U-Turn: a signpost for the spiritual journey

Focus: 1:3-4, “Therefore say to the people: The LORD who rules over all says, “Turn to me,” says the LORD who rules over all, “and I will turn to you,” says the LORD who rules over all. “Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets called out, saying, ‘The LORD who rules over all says, “Turn now from your evil wickedness, “’ but they would by no means obey me,” says the LORD.”

God’s love for His people is unlike any other love that I have ever witnessed in my life. Throughout the message of the prophets, we can see God practically begging His people to return to Him- not in a desperate sort of way, but in a way that demonstrates deep concern and yearning for their well being. God’s love for His people is truly remarkable.

In 1:3, the Lord said to His people, “Turn to me.” God wanted his people to return to Him with their whole heart. As I read this, echoes of Yahweh’s covenant with Israel ring throughout my ears. In Deuteronomy 30:1-3 the Lord promises Israel that when His people are taken into captivity in far away lands because of their disobedience, if they turn to the Lord and obey him with their entire mind and being, then He will have pity on His people and reverse their captivity! In other words, God said that if His people were ever found lost and lead to captivity in distant lands, then the only way back was to do a spiritual U-turn.

When Zechariah prophesied, Israel was far removed from the Land and God’s covenant protection. Centuries, kilometers and a broken relationship separated Israel from the Lord of the Covenant who had practically divorced them. Yet, Yahweh gives Zechariah a message to the decedents of His faithful followers who received the Covenant as they were about ready to set foot in the Promised Land. The message was, “return to me.”

While the more recent ancestors of Zechariah’s contemporaries had hardened their hearts against God and walked away from Him like an adulteress woman, God was reminding Zechariah’s audience of His promise to return to His people if they come back. Even while those present to hear Zechariah’s message may have only had an intellectual knowledge of the Promise, they were again being implored to return to the Lord with their whole hearts so that they could return to the Land and enjoy the freedom and fruit of the Covenant. God says, “Turn back!”

This teaches us a couple things. First, God has always initiated relationship with His people. We must only respond accordingly. Second, repentance never begins with a heart that is transformed. Repentance is the U-turn for the heart that is lost in captivity from sin. Therefore, no matter how screwed up our life gets or how far removed from God we try to run, we have the opportunity to be reconciled back to right relationship. God’s promise always remains for any remnant of people who trust in Him, even if they suffer because of the rebellion of others. So our hearts should not be discouraged if others will not turn back to the Lord when we do. God is faithful and will save those who love Him.

What does God want from me?

Micah 5-7

Focus: Micah 6:6-8, “6 With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Yesterday, I wrote about a woman I met when I was flying home from San Antonio. This woman was rejecting the Church because she witnessed the hypocrisy of her “Christian” mother who ruined several marriages through adulterous affairs. Yet her mother was one who faithfully attended church three days a week, tithed, read her bible, and was baptized. This woman, like so many, equated religious deeds with pleasing God. But that is not what God wants from her or anyone else.

In Micah 6, the people of God are in God’s courtroom. They were a nation filled with religious activity, yet God was bringing charges against his people. Dishonest individuals who demonstrated no concern for treating others fairly ruled the Israelites, and they took advantage of and neglected the poor. They also prostituted themselves to idols by having sexual intercourse with temple prostitutes who were trying to give the fertility god Baal an orgy. Israel tolerated wicked sinful behavior. Israel was in serious breach of Covenant with God. But they were really good at doing spiritual things, right? Then why was God so mad at them? After all, they prayed and sacrificed and faithfully performed their religious duties. Shouldn’t that have made up for their shortcomings?

Micah 6:8 shows us what God wanted from his people. He wanted them to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him. God wanted them to be people who have been changed by His grace. Literally, to do justly simply means to do the right thing. God wanted his people to do what is right all throughout life. To love mercy means to demonstrate loyal committed love toward God and his people. The love of Israel should have been God and his people. To walk humbly with God means to have daily communion with God, much like that which Adam and Eve had with God in the Garden before they sinned. God wanted Israel to enjoy the blessings of being in his presence.

Not much has changed today. God will reject those who simply say “I am a Christian” but do not do what is right, have committed loyal love toward God and his people, and share a daily communion with Him. This is a lesson that spiritual activity does not equal transformation. In other words, if our lives are not changed, it does not matter if we go to church 1 day a week or three days a week. It does not matter if we read our Bible, fast, are baptized, or give our tithe. Our outward symbols and actions should be visual reminders of inward realities (See Deuteronomy 10:16). If our lives are truly changed and we are doing the right thing, demonstrating loyal love to God and others, and walking humbly with God, then our religious activities actually take on new meaning. That is what God wants from those who call him Lord.

