TerryLema

Writing about the one thing David wanted yesterday had me researching other “one thing” passages in the Scriptures. My search took me to one of my favorite stories in 2 Kings. It is the story of Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he also had leprosy. A slave girl captured from Israel told of a prophet in Samaria (Elisha) who could cure Naaman. You can read his story in 2 Kings 5:1-19.

Initially Naaman goes to the king of Israel who fearfully passes him off to the prophet Elisha. Elisha’s simple command is to go wash in the River Jordan. Naaman balks at the simplicity of the command and departs until his soldiers convince him to return and give it a try. Naaman goes down in to the Jordan a leper and arises from it cleansed.

Naaman gives glory to the LORD God of Elisha, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel,” and then he promises to “never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD.” 

He ends his visit with Elisha with one thing – a request for forgiveness.  “’But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also-when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this.’ ‘Go in peace,’ Elisha said.” [vs 18-19 NIV]

One thing. Naaman understood that his official duties would require him to accompany the king in religious ceremonies and asked forgiveness of Jehovah’s prophet. Elisha granted it – “Go in peace.” I wonder if we’ll meet Naaman when we get to glory. I hope so. I hope that his heart remained true to the God of Israel.

January 29

I have been reading a book as part of a launch team prior to its release. I am only in chapter 3, but today’s reading quoted one of my favorite thoughts out of Exodus 33, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” [v15 NIV]

To paraphrase Moses, “God, if you’re not going, I’m not going.”

Later in the morning I was reading in the psalms and focused on Psalm 27:4: “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” [NIV]

“One thing.”  David wants one thing from the LORD … one thing. He wants that one thing that Moses also wanted, to remain in the presence of the Lord all His life. That made me ask myself, is this the one thing I truly want from God?  Or is my life consumed with wanting many things?

I think my focus is too often diverted to many things. At times I feel like the dog that has its attention set on its master until it sees the squirrel cross its path and it’s off and running, only to return to the master a bit bedraggled after much calling and coaxing.

Father, one thing I ask of You this morning … to remain in Your presence all the days of my life. May I forever gaze upon the beauty of my LORD Jesus. Amen

In the spring of 2016, Bob and I took two of our grandsons on a road trip. We headed from Modesto to the coast and then up the coastal highway into Oregon. As we traveled that highway, we would dip down at times to sea level right next to the ocean and then a few miles later we would be heading up into the coastal mountains.  Each time we headed down by the ocean we were warned that we were “Entering Tsunami Area” and to be prepared to evacuate when warned. Then as we headed back up into the higher regions we were informed we were “Leaving Tsunami Area.”

This remembrance, of course, was prompted by the recent Alaska earthquake that generated a Tsunami warning for these very coastal areas we traveled.  Tsunami is a great sea wave that is produced by under-ocean movement (earthquakes) or volcanic eruptions.

Ever feel like you were hit by a tsunami? Maybe there was a great shaking event in your life and suddenly this wave of trouble was coming straight at you ready to overwhelm you.  There have been times in my life when troubles seemed like great tidal waves ready to drown me.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a “tsunami warning” so we could flee to higher ground? Ah, but we do. Jesus warned us that life brings tribulation. That’s a given. That’s our warning. [John16:33]

But there is also the promise of higher ground in Christ Jesus and deliverance through the tsunamis of life.  “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.”  [Isa 43:1-2 NIV]

Notice that wonderful phrase “through the waters.” Christ has promised deliverance through.

Ps 9:9: “The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” [NIV]

The word translated refuge and stronghold in this verse is the same Hebrew word, misgab.  It means a cliff or other lofty inaccessible place. Psalm 9 is attributed to David in most Bible translations, but apparently some scholars disagree with that. If it was David, he surely knew about refuges and strongholds, having been pursued by both Saul with his armies as well as the armies of the Philistines on far too many occasions.

In this world we can experience oppression or trouble from many sources. Sometimes it comes to us from others, sometimes from the enemy of our soul. Life, itself, often crushes and injures us. We face difficulties, diseases, dying.

Under the law, God established six cities of refuge, Levitical towns where those who caused the death of another could flee for refuge from the family member designated to revenge the death. There they would be safe as they waited until a trial could be held to determine if the death was an act of murder of unintentional. [Number 35]

Under the Gospel, Christ is our city of refuge.  No matter what the affliction, oppression, or trouble, we can flee to Christ Jesus as our refuge, our stronghold. Safe in His High Place, nothing can reach us, no matter what its source!

Thank you, Father, for sending Your Son to be our City of Refuge. Amen.

“Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever.” [Isaiah 9:7 NKJV]

One last thought this week on the government of Christ Jesus, and that is, Christ’s government will be eternally established with judgment and justice.

How often we hear the complaints about the inequity/unfairness of government. We hear the lament that there is no justice. In our nation, we claim that “justice is blind,” meaning impartial.  We have all seen images of Lady Justice blindfolded and holding a balance scale and a sword. Unfortunately, justice is as imperfect as the people who have the authority of it. I think Lady Justice often peaks out from behind her blindfold. She is very cognizant of wealth, social status, race and other factors.

That will not be so when the perfect Christ, the King of Kings, Prince of Peace, Savior, Lord bears the responsibility for government. In that kingdom to come, judgment and justice will be established forever. Everything will be done in holiness and truth and none of His subjects will ever have cause to complain.

Ps 9:7-8: “The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice.” [NIV]

Praise Your Holy Name. Amen & Amen.

