Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "service-to-god"
Church or Disney? – Part 1
But there were some men who were unclean because of the dead person, so that they could not observe Passover on that day; so they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. Those men said to him, “Though we are unclean because of the dead person, why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?” [Numbers 9:6-7]
When I was in grade school, Walt Disney shows came on Sunday night at the same time church services occurred. Back in the day there was no DVR or TiVo. Consequently, either I stayed home and watched Walt Disney or I went to church, but I couldn’t do both.
Here’s the thing. I didn’t have a choice in the matter. Mom did, and she chose church. To this day I think Walt Disney held all the more prominence to me back then, just because I couldn’t see it! It’s funny how things work that way, huh? We want something even more if we cannot have it.
That was just me. As a kid I didn’t have much interest in the things of God. I was closer to Esau than Jacob, though neither one were anything to write home about when they both lived with mom and dad.
It was quite different with my kids. I raised them as a pastor, and we had daily family devotions from the time they were born—actually from the time my wife and I were married, which was long before they were born. We also had our daily personal time alone with the Lord and regular Bible readings.
With the proper spiritual climate established, my two young’uns took to church like ducks take to water. They wouldn’t want to stay home to see Disney (an anachronism for them), even if I permitted them to do so. They wanted to be in church.
Though they as kids responded to church quite opposite to how I did as a kid, still things were not necessarily what they seemed to be. I mean, their social existence revolved around the church building and church services, even more than it did around school or school vacations. It was a social thing, you see. This isn’t necessarily bad, but it can be and often is.
Because I wasn’t all gung-ho for church as a kid, later in life when I truly met the Lord the experience was much more real and deeper seated. Again, when we can’t have something we want, we value it all the more. My background led me to not want church. When I finally realized what I was missing, I couldn’t just flip on a wall switch and become all gung-ho for church.
I took the Lord to flip the switch. He expended much effort to woo me to Him because I was quite resistant to His advances. When He finally won out by wearing me out, I was so glad He did and appreciated my new life with Him all the more.
And I still do! But we are out of time today. I’ll continue this saga in our next study. Jesus calls us. Let’s not keep Him waiting.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
When I was in grade school, Walt Disney shows came on Sunday night at the same time church services occurred. Back in the day there was no DVR or TiVo. Consequently, either I stayed home and watched Walt Disney or I went to church, but I couldn’t do both.
Here’s the thing. I didn’t have a choice in the matter. Mom did, and she chose church. To this day I think Walt Disney held all the more prominence to me back then, just because I couldn’t see it! It’s funny how things work that way, huh? We want something even more if we cannot have it.
That was just me. As a kid I didn’t have much interest in the things of God. I was closer to Esau than Jacob, though neither one were anything to write home about when they both lived with mom and dad.
It was quite different with my kids. I raised them as a pastor, and we had daily family devotions from the time they were born—actually from the time my wife and I were married, which was long before they were born. We also had our daily personal time alone with the Lord and regular Bible readings.
With the proper spiritual climate established, my two young’uns took to church like ducks take to water. They wouldn’t want to stay home to see Disney (an anachronism for them), even if I permitted them to do so. They wanted to be in church.
Though they as kids responded to church quite opposite to how I did as a kid, still things were not necessarily what they seemed to be. I mean, their social existence revolved around the church building and church services, even more than it did around school or school vacations. It was a social thing, you see. This isn’t necessarily bad, but it can be and often is.
Because I wasn’t all gung-ho for church as a kid, later in life when I truly met the Lord the experience was much more real and deeper seated. Again, when we can’t have something we want, we value it all the more. My background led me to not want church. When I finally realized what I was missing, I couldn’t just flip on a wall switch and become all gung-ho for church.
I took the Lord to flip the switch. He expended much effort to woo me to Him because I was quite resistant to His advances. When He finally won out by wearing me out, I was so glad He did and appreciated my new life with Him all the more.
And I still do! But we are out of time today. I’ll continue this saga in our next study. Jesus calls us. Let’s not keep Him waiting.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Church or Disney? – Part 2
But there were some men who were unclean because of the dead person, so that they could not observe Passover on that day; so they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. Those men said to him, “Though we are unclean because of the dead person, why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?” [Numbers 9:6-7]
In my days of youth I wanted nothing to do with the Lord. But He wanted me and didn’t stop wooing me until He finally won me over. It wasn’t because I was such a great catch, mind you. It all stemmed from His love, not from anything in me. It was all of grace. But I appreciate Him all the more because of it. I don’t take Him for granted or find it an onerous chore to be with Him.
When I try to communicate with my grown kids about this, they can understand what I’m saying intellectually but not from the heart. They never experienced having difficulty going to church. They never knew how not to read the Bible and pray. It shouldn’t be hard to understand from this how they potentially could miss out on really growing close to the Lord in real love for Him. It is normal not to value something as much, when we’ve always had it and know no different a life than that.
