When the Sphinx Can't Save You

As I was reading through Isaiah 31 this morning, it brought up an idea that is really, really common in the Old Testament.  Israel as a country would find itself attacked by a bigger, stronger nation, and over and over they would run to Egypt, pay them money, and have them come send the Egyptian army up to help defend the nation of Israel.  They were hired soldiers.  It seems like Israel did this over and over.

I had read that a ton of times, but I got thinking about how that must have felt to them.  They had been slaves in that country.  Egypt had owned them.  It took a ton of miracles by God to pull them out of there, and from the time they left, there were people who kept choosing to go back to Egypt instead of trusting God.  Egypt was a source of embarrassment for the country, a constant reminder that they were not a world power, that they were very little, and really struggled to even protect themselves, let alone be a threat to anyone.  I mean, if you're going to claim to be God's chosen people, you'd think you'd be the dominating force in the world.  They weren't.  They came close under David and Solomon, but that was short, and did not last.  And even then, they were only able to defend themselves.  They never went on a huge warpath and took over other countries to build an empire.  The best they could do was to just manage to be safe for a couple of decades.

As a country, that's embarrassing.

But to have to run back to the very nation you had to scrape and claw your way out of only made it worse.

Yet, most of the people and the kings would rather run back to Egypt with their tail between their legs than to depend on God to save them.  Why do we do that?

Why do we trust in habits, people, or systems that we know, 100% without a doubt, that they are broken?  We know those addictions don't set us free.  We know that relationship can't actually make us happy.  We know that habit only leaves us empty.  We know that grab for power is always temporary.  In spite of that knowledge, when we come under attack, and life becomes scary and unsure, instead of turning to God, we run to Egypt, the land of darkness.

Why?

God is trustworthy.  He always has been.  He always will be.  He is not the problem.

It's our expectations.  The nation of Israel couldn't understand that maybe God's plan didn't call for them to be a military powerhouse.  He didn't even want them to have a king.  He wanted them to follow Him, to be blessed, and to bless the people around them.  That is not what they wanted.  They wanted power and revenge, just like everyone else around them seemed to have.  So, they ignored God, and ran to the center of ancient power and revenge.  Even when Egypt was way past their glory days and were no longer a world force, Israel still ran to them for help.

What goals, hopes, values, dreams, or desires do you have that keep you from running to God?  Are they working out for you?  It's probably time to find some new ones, some dreams that come from Him, and that He will honor in your life.

Free Fonts to Kick Off the Fall | Youth Ministry Geek

Chris over at Youth Ministry Geek has put up two links to some free fonts. If you do any sort of graphics work, check out the links. There's some really good stuff on there.

Free Fonts to Kick Off the Fall | Youth Ministry Geek

The Waiting Game. Again.

I almost couldn't take it anymore.  I was reading through Hosea and Isaiah today in the Bible, and I was feeling so beat down by it.  Over and over God warns His people, and they refused to listen.  So God promised to send other nations in to destroy the country and get the people's attention.  The warnings were dark, ominous, and seemed to go on, verse after verse, chapter after chapter, without end.  It was discouraging.  


In Isaiah 30:17, God says
"A thousand will flee 

at the threat of one;
at the threat of five
you will all flee away,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banner on a hill.” 

He's saying that the nation will be completely routed and destroyed.  No one will be left.  

I read these things and I think about my own sin, my own places I wrestle with God, where I don't want to listen to Him.  It breaks me, scares me, and worries me.  I want to follow God, I want to serve Him, but there are still so many issues in my own life that I am working on and have so far to go yet.  

Then, after verse 17, I read verse 18:

"18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him! 19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you.20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them.21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

And I have hope again.  God is a God of justice.  He will do what it takes to get our attention and get us back on the path.  He is also a God of grace and compassion.  It just gives me hope that as long as I keep trying to follow Him, even when hard times come, or consequences for my sins fall, He will stand with me in them and never leave me.  Blessed are those who wait on Him.  Again with the waiting.  It's finally starting to get through my skull.  Be faithful, stand, and wait on the Lord.

That's not quite the normal plan for business in our culture.  That's for sure.  "What is your five year plan look like Jason?"  "Oh, you know, I'm waiting on God."  (awkward pause......)

But really, what else is there?  What else can I do?  I can try to run everything myself, work myself into a worried mess, stress over a ton of details, some I can influence and some I can't.  Or I can trust that God is a God of compassion and grace, and I can wait.

That's enough.  It's more than enough.

Yeah, Sure Man, God Told You to.... Uh, huh......

