worldview, my selfish desires,

and when I finally let God be God,

I was suddenly joyful and free)

 

June 23 - IDOLATRY - Exodus 20:4-5

⁴ You shall not make for yourself

an idol, whether in the form of

anything that is in heaven above,

or that is on the earth beneath,

or that is in the water under the earth. 

⁵ You shall not bow down to them

or worship them

Exodus 20

 

When times are tough, I’ll bet you don’t have a golden calf on your mantle that you turn to in prayer. I’ll bet you don’t bow down to trees. And if you were talented enough to carve a beautiful statue of Jesus, I’ll bet you wouldn’t worship the wooden statue (instead of the living Lord)!

 

Therefore, most of us would say, “The second commandment really doesn’t apply to me.”

 

Well, if you’d ever thought that, you’d be wrong!

 

For one, I grew up in an age when people were all the time saying, “Well, the God I worship would never do ________.” And then they fill in that blank that something that sounds so wise and humanistic … yet contradicts a basic Biblical truth (that they didn’t like). Have you ever done that? ^{See a list of examples of these statements – with answers – tomorrow.}

 

Well, what is that doing? This person is painting a mental picture of God in their brain and choosing to worship an image of “god” that contradicts the revelation of scripture.

 

Oops.

 

That’s one form of idolatry.

 

There’s another … The most basic form of idolatry is any false priority that battles with God for influence in our hearts and minds. And being human, we fall victim to this all of the time.

 

My wife led a Bible Study once on idols. The group was full of moms. I don’t know about your house, but my home would fall apart without mom’s attention to detail! That’s a mom trait. It’s a helpful blessing in most families. Yet that good trait puts moms at risk. Indeed, most of the women in that group concluded that “control” was their biggest idol. This phenomenally faithful group of women absolutely believed in their minds that God was in control … but they acted constantly as if it all depended on them!

 

How about you? Which modern idols do you (accidentally) bow to? Money? Possessions? Bigger, better, newer? Entertainment? Distraction? Religion? (You can worship the practice of a “good religion” rather than worshiping God himself.) False religions and superstitions? Job and salary? Rules and legalism? Worry and fear? Self? Pride? Insecurity? Reliance on politics? Living vicariously through our kids?

 

Idolatry – false worship – is very important to understand. It is one of the root enslavements that expresses itself in hundreds of enslaving symptoms. Indeed, most of the things listed above are symptoms! The root enslavement is trusting ______ (self, the world, human answers, and possessions) more than God.

 

That’s the wake-up call behind the second commandment. And what’s the method of healing? The first commandment! God first! Trust him. (It’s very simple, and yet very hard for us humans.)

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s occasionally

an idle idolator

(but wants to be a

glorious glorifier instead)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

June 22 - MENTAL SHIFT - Exodus 20:3

^19:20 When the Lord 

descended upon Mount Sinai,

to the top of the mountain,

the Lord summoned Moses

to the top of the mountain,

and Moses went up.

^20:1  Then God spoke all these words:

³ you shall have no other gods

before me.

Exodus 19 & 20

 

For weeks I’ve talked about the pattern of freedom: 1) realize that we’re in freedom, 2) cry out to God, and 3) follow the deliverer. Wait! Most of us would like to stop there. “Shouldn’t it be like waving a magic wand? I’ve got Jesus. I’m instantaneously free from all bondage.”

 

Now, some freedoms do happen as quick as that! “Because Jesus forgiveness my sin, my heart is absolutely free! I’m no longer enslaved to guilt and shame!” It’s a mental shift. (And we’ll talk more about that in a minute.)

 

But to reach freedom – most of the time – we have to walk it out!

 

With God’s help, the journey could last as little as eleven days. (That’s how long it was from Mt. Sinai/Horeb to the edge of the Promised Land – see Deuteronomy 1:2.) But we still have to walk! We have to do our part! We have to stop certain behaviors. We have to adopt God’s principles and follow his laws. We have to forgive. Yes, we have to walk it out! Thus, step four at the end of the list above is “4) Journey with God.”

 

So what does that journey look like?

On other days, we’ll talk about other signposts and steps to freedom. Today’s verse – the first commandment – invites us, however, to talk about Step 3. This third step is “changing lanes.” It is the mental shift that I mentioned above.

The Apostle Paul talks about this transformation shift like this: And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes] (Amplified Translation of Romans 12:2).

In the first commandment – today’s verse – God calls us to make a mental shift! We are commanded to have no other gods or priorities before him. Freedom does not come from the world’s way of doing things … it has nothing to do with what you or I want to do … and it’s certainly not about our thought and opinions (especially when we compare how limited they are compared to the mind of God). No! Freedom comes when we shift our thinking and follow God instead of human ways.

