A messy journal entry is straight from my prayer journal. Sometimes, I write things down that are easier to transcribe (or fix some of the grammar and thoughts) then try to “tidy up” and make into a decent blog post. On this post I did add an additional thought to the end.
Thoughts on Deuteronomy 2:4-5,9
Give the people these orders: ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful. Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own… Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession.” (Deuteronomy 2:4-5,9)
God gave the land. He delegated the boundaries. The Lord even gave property to the enemies of Israel! He kept His Word to Esau and to Lot despite their unfaithfulness. Our Lord is faithful to His Word. Did knowing this encourage Israel to believe that what God did for others He would do even more for them?
Horites used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did in the land the LORD gave them as their possession. (Deuteronomy 2:12)
Esau fought for the land. They acquired the land because the Lord promised the land. If God fulfilled His word to Esau, then the people could trust the Lord for acquiring the land for Jacob (Israel).
Trust God. He is faithful to His Word. What He has promised, He will fulfill. Be encouraged by His fulfillment of His word to others. Do not compare or be jealous. Instead, let it increase your faith for what He will do for you.
The entrance of Jesus into this world was beginning of His entrance into all the mess of our lives. He left the perfection in heaver in order to subject Himself to our shame, loneliness, dysfunction, poverty, prejudice, tragedy so that He could join us in our suffering. He bore all the effects of the curse in our lives from the moment He was born until He died on the cross. He entered the pain of Christmas so that we may find life because of Christmas.
My grandmother would never leave the house if the laundry machine was still washing. Decades earlier, her washing machine leaked when she ran to the store. From that day on, she decided to never leave the house until the wash was done. She would never trust a laundry machine again.
I would chuckle at my grandfather waiting impatiently for the wash cycle to end so we could go places. Yet, I have to admit, I am often like my grandma. I do not know if I can really trust what is left behind. My obsession does not include washing machines. Instead, I show my lack of trust in the Lord to handle situations if I have to leave them behind. Surely, the God of the universe needs my help in “fixing” circumstances or “helping” people.
God does not need our assistance. If He tells us to go or to do something, we have to trust He is able to take us where He wants us to be as well as take care of who or what we leave behind. The shepherds are a great example of a group of people who trusted God to take care of what they had to leave.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. (Luke 2:8-17)
When the shepherds went to Bethlehem, they had to trust God to care for their sheep. They left the most helpless animal behind in order to do what God had told them to do. The shepherds had to trust the Lord to protect the sheep when they left the sheep behind. The sheep were their livelihood. Each sheep represented a paycheck. The shepherds had to trust God that He was their provision when they left their sheep behind. Their work as shepherds was to be with sheep. They had to trust God with their reputation and what others would say when they left their sheep behind.
The Lord will watch over whatever or whoever we leave behind to follow His will. What have we been called to do? How often have we talked ourselves out of obedience because of what we had to leave behind? It is not easy to leave but we must trust God, for not only where we are going but also for what we are leaving behind.
When we leave things behind, God will provide for us. We can be assured that when we follow His plan, the Lord will take care of our needs. I heard Tony Evans once say, “Where God guides, He provides.” When we step out in faith in the place He leads us, God will take care of us in amazing ways! We must obey His will, despite who or what cannot come with us. We show our faith by believing and acting upon the truth that God alone is our provision.
When we leave people behind, God will defend us. Others may critique what we do, but God will have the final say. I watched a documentary of Hudson Taylor. He was criticized for his mission work and methods in China. He left behind the traditional methods of reaching people, even the traditional ways of dress for an Englishman. He cut his hair like a Chinese man and wore the native dress. It was scandalous at the time and many spoke against him. However, his ministry grew into one that still sends out missionaries today, hundreds of years after he began his work!
The shepherds left the sheep behind and encountered Jesus! Because they did, other lives were impacted as well.
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. (Luke 2:8-18)
What or who is God telling us to leave behind? We must leave! When we do, we will encounter Jesus! Then, we will experience God’s miracle in and through our lives and others will be changed!
“It is the people of God who can truly shape a nation. Many look to great leaders or powerful governments to shape a nation. But most likely, leaders and governments will not restore a nation once it is on the downward slide. While leaders and governments can influence a nation, there is no group of people who can determine the coming years of a nation like God’s people.”
