What hinders me from being baptized?

Acts 8:36-37
36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
—

Our local church is preparing to have a believers’ baptism soon in a nearby river. We try to schedule one every summer for our small congregation, both to welcome our congregation’s youth who have matured enough in their faith to make a decision for Christ, and to welcome new adult believers into the body of Christ. After we announced that next baptism at church today, it occurred to me that my own children were probably near that age and level of faith when they could choose to make Christ their Savior and Lord. So I had a little discussion with my teenage daughter about getting baptized, and during the conversation, this pair of verses came to mind as a great illustration of how to judge when someone is ready to take the next step in their walk of faith.

To be perfectly honest, I sometimes think that I was this Ethiopian eunuch: someone who served another, someone who studied but did not understand Scripture, and yet someone who, once the gospel had been laid before him, became passionate about accepting and serving Christ. So this whole passage–Acts 8:26-39–is somewhat of a favorite of mine. It speaks to me about how we can look and look for answers in the Word of God, but until the Holy Spirit brings us the right teacher, we will likely completely miss the point. And so the eunuch understood that the passage he was reading was important, but he did not see how a man could take upon Himself the sins of God’s people.

—
Isaiah 53:7-8
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
—

“Who is this ‘lamb’?” the eunuch must have been asking himself. “How could He allow Himself to be led to His death with nary a word? How could His death pay for the transgressions of God’s people?” The answer to those questions is the thing upon which hangs all of the gospel, and it is the thing of which the prophets spoke from the very beginning of the Scriptures. And this is the answer:

—
John 3:16-17
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
—

Only the only begotten Son of God could possibly save the world from its own sin. And so, as the eunuch came to understand the Scriptures under Philip’s tutelage, he came to know who Jesus truly was and is. And knowing that such a Savior lives at the right hand of God, how could he not choose to accept Him?

I really love that the eunuch was so insistent about being baptized right away. He didn’t wait until they got to a river or a lake. He didn’t ask Philip to travel along with him to the next town so they could find a place to be baptized. Riding along, he saw some water–not a river, not a lake, not even a pond, and more likely just a puddle–and he asked to be baptized right then and there.

However, while part of him understood that the baptism itself involved water, he also understood that it really could not be so simple as just getting wet, that something more was required: “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”

In answer, Philip presented the eunuch with the most important decision of his life: “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” Moses and Joshua gave the Israelites a similar choice:

—
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
19 “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
20 “that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Joshua 24:14-15
14 “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!
15 “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
—

“Choose life,” said Moses. As Jesus put it:

—
John 6:51
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
—

This Jesus is the Lamb of God, slain for the sins of God’s people. This Jesus is the Bread of Life, broken for us. This Jesus is the sinless Son of God, who humbled Himself to the point of death on the cross so that God might be glorified and we might live.

What then is required of us to be baptized? We must choose Jesus and believe in Him with all our heart. Let us look quickly at the gospel itself:

—
1 Corinthians 15:3-5
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
—

That is the core of the gospel of Jesus Christ: that He died for our sin “according to the Scriptures.” And who do the Scriptures say He is? Who did Jesus Himself say He is? He is none other than the Son of God, slain for us and risen again so that He might reign in our lives.

And so, when presented with the choice to believe with all his heart, the eunuch simply stated what is the center of the matter: “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” No prophet, no lawgiver, no priest, no Pharisee, no Sadducee, no evangelist, no healer, no mere man or woman could ever give us the life we require. No one could ever pay for all our sins but ourselves–no one, that is, but God Himself stepping in and giving His only Son to redeem us. And having done that, now, as my daughter rightly said to me today, we are able to be reborn into new life. Baptism is the outward action that symbolizes our rebirth and solemnizes our commitment to live a new life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

“What hinders me from being baptized?”

The only thing that hinders us from any action on behalf of God is our faith in Jesus Christ as the true and only Son of God. If we love God with all our heart and mind and soul, then we will wholeheartedly believe that His Son became the very lamb led silently to the slaughter. We will believe that He is the light we must seek in our lives, the Lord who must reign in our lives, the choice we must make daily in our lives. Our spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak, and so, we must choose life every day, living lives of integrity and godliness to the glory of God the Father.