Courageous Leadership and Church Hypocrisy

Micah 1-4

Focus: Micah 3:8 “But I am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives, and have a strong commitment to justice. This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion, and Israel with its sin.”

Recently, I participated in a weekend class in San Antonio. As I was flying home, I was able to share the Gospel with the girl sitting next to me. It turns out that she grew up in the Church and has since left because of hypocrisy. She said, “My mom keeps pressuring me to get baptized. But I don’t want anything to do with her religion. She has had affairs with several men and has wrecked four other marriages outside of her own. There are four men who she slept with, and I am not sure which one of them is my actual dad.” From my own family background, I can understand why she feels the way she does.

My heart grieved because sadly her story is not an isolated incident in the Church. Incidentally, hypocrisy is a problem that has molded the reputation of God’s people throughout history. Those who claim to be Christians are failing in epic proportions. The reason for this is because of weak passive leadership that fails to confront evil. Today, more than ever, we need people who are bold and willing to stand up against injustice, rebellion and sin. I am not exclusively talking about church pastors, administrators, or volunteer leadership. I am talking about every individual who claims to follow Christ. It does not take a title to lead! In fact, all of God’s people are called to step up and confront evil, especially evil in the Church.

Micah was once such person who God used to stand up against Israel’s sin. Through the prophecy of Micah, God promised that he would destroy the land and remove his people and place them in captivity if they did not turn away from their wickedness. Fortunately, at the time of Micah’s prophecy, the prophecy against God’s people never materialized. Hezekiah, the king at the time, listened to the prophet of God and was instrumental in leading Israel to revival. God delayed his wrath. Micah was filled with God’s spirit- his life was transformed. He was also deeply committed to justice.

There are many of us who are angry and discouraged because of such hypocracy. However, hypocrisy can only come to an end when the “angry and discouraged” are filled with God’s spirit and deeply committed to justice. In other words, the angry and discouraged must first be spiritually transformed. Jesus said that we must first take the long out of our own eye before we confront others who are in sin. Then, once we are living by truth, we must be willing take initiative to engage with others who are not living by truth. This takes courage and a deeply rooted commitment to doing what is right, even when it is hard.

If you are that person who is frustrated with people who claim to be holy but who are not living out their claim, then you are the person that God wants to use. Do not wait for someone else to deal with the problem. You are the answer! There is no plan B. Those who have been transformed by the love of Christ must be deeply committed to confronting evil in a way that honors God. It was because of Micah’s faithfulness that Hezekiah was transformed, and he in turned led the revival of God’s people. It will be because of you who, being transformed, are courageously committed to justice in a way that challenges those who are doing wrong. Who or what do you need to confront today?

Faith and the Heavenly City

Isaiah 61-66

Focus: Isaiah 62:6-7, “I post watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they should keep praying all day and all night. You, who pray to the LORD, don’t be silent! Don’t allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth.”

The other day, I heard a sermon about fear. The message was that we should not worry and that we can use faith to overcome worry. We were encouraged to remind ourselves of God’s past faithfulness as a means of encouragement for overcoming today’s struggles. But I would argue that God’s bygone grace (past faithfulness) is not necessarily intended to be a motivator during crisis. Instead, I think scripture is clear that God’s past faithfulness is our foundation for trusting Him for His future promises. When we face crisis, our focus should be on God’s promises for the future.

In Isaiah 62, Isaiah is speaking to those returning to Judah from the Babylonian captivity. These people are returning back home for the first time, and their city is utterly destroyed. It must have been devastating to witness such loss. Relatives were dead; homes were demolished; and there was no real order to the land. Yet, Isaiah’s instruction was not for people to reflect back on God’s past blessings. His instruction was to pray for the reestablishment of Jerusalem until it is made the pride of the earth. The people of Israel were oriented toward the future promise of restoration.

There is nothing greater that we should pray for than the rebuilding of Jerusalem. The fullness of God’s promise to make Israel a great nation has not been reached. There is a heavenly city that has yet to be finished. It will be a place for God’s people to dwell where there will be no more sickness or dying. Evil and unrighteousness will be gone. This will be a kingdom ruled by Christ that will be the pride of the earth filled with the glory of God. This is the City we should pray for!

Psalm 122:6 says, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May those who love her prosper!” In Matthew 6:10, when Jesus was teaching his disciples to pray he said to pray “may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The great city of God filled with His glory is the hope of the Christian faith. It is what we live for; it is what we are destined for. So, when worry, fear, and crisis come, true faith is forward oriented towards the promise of God’s kingdom. Our faith is trusting God for all He is yet to do because of all that He has already done.

