Your New Benefits Package

 

A big motivator for choosing to work at one company versus another is the benefits package being offered.  Good ones are worth thousands of dollars and over time, potentially much more.  In Psalm 103, we’re encouraged to reflect on the incredible benefits God provides to those who choose Him.

 

Psalm 103:2-5 - Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion, 

who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

 

Things to think about:

·       An attitude of gratitude

o   Praise the Lord O my soul

o   If you don’t know what to thank God for today, here’s a great starting point

·       Forget not all His benefits

o   An unused benefit can be a lost benefit.  In other cases, (like a 401k) just because you’re not thinking about it doesn’t mean it’s not working on your behalf

·       He forgives all your sins

o   Not just some of them, not just some of the time, not partially

o   We are guilty before a Holy God who has no obligation to forgive us except through His love for you and His mercy

o   Psalm 51:7 - Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

·       He heals all your diseases

o   New body

§  1 Corinthians 15:42-44 - So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;  it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;  it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

o   Sometimes the healing is now, sometimes later

·       He redeems your life from the pit

o   Like the prodigal son, we are wallowing in filth with the pigs

o   Sometimes when you’re in it, you don’t see it for what it is and it’s only when you can see the contrast you understand

·       He crowns you with love and compassion

o   Crowns – we’re children of the King

o   Love and compassion

§  He knows we are made from dust.  He doesn’t wag His finger at us saying we should know better.

§  We’re free from judgement and condemnation

·       He satisfies your desires with good things

o   Matthew 6:33 - But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 

o   Matthew 7:9-11 - “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 

o   You’re never too old!

§  Genesis 17:1-2 - When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”

·       So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s

o   Life is hard and exhausting

o   Matthew 11: 28-30 - “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

o   Philippians 4:13 - I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Wow!  Any one of these would be enough to fall on your knees and give God thanks and “praise the Lord”.  All of these, in full measure are yours TODAY.  This is a passage worth committing to memory to remind yourself so when things don’t look so good that God has given you more than you could ever hope or imagine.

The Perpetrator

 

Recently, our new friend, Harold D’Souza, shared with us his harrowing tale of life as a victim of slave labor for several years.  He told us of his perpetrator who lured him into the US under false pretenses and then manipulated him into believing he was unwanted, of no value, and on the precipice of being deported as an illegal.  In similar ways, there is a Perpetrator who lures people in with enticing lies and then when they bite, he makes them a slave to his deception, keeping his victims from living in the freedom that is right before them.

 

1 Peter 5:8 - Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 

 

Things to think about:

·       The man responsible for Harold’s misery promised him a good job and the American Dream.  Instead, he stole his money and his identity.

o   Just like Harold’s perpetrator, the Devil is a liar and a thief. He promises the good life.  But when someone moves toward him to accept his proposal, he steals their very soul. 

·       The man coerced Harold into taking a loan and put him hopelessly into debt.

o   Satan creates a false sense of a debt that we have committed sins for which there is no recourse except shame and suffering.

·       The man forwarded the idea that the authority figures in the US hated immigrants and wanted to punish them with handcuffs, jail, and deportation.

o   Satan would have us believe that God doesn’t love us because we are unlovable.

o   The truth is God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

·       The man threatened Harold’s life many times and said there was no use in fighting him.

o   The Devil is a hateful adversary who uses his considerable power to make us cower in fear.

o   Isaiah 41:10-11 - So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.

 

·       Harold and his family found their freedom by risking their lives, and believed by faith, that a higher authority could save them.

·       They learned that all the years of being called “illegal” was a lie.  They were only undocumented, something that could be remedied.

·       Harold and his family are now citizens in a new country, with all the rights and privileges of natural born citizens.  They went through the prescribed process and now have a new identity, sons and daughters of America.

o   The same holds true in the spiritual realm.  When we come to God through His Son, Jesus Christ, we become citizens of His kingdom, with all the attendant rights and privileges. 

o   John 1:12 - Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God

·       Despite what the Devil may say, we have our documentation found in the new birth and sealed by the Holy Spirit.

o   Romans 8:1 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

o   Ephesians 1:13-14 - In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

The Dump (part 2)

 

Apparently one of the best places to find life lessons is at the city dump.  A few months ago, we saw that God can be found at the dump in the Bahamas.  On a recent trip to Norway to see our daughter, I found Him there too.

 

Our daughter’s father-in-law (Per Anders) and I were commissioned by my son-in-law to rent a trailer and take a bunch of yard clippings to the dump.  (Lesson for another day but how did we get talked into this???)  Bright and early, we dutifully loaded up the trailer, drove to the dump and unloaded it.  While we were exiting, a large commercial trash truck appeared to maybe be flagging us down, but we didn’t stop to see what he wanted.  A few hundred yards later, I suggested we at least stop and see if there was an issue.  As it turns out, a stabilizing wheel that was supposed to be off the ground had slipped and was dragging on the ground.  We attempted to try and lift the trailer to create enough space to put it back in place, but the trailer was just too heavy.  Since we were going to need another strong back, Per Anders went to see if he could find someone to help.  Just then, the same truck driver was also exiting and stopped to tell us that he had seen the wheel dragging and that’s why he was trying to get our attention.  He said he had recently rented a trailer and had the same issue.  He helped us lift the trailer up so we could put the wheel back in place.  We thanked him and were back on our merry way.

 

Hebrews 2:18 - Because He himself suffered when he was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.

