Blog Archives - ADVENTURES THAT INSPIRE ACTION

ADVENTURES THAT INSPIRE ACTION

Deuteronomy 26

5/31/2020

Have you ever thought about the purpose of tithing? I don't mean the spiritual purpose of acknowledging that every good gift comes from God or the discipleship purpose of learning to trust God to provide enough. I mean the purpose that is beyond yourself and your needs.

I often tend to view scripture in a very me-centered perspective. What is God teaching me? What does this promise mean for me? What does God want me to do? But the truth is, it isn't about me. I need to write that on my mirror so I see it every morning as a reminder that God's purposes are so much bigger than my narrow perspective.

This morning's chapter hit me between the eyes with that as it describes bringing in the tithe of produce and giving it to "the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow." God's purpose in requiring the tithe is to provide for those in need.

According to Health Research Funding, "For Christian families making less than $20k per year, 8% of them gave at least 10% in tithing. For families making a minimum of $75k or more, the figure drops to just 1%." Even more sad, "37% of people who attend church every week and identify themselves as Evangelical don’t give any money to their church." Imagine if all those who say they are followers of God honored this command. Government welfare would be out of business for lack of demand. The church would be known for meeting needs and showing generosity to those in need.
Tithing can seem like an overwhelming amount if you haven't been giving anything or have just been giving $20 when you feel especially moved. But, as I've heard others say often, and we've seen proven over and over, you cannot out-give God.

Some will say we are no longer required to give a tithe, just as we are not bound by other aspects of the Mosaic law, because we are now under the grace of Christ. Tithing should not be about checking off a box and patting ourselves on the back for our righteousness. However, the purpose of meeting the needs of our neighbors continues. In fact, many of us should not stop at 10%. The same study quoted above also found that “77% of those who tithe give 11%–20% or more of their income, far more than the baseline of 10%.” The Gospel Coalition published an article “7 Reasons Christians are not Required to Tithe,” but it seems like many never read beyond the title to discover we are called to a much higher standard, to “give generously.”

Deuteronomy 25

5/30/2020

I wonder if this chapter is where the last name “Barefoot” originated?

Some portions of this chapter read like cultural norms of the time, while others make me scratch my head. Have you ever read a warning label that made you question why on earth someone has to be told not to do that? But you know that the warning wouldn’t be there unless someone, at some time, tried to do something so crazy.

The primary take-away from this chapter for our lives is God’s priority on honesty and integrity in our business. Whether you own a business, or work for someone else, God’s Word instructs that we are to use the same measures and prices. As followers of God, our lives should be characterized by being above reproach. Just as the Israelites were to be a testimony of God’s blessings to the nations around them, believers in Christ are called to draw others to the gospel by their witness.

I’m reminded of a line from the movie, “The Book of Eli.” If you haven’t seen it, I’ll offer the warning that it is a post-apocalyptic, rated R, depiction of a world that has almost lost the Word of God completely. Near the end of the movie, Eli (played by Denzel Washington), is forced to give up the precious Bible he has been protecting for nearly thirty years to the villain in order to save the life of Solara. When they’ve escaped the enemy, she says, “I didn't think you'd ever give up the book, I thought it was too important to you.”
Eli replies, “It was. I was carrying and reading it everyday, got so caught up in protecting it, I forgot to live by what I'd learnt from it.”
“And what's that?” Solara asks.
“To do more for others than you do for yourself.”[1]

What a wonderful reminder of how important it is to see beyond individual events recorded in the Bible, or even every specific rule, to apply the heart of God to how we live our lives. In our frail and fallen humanity, we are not able to keep every jot and tittle of the law. And because Christ paid the debt for our sin, we are free of that burden. But as I’ve quoted just a few days ago, Jesus summed up the law and the prophets in a simple theme, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.”

Whitta, Gary and Denzel Washington, The Book of Eli. DVD. Directed by Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes. (2010, USA: Alcon Entertainment, Silver Pictures, 2010).

Deuteronomy 24

5/29/2020

My favorite verse in this chapter is verse 5: "If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married." I'm not sure, but I think the amplified version would add, "and after a whole year of having him at home bringing her happiness, she might send him off to war herself."

Just kidding, but this chapter does provide wonderful guidance on how to live in peace and generosity with our neighbors. From treating the poor with kindness and concern for their well-being to treating your employees well, this chapter is filled with wisdom.

