Author: BJ Armstrong

Numbers 15-18, Psalm 113, Colossians 3

It’s been a hard day.  Actually, it’s been a tough week.  Now that I think about it, the last month has been pretty rough.  The longer I sit and think about how tough my life is, the tougher it becomes.  This is nothing new.  You have heard it before.  Earl Nightingale says it this way, “we become what we think about most of the time.”  I also like the way Craig Groeschel puts it.  He says, “your life is moving in the direction of your strongest thoughts.”  Hmmm…. maybe I should take an inventory of my thoughts.

I did it tonight as I sat down for dinner.  I caught myself thinking about my day, reliving conversations and frustrations.  I reminded myself that I didn’t sleep well last night and that tonight was probably going to be tough too.  I am busy, you know.  As my family gathered around the dinner table, concocting a blessing was not in me.

“Mom, will you pray for us?”  Clever, aren’t I?  I can still fulfill the obligation of praying before dinner without actually praying.  At least, I thought so.

As Jennifer began to pray, I found stillness.  Not because I was still but because my mind turned to God.  In an instant, I found an undeserving peace.

I think this is what Paul is talking about in Colossians 3 when he tells us to “set our sights on the realities of heaven.”  This is, he says, where Christ sits.  He is sitting n the place of honor, at God’s right hand.  I think of the throne room.  It feels holy and sanctified.  I feel small.  At the same time, I am whole.

These thoughts are not for God’s benefit; they’re for ours. Think about it.  Where would life take you if you spent more time thinking about the things of heaven, not the things of earth?

Leviticus 15-18, Psalm 31, Hebrews 6

Many people want to become real estate agents.  Maybe you watch Million Dollar Real Estate Agent or House Hunters and get the itch too.  From those shows, lots of people decide to take the next step and get licensed.  But, did you know that lots of people who get a real estate license never sell any real estate?  It’s true.  It’s because getting a license is different than selling real estate.  Let me explain.  The licensing process is a requirement of the state.  The state needs real estate agents to know the laws that govern real estate.  Some of this is practical, like the division of land into sections and acres, and some of it is protectionist, benefiting the consumer.  Training from the state, however, is just the beginning.  To sell real estate, you must go out into the world and help people.  That means you have to come out from behind the computer and share your knowledge.  That’s where the real fun begins.  To be great, you have to learn about the economy, psychology, negotiating, and develop business skills.  It’s a lifelong process.  But some won’t make it.  They don’t want to take the steps to become great and instead stay behind the computer.  Some only last a couple of months. Some will hang on for years.  Eventually, they fade away.  Ironically, this is exactly what Paul is talking about today in Hebrews 6.

As new Christians, we are excited.   Salvation has changed us; we have a new outlook on life.  No longer a slave to our old selves, we get to step out and be whoever we want to be.  Yahoo!  Thank you, Jesus!  But we don’t.  We take our newfound salvation and sit on the couch, watch tv, or read a book.  Paul is urging us to get on with it (v6).  If we don’t, it could turn out badly.  Remember what happened to the real estate agent?

What Paul really wants us to know is that our great life is “out there.”  We need to get out into the world and do things.  “But, but, but I don’t know what to do,” we cower.  But we do.  Armed with faith, we can do any work.  Soaked in God’s love, we can lead and heal people.  Encouraged by God’s promises, we can endure every adversity (1 Thessalonians 1:3).  So, stop being sluggish, lazy, and dull, Paul charges.

Paul has stirred my soul.  I’m ready to “get on with it.”  I want to be Christ’s love in the world. I want others to experience God’s joy through me.  I’m ready to carry my faith to maturity.  This is how we do good things.  This is how we become who God created us to be.

Exodus 35-37, Psalm 26, Philippians 4

“Don’t worry,” people say.  I do, anyway.  They try, “You shouldn’t worry.”  That doesn’t work, either.   It makes it worse.  Now I’m worried about being worried!

I’ve tried many things to quell my anxiety, to no avail.  Attempting to steer my thoughts in another direction leaves me wanting solutions, and engaging distractions delays the inevitable.

I am sure that you have some advice for me, but is it as good as Paul’s?  Paul knows that this is a battle for our minds.  He also knows that there is a real and permanent solution.  It starts with taking our thoughts captive.