I am long past the grade school years (lo~~~ng past!), even past my born again day (my rebirthday). My current spiritual state is much more satisfactory than all that has gone before. Jesus told Martha that only one thing is needful, and her sister Mary chose it, the better part. That is where I am in my relationship with the Lord at this time of my life. I choose the better part, the one thing needful.
There are always more church services, more church functions, more trips and fellowship gatherings, more Bible studies—more social activities and events. Each and every one of them can be worthwhile and rewarding too. I’m not knocking them in the least. But they only matter if they are spiritual events and activities, not social occasions alone.
Anything spiritual grows out of the Word of God and a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. If I enjoy church because I am a social creature at heart and know no other existence, then my church life isn’t spiritual, it’s social. If I am naturally gregarious, my jovial personality at church can appear to be Holy Spirit fire. Looks can be deceiving, dear friends.
The church life of a naturally sociable person might and probably does appear the same as someone whose church life is spiritual, mind you. But a fly on the wall of his house will see an altogether different reality than that same fly will see in the house of the spiritual person.
“How so?” you wonder.
Well, that is a good question, and the answer is well worth the hearing. Alas, but our time is up today, so the answer will have to await the morrow. For now enjoy time alone with Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In my days of youth I wanted nothing to do with the Lord. But He wanted me and didn’t stop wooing me until He finally won me over. It wasn’t because I was such a great catch, mind you. It all stemmed from His love, not from anything in me. It was all of grace. But I appreciate Him all the more because of it. I don’t take Him for granted or find it an onerous chore to be with Him.
When I try to communicate with my grown kids about this, they can understand what I’m saying intellectually but not from the heart. They never experienced having difficulty going to church. They never knew how not to read the Bible and pray. It shouldn’t be hard to understand from this how they potentially could miss out on really growing close to the Lord in real love for Him. It is normal not to value something as much, when we’ve always had it and know no different a life than that.
I am long past the grade school years (lo~~~ng past!), even past my born again day (my rebirthday). My current spiritual state is much more satisfactory than all that has gone before. Jesus told Martha that only one thing is needful, and her sister Mary chose it, the better part. That is where I am in my relationship with the Lord at this time of my life. I choose the better part, the one thing needful.
There are always more church services, more church functions, more trips and fellowship gatherings, more Bible studies—more social activities and events. Each and every one of them can be worthwhile and rewarding too. I’m not knocking them in the least. But they only matter if they are spiritual events and activities, not social occasions alone.
Anything spiritual grows out of the Word of God and a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. If I enjoy church because I am a social creature at heart and know no other existence, then my church life isn’t spiritual, it’s social. If I am naturally gregarious, my jovial personality at church can appear to be Holy Spirit fire. Looks can be deceiving, dear friends.
The church life of a naturally sociable person might and probably does appear the same as someone whose church life is spiritual, mind you. But a fly on the wall of his house will see an altogether different reality than that same fly will see in the house of the spiritual person.
“How so?” you wonder.
Well, that is a good question, and the answer is well worth the hearing. Alas, but our time is up today, so the answer will have to await the morrow. For now enjoy time alone with Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Church or Disney? – Part 3
But there were some men who were unclean because of the dead person, so that they could not observe Passover on that day; so they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. Those men said to him, “Though we are unclean because of the dead person, why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?” [Numbers 9:6-7]
A fly on the wall of a Martha person will see a life in great contrast to the life the same fly will see in the house of a Mary person. That fly in a Martha person’s house will see someone busy with many things, such that he can’t and won’t set aside daily time to be alone with the Lord Jesus in prayer and Bible reading. The Martha person will be caught up in social entertainment and distracted by friends, shopping, eating out, etc. Those activities will have him missing out on personal time alone with the Lord.
In Mary’s house, contrariwise—Mary being the spiritual person—the fly on the wall observes Mary sitting at the feet of the Lord Jesus, oblivious to worldly pursuits like socializing and entertaining, because Jesus is talking and she wants to listen. When Jesus talks, by definition that is the Word of God. Mary, you see, chose the Word of God over socializing. Martha for her part chose socializing and activities over the Word of God.
We could play modern man and rationalize this away, as is frequently done even in the churches. We could postulate that Martha’s and Mary’s choices were based on entirely different personalities, and that would have some truth to it.
Martha couldn’t help that she was gregarious, while Mary was an introvert. This is a common understanding in today’s activities driven milieu, where activities and socializing trump introspection and self-improvement every day all day. In today’s society Martha is heralded and Mary is pitied.
But is that the way Jesus expressed it (cf., Luke 10:38-42)? Am I getting my values from what is prevalent in society today, or do my values grow inside the covers of the Bible? Martha people are needed in the church and in society as a whole. That’s not the issue, dear friends.