 

Things to think about:

·       The man at the dump was attuned to our need because he had experienced the same problem.  He knew what to look for and because of his experience, was sensitive to the same need in others.

·       He saw what we couldn’t see

·       He made an attempt to intervene, but we chose to ignore him

·       It was only when we stopped long enough to look at the situation that we understood we had a problem

·       Not only did we need his insight, we needed his strength

·       Jesus understands us because He became one of us

o   Experience

§  He became fully human

o   Empathy

§  He himself suffered

o   Engagement

§  Isaiah 40:29 - He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.

o   When have you felt the power of Empathy and Engagement from someone else?

·       How do we use our past (or present) pains to see the hurt in others and step in to make a difference?

·       2 Corinthians 1:3-4 - Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

Decisions, Good and Bad

 

Life is about choices and every day we have lots of decisions to make, some big, some small.  We don’t always get it right, and at times we simply make bad decisions.  The incredibly good news though is that God is not limited by our foul-ups, frailties, and foibles.  

 

Isaiah 30:21 - 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.”

 

Things to think about:

·       The Bible is full of examples of people who made poor decisions          

o   Adam and Eve listening to the serpent and eating the apple

o   Abraham sleeping with Hagar

o   Jacob tricking his father

o   Joseph bragging to his brothers

o   David seducing Bathsheba

o   And on and on and on the list goes

§  In each of these cases, God still did a mighty work through these flawed individuals

§  No matter what you’ve done, God’s not done with you either!

·       In our weaknesses, God’s strength is made all the more obvious

o   But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

·       For some folks, the fear of a mistake can lead to analysis paralysis.  For others, there is a fear of making a commitment, so they don’t commit either way

o   1 Kings 18:21 - Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

o   James 1:6-8 - But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

o   Isaiah 30:21 - 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.”

§  God doesn’t expect us to have perfect wisdom, that’s His job.  He does expect us though to always be listening and trusting when we do hear from Him.

·       Other times, in our weakness we do make poor judgments

o   Romans 7:21–25:  So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

·       And there is the key, God can deliver us even when we blow it.  While we may have some scar tissue to show for it, it won’t be eternally fatal.

o   Romans 8:1-2 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 

The Bridge is Out

 

We thought we were headed for the airport, but God had other ideas.  On the way to the airport to fly back home from the beach, there is a narrow, one-way bridge.  While it was a little cloudy and rainy, it certainly wasn’t a tropical storm or anything to cause any real concern.  Except for the fact that the ocean was especially turbulent on one side of the bridge and sea surge was making it unpassable.  We thought we were going home that day but apparently God had other ideas.

 

Proverbs 16:9

A man’s heart plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps.

 

Things to think about:

·       God’s ways are not our ways.  We think we have a plan, only to see it thwarted or delayed for unforeseeable reasons. 

·       While this is probably a very incomplete list, here are some of the reasons God may be directing us in a different direction:

o   To protect us

§  We see this in the story of Balaam in Numbers 22:33 -  ^“The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”

o   To prove our love for Him

§  Job 1:8-12 - And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?  Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”  And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

o   Our enemy is active

§  1 Thessalonians 2:18 -  Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us.

o   To learn to trust Him more

§  Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

o   To wait for His perfect timing

§  Genesis 17:17,19 - Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. 

·       When have you seen God put up a stop sign or roadblock to your plans?

o   If it is a time in the past, how did it ultimately work out?

o   If you are going through one of those times now, what is God teaching you?

·       Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.

It's Not Fair!

 

Is this not the most classic kid argument ever – “It’s not fair!” (turns out, a lot of us grown-ups invoke it too). Whenever there is something happening that we don’t like, that isn’t convenient, or otherwise conflicts with what we want, our blanket defense is, “it’s not fair.” As is so often the case, this argument has been around for a long, long time.

 

Ezekiel 18:25 - “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?”

 

Things to think about:

·       I used to think the word fair wasn’t in the Bible until I ran into this passage.

o   Is there anything going in in your life right now that doesn’t feel fair?

·       In this case, the Israelites thought that God’s judgement was passed on from father to child, or in some cases, the sin of a child reflected back on judgement to the father.

o   Some folks believe that being part of a good family or being a member of the right denomination / organization qualifies them for God’s approval (or the converse, “I’m part of a cursed family/culture, etc.”)

o   Sometimes, we might carry a guilt burden that mistakes we have made are irrevocably passed on to our children. 

§  Does this resonate with you?

o   If you happen to be struggling with this, let’s just say that God makes it abundantly clear in chapter 18 of Ezekiel, this is not true.

§  Ezekiel 18:30 – “Therefore, I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways.”

§  Personal responsibility is a key to God’s justice system.

·       So, what is that God requires of each person?

o   Ezekiel 18:30-31 – “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.”

o   How do we get this new heart and spirit?

§  Repent – acknowledge that God is right and that we have made mistakes.

§  Then act on your conviction by “turning from all your transgressions” and “casting away from you all the transgressions which you have committed”. There is a very active sense to this by “casting away” – throw them off like you would a venomous spider crawling on you!  Oh, and “all” means ALL.

·       Ezekiel 11:19-20 –  ^“Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.”

o   John 3:3 - Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

§  If you have been born again, in what ways do you see how God has given you a new heart and a new spirit?

·       Ezekiel 18:31-32 – “For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore, turn and live!”

o   2 Peter 3:9 – God “is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

·       You know what’s not fair?

o   That in Jesus, God has spared no expense to ensure your eternal salvation

·       Philippians 2:6-8 - Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, He made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
    He humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!