As we consider issues facing our culture today, this chapter provides a mindset that is timeless. As Jesus summarized the law and the prophets, we are to love God with all that we are and to love our neighbors as ourselves. This chapter gives some examples of what that looks like: being mindful of someone's ability to pay back a loan and not taking away their source of livelihood, or leaving something behind for those in need when harvesting, or paying workers sufficiently to provide for them and their families.

Imagine if all the businesses operated by individuals who claim the name of Christ operated by these principles! Imagine if those of us who fill churches each Sunday embraced this mindset of generosity and caring for our neighbors the other six days of the week. What a stunning difference we would make in this world!

Deuteronomy 23

5/28/2020

Eunuchs and prostitutes? Oh my. Lord, please help me mine some applicable lessons from this hard chapter!

There's clearly a principle throughout the Mosaic law that those in leadership positions, like animals offered in sacrifice, must be unmarred. Visually, their "unblemished" appearance symbolized the requirement for those entering God's presence to be sinless. God's holiness demands such perfection -- yet, clearly, even those who were physically unmarked were still far from the sinless life required to enter God's presence.

Jesus alone lived up to this requirement. His perfection, His "being in very nature God," allowed Him to be the perfect and complete sacrifice on behalf of all of us who are marred and imperfect.

It's interesting to note that while both the Edomites and the Ammonites and Moabites refused hospitality to the Israelites traveling to the Promised Land, only the Edomites are to be welcomed as distant relations since Esau (their patriarch) and Israel were brothers. Both the Edomites and the Israelites were descendants of Abraham, and of Isaac, descendants of the Abrahamic covenant. But the Ammonites and Moabites were descendants of Lot -- not only that, but descendants of the ungodly incestuous union with his daughters after they fled Sodom. True to their roots, these people groups practiced pagan worship of Molech and Chemosh, which included child molestation, prostitution, and infant sacrifices. God's rejection of them is not a matter of their ethnicity or parentage, but of their ungodly culture. If you have any understanding of human trafficking, child pornography, and how these feed into the abortion industry, you can see that these false gods continue to have followers today, though their worshippers may not even know their names. Their ravenous hunger for the lives of innocent infants continues to demand a sacrifice which many are all too willing to make.

Deuteronomy 22

5/27/2020

Some portions of this chapter should be titled, "How to be a decent person." They cover things like returning something that is lost to its owner, helping someone when their ox is stuck in a ditch, or practicing conservation by not taking both the mother bird along with the young. Other parts are either somewhat confusing (like not wearing clothes of mixed textiles or the requirement to add tassels to your garments), or offensive to our modern views (like not cross-dressing or having to maintain proof that you were a virgin on your wedding night.)

In their context, these continued the pattern of differentiating the Israelites from the pagan cultures around them. The commands against mixing textiles or seeds was directed against pagan beliefs that by mixing un-like things, it created a "magical" combination. Cross-dressing was a component of pagan worship, as was sexual promiscuity. Tassels on their garments were intended to let people around them know that these were followers of God, much like wearing a Christian t-shirt, or putting a sign of the fish on your car.

The point of publicly identifying yourself as a follower of God was to be an example to others of God's blessing. Notice that even the command (considered the "least" by some Rabbi's) to protect the mother bird when you take the young, brings with it a promise of blessing. The idea behind wearing tassels on their cloak was that as others saw the tassels, associated you with following God, and saw your behavior and God's blessing, they would be encouraged to follow God as well.

Oh, how we modern followers have reversed that plan! We're happy to be identified by our sign of the fish or church bumper sticker, but then cut people off in traffic or demonstrate road rage. We like to leave a little tract for our server... but minimize the tip or stiff them if the service doesn't meet our standard. We wear cross jewelry or have a verse on the wall of our office, and then fail to work as if unto the Lord or spend our time gossiping about co-workers.

Instead of others being encouraged to follow God, too often they view our example and want no part of the faith we claim to have.

While our salvation isn't based on our works, but rather on the finished work of Christ, our works may be an obstacle to the salvation of those around us. This chapter reminds us that the world is watching, and we're setting an example, whether for good or for evil.

Deuteronomy 21

5/26/2020

This chapter presents several rules that are challenging for us today. It's challenging to imagine how these could be applied in a modern setting, but God's Word never returns void.