Martha people must not, nay, cannot be one-sided, like the Martha depicted in Luke 10. And Mary people must get up off their knees at the feet of Jesus sooner or later and take care of business. Truth be told, Mary people are led by their time alone with the Lord to do just that.
The same doesn’t follow for Martha people though, especially in today’s social climate where we are expected to run until we drop. The temptation and danger for the Martha people is to become so preoccupied and distracted by functions and activities, that time unwittingly disappears and none is left to spend alone with Jesus.
Spiritual lethargy and enervation are the symptoms, when time alone with Jesus falls to the wayside in our daily living. We will pursue this topic further tomorrow. I’m going to arise and go to Jesus now. You no doubt want to do the same.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
A fly on the wall of a Martha person will see a life in great contrast to the life the same fly will see in the house of a Mary person. That fly in a Martha person’s house will see someone busy with many things, such that he can’t and won’t set aside daily time to be alone with the Lord Jesus in prayer and Bible reading. The Martha person will be caught up in social entertainment and distracted by friends, shopping, eating out, etc. Those activities will have him missing out on personal time alone with the Lord.
In Mary’s house, contrariwise—Mary being the spiritual person—the fly on the wall observes Mary sitting at the feet of the Lord Jesus, oblivious to worldly pursuits like socializing and entertaining, because Jesus is talking and she wants to listen. When Jesus talks, by definition that is the Word of God. Mary, you see, chose the Word of God over socializing. Martha for her part chose socializing and activities over the Word of God.
We could play modern man and rationalize this away, as is frequently done even in the churches. We could postulate that Martha’s and Mary’s choices were based on entirely different personalities, and that would have some truth to it.
Martha couldn’t help that she was gregarious, while Mary was an introvert. This is a common understanding in today’s activities driven milieu, where activities and socializing trump introspection and self-improvement every day all day. In today’s society Martha is heralded and Mary is pitied.
But is that the way Jesus expressed it (cf., Luke 10:38-42)? Am I getting my values from what is prevalent in society today, or do my values grow inside the covers of the Bible? Martha people are needed in the church and in society as a whole. That’s not the issue, dear friends.
Martha people must not, nay, cannot be one-sided, like the Martha depicted in Luke 10. And Mary people must get up off their knees at the feet of Jesus sooner or later and take care of business. Truth be told, Mary people are led by their time alone with the Lord to do just that.
The same doesn’t follow for Martha people though, especially in today’s social climate where we are expected to run until we drop. The temptation and danger for the Martha people is to become so preoccupied and distracted by functions and activities, that time unwittingly disappears and none is left to spend alone with Jesus.
Spiritual lethargy and enervation are the symptoms, when time alone with Jesus falls to the wayside in our daily living. We will pursue this topic further tomorrow. I’m going to arise and go to Jesus now. You no doubt want to do the same.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Church or Disney? – Part 4
But there were some men who were unclean because of the dead person, so that they could not observe Passover on that day; so they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. Those men said to him, “Though we are unclean because of the dead person, why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?” [Numbers 9:6-7]
The tale of Mary and Martha is right on target for teaching this spiritual truth, dear friends. Salvation is not an organization (church) or activities (service to God). Neither is salvation a set of doctrines or denominational beliefs. Salvation is not even Bible reading, though we dispense with it to our own peril.
Salvation is a person, more accurately the Person of Jesus Christ. If we are born again, it is because we personally took the Person of Jesus Christ up on His offer. Whatever spiritual growth we achieve after being born again will come from personal time alone with the Person of Jesus Christ.
This time consists of prayer and Bible meditation. We talk to Jesus in prayer and He talks to us in the Bible as the Holy Spirit guides us. This time is personal, not social. Studying Sunday School booklets and topical books about the Bible cannot replace God’s personal Word to us, which we acquire in time alone with Jesus and the Bible.
Man’s teachings feed the mind and so we think we’re “smart”, but we’re still the same sinner. God’s teachings feed the heart as well as the mind and change us into the image of Jesus. Man’s words are intellectual, but God’s Word is life.
The story of Martha and Mary illustrates this admirably, but our study today is not about them. There is another story in Numbers 9 which warms my heart, and I just have to share it with you. I’ll begin at the beginning with the context.
The Lord delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery by means of ten plagues on Egypt. The tenth plague was the Passover, where all the firstborn sons in every home throughout Egypt were killed by the destroying angel—all, that is, except those whose front doors were outlined with the blood of the Passover Lamb, as per the Lord’s precise instructions.
The Passover served as the birthday for the nation of Israel. They were to reenact it every year as a memorial of their birth as a nation. One year after the actual Passover event, the first memorial of the Passover was reenacted by the Israelites. They were still under the shadow of Mount Sinai at the time.