I do not know anything about suffering for God.  I don't.  I just don't.  I read through a book like Hosea, and I realize that I really have no clue about obedience leading to suffering.  If you've never read the book of Hosea, then 1) stop reading this and go read it.  Your time will be better spent.  2) If you're still reading this, then here is a brief synopsis.  Hosea is called as a prophet when he's a young, single guy.  God tells him to go marry a woman who is adulterous, someone known for sleeping around.  That doesn't do anything for your reputation, either as a man or as a prophet.  I'm sure lots of elbow nudging went on with his friends; "Yeah, we know why you married her.  God TOLD you to."  (Nudge, nudge).

Then, she cheats on him, and he has to buy her back.  Did you catch that; buy her back.  He had to swallow his pride and go buy her back.  Spend actual money to redeem this woman who ran off on him.  She ran off AFTER she and Hosea had three kids together.

All of this so that the nation of Judah could learn a lesson, which they didn't learn.

Hosea was one massive failure.  Married poorly, humiliated, and all for a cause that didn't work.

Surely he didn't hear God correctly.  God would never give advice like that.  Ever.

But He does.

The question is do we listen?  I think the crazy part of the story isn't God giving Hosea crazy commands.  The miracle part is Hosea listening, and then obeying.  Repeatedly.

I want to be like that.  Nuts for Jesus.
But I also don't want to be like that.  It's expensive.

Therein lies the battle inside of me.  It's easier not to listen than to listen and wrestle.

I have to do a better job of listening AND obeying.

At least if I ever want to be nuts like Hosea.  What about you?

When God Calls Us Names, It's Serious

As you read through Isaiah and 2 Kings, the story of Israel takes such a sad turn.  The entire nation, both in Israel and Judah, are carried off as slaves into Babylon.  Other people are brought in to live in their houses, and to work their land.  They lose everything.  Everything.  The temple of God is broken into and abandoned, the holy places are taken apart and dismantled.  The dream is over.


Why?


As we talked about earlier, they didn't show justice to the poor and outcast.  They ignored the other.


And they worshiped stuff that wasn't God.  They made idols, and worshiped them.


I know we don't have small little statues that we worship sitting on our mantles at home.  I also understand that as people who have been bought and redeemed by Jesus, we are in a different boat than they were, in some ways.  But seriously, what idols do we worship?  What are the things we go to when we are scared, angry, hurt, alone?  When life is tough, what do we run to for help?  If they are anything other than Jesus, they become our idols.  We worship those things.


I'm realizing some of the idols in my life, and I don't like it.  Hurts and habits I've carried for a while are not drawing me to God.  Most people would look and be like "Really, Jason, those are no big deal.  Relax."  But they are the things I turn to, instead of turning to God.  That is a big deal.  I don't want to have said of me what is said of the people of God: "They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless." (2 Kings 17:15)


Please oh please never let that be said of me!  Can you imagine having God write those words about your life?  It breaks my heart.


So, today, what are we using as a crutch when life gets tough?  What do we run to, regardless of how "little" or "insignificant" it may be.  If it's not Jesus, it's an idol.  May the title "worthless" never be applied to us.

Parent Cue for Aug/Sept Lessons

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT:

Here is an overview of what we’re talking about in Senior High and in Middle School in the coming weeks. Listed below the summary is a “parent cue” to help you dialog with your child about the session. The question is intended not just to be asked by you, but to be responded to by BOTH of you. Use this opportunity to find out what God is teaching your child, and allow your child to see what God is teaching you as well.

Rhythm:

Series Overview

Have you ever noticed how connected everything is? It’s almost as if there was some type of unseen structure to all of life, a rhythm. Many of us are oblivious to it until things are out of sync. We know something is wrong, and we can maybe pinpoint a few things around us that are culprits, but deep down we know there is something more going on. We are out of rhythm—with God, with ourselves or with others.

           

Session One (SrHi - August 21st; the Middle - August 24th)

In the beginning, God created a song, a rhythm. Humanity existed in harmony with God, with ourselves and with each other. But then humankind settled for another song--a lesser one--and the rhythm started falling apart. Yet even then, God didn’t walk away, and because of that, we have a way to restore the rhythm with Him, with ourselves and with others.

Session One Parent Cue: The first week of the Rhythm series is designed to help students understand that in the beginning, God established a rhythm. They will unpack the story of creation and the harmony that existed between Adam and God, Adam and nature, and Adam and Eve. They will entertain the idea that from the start, everything worked together in perfect harmony like a beautiful song. But then Adam and Eve made a choice that destroyed the song and threw the rhythm off. They will also look at God’s response to Adam’s sin, and they'll see that God continues to seek relationship with us even after things have fallen apart. Talk with your teen about how he or she sees the brokenness in the rhythm around them. Feel free to share your observations as well.