The first section deals with unsolved murders. We continue to encounter situations today where justice is denied and we must trust God's justice to prevail in eternity. God's Word instructs us to repent of the evil that is done in our midst, even when we aren't personally responsible. It provides wisdom in that we are not to lash out in anger and revenge without sufficient proof.

The next section relates to how we treat those over whom we have power. In the Israelites' day, it provided instruction that women taken as captives were not to be treated as slaves, but rather to be given the rights of a wife. In today's world, we might consider how we treat those captured in war, refugees seeking asylum, or even our employees, and ensure their rights are protected.

The section dealing with the rights of the firstborn reminds us that we should not "play favorites." Whether it is with our own children, within government, or in employment, rights and privileges should not be clouded by our personal bias. In order to combat this tendency, we must first acknowledge to ourselves that we are biased. Only then can we ensure that our bias does impinge the rights of others.

The final section provides for capitol punishment in the case of a rebellious son. Even this extreme example provided restraint compared to the norm - specifically, it refers to an adult son who continues in defiance of his parents, rather than a child; it requires both the father and the mother to bring the son before the elders, and it requires the elders to find him guilty.

The Bible records no instance of this sentence being carried out, but stresses the purpose is to deter behavior that will ultimately lead to Israel's desertion of God and subsequent judgment on the entire nation. The requirement for the parents to bring the son before the elders emphasizes the responsibility parents have for raising their children to understand God and to obey His commands.

The reality today is that many disobedient and rebellious children pay the death penalty through the natural consequences of foolish choices. When raised within a home where anything goes, they fail to learn that their actions have consequences. As parents, the training we provide our children may ultimately lead to abundant life or to death.

This is true both physically and spiritually. Just as failing to teach a child to look both ways before crossing a street may result in their injury or death, failing to teach a child about eternal life through faith in Christ may result in their eternal separation from God.

Deuteronomy 20

5/25/2020

I LOVE that God tells the Israelites to send home any soldiers who have unfinished business at home or who are faint-hearted. What a great reminder - which echoes the sermon I heard this weekend from Pastor J.D. Greear - our battles are won by the Lord.

The Israelites could not hope to overcome the fortified cities in their own strength. And you and I cannot hope to overcome the sin that entangles us in our own strength either. Yet, just as the Israelites could not sit and do nothing and wait for God to deliver the cities to them, we also must do what we know to do, follow the Holy Spirit's leadership, and trust that the battle is already won because of Christ's finished work.

As Pastor J.D. said, "Christ's words on the cross were not, 'It's almost finished; you take it from here.' He said, "IT IS FINISHED."

Brothers and sisters, it is not just our salvation which is purchased and settled on the cross, but our sanctification as well. Sure, we still have to march in and claim the territory, but the battle was won 2000 years ago. Whether your specific battle is sexual sin, addiction, pride, self-righteousness, racism, or vanity, Jesus defeated the enemy that wants to hold you captive.

Just as the Israelites were to leave no survivors as they took possession of the land God had given, you and I must be merciless as we trust the Holy Spirit to eliminate every stronghold. We must be merciless in examining and putting an end to sin in our own life. But we must also trust the work that God is doing in the lives of others.

Since God is the one who defeats sin, our role is not to condemn those who haven't yet discovered victory. God is working in their life and His timetable is between Him and His child. In Roman's 14:4, we are told, "Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand."

Deuteronomy 19

5/24/2020

In context, the laws regarding cities of refuge for one guilty of manslaughter and limiting retribution to the specific loss (eye for eye) were evidence of God's grace and mercy. The culture allowed an avenger of blood to take the life of someone whose accident caused death. It allowed for someone to take the life of a person who was guilty of theft. Even today, laws allow for punishment much harsher than the crime committed.

We see this clearly in other cultures from the young American sentenced to hard labor in North Korea, and ultimately killed over what amounted to minor vandalism, to examples of sharia law. But we also have examples in our own nation of injustice. It's harder to look at those, more painful to examine our own failures than it is to point at others.

We do the same thing with our individual sin. The enemy delights in pointing out the shortcomings of others, whether they are in positions of power in government or the church, or whether they are sitting next to us in traffic, in worship, or in the office. It is so much easier to see the sin in others than to listen to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit pointing out our own need for repentance and grace.

And just as God provided sanctuaries where one might take refuge, He also provides the power and the grace to recognize, repent, and overcome the strongholds of sin in our life.