If you have not been baptized as a believer, ask yourself:
• Do you believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? (Acts 8:37)
• Do you believe that Jesus is the sole way to God? (John 14:6)
• Do you believe that He died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day? (Isaiah 53:5-6, 1 Corinthians 15:3-5)
• Do you believe that in Jesus we will be resurrected and have eternal life? (John 11:25)
• Do you love God “with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind”? (Luke 10:27, from Deuteronomy 6:5)

“If you believe with all your heart, you may [be baptized].”

If you have already made a decision for Christ, then I pray that you have been or soon will be baptized. If you are not sure if you are ready, allow God to provide a teacher to open the Scriptures to you, so that you may discover for yourself the amazing love of the Lord our God in Christ Jesus His Son. It’s a tough decision to make, and it is not made lightly, but when you are ready to be baptized, you can be certain that God will provide the puddle for you.

Heavenly Father, I praise and thank You that You continue to guide more men and women to Your Son, that the time of Your abundant mercy is still here, allowing many to come to repentance and faith. Holy Lord, help us to guide more to Your Son Jesus, who alone is the way, the truth, and the life. Help us to guide our sons and daughters, our siblings, our parents, our friends and enemies alike, so that one day they may each ask to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The spirit of prophecy

Revelation 19:9-10
9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
—

For the past year, I have been meeting with a small group on Friday mornings to study the book of Revelation. This is a longstanding study group, some of them having been meeting for decades to delve into various books of the Bible, but I came into the group just last year as they started a study of that final book of the Bible. In participating in this study of John’s Revelation of Jesus Christ, I have learned an awful lot about the Bible itself. As it turns out, most of what I have learned can be summed up in the words of the angel quoted above: “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

There is a great misperception in the public mind that prophecy is about doom and gloom, or that it is only about predicting the end times. We must admit that there is some gloomy stuff found in some prophecies in the Bible, and looking at some of the Bible’s minor prophets might lead one to think prophecy is all about predicting destruction and death. But the Bible is never meant to be read in bits and pieces, and so we must never forget the end that is in mind. And what is that end?

—
Revelation 21:3-5
3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
4 “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
—

That’s pretty good news, don’t you think? So why all the doom and gloom before that? Because “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Ask yourself, what IS the testimony of Jesus Christ? It is the gospel itself, the good news of our salvation through His blood, the testimony that He died for our sins so that we might not die, the witness that He rose again on the third day and ascended to the right hand of God. And we must not forget this very important set of verses:

—
John 3:16-19
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
—

It’s verse 18 that’s the clincher, because “he who does not believe in Him is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” The doom is not for believers, it is for those who love darkness rather than light, for those who, even when given the choice between life and death, would rather choose death than choose to love God. And that is the spirit of prophecy, the testimony of the prophets who constantly present us with the choice between life and death, between God and the world, between light and darkness, between being so loved by God and refusing that love.

Of course, some would say that all that prophecy is simply metaphorical, that the destruction foretold in Bible prophecy is not meant to be taken literally. Yes, tell that to the Jews who had their captivity in Babylon foretold by prophets of God. Tell that to the thousands of martyrs who have given their lives rather than renounce Jesus Christ–persecution that was foretold by Old and New Testament prophets alike. Tell that to the millions of Christians living in places even today where their lives and families are forfeit if they worship God in public, just as Jesus told us would happen:

—
Matthew 5:11-12
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
—

The testimony of Jesus is that those who believe in Him will be persecuted in this life but be rewarded with eternal life, and that those who do NOT believe in Him still have an opportunity to choose life. But, as in the days of the prophets who predicted the fall of Jerusalem, a time is coming when there will be no more room for mercy, when God will shut the doors of heaven and pour out His judgment on the world. (Revelation 15:5-8)

Yesterday, we read this Psalm before starting our study of God’s wrath in Revelation chapter 16:

—
Psalms 75:1-10
1 To the Chief Musician. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” a Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!
For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.