Session Two (SrHi - August 28th; the Middle - August 31st)

If you’ve been in church for a while, you’ve heard it all and seen it all. You know the stories. You know the songs. You know the words. Many of us even think we know all about God. We think we have Him figured out. We think we know everything about Him, and in our lives, He’s very small. But the reality is that we will never fully grasp how awesome and amazing He is. We can spend a lifetime in awe and wonder, and even an eternity, because He’s that big . . . and that good.

Session Two Parent Cue: This second week, students will be challenged to look at God in new ways. Many times we find that we are so familiar with “churchy” descriptions of God that we forget who He really is. And when we forget who God is, how awesome and surprising He can be, then we are tempted to turn our attention and affection to other things and our lives fall out of tune. In week two students will be challenged to discover a God who is bigger than our attempts to define Him. Discuss with your teen ways that God has surprised you and your family with how big He is.

Session Three (SrHi - September 4th; the Middle - September 7th)

You’ve heard the words before--“love your neighbor as yourself”--but most of the time we don’t really hear the second half of that. We don’t love ourselves. Perhaps it’s because it just seems wrong. After all, as followers of Christ, we are supposed to become less as He becomes more. But for some of us, somewhere along the way we’ve confused humility with self-hatred. God wants us to be in rhythm with ourselves because when we aren’t, it throws off the rest of the song.

Session Three Parent Cue: This week students will explore the things that create tension in their own self-perception and learn the ugly truth: Being in rhythm with ourselves and being in rhythm with God go hand in hand. How we view God our Creator affects how we view His creation, ourselves. They will consider the masks they wear and the faults they try to cover up, and they'll receive a challenge to begin to shed those masks and be at peace with who they really are. Talk openly and candidly with your student this week about the things both of you have a hard time accepting when it comes to the faults you see in yourself. How can you better accept yourselves as you are?

Session Four (SrHi - September 11th; the Middle - September 14th)

No person can have a life of rhythm unless he or she is at peace with other people. That’s easy to say but hard to live, isn’t it? But following Jesus means being passionate about what He is passionate about--and Jesus is passionate about people. So if we want to be in rhythm, we not only have to be in sync with God and ourselves, we also have to be in sync with others. 

Session Four Parent Cue: No person can have a life in rhythm if they are not at peace with the people around them. In the final week of this series students will be challenged to be in rhythm with others, to be passionate about serving those they encounter and to seek forgiveness and reconciliation when needed. How can you work at making this a regular practice in your family? 

Chess Pieces, Water Pistols, and the Keys to Hell

This morning I've been spending some time with a friend talking about spiritual attacks, and how it affects our ministries and families.  There are definitely some things I've learned over the years about how Satan comes after us, and I was reminded of them this morning.

1. It's not really about us. - Satan only wants to hurt God.  They are having the battle; we are in the middle.  We're just chess pieces in his battle with God.  We are not Satan's ultimate goal.  He can't defeat God in battle (already tried and lost.)  He can't kill God (already tried and lost.)  He can only hurt God through His kids.  So, he comes after us to get to God.  If we simply obey God in the middle of the attack, then Satan will go 0 for 3.

2. It's gonna happen. - God allows us to be under attack, so that we can rely on Him, and clearly point people to Him.  If God doesn't allow Satan to attack us, we won't grow.  So where Satan only uses us to get to God; God uses Satan to get us to Him.  It's a risky thing on God's side, but He loves us enough to run the risk.  So, attack is a normal part of growth as a Christian.

3. No water pistols. - I grew up in a culture that loved to talk about our battle we have to fight.  Phrases like "taking on Hell with a water pistol in Jesus name" were thrown around a lot.  We don't have to attack anything.  God tells us that when we've done all we can to prepare, then stand.  We don't need to attack Satan or Hell.  Jesus did on the cross, and when He left Hell, He took the keys with Him.  Satan can't even lock his own doors anymore, Jesus holds the keys.  So, we don't need to be all Rambo on the offensive.  God's won.  Trust Him, obey Him, wait for Him to save the day, be faithful and stand.  Pretty simple.

4. No fear. - God does not use fear to motivate us.  Only Satan does.  So any fears of "what if...." are not from God.  He has the battle won.  We have nothing to fear as long as we obey what He wants.

Are there any others you would add?  Anything you would disagree with?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.