Henry Blackaby
First of all, I do think politics are important. Our nation was built on a democratic system of checks and balances. It’s not a perfect system, but I believe it’s the best system. I also believe that as Christians we have a responsibility to vote. We should vote for candidates that best represent Biblical values. But, this is where I need to digress a bit. What I don’t believe in is an elected official that will “save” the country. What I think everyone can agree on is that America is divided. Not just now, but at least for the last few decades. It’s almost a 50/50 divide. Much of that stems from a false believe that one of the major political parties will be the answer, or that candidate “x” will be the one that finally puts things back together. From a psychology level I get it. Everyone likes to believe in something. Hope is needed. But, as Christians, we should feel a bigger calling. I like the way that Blackaby worded it: A leader can “influence”, but Christians can “determine” the fate of the nation. It’s more grass roots. It’s deeper and more personal. It’s revival and discipleship. Christians are we determined to make this nation great again? If so, are we depending on those we elect or are we rolling up our sleeves and doing what we can? Once again, I believe in our system, and I think it has it’s place. But, the fate of our nation rest on us.
My husband, Kevin, is a football fan of the University of Georgia since he is an alumni from that college. I, on the other hand, prefer a book to watching sports. However, we went to see an Auburn versus Georgia game. In my attempt to join his fun, I wore a Georgia Bulldogs sweatshirt so I looked the part of a dedicated fan. Quickly, though, I proved myself to be anything but a Georgia Bulldog!
Auburn University hosted the game. A team of security from the school watched us go through the metal detectors and checked all of our bags. One of the security team members looked at me and quietly said, “Woof, Woof.”
I stared at him momentarily before I said, “Excuse me?”
He repeated his statement. “Woof, Woof.”
I quickly walked away and went straight to my husband and exclaimed, “That man over there needs help. Something is wrong. He just barked at me!”
Kevin laughed and said, “That was to let you know that he is a Georgia fan!”
Thoughts of the man being demon-possessed faded with the ridiculous thought of what a Georgia fan does. “You guys bark at each other?”
“We’re the Bulldogs!” Kevin confidently replied.
Once again, I reminded him that I picked my college based on education not sports! I could not believe that adults bark to say, “I am one of the club!” My lack of barking knowledge proved that I did not belong to the group anyway. I watched the game, I cheered (mostly) at the right times, but my heart never changed to become a Georgia fan. (And I did not bark at anyone either.) I was “in” the game, but I was not “of” the game.
Jesus understood being in something but not of something. In the final hours before His crucifixion, he prayed for His disciples. We find this powerful prayer in the book of John. One section of the word discusses the dual nature of the status of the believer. We find this in John 15:15-17.
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
Believers in Jesus are in the world, but not of the world. We live day by day surrounded by the world and its systems but the systems are not within us. We are in the world, but we “are not of the world”. The reason we are not is because we are in Jesus and He was not of this world. Jesus came down from His heavenly kingdom with the intention to expand that kingdom on earth. We are to follow His example and push forth the heavenly kingdom. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He showed them to request the advancement of God’s kingdom on earth in Matthew 5:9-10.
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.”
It is about God’s kingdom, His will and ways, going forth on the earth. Although we live in the world, we are to be advancing the kingdom of God. We are not to be furthering the ways of the world in our lives, our homes, our churches, our communities. Instead, we are to be pushing forward the kingdom of God in every aspect of our lives.
How do we advance the kingdom of God instead of the world? By knowing and applying truth. Jesus knew we needed truth to be transformed.
“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”
The Word of God is true. We are changed by the Word of God as we align our lives to His standard set forth in the Word. Our lives are now not being molded by the world, but instead are being changed by truth. We are following the will of God set forth perfectly in heaven and living out that will here on earth. While the world bombards us with its ways of thinking and doing, we are making decisions in accordance with truth, in accordance with Jesus for He is truth as He stated to His disciples in John 14:6.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus is truth. We learn and then follow truth. Just as He was not of the world, we are not of the world as we live out the kingdom ways of God. Yet, since we are in this world but not of it, we are pushing back the world and setting up space for the Kingdom of God to go forward in our lives and the lives of others. This is why we are not taken out of the world immediately when we become believers in Jesus. Our staying transforms the world. Jesus came to earth to impact lives, so being in the world brought salvation to the world. In our world, in our own places of influence, we are called to be in the world for the purpose of bringing the kingdom of God to the world but not being of the world, leaving us as the ones pushing forward the ways of God and not being conformed to the world’s ways. This is succinctly stated in Romans 12:2.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
We are transformed by truth. The truth sets us up to live out God’s will for our lives. His will is for the kingdom of God to advance in and through us. That is why Jesus prayed that His disciples would be shielded from the enemy.
“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”
The world’s systems are the kingdom of the devil. The enemy does not want God’s kingdom advancing. Yet, we are in the world to advance the kingdom of God. Jesus Himself prays for us to be protected from the enemy. We are not of the enemy’s camp, not of the world, but we are in this world advancing God’s kingdom through truth.
Live as ones in the world but not of the world by knowing and living truth which advances God’s will, God’s kingdom. Do so confidently for Jesus prays for you to be protected from the evil one. Since Jesus prays for us, we know the victory is ours!
By the way, Georgia won the game that night! Woof, Woof!