2 “When I choose the proper time, I will judge uprightly.
3 “The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved;
I set up its pillars firmly. Selah
4 “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not deal boastfully,’
And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn.
5 “Do not lift up your horn on high;
Do not speak with a stiff neck.’”

6 For exaltation comes neither from the east
Nor from the west nor from the south.
7 But God is the Judge:
He puts down one,
And exalts another.

8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup,
And the wine is red;
It is fully mixed, and He pours it out;
Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth
Drain and drink down.

9 But I will declare forever,
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

10 “All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off,
But the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.”
—

We have the choice. From which cup shall we drink, the cup of salvation in Christ’s blood, or the cup of God’s wrath and judgment?

—
2 Peter 3:13
Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
—

The testimony of Jesus Christ is the gospel itself, the call to repentance from sin and faith in the only begotten Son of God. The spirit of prophecy is the hope that we have in Jesus, the promise of eternal life, that final ending of the Book where we see Jesus Himself wiping away our tears. Prophecy is only doom and gloom for those who do not believe. For those who believe, prophecy is the promise of joy unending in a place where righteousness dwells.

Holy Lord God, we thank You for this day wherein we can reflect upon Your Word. Joy is to be found there, and Life. We praise Your holy name, and we praise Jesus Christ, through whom we have access now to that final world where Your righteousness reigns. Amen.

At an hour you do not expect

Matthew 24:42-44
42 “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
43 “But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
44 “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
—

Every few years, regardless of what our Lord Jesus Christ said concerning not knowing what hour or day He is coming, someone claims to know the time of His return. And they are always wrong.

—
Matthew 24:30-31
30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Revelation 1:7
Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
—

Is that clear enough? There will be no mistaking the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, and, by His own declaration, there will be NO PREDICTING His return. Yes, there will be signs of His imminent return, but, just as He said, we will go on marrying and working and doing what we usually do, and then–BAM!–He will return.

The point of all the prophecy in the Bible concerning Jesus’ return to judge the world is not so much to keep us waiting expectantly for His return, not to get us to drop everything and watch the skies. The point is to help us be READY for His return, no matter where we are or what we are doing. Jesus uses all sorts of parables to illustrate this readiness–e.g. the parable of the virgins waiting with their oil lamps ready to light His way upon His return. (Matthew 25:13) The point in all those parables is to put our lives in order NOW, so that whether He returns today or next year or a thousand years from now, we will be ready as His good and faithful servants.

In chapter 24 of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus speaks at length about His return to judge humanity, warning us that when He returns it will be too late to change our ways. After all, His first incarnation was as the Lamb of God, offered for the sins of the world. But when He returns, He will not be the meek Lamb but the very Lion of Judah, coming on clouds of glory to take with Him those whom He knows as His own. And what of those others, those who refused Him or merely gave Him lip service? To them He will say, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23), and cast them into the outer darkness. (Matthew 25:30)

In today’s verses, Jesus speaks to His disciples of His future return, but when He mentions the metaphor of the thief in the night, He speaks in the past tense. It is as if He is telling us that the thief has already come into our homes!

—
John 10:10
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
—

The thief is Satan, and he HAS stolen into our homes already. He lurks about our lives, watching for the times when we are not watchful, coming to us in the dead of night. Jesus is, as my pastor often says, the perfect gentleman, because He stands at the door and knocks. (Revelation 3:20) Satan, on the other hand, breaks into our lives, seeking nothing more than to steal and kill and destroy. Our best defense, of course, is to always be watchful, to always be aware that the thief is somewhere out there seeking to ruin our lives.

But Jesus isn’t just talking about Satan. Yes, we should indeed always be watchful, having our eyes peeled, keeping a wary eye open in our lives. But is that all we are to do? That borders on paranoid behavior, seeing Satan lurking around every event in our lives. Some people DO live that way, blaming Satan and his demons for every ill under the sun, constantly watching their own and others’ behavior for signs of Satan’s influence. That, my friends, is religion, not faith. We need a different kind of watchfulness.