 

That indeed is why God gives this first commandment! He doesn’t need your love or your praise! (Yes, he deserves it and delights in it. But, he doesn’t need it.) Therefore, this commandment isn’t about him. Rather, the first commandment is about you.

 

Without God, we are “dead, doomed forever because of your many sins” (Eph 2:1). Without the forgiveness, light, and grace of Jesus our Deliverer, we are in bondage to doubt and despair. Therefore God says, “Prioritize me first. Put nothing else before me, and you’ll discover provision, truth, and hope. Trust in my character, and you’ll experience peace, love, and joy. Follow my ways, and you’ll find the path to freedom.”

 

It takes a mental shift. We’re bent in such a way that we want what we want. But with God’s help, we can untangle our hearts and straighten the journey to joy. And the quickest way to accelerate this blessing is to trust God’s ways (including his commandments), because when we put nothing between us and him, then blessings begin to flow.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who accelerated

when he changed lanes

June 20/21 - ENSLAVEMENTS - Exodus 20:2

I am the Lord your God,

who brought you

out of the land of Egypt,

out of the house of slavery

Exodus 20:2

 

Yesterday I announced our theme for fall: Freedom!

 

Look at the list above. I wrote down the first 125 things that I could think of that average people are in bondage to. And then as soon as I printed it, 50 more enslaving events and attitudes leapt to mind!

 

I heard a few people say: “Wow, when I look at that list, I get really depressed.”

 

But I loved the woman who came out and said instead, “Wow, when I look at that list, I see how many things God has set me free from!”

 

Do you see the mental shift? (And I will continue to make this point …) Yes, we are easily enslaved, but God’s greatest desire is to set us free!

 

Wait … notice the verb: “God desires.” Spiritual freedom, emotional health, and transforming joy is God’s absolute desire for each of us.

 

And yet if that’s the case, why aren’t we all free?

 

It’s because God is a gentleman. He allows us to choose our own paths! Freewill means that we can choose God’s way (which leads to freedom) … or worldly, selfish, human ways (which foolishly, willfully, stubbornly, sinfully keep leading to mess in us and around us). God’s way brings freedom, hope, light, and joy. Indeed, “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Cor 3:17). But how many of us haven’t yielded our full hearts to the Spirit. We do things our own way, and we keep getting worldly results.

 

Deuteronomy 1:2 tells us that it could have been an 11 day journey from Mt. Sinai to edge to the Jordan and the Promised Land. It took them forty years! The point? How many of us wander aimlessly for years and years too – whining, complaining, and playing the victim.

 

·         When we choose unforgiveness, we’re choosing a life of bitterness and despair.

·         When we choose worldly priorities (idolatry), we’re refusing to be blessed by kingdom principles.

·         When we place our own personal logic on the throne of our heart (another form of idolatry – self-idolatry), we’re actively choosing to not be blessed by God’s wisdom.

·         When we choose not to follow God’s commands, we’re choosing the negative consequences that we reap.

·         When we pridefully choose to do things our own way, we consistently get human results rather than experiencing the power of God.  

·         And then we blame God for discouragement, guilt, meaninglessness, consequences, and despair that we kept choosing.

 

Dear friends in Christ, God desires to set you free!

 

Indeed, God desires for you to say like my friend, “Wow, when I look at that list, I see how many things God has set me free from!”

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who is the anti-Santa

(Instead of making a list

and checking it twice,

I’m checking things off my list

by the power of God!)

 

June 17/19 - THUNDER & TREMBLING - Exodus 19:19

Exodus 19 ¹ Exactly two months after the Israelites left Egypt, they arrived in the wilderness of Sinai. ² … and set up camp there at the base of Mount Sinai.

¹⁶ On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain, and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all the people who were in the camp trembled. ¹⁷ Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended upon it in fire; the smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, while the whole mountain shook violently. ¹⁹ As the blast of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God would answer him in thunder. 

 

This is another of my favorite passages of scripture. And I’m going to ask you to read it again. Read it out loud. Read it with your best James Earl Jones voice. (You know him, right? He was the voice of Mufasa in the Lion King. He was the voice of Darth Vader. You tremble when you hear his voice. And we need tremble when we read this passage. Go ahead … read it again!

 

That’s my devotional for today. God is big. He is awesome. Holy. Majestic. Eternal. He reigns over the skies. His voice is as mighty as the thunder.

 

And … we should … “tremble, tremble, tremble.”

 

And all this begs a question: After God did ten signs (ten plagues that freed them from Pharaoh … and then parted the Red Sea … after God appeared on the top of Sinai and spoke in thunder … how in the world could they make a gold calf to worship, after Moses ascended the mountain and didn’t come back immediately?