Once we identify that our thoughts have gone astray, we must do something with them.  Since we can just forget them, we need to transform them.  In Philippians 4:8, Paul hands us a simple framework.  In this situation, what is:

True – consider what is true from a Biblical context.  Truth exposes lies

Honorable – what is correct and righteous

Just – right, equitable

Pure – free from defilement, holy, sacred

Lovely – what is beautiful, pleasing, and agreeable

Commendable – well reported of, spoken in a kindly spirit, laudable, reputable

Excellent – moral goodness and virtue

Worthy of praise – what would God be proud of

Every time I filter my worry through these words, it resolves.  Not because I have put it off or quenched it with a temporary elixir but because I’ve brought it into the light.  The darkness dissolves, and I find peace.  At that moment, I see clearly that the Lord is at hand (v5), and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding guards my heart and mind (v7).

Exodus 22-24, Psalms 109, Ephesians 6

We fight every day in the physical world.   Money, pleasure, and power are the primary objectives.  We have it wrong.  Paul tells us clearly in Ephesians 6.  There is another war, and it is not physical.  It’s spiritual.  In the spiritual battle, war is not waged against our bank account or in a competition for the next customer, it’s for our hearts and minds.  That means we are fighting against ourselves.

Evidence suggests that we are lousy at waging this spiritual war.  James 4 points us toward murder, fighting, and quarreling as the symptoms.  What’s really happening, according to James, is that our physical and worldly passions are going unfulfilled.  The only way to satiate our hearts and minds is to act out.  If we want freedom, we must wage this spiritual war.

Two things make this war especially hard.  First, we must surrender.  Jesus said it this way, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23).  Note that he added the word “daily.”  That means surrender is not a one-time event.  Our passions and desires will continue to bubble up in us.  Even worse, our adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8).  Thankfully, we are not left to be wimpy fighters, which leads to the second reason that this war is hard.  We simply do not know how to wage a spiritual battle.

Thankfully, we get a great picture of waging the battle in Ephesians 6.  The message is hidden in the armor of God.  While it’s easy to focus on the pieces of armor, it is far more fruitful to see what they do.

Truth – the purity of the gospel ought to remove from our minds all deception, pride, and hypocrisy.

Righteousness – blameless, above reproach.  Our actions matter.

Readiness – the gospel of peace – the gospel that brings peace, even in great uncertainty.  Armed with it, we are ready and prepared for anything.

Helmet – salvation.  Our most valuable asset that can never be taken away.

Shield – Our faith.  Remember Hebrews 11:1? Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Sword – the word of God.  For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)

It’s one thing to know how our armor functions, but it’s quite another to use it.  Today, I am going to start by putting it on.

Exodus 4-6, Galatians 6

What would you do if you knew that you could not fail?  Go ahead, take a moment to answer that question.  Now that you have it, consider one more factor.  What if God blessed your plans?  It’s a no-brainer, right?  If God came to you and asked you, specifically, to do something, like maybe through a burning bush, would you then be fully encouraged to run with it?  Of course!  If God is in it, failure is impossible, right?

This is how it starts.  You know from our recent reading that Moses has been called to free the Israelites.  God has very specific conversations with him about it.  Reluctantly, Moses accepts and charges forward.  But it doesn’t work.  Moses fails.  Not because Moses wasn’t obedient, he was.  He went to Pharoah and did exactly as he was told.  Pharoah didn’t listen.  Instead, he retaliated.  Now, the Israelites are forced to work twice as hard.

Moses had to be devastated.  What more could he have done?  The people hate him and have lost faith in him as their leader.  They curse him, saying “the Lord look on you and judge because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” (Exodus 6:20).  Why in the world would God call a leader, then let him fail?

At this point in the story, I become frustrated.  I am rooting for Moses, but he is losing.  And it’s God’s fault.  He didn’t even hide it.  God told Moses, that “[He] will harden [Pharaoh’s] heart so that he will not let the people go.” Exodus 4:21.  In other words, God set Moses up to fail.  Wait.  What?

I could pontificate about why God would do such a thing.  I could stretch the words to weave a story about how God had to do X to get to Y, or that by taking the circuitous route, more people got to experience God and his power was better revealed.  When I started down that path of thinking, I realized that I was asking the wrong question.  I have been focused on how.  What if I focused on who?