Let’s go back to those ten virgins I mentioned earlier:

—
Matthew 25:3-5
3 “Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,
4 “but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 “But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.”
—

The ALL slumbered. But how is it that the five wise virgins were ready if they slept until the bridegroom’s return? They were ready because their lamps were full and wicks trimmed, and they were always ready to light their lamps even in the darkest hour of the night. You see, it’s not just about being watchful for the attacks of Satan, but also about preparing our lives for the imminent return of our Savior. It’s not about what we avoid doing, but about what we choose to do, how we live in the Spirit from day to day.

—
Matthew 24:36-41
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
37 “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
38 “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39 “and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
40 “Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
41 “Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.”
—

How is it that a man working in a field would be taken up with Jesus and His angels? How is it that a woman will be grinding her flour and be taken up? Were they not watching for Jesus’ return? They didn’t know when He was coming, so how could they have been prepared?

—
Romans 13:12-14
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

1 Peter 2:11-12
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,
12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
—

We are indeed to be watchful over our lives, not just to keep Satan out but to LET JESUS IN. We prepare our lives by living according to the pattern and commandments of Jesus Christ. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart and all our mind and all our soul. We are to love our neighbors–even the non-believers!–as ourselves. We are to live our lives in the Spirit, not the flesh, to fulfill the will of God in our lives rather than our own worldly wills. If we had been watchful from the beginning, the thief Satan would not have entered our lives and homes. But the deceiver has come in, and he has stolen and destroyed precious things. But Jesus has come that we may have life, and that more abundantly than we could ever imagine.

Also, we are not just to prepare our own lives for the imminent return of our Lord, but we are also to help others prepare. Jesus commissioned us all to share the gospel and make disciples in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Living our lives as if Jesus is returning now is not about crying out that the sky is falling–which, if you do too often, no one will believe–but to live such good and CHANGED lives that when we preach the gospel to every creature, they will see our lives and believe.

Doomsayers may come and go, and heaven and earth may pass away, but the Word of God endures forever. (Matthew 24:35) Those who point to Jesus falsely are not just misleading believers but they deceive the whole world. The cause of Christ is not served by predicting His imminent return in every generation, but in reminding the world that we must change our lives NOW because we DON’T know when He will return. We missed out on keeping Satan out of our lives, so now it is time to watch over our lives and let Jesus in. Let us allow His Holy Spirit to so reign in our lives that, no matter when Jesus comes again in glory to judge the world, we are ready to light His way.

Holy Father God, let Your Holy Spirit prepare me for Your Son’s return. Let my life be so lived that I bring You glory among the unbelievers. And let me ever be watchful not only to keep Satan out but to let You in, so that I am prepared for Your return no matter when that may be. Amen.

Articles of Gold

Exodus 12:35-36
35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing.
36 And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
—

In these tough economic times, it is difficult not to think about money. We are all suffering from the current recession and the rising prices of fuel and food, and the struggles are happening in all areas of society. One major ministry here in America declared bankruptcy last year, and just last week they announced they would be selling off property to get out of debt–including their beautiful and well-known church building. That loss of such a signature place of worship reminded me how much we must always depend upon the grace of the Lord God.

—
Luke 16:13
“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
—

It is not so much that Christians love money–certainly not like stereotypical bankers or stock traders might–but that we RELY on it so much. Worse yet, we TRUST money. Think about it: These days, when a large church is struggling to pay bills for a mostly-empty building, what do they do most often? Do they downsize like a business might, or do they sponsor a fund-raising or “awareness” campaign to gain more attention and money for their church? Modern churches have become so enamored of “programs” and “drives” that the word “ministry” is little more than part of a marketing slogan for more fund-raising.

Here’s another question for us to think about: When a church starts drawing in more attendance from farther away, what should they do? Should they raise more money to build a larger building and house more people–like a nautilus constantly enlarging its shell to house its growing body? Or should they plant another church closer to where those other people are coming from? I look at what Paul did in 1st century Asia Minor, travelling throughout Palestine, modern Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Crete, and even planning trips to Rome and Spain. Everywhere Paul went, he planted churches and the seeds of faith, and he expected those who stayed behind to continue making disciples and creating new leaders.