Where is God in Haiti?

Isaiah 21-25

Focus: Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death permanently. The sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from every face, and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. Indeed, the LORD has announced it!

Yesterday the world was literally shaken by an earthquake that devastated one of the poorest nations on earth. It is going to be recorded as the greatest disaster since the earthquake in China a year ago, and the Tsunami that hit Indonesia and India a few years ago. There is no way to estimate the total loss that has raped the land of Haiti. My prayers will be with these people. Haiti shook, and the lives of tens of thousands or more are in ruin. But their cries have been heard.

The recent tragedy is another reminder that death, sickness, injustice, unrighteousness, and evil still exist. The innocent continue to suffer, and the weak are still exploited. But where is God in these “hells” on earth? Doesn’t God care?

In short, the answer is “YES!” God does care, and it will be proven by the hands of his people who respond to tragedies like what has happened in Haiti. There is no plan B. We are God’s instruments to help others in their time of need. The world will witness the hand of God restoring the lives of those who have suffered, but a greater promise is in store for those who trust in the Lord.

One day the evil and injustice that we know will be destroyed. God will swallow up death permanently, and he will drench His people with His mercy. God himself will wipe the tears from every face and he will remove the shame from his people. This is what we are living for! While we live in a world that is not yet perfect, one day everything will be made new. This is the Christian hope. This is the promise for those who trust in the Lord.

I can only imagine what it will be like to stand in the Lord’s presence in the time that he has prepared a new home for me and for those who have been faithful to Him. The guilt and shame of my past failures will be completely gone. Fear from violence and evil will no longer be. This is the Christian hope! This is what Christ offers. This is His promise. The Lord has announced it. He has spoken. It will be so.

My heart is with those who are grieving their loss. My prayer is that they will turn to Christ as they begin to witness His power and see it for the first time. To those who are on the outside looking in at the disaster that has violated the lives of others, what are you doing to help bring justice and mercy for the innocent? What are the resources you have to help? This is your time to shine. There is no plan B. You are the face of God today in Haiti, and you are the hands of God in the lives of those who suffer.

Should We Continue To Trust God When We Suffer?

Isaiah 11-15

Focus: Isaiah 14:2 The LORD who commands armies makes this solemn vow: “Be sure of this: Just as I have intended, so it will be; just as I have planned, it will happen.

I wonder what it was like for Isaiah to listen to Yahweh as He revealed His plans for the nations. In Isaiah 11-15 there is a promise to preserve those who are faithful to God. Not only that, but there is a proclamation of judgment against the mighty nations of the earth. However, the judgment of nations and preservation of God’s people were not separate events. The remnant few who were faithful to Yahweh suffered greatly in a land that came under hot judgment for its broken Covenant with God. It does not seem fair that they should suffer. Should God’s people have continued to remain faithful to Him?

When answering this question, one thing that should grip the human heart like nothing else is the eternal sovereignty of God. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God who controls armies. He is also the God with an eternal plan and perspective. What we know of His plan is limited to what we find in Scripture, but we are not limited in how we should trust Him. God’s past faithfulness is the foundation to trust Him for his future work in the lives of His people.

We can see how the Lord used the wickedness of the nations of Assyria and Babylon to chastise His people, but we can also discover that Yahweh was a just God. For those in Israel who were faithful- like Isaiah, God promised to deliver them from their bondage. God’s plan included the execution of nations and leaders that were used to reprove His people.

There are a couple of points that God’s people should take note of. First, suffering is inevitable, but it is not eternal. It is a part of the plan of God for His people to suffer. There are several reasons for this. First, suffering is a test of the faith that produces endurance (James 1:3). Suffering produces the opportunity for training that produces fruit (Hebrews 12:11). Suffering is also the DNA evidence of being part of God’s family. He is treating us as his children (Hebrews 12:7) whom He loves. When God’s people suffer, God is calling them to trust Him no matter the outcome.

Second, God’s people can be encouraged while going through suffering because suffering is being produced by God’s plan and is not incidental. Suffering is not haphazard. The pain of suffering is evidence of the working of God’s plans. Suffering is certainty that God is at work. God’s past faithfulness gives assurance that present pain will be relieved. The promise for God’s people is that just as God has intended, so it will be. Just as he has planned, so it will happen.