Something changes when I move to who this reveals God to be.  Sovereign is the word that comes to mind.  God is sovereign.  He can do what he wants, for whatever reason he wants.  Yea, but….

I want to resist his sovereignty.  I want to argue with his methods, just like Moses.  “Then Moses went back to the Lord and protested, “Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord?  Why did you send me?” Exodus 5:22

God is patient with my questions, as he is with Moses.  Despite his careful explanations of why (Ex 6:2-7), my pride and self-preservation prevent my agreement.  God has to remind me I am the Lord!  (Emphasis God’s).  (Ex 6:8)

Now, at this moment, I see God as Lord.  I stand down, surrendering my foolish pride to exalt the Lord God Almighty.  Thy kingdom come.

Genesis 45-46, Psalm 108, Galatians 2

I like this part of Joseph’s story because I get to do a victory dance.  Joseph is now in charge.  He has the authority and ability to do as he pleases.  His dream was right.  He has been vindicated.  He is living in victory.  I picture him, in his private moments, doing a little victory dance.  But, this is not at all what happened.  These are pictures of the old Joseph.  The one we were introduced to back in chapter 37.  Remember him?  The Joseph that flaunted his favoritism (Gen 37:3-4).  The man blustering with self-glorifying dreams (Gen 37:9-10).  He’s not that man anymore.

Along the way, Joseph’s heart changed.  Perhaps it changed while he was enslaved.  Maybe it happened while he was in prison.  Did all of those demoralizing and challenging years beat the pride out of him?   Maybe.  But this story is less bout what came out of him and more about what got into him.  You see, many of us would replace pride with humiliation, emerging from slavery and prison as a shell of the person we set out to be.  We refuse to allow our current circumstances to drive us to our knees in submission.  Rather than cry out to God, we hold on to false hope.  God will protect us, we say.  Because God wins, we win.  But, that is incorrect.  God is not looking for our victory in the circumstance, he is looking for our humility.  Not our humiliation, mind you, but our surrender to him.  This is what happened to Joseph.  Never once does Joseph appear humiliated.  He does, however, appear surrendered.

What does surrender look like?  Consider the evidence of Joseph’s new life.

He looks upon others with compassion, instead of contempt – Genesis 40:6-7 (ESV) When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw they were troubled. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?”

He denies himself to exalt God – Genesis 41:16 (ESV) Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”

He gives God credit – Gen 41:25 (ESV) God has revealed to Pharaoh, Gen 41:28 (ESV) God has shown to Pharaoh

God was visible in him, through others – Genesis 41:38 (ESV) And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?”

He testified of God – Gen 41:51 – “For God has made me forget all my hardship”

Joseph’s journey brought him to freedom, but not victory.  While I look upon his final situation and declare victory, Joseph did not.  For Joseph, victory was not secured when he could lord power over his brothers, or find vindication for the trespasses of others.  Nor was his victory in loving, caring, and providing for his brothers.  Joseph’s victory happened every day, serving God.  No matter the circumstance, he had a reason to do a victory dance.

Genesis 30-31, Psalm 11, Mark 12

Why do you read the Bible?  Your answer to that question is essential.  There may even be more than one.  I answer it with to be a better person and to know God.  Both of those are fine answers.  But I question, how can either be true when we are reading about a bunch of idiots?

Let’s start with Jacob.  He was the 2^nd born son, but he wanted to be first, so he stole his brother’s birthright.  Then, with the help of his mother – who is no better – tricks his father into giving him the family blessing.  Trickery is something Jacob was especially good at.  He even tricks his wife’s father into a greater share of the family assets.  Seriously, Jacob is no prize.

Jacob leads us to Laban.  His tricks start with his daughters.  He swaps the ugly one for the pretty one, so Jacob ends up marrying both.  Then, he convinces Jacob to keep working his farm, even after Jacob has paid off his debts.

It’s not just the men.  Jacob’s wife Rachel is just as deceitful.  She can’t get pregnant so she offers Jacob her servant.  Then, hates her for it.  She is a thief too.  On her way out of town, she steals idols from her father.

What a mess!  As I read through this cast of characters, I consider them as who I do not want to be.  But, I am perplexed.  They live twisted lives and God blesses them anyway.  He gives them wealth and prosperity, family, and babies.  This is my quandary.  What in the world did they do to earn God’s favor?