—
Titus 1:5-6
5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you–
6 if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination.
—

“Elders in every city,” Paul wrote. And we aren’t talking about big cities like Jerusalem or Rome or Athens. Paul is writing about Crete, where even today the largest city (Heraklion) has only 130,000 people. And Paul’s command to Titus is to appoint elders, not to build churches. He told his disciple to raise up new men to lead new flocks in each city, not to call all the flocks in an area to one leader in one city. It isn’t money or size that makes better churches, it is faith and all that comes with it–prayer, fasting, fellowship, charity, mercy, and a whole lot of grace.

So when the Israelites were leaving Egypt, why did God give them so much material wealth? Why did He bless them and allow them to plunder their former masters? Did all that wealth help them during their wanderings? Plainly not, since the Israelites cried out for better food. (e.g. Numbers 11:14) It obviously didn’t serve their faith either, since they often turned their eyes and hearts back toward Egypt–even when they had reached the Promised Land! (Numbers 14:2-3) So what good was all that silver and gold? What was it for? Look at these two scenes from the Exodus:

—
Exodus 32:1-4
1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
2 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”
3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.
4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”

Exodus 36:4-7
4 Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing,
5 and they spoke to Moses, saying, “The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the LORD commanded us to do.”
6 So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.” And the people were restrained from bringing,
7 for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done–indeed too much.
—

Which is it to be? Shall we build idols and declare them to be our god, or shall we build a tabernacle for the one true God? In the first case, the Israelites gave only a tiny portion of their plundered wealth to build the golden calf. But in the latter case, they gave so much that it was too much for the work that had to be done. This is less about giving and more about the purpose for which they gave. In the case of worshiping the golden calf, the children of Israel trusted in their old ways, their old life, and so the calf was simply a symbol of the blessings they thought they had received. They kept most of their newfound wealth, and then feasted and played in front of that calf. But when it came time to build the tabernacle, the Israelites had been suitably humbled by their God, and they understood that their wealth truly belonged to the Lord, and so they gave it to Him willingly and completely. They still went on grumbling and complaining and doubting, but they eventually came to trust the Lord completely, to follow His ark of testimony across the Jordan into that Promised Land.

When Paul wrote that “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil,” he was reminding us that when we love someone or something, then we come to rely on and trust that connection–to the detriment of our reliance on and trust in God.

—
1 Timothy 6:6-12
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
—

Those who lead the churches must remember that the Lord desires very little for His house, save that His elders be men of good report and willing to lead. (1 Timothy 3) And those who give to the churches must give with such willingness that it is too much. And when church needs have been met, the elders must acknowledge such, so that the house of God does not become a den of robbers which must one day be torn down, but becomes a house of prayer that constantly builds people up.

I have seen some glorious church buildings in my life, all across Europe and North America, but I have seen no church so lovely as the little building where I gather each week with two-score believers who love the Lord with all their heart and mind and soul. Brothers and sisters, money can never make up for our former bondage to sin, and it certainly is no substitute for faith and prayer and living in the Spirit. Whatever plunder we may take from our Egypt, we must not hold so fast to it that it becomes a new idol and reason to celebrate. Let us instead give it back to the One from whom it came, and let us, as Paul said, “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness,” and fight the good fight of faith, all to the glory of our Father in heaven.

O children of God, we are not called to build bigger churches, but better churches. We are not called to simply minister to people, but to spread the gospel and make new disciples. We are not called to bring people to one elder, but to raise up new elders in every city. We are not called to raise funds for new church buildings that corrode and fade, but to raise communities of faith throughout the land. Let us therefore keep our eyes on the one great treasure that we might ever possess: Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. When we truly love Him with all we are, then we will know what to do with all we have.

Holy Lord God, I continue to struggle with finances, and yet I trust in You. You alone have never let me down, have never forgotten me in the midst of adversity. I trust in You with all I have. Father God, please, accept from me all I can give, and multiply it to Your own glory. Al I pray for myself is that, like Your apostles, I will be content with what godliness I have and not worry about anything more. Amen.