So yes, God’s people can give a resounding “YES” to answer the question. The remnant people of Israel who were faithful to Yahweh should have continued to be faithful to Him while they suffered. The same is true for us today. The present pain of suffering is God’s assurance that His past promises are being worked out to fruition. We can and we should continue to steadfastly trust in Him!

How to measure your spirituality

Is. 1:17 Learn to do what is right!

Promote justice!

Give the oppressed reason to celebrate!

Take up the cause of the orphan!

Defend the rights of the widow!

This last year, George Barna’s survey indicated that many churchgoers and faith leaders struggle to define spiritual maturity. In America, this should not be! We are the wealthiest nation and have the most Spiritual resources on the planet. Yet we struggle to know what it means to be spiritually mature.

George Barna’s survey revealed 5 problems in the American Church: 1.) Most Christians equate spirituality with following rules 2.) Churchgoers are uncertain about what their church expects about spiritual maturity 3.) Believers have one-dimensional views of spiritual maturity 4.) Pastors fail to give a relevant definition of spiritual maturity with objectives; they favor activity over attitude 5.) Pastors don’t know where to reference the Bible for indicators of Spiritual maturity.

I once had a mentor who gave me a great definition of spiritual maturity (See below). Notice the phrase a Christian with a life worth emulating. What does that mean? What is the Christian life?

Spiritual maturity is:

The process where a Christian with a life worth emulating commits himself or herself for an extended period of time to a few individuals who have been won to Christ, the purpose being to aid and guide their growth to maturity and equip them to reproduce themselves in a third spiritual generation.

In Isaiah 1 we can get some helpful insight about what it means to be a Christian with a life worth emulating. In this passage, God is indicting Israel- not because they did not produce sacrifices, not because they did not pray enough, not because they did not go to the temple, not because they did not tithe. They did all of that, yet God said that he hated their worship. Why? Because it was sin-stained celebration. Based off this passage alone, we can discover what spiritual maturity is not.

Spiritual maturity is not:

1. Following rules

2. Engaging in spiritual activities

3. Confessing that you are a follower of God (or Christ)

4. A single-dimensioned definition

5. Vague and difficult to discover in Scripture

Measuring spiritual maturity begins with acknowledging who God is. Today we confess Jesus as Lord. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s revelation to man as foretold as early as Genesis 3:16 in Scripture. 1 John 2:6 says that those who confess Jesus must also walk as Jesus did. When someone does this, then he has a life worth emulating.

What did Jesus do?

When John the Baptist was in prison, he sent people to Jesus to find out who Jesus is. Jesus instructed John’s followers to tell John what they heard and saw: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them. Jesus had strong affinity for mercy, justice and humility.

Spiritual maturity starts by confessing Christ, but it extends to the very core of our being. It is not about being doctrinally correct so much as it is about living spiritually correct. What I mean by that is that claiming to have faith in Christ is not just verbal. It also involves communicating with your life.

Indicators of faith include learning to do what is right, promoting justice, giving the oppressed reason to celebrate, taking up the cause of the orphan, and defending the rights of the widow. Life before Christ is one that tolerates injustice, propagates evil, and has no place for mercy. Yet as we mature in Christ, we learn to live according to the Spirit. When we do that, new fruits are produced in our life. We live as imitators of Christ.

If we let this concept guide our lives, then there would be less confusion about why we follow certain rules and engage in spiritual activities. Not only that, but we would not be so concerned about confessing our allegiance to Christ so much as living for Him in a way that extends justice, mercy and righteousness. When asked how we measure our spirituality, we will be less inclined to say that we tithe, pray, read our bibles and attend church. Instead we will humbly submit our story about the new fruit that has come from a radically transformed life and has fully engaged in the person and message of Jesus Christ.

Why Government Cannot Solve Our Problems

Matthew 6:22, “The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.”

The other day I was involved in a discussion about the economy, politics, and religion. It did not take long for me to see that my friend and I have different views. He believes that having more government control will solve our nation’s problems. I cannot disagree more.

The truth is that regardless of how government is organized, there will be a tendency toward evil and injustice. Someone will aways get the short end of the stick. It does not matter whether we have more or less government intervention in personal or corporate affairs because Scripture teaches that human beings prize the wrong things in their hearts.

Jesus said that if our eye is clear, our body will be full of light. Jesus was indicating that humans do not have clear vision. We are vision impaired, and we need our eye sight restored. Until our vision is corrected, our life can only be filled with darkness. Even the purest desires are clouded. In a very real sense, our eyes must undergo a spiritual lasik surgery if we wish to see see clearly.