 

Could it be that they wanted a God they could control?

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants a God

who is bigger and grander

and more loving than me

June 16 - INTEGRITY - Exodus 18:13-21

¹³ The next day Moses sat

as judge for the people …

¹⁴ When Moses’ father-in-law saw …

he said, “ … Why do you sit alone

… from morning until evening?” 

¹⁵ Moses said … ¹⁶ “When they

have a dispute, they come

to me and I decide …

I make known to them the

statutes and instructions of God.” 

¹⁷ Moses’ father-in-law said …

“¹⁸ You will surely wear yourself out …

for the task is too heavy for you …

²¹ You should … look for

able men among all the people,

men who fear God, are trustworthy,

and hate dishonest gain; set such men

over them as officers over thousands,

hundreds, fifties, and tens.”

Exodus 18

 

I am mentoring a young man. We’re reading a classic old book by Gene Getz, called “The Measure of Man.” Pastor Getz originally taught it as a men’s Bible study on the New Testament books of 1 Timothy and Titus.

 

Timothy and Titus were young pastors, and the elder shepherd – the Apostle Paul – was giving advice on what to look for when recruiting godly assistants. In 1 Timothy, for example, Paul suggests the following: “[A godly leader] must be above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher, ³ not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money.”

 

And that’s only half of the list to Timothy! To Titus, Paul repeats most of these characteristics … and adds a few more.

 

The point? Godly people must choose their leaders wisely. Indeed, they must be godly!

 

And there’s a second point too, listen to the advice of the old shepherd … who will tell you that they must be godly and above reproach.”

 

Moses’ father-in-law – Jethro – was a literal, old, old shepherd. (He was the one who let Moses shepherd some sheep on the west side of the wilderness.) And what does the old shepherd advise? More or less the same thing Paul said:

 

“You should …

look for able men …

who fear God,

are trustworthy, and

hate dishonest gain.”

 

The question, then, is how well does that describe you?!

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who doesn’t

want to get old, but

wouldn’t mind being

an old, old shepherd,

worthy of being listened to

because I consistently

demonstrated

reverence and trust

 

 

 

 

 

 ⁴ He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way … ⁶ He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.”

 

The list in Titus is mostly similar, with Paul a

 

 

 ²² Let them sit as judges for the people at all times; let them bring every important case to you, but decide every minor case themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. ²³ If you do this, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people will go to their home in peace.”

June 15 - ALONENESS v. COMMUNITY - Exodus

⁸ Then Amalek came out

and fought with Israel …

¹¹ Whenever Moses held up

his hand, Israel prevailed.

¹² But Moses hands grew weary;

so they took a stone and put it

under him, and he sat on it.

Aaron and Hur held up his hands …

¹³ And Joshua defeated Amalek …

Exodus 17

 

This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. It’s point: We can’t do it alone … x2!

 

1.    If we can’t do “it” alone, whose help do we need? God’s!

 

And I must say, that our Lord has an interesting method of working in this world, and nothing you think or do will ever make sense until you understand it. God can do anything, anytime, anywhere. He’s God. He’s powerful. He’s King. But He’s also a gentleman. He’s chosen to involve us in this project called earth.

 

Apparently to teach specifically today’s lesson, God ordained that Israel would win only when Moses and Israel trusted in God’s power – which God engaged whenever Moses raised his hands. Our Lord was confirming that we can’t do “it” – win life’s victories – alone; therefore, we must trust in him.

 

And yet it was more than that …

 

2.    If we can’t win life’s victories alone, who else’s help do we need? Each other’s!

 

Read that again: We need each other! We’re designed that way.

 

At Creation God kept calling everything “good,” “good,” and “very good.” But do you know what was the first thing in creation that was literally “not good”? God says it himself -- Genesis 2:18 -- that “it is not good for the man to be alone.”

 

Yes, in many ways, this is a marriage passage – see verses 24-25. Nevertheless, it also testifies to God’s priority regarding all relationships. If it’s not good for anyone to be alone, then it is absolutely God’s plan that we live in community!

 

Now, flash to that mountain top, overlooking the battle with Amalek, Moses needed 1) God’s help, but he also needed 2) community. God could have rained down fire on Amalek, but God chose – in his wisdom (which I trust, but don’t always fully understand) – to allow Israel to participate in this battle. Apparently they needed this in order to learn that God would fight for them. But they had to participate by 1) trusting in him (Moses had to raise his hands) and by 2) trusting in each other (Moses had to depend on Aaron and Hur … and Aaron and Hur had to serve their brother).

 

We need each other! That’s the point. We need God and we need each other.