When I awake in Your likeness

Psalms 17:15
As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
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Nowhere in the Bible does the Lord tell us to seek happiness, to seek power over our enemies, to seek riches and earthly glory. Yes, the Bible does often remind us that we may be given those things, but nowhere are we told to seek them. We are instead told to fear God and follow His commandments, to seek what HE seeks for us: righteousness and humility and obedience. And whenever I think about how we are to humble ourselves to follow God, I am reminded again and again of the apostle Paul. Born as Saul of Tarsis, he was the Pharisee of Pharisees, a lead persecutor of the followers of Jesus Christ. And yet on that road to Damascus he became an apostle of Jesus and one of the persecuted! (Acts 9:1-23) He became Paul and gave up his rising star in the community of the Pharisees in order to follow the true calling of the Lord. No happiness, no riches, no earthly power or glory. In his own words:

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Philippians 3:8-12
8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
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Paul sought no other gain than Christ, no other life but a life that was lived like Christ, no other righteousness than that attained through faith in Christ, no other death than one like Christ’s, and no other resurrection than that known by those who know Christ. Paul understood that whatever perfection he might know was only from Christ, from the righteousness and honor He bestows on those who love Him. All other honor and riches and glory, all other life or death, pale in comparison to that which we can know through faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

David knew this, too. He knew that despite all he might suffer–all the persecution, all the trials, all the enemies and warfare–his greatest reward came from knowing the one true and living God. In Psalms 17, David pleads before God to be rescued from his enemies.

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Psalms 17:8-9
8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
9 From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who surround me.
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David often prays in the Psalms for the Lord to save him from his enemies, sometimes even for victory and power over them. But most often, David simply seeks the presence of the Lord, knowing that when God is present His people will prevail. Despite all that he faced in his life–scorn from his own brothers, being hunted by King Saul, the death of his friend Jonathan, betrayal by his sons, and even the consequences of his own sins–David always came back to the Lord, seeking His mercy and His love.

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Psalms 51:10-13
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.
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David wanted nothing more than for the Lord God to purify him, to make him worthy of the blessings he had already received. And it is that seeking spirit that MADE David worthy. We all must remember how Jesus Himself put it:

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Matthew 6:31-33
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
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Alleluia!

And so, at the end of David’s prayer about protection from his enemies, the Psalmist points out the difference between his enemies and himself:

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Psalms 17:13-15
13 Arise, O LORD,
Confront him, cast him down;
Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,
14 With Your hand from men, O LORD,
From men of the world who have their portion in this life,
And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure.
They are satisfied with children,
And leave the rest of their possession for their babes.
15 As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
—

The enemies of God seek to fill their bellies here in this earth, they have their portion right here. As Jesus said, those who seek to be known by men for glory and virtue will indeed have their reward in this life, but they shall have no reward in heaven. (Matthew 6:1-20) As Jesus said, we are to store up treasures in heaven, to seek God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness. And that was the difference between David and his enemies: David sought the things of God while his enemies were satisfied with earthly things. While others sought power and riches and glory, David sought the righteousness of God.

Our goal is to seek to be more like our Lord. As David put it, to “awake in Your likeness.” This Hebrew word that David uses here for “likeness” is the same word used in the Ten Commandments, where we are told NOT to make idols that conform to the “likeness” of anything on the earth. (Deuteronomy 5:8) We are not to be conformed to anything in this world, but to be conformed to the likeness of God in heaven.

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Romans 8:29-30
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
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God’s will for those who love Him is that we should be conformed to nothing other than the image of His Son, and in so doing we should then partake of the glory of His image. Not that we could ever be God! We cannot know or attain to His power and knowledge and wisdom and honor. But through Jesus Christ, we can attain a portion His righteousness, and through Christ we can attain eternal life with Him. And in Christ, we can, in this life, come to live and to love and to forgive and to heal just as Jesus Christ did. David certainly had the right idea: seek God’s righteousness, and be satisfied with awakening in the likeness of our Father in heaven.

Holy Lord God, I am always amazed that You have chosen even sinners like me to share life with Your Son, to know Your forgiveness and mercy, to experience the joys of Your love. I cannot thank You enough for the righteousness I have attained through the blood of Jesus Your Son. Loving and Gracious Lord, let me always seek Your face in righteousness, and let me be satisfied with nothing more or less than to always awake in Your likeness. Amen.