When we see clearly, we see Christ. We treasure Jesus above everything else and our life changes. It changes how we view our self, and it profoundly changes the way we treat others. Jesus said that if we love Him we will obey His commands. The life that sees Christ is changed to such a degree that it produces new fruit.

Jesus is teaching that the fundamental problem with human beings is that our blindness causes us to love things instead of the Creator, and consequently we are inclined towards selfishness and greed. No human government can correct this problem. It would be like “the blind leading the blind.” If we are to be governed well, individually and corporately our eyes must be opened.

This is not to suggest that people are incapable of altruism, but that even the most altruistic people have a nature that is corrupted by the deceit of sin. Eventually, the greatest humanitarian efforts fail in practice because they are lead by people who are ultimately filled with greed, envy and selfishness. It is a problem that we all struggle with that can only be fixed when our eyes are opened from blindness by the work of God’s Spirit, as we yield our lives to Christ.

“The Good Ol’ Days”

1 Peter 1:14, “Like obedient children, do not comply with the evil urges you used to follow in your ignorance…”

As the years go on, one habit that I constantly battle is glamorizing the “Good Ol’ Days.” It is easier to look back and remember when life was “good” than to embrace the struggles of today. But the reality is that life back “when” probably wasn’t as good as I remember. With time, many bad memories and struggles tend to fade. The good memories out-shadow the tougher times of the past.

The same pattern can also happen spiritually. When the honeymoon phase wears off over the months and years after conversion to Christ, there can be a tendency to want to go back to the old way of life. Past struggles and sins can begin to sound appealing again, and the pain and destruction that came from them rarely comes to surface the memory. The flesh tends to glamorize sin.

Peter instructed followers of Christ to not comply with the evil urges that we used to follow in our ignorance. There was a time when we did not know Christ and we were only able to will to sin. Our motives did not consider or regard God’s desires, and we simply did whatever our appetite wanted. But when we were transformed by the Spirit of God, we were liberated so that we can will to do good, to please God. But the problem is that fleshly desires do not disappear.

Life with Christ means that we must discipline ourselves to listen to the Spirit so that we will do good and be good. The reality is that the Good Ol’ Days are always in the present. As we yield our hearts the Spirit of God, the present gives us the opportunity to be changed and to institute change in a way that can bring life.

As we get ready to begin a new year, we should consider our past only as a way of evaluating what we wish to do better. How can we be more faithful this year? What are changes we need to make spiritually? How are the fruits of the Spirit present in our life?

What does God’s future grace have to do with now?

1 Peter 1:13, “Therefore, get your minds ready for action by being fully sober, and set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

Recently my wife and I started studying the book of 1 Peter together. It has been a rich time of encouragement for both of us. Specifically, I have been encouraged about the role that God’s future grace plays in my life now. To illustrate how this works, consider how summer vacations and Christmas breaks played a role in your life as a child.

When I was a young boy it seemed like the school days took forever, and weeks would linger. Depending on the time of year, my heart would yearn for Christmas break or Summer vacation. It is what drove me to get through the semester. I knew that there would be rewards of play and rest waiting at the end of weeks of hard work. My grades on papers and tests did not stir my heart to go on. Instead, I pressed on by looking forward to spending days playing outside, going on a trip, or enjoying some other rewarding experience that was in the future.

The same concept is what God’s future grace does for our life in the here and now. While we can appreciate the effects of present and past Grace that help us in the moment, such moments of the present and past are only intended to be a platform of trust for our faith to stand on. God’s past grace helps us to know we are not crazy to trust Him for what He has promised for our future. Past grace is not the only means of encouraging us and stirring us on through life- just like papers and quizzes in school substantiated our studies for the moment but failed to drive us through the semester or year.

Looking forward to greater rewards has enormous value for our faith. Knowing God’s promises helps us to know what we are working toward. There will be a day when Jesus Christ is fully revealed in the lives of believers. In that day, there will be no more death, sickness or pain. Injustice and unrighteousness will no longer exist. Our hearts will be fully and permanently repaired, and we will forever enjoy the fullness of God’s grace on our lives as He originally intended. This is greater than any summer vacation or Christmas break, and it should spur us on towards love and good deeds as we that day coming near.

Knowing what our future holds should empower us for our decisions that we will make today. Living for the future is not about being spiritually AWOL and oblivious to present needs. Instead, we ought to see our present struggles and experiences in light of God’s grace. From that, our faith should rest secure for the glory that is yet to come, and we can be moved to overcome anything that stands in our way or tempts us to go astray. How has God’s past grace on your life helped you to trust Him? Do you know all that he has in store for you? How does that empower you for the present moment?