 

And as long as we place barriers between God (doubt, disobedience, etc.) and others (anger, jealousy, unforgiveness, etc.) we won’t experience victory (including nearly as much love, joy, peace, etc.)

 

 

 

June 14 - TEST & TRUST - Exodus 16:3-4

³ The Israelites said to [Moses and Aaron],

“If only we had died … in the land of Egypt,

when we … ate our fill of bread;

for you have brought us out into

this wilderness to kill this whole assembly

with hunger.” ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses,

“I am going to rain bread from heaven for you,

and each day the people shall go out and gather

enough for that day. In that way I will test them,

whether they will follow my instruction or not.”

Exodus 16

 

The Lord is generous – even when we complain. (We call that grace! God is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love”!)

 

Our Lord is indeed concerned about our physical needs. For example, in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus invites us to pray for physical needs, as in “Give us this day our daily bread.”

 

But … while our gracious heavenly Father is concerned about our physical needs, he is more concerned with our spiritual needs! And that’s what today’s lesson teaches.

 

Concerned about our physical needs, God says, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you”; but more concerned about spiritual needs, God states that “I will test them.” (Who hates tests?!)

 

The test was this, God-the-Provider would “rain [down] bread from heaven for [them]” … but “each day” he would only give them “enough for that day.” Why? Because, first, we grow in faith most when we depend on his provision daily. That’s why faith tends to soar in poorer countries – they have nothing to depend upon except God. And that’s why faith tends to stagnate in wealthier countries – we depend on jobs and bank accounts, a fully stocked grocery and many other things. Therefore, God helped them trust in him daily. (And that was grace!)

 

But even more fully, God tested them in a second and deeper way. He said, “I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.”

 

They didn’t. The first days they’d rush out to gather two or three days worth. Why? Because they were in bondage to fear – “What if there’s not enough for tomorrow?” But what were they doing? They were trusting in human solutions. They were not trusting in God.

 

Simple obedience – even when we think we know better – blesses our lives. Human solutions, especially when we rely on the world or rely on self, rather than trusting God – cause rotting and spoiling. (Which is exactly what the Israelites reaped when they collected more than a day’s worth.)

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s had his

freezer cut off for a week

(I don’t need anymore

spoiling and rot … ever)

 

June 13 - HUMAN SOLUTIONS - Exodus 15:24-25

²⁴ And the people

complained against Moses,

saying, “What shall we drink?”

²⁵ He cried out to the Lord;

and the Lord showed him

a piece of wood;

he threw it into the water,

and the water became sweet.

Exodus 15

 

Just a few days ago, I gave the Israelites props. When the Egyptian army was bearing down on them at the Red Sea, they unfortunately complained against Moses; nevertheless, they cried out to God first! (That’s step two in our journey to freedom! Good job.)

 

Today, however, the kudos come to an end.

 

They complain to Moses first.

 

Then, and this is important, they let Moses cry out to God on their behalf.

 

The path to freedom is not complaint. And freedom doesn’t come when we rely on others to do our work for us.

 

The first cry shouldn’t be downward, in pain or fear or worry. And we shouldn’t be yelling at others, expecting them to fix our problems. No. The first cry should point upward in faith, hope, and trust.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants

kudos and props

(I guess I’d better cry

before I complain)

 

June 11/12 - COMPLAINT - Exodus 15:22-24

²² Then Moses ordered Israel

to set out from the Red Sea …

They went three days in the wilderness

and found no water. 

²³ When they came to Marah,

they could not drink the water

… because it was bitter. …

²⁴ And the people complained

against Moses …

Exodus 15

 

Have you ever heard anyone say, “If only God would give us a sign …”?

 

God gave the people of Israel ten signs in a row. Ten consecutive miracles! Ten plagues … which finally prompted Pharaoh to set them free from their slavery.

 

And then God parted the Red Sea!

 

Nevertheless, how long did it take until the Israelites started complaining? Three days.

 

I’m frequently inclined to remind people that the effect of signs and wonders lasts three days. And that’s another reason we stay in bondage.

 

God is real. God is powerful. But as soon as we’re worried or inconvenienced, how often are we inclined to start doubting and complaining.

 

Worry, doubt, and complaint are continuing forms of bondage.

 

And isn’t it fascinating that while God is continually setting us free from real, strong, and powerful forms of external bondage (think of slaves being released from Egypt and then escaping Pharaoh’s massive army) that we, nevertheless, keep throwing ourselves back into internal slavery through worry, doubt, and complaint.

 

God is real and powerful. Are you trusting him?

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who runs with scissors

(I want to hurry and cut any

forms of bondage that

I create for myself)