Nothing.  That is the answer.  They did nothing to earn God’s favor.  They were undeserving jerks.  All of them.  He loved them anyway.   God loved them with the love of a lover, giving gifts and staying close by.  He loved them in their lying, deceit, trickery, and theft.

Truth is, if someone reads about my life 3,000 years from now, they will see me as an undeserving jerk too.  I am not proud of that.  But, prayerfully, they are a diligent student.  If they are, they will see the unconditional love of our great God. When they see it, I hope that they realize it is for them too.  He will take you too.  Just as you are.

Genesis 21-23, Psalm 107, Mark 8

I’ve been hearing lately the phrase “God is who he says he is.”  Every time I hear it, I am reminded of five simple statements that my mother taught me.  They steady my faith and encourage my soul.

I believe…

God is who he says he is.

God can do what he says he can do.

You are who God says you are.

You can do what God says you can do.

I believe God!

The Psalmist in Psalm 107 takes it deeper, noting specific attributes of God.  These are worth adding to my list:

He is good (v1)

His love endures forever (v1)

He redeems from trouble (2)

He gathers people (3)

He delivers from distress (6)

He leads (7)

He loves steadfastly (8)

He works wondrously for me (8)

He satisfies longing souls (9)

He fills my soul with good things (9)

He humbles me (12)

He delivers me from my distress  (13)

He brings me to the light (14)

He breaks my bonds (14)

He shatters bronze and cast iron (16)

He sent his word to heal and deliver me from de3structino (20)

He delivers me from self-induced distress, again (28)

He calms the storm (29)

He brings me to my desired place (30)

He turns rivers into deserts (33)

He dries up springs (33)

He turns fruitful lands into salty wastes (34)

He turns deserts into pools of water (35)

He gives me a place to dwell (36)

He watches me work the land (37)

He multiples my effort (38)

He pours contempt on my enemies (39-40)

He raises up the needy (41)

His love for me is steadfast (43)

 

How am I to respond to these things?  Just as the Psalmist does.

Give thanks.  Worship.  Cry out to the Lord.  Thank him.  Cry out to the Lord.  Thank Him.  Remember his works.  Thank the Lord.  Offer sacrifices of thanksgiving.  Tell of his deeds.  Sing with joy.  Cry to the Lord.  Thank The Lord. Go to church and extol him.  Praise him with other Christians.  Be glad.  Think about who God is. Consider his steadfast love.

Genesis 6-8, Psalm 104, Mark 3

I find it is easier to trust God when I am going through hard times.  What other choice do I have when everything around me is falling apart?  When I have nothing else, it is God who I turn to and He is faithful to lead me through the valley.  But, what if God told you to do something outrageous, would you believe that He would see you through?  What if the task He gave you seemed absolutely ridiculous?

This is what we learn about Noah today in our reading of Genesis 6-8.  Noah is an example of someone in the Bible who fully trusted God.  God commanded him to build an ark (Genesis 6:14).  This had to be hard to understand as Noah and his family lived in the desert.  The idea of a flood was not logical as it barely even rained.  God instructs to Noah exactly how big the boat should be built and it had to seem impossible as the boat would be bigger than a football field (Genesis 6:15).  I would have given up at that point due to overwhelm.  Then God tells Noah that he should gather two of every kind of animal and bring them into the ark (Genesis 6:19).  Surely Noah questioned how that would even be possible.  And finally, God made Noah aware that the entire human population would be wiped out except for him and his family (Genesis 6:17&18).  How would Noah even explain that to his neighbors and friends?  

But, we read that even through all that God commanded Noah to do, Noah did everything that God had commanded him (Genesis 6:22).  Even as God asked him to do what sounded crazy, Noah could have doubted what he heard God saying.  He could have said “No way am I doing any of that.”  But Noah obeyed, just as God commanded.  By obeying god’s commands, Noah demonstrated he fully trusted God and was willing to follow him.  No matter how difficult or crazy he looked to others.  Noah knew that God had a plan and a purpose.  

What is God asking you to do?  Do you trust God and believe that He has a purpose and plan for your life just as He did for Noah?  Are you willing to look crazy in front your neighbors and friends to follow through on what God asks you to do?  We can start by taking small steps to trust Him.  He might not be asking you to build a boat as big as a football field, but He might be asking you to begin by talking to Him and reading His Word.  

What small step can you take to trust God as you begin this new year?