Isaiah 9:6 promised that Christ Jesus shall one day bear the badge and burden of government upon His shoulders: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.”  [NKJV]

And Isaiah didn’t leave it there. He gave us a beautiful picture of what government will be like under the King of Kings. “Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever.” [9:7 NKJV]

The first thing God points out through the prophet is that Christ’s government will be an increasing one.  That is in direct opposition to the kingdoms of this world. Kingdoms, governments decrease over time. They become corrupt and begin to fail. Remember Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great statue with the head of gold and feet of clay? Remember Daniel’s interpretation?  The original kingdom was of gold, but each one that followed became less valuable, less strong. It was a picture of decreasing governments down through the ages. [Dan 2]

But Christ’s government, born on His shoulder, will not decrease, in fact, it will increase! It will increase in size and in luster and in honor and in peace. He is not only King of Kings, He is Prince of Peace. As such, He will rule in men’s hearts and He will rule by love. And wherever He is, Peace rules and reigns, whether on earth or in heaven.  How different from what we experience under the rule and reign of mankind.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

I woke up Sunday morning to the news that the US government had shut down (it has since re-started). My first thought was “will anyone notice?”. Of course, we’ll notice. Maybe not right away, but probably at some point when it touches us personally.

I also read that when the government is shut down, social security checks are still issued, veterans’ hospitals remain open, and the military is still on alert. Most government employees do not get paid, but some do. Congress would still get their paychecks (Ah).

Winston Churchill said in a speech to the House of Commons on November 11, 1947: “Many forms of Gov­ern­ment have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pre­tends that democ­ra­cy is per­fect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democ­ra­cy is the worst form of Gov­ern­ment except for all those oth­er forms that have been tried from time to time.…”

 Imperfect people cannot create a perfect government, no matter how hard they try. Isaiah 9:6, however, promises that a perfect form of government will be ours one day: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.”  [NKJV]

 The government will be upon Christ’s shoulders. The ensign of office used to be worn upon the shoulder, symbolic of sustaining the government. Unlike our government which seems to sustain the politicians running it; Christ shall sustain His government in righteousness.  Christ will not only wear the badge of government, He will shoulder the burden of it.

Father, I long for the day when all governments of earth shall pass away, I long for the day when imperfect people, and often evil people will no longer rule us. I long for the day when the Perfect Christ shall sustain the government. I long for that Benevolent Theocracy to come! Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus. Amen.

Romans 12:9: Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. [NIV]

Romans 12:9: Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. [NKJV]

Romans 12:9: Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. [Christian Standard Bible]

When I’m studying a verse or passage of Scripture, one of the first things I do is look at it in different translations.  Then the I look at it in the original language through one of the study lexicons or guides.

The verse above caught my attention this morning.  Love, of course, is the same in each translation. It is agape in the Greek and represents that unconditional love that isn’t based on anything of worth in the recipient. Love must be sincere, unfeigned, meaning real and without hypocrisy.

We are also to abhor, detest utterly¸ all things evil. Evil is poneros, and it covers just above every kind of evil, bad, grievous, harmful, lewd, malicious wickedness there is.

Last, we are to cling to, cleave to all that is good. Good is, well — good. But what really interested me this morning was that word kollao, translated as cling to or cleave. It comes from kolla (glue).  Kollao (cling to) means to glue.  While we abhor and detest evil, we glue ourselves to what is good! Does that capture your imagination as it does mine?

Good, good Father. I want to glue myself to You. I want to cling to all the good that flows from You! Amen.

The first 10 years of my life were spent in Western Pennsylvania. I think we lived in 5 different houses between Charleroi, Leetsdale and Sewickly. Then we moved to California where my parents were eventually able to buy a home. I spent my teen years there. Since Bob and I married 51 years ago, we have moved 22 times.  If my calculations are correct, I’ve lived in 30 different houses in my 71 years.  Home to me has always been rather transient.

Maybe that’s why I’ve never been attached to any one place. It doesn’t really matter to me if it is a house or apartment, or whether we own or rent. I don’t get attached to the dwelling I’m living in.  I’m blessed if there is a good air conditioner (I don’t do well in the heat) and hook-ups for my washer/dryer (I don’t like laundromats).

And, maybe that why’s that phrase in the song I wrote about yesterday, “When Mercy Found Me.” touched me so deeply. When mercy found me, like it found the author of the song, “my heart found a home.”

John 14:2-3:  In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. [NIV]

My heart has found a permanent home in the love of my LORD. And the day is coming when I shall be with my Savior, in my Father’s House, with a room that is eternally mine. I won’t have to ever move again! Amen.

Recently the temperature where I am in Idaho has climbed into the 50’s, unusual for January. It has been sunny and warm and I’ve been able to “worship walk” outside. As I walked I was listening to a song called, “When Mercy Found Me.” I didn’t know much about the performer/author, but you can read his story and find the full lyrics to the song with this link:  http://www.klove.com/music/artists/rhett-walker-band/

I was touched by the lyrics.  The part that spoke to my soul while on my walk was: “My Savior’s arms were open wide / And I felt love for the very first time / When mercy found me / My mind found peace / My soul found hope /My heart found a home.”

“My Savior’s arms were open wide and I felt love for the very first time.” On Sunday mornings, two little girls, ages 5 and 8, come into the church building. Before too long I hear, “Pastor Terry!” and find them both running toward me. I open my arms wide and give them both a big hug. I love these little ones and nothing does my heart better than having them run into my open arms. As I listened to those words on my walk, I saw myself, a little one running into the arms of my Savior. No fear of rejection. His mercy first found me in 1976 and His arms are always open wide to me now.

“My mind found peace.”  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [Phil 4:7 NIV]

“My soul found hope.” We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. [Heb 6:19 NIV]

“My heart found a home.”