Our pastor's message this morning from the first chapter of Galatians was perfectly tuned to this same concept. Our repentance and our efforts to root out sin are never going to be enough to earn God's favor -- and thankfully, Christ has done everything needed for our salvation. The Holy Spirit empowers us to overcome sin so that our joy may be complete and our lives filled with abundance. If we are depending on our efforts to be "good enough" rather than on Christ's work, we will find ourselves constantly frustrated and exhausted. There aren't enough hours in the day to do all the "good" things that we "should" do. And even those efforts will never be enough to earn our salvation.

But when we rest in Christ's finished work, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to do the things that He has called US to do, the "good works He prepared beforehand that we might walk in them," as it says in Ephesians 2, then we are empowered rather than overwhelmed. We are satisfied, rather than seeking. We are at peace, rather than constantly pursuing one more thing to make us happy.

Deuteronomy 18

5/23/2020

Once again, the Lord instructs that the Levites are to have no inheritance in the land, because the Lord is their inheritance, and the offerings of the people are to be given for the support of this entire tribe. Those who minister before the Lord should receive their support from the body of believers. Their attentions and time should not be split between serving as God called them and working a second job in order to provide for their family.

This chapter also addresses practices of the occult. It would be easy for many believers today to skim this thinking, "This doesn't apply to me." But our culture embraces this in a variety of ways, and believers are often caught up in it without realizing it. Horoscopes, TV shows about mediums, practicing meditation and yoga, and movies about the power of witchcraft are just a few of the ways the occult has become mainstream. There is a powerful allure to these forbidden practices as well as a hidden purpose. Occult practices undermine the worship and glory of God and lead those who practice them into increasing disregard for God's Word. Many Christians have been deceived into believing that practices like yoga and meditation are simply healthy exercises, but they are not. There are tons of articles from those who have escaped this practice and expose the realities behind it, but I found this one particularly helpful: http://www.theothersideofdarkness.com/yoga-occult/

There are many ways to exercise our bodies and care for this vessel God has provided, but we must not let the enemy deceive us into turning a good thing (health and fitness) into an opportunity for demons to exercise their power in our lives. As followers of Christ, no power can snatch us from His hand, but when we invite the enemy into our lives, he can wreak havoc on us and those we love.

As W. Brugh Joy, a medical-doctor-turned-Eastern guru, states, "Tapping these energies is fire, and the consequences… can be psychosis, aggravation of neuroses, acceleration of disease processes and suicide." (W. Brugh Joy, Joy’s Way (J.P.Tarcher, 1979), pp. 8-9.) Sadly, despite his recognition of these dangers, he continues his occult practices.

One of the key ways the occult undermines our worship of God is by teaching that we can attain a higher consciousness, greater awareness, or some mystical nirvana, apart from the One Creator God of the Universe. But Paul teaches in Galatians, "Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!"

Deuteronomy 17

5/22/2020

Research has shown how prone to bias and errors our courts have been in administering capitol punishment. The Bible is clear that capitol punishment requires irrefutable proof of guilt, since there is no opportunity to restore someone if they are exonerated after the sentence is carried out. This chapter and others indicate that there must be two or three witnesses to not only testify to having seen the accused commit the crime, but who are willing to have (quite literally) the person's blood on their own hands.

The chapter also gives the Israelites guidance for seeking God's wisdom in cases they are unable to decide and on having a king. Isn't it ironic that every warning given in this chapter about what a king must not do is ignored by Solomon, despite all his wisdom? I love that the king is instructed in verses 18 - 20: "When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left."

I have gained so much by carefully reading a chapter each day, praying to God for understanding, and meditating on what He reveals through His Word. Can you imagine how much more might be gained by painstakingly copying word for word every word of the Bible? (To be fair, for Solomon that would be primarily the Pentateuch.) He was to read it all the days of his life. What a great reminder to spend time in God's Word every single day!

One of the greatest blessings I've experienced on this chapter-a-day adventure is the consistency of devoting a portion of every day in Scripture, no matter how busy I am, how long the night before was, or how crazy the coming day is expected to be. I know plenty of people who spend time in the Word daily, and it has certainly been a routine of mine for many years. But often that time was spent reading through several chapters according to an arbitrary schedule in order to complete the whole Bible within a year. I highly recommend doing that -- it places the events within a context that is more clear because of it being read through quickly, as you would read a book for enjoyment or study. But I'm finding that this more leisurely pace allows for greater reflection and application, providing a different, yet equal, benefit.