Well, the Passover was one of the holidays of Israel, and holidays are “holy days”. Whatever is holy cannot be handled or participated in by what is not holy. And that is where the problem occurred.
Some Israelites came into contact with a corpse at Passover time. They weren’t careless, and they certainly weren’t indifferent when they contacted the corpse. Notwithstanding, contact with a corpse under the Law of Moses ritually defiled a person. These Israelites were unclean (i.e., not holy but profane) because of it. Ergo, they were prevented from celebrating the Passover with their compatriots.
This didn’t sit too well with them, let me tell you. No, don’t let me tell you. I’ll have to tell you in our next study because we are out of time again. Enjoy our blessed Lord a while, why don’cha.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The tale of Mary and Martha is right on target for teaching this spiritual truth, dear friends. Salvation is not an organization (church) or activities (service to God). Neither is salvation a set of doctrines or denominational beliefs. Salvation is not even Bible reading, though we dispense with it to our own peril.
Salvation is a person, more accurately the Person of Jesus Christ. If we are born again, it is because we personally took the Person of Jesus Christ up on His offer. Whatever spiritual growth we achieve after being born again will come from personal time alone with the Person of Jesus Christ.
This time consists of prayer and Bible meditation. We talk to Jesus in prayer and He talks to us in the Bible as the Holy Spirit guides us. This time is personal, not social. Studying Sunday School booklets and topical books about the Bible cannot replace God’s personal Word to us, which we acquire in time alone with Jesus and the Bible.
Man’s teachings feed the mind and so we think we’re “smart”, but we’re still the same sinner. God’s teachings feed the heart as well as the mind and change us into the image of Jesus. Man’s words are intellectual, but God’s Word is life.
The story of Martha and Mary illustrates this admirably, but our study today is not about them. There is another story in Numbers 9 which warms my heart, and I just have to share it with you. I’ll begin at the beginning with the context.
The Lord delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery by means of ten plagues on Egypt. The tenth plague was the Passover, where all the firstborn sons in every home throughout Egypt were killed by the destroying angel—all, that is, except those whose front doors were outlined with the blood of the Passover Lamb, as per the Lord’s precise instructions.
The Passover served as the birthday for the nation of Israel. They were to reenact it every year as a memorial of their birth as a nation. One year after the actual Passover event, the first memorial of the Passover was reenacted by the Israelites. They were still under the shadow of Mount Sinai at the time.
Well, the Passover was one of the holidays of Israel, and holidays are “holy days”. Whatever is holy cannot be handled or participated in by what is not holy. And that is where the problem occurred.
Some Israelites came into contact with a corpse at Passover time. They weren’t careless, and they certainly weren’t indifferent when they contacted the corpse. Notwithstanding, contact with a corpse under the Law of Moses ritually defiled a person. These Israelites were unclean (i.e., not holy but profane) because of it. Ergo, they were prevented from celebrating the Passover with their compatriots.
This didn’t sit too well with them, let me tell you. No, don’t let me tell you. I’ll have to tell you in our next study because we are out of time again. Enjoy our blessed Lord a while, why don’cha.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Church or Disney? – Part 5
But there were some men who were unclean because of the dead person, so that they could not observe Passover on that day; so they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. Those men said to him, “Though we are unclean because of the dead person, why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?” [Numbers 9:6-7]
Some Israelites were just handed a hall pass, carte blanche, to skip some obligatory religious exercise. They could stay home and watch Walt Disney! What? They had a problem with that? Let’s investigate and see what their problem was.
Here is the wonderful part. They came to Moses and objected to being excluded from worshiping the Lord via the Passover. They didn’t want to stay home and watch Walt Disney on the TV, you see. They were perturbed at being excluded from participation in the Passover.
On the other hand they weren’t perturbed because the Passover was a grandiose public event, an opportunity to socialize and have all you can eat, while festivities flowed profusely. The wilderness Passover was celebrated in each home, in their case each tent. It wasn’t a social event: it was a family affair.
So these Israelites who were unclean from contact with a corpse didn’t want to skip out on the Lord’s worship (i.e., stay home and watch Disney). Nor did they want to attend in order to socialize and eat a lot. They didn’t care about either of those two extremes, whether extrovert or introvert.
These Israelites were hurt because they weren’t allowed to be with the Lord and worship Him. The Passover was one of those times established by the Lord to do so. They wanted their part in the true worship of the Lord. Hallelujah!
So they marched straightway to Moses and objected, Why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel? See! They didn’t want to get out of attending. They were “restrained” from attending. And they didn’t want to party and have a gala bash. They wanted to “present the offering of the Lord” (i.e., worship Him).
Martha wanted to socialize, but Mary wanted to hear the voice of Jesus proclaim the Word of God. I think we can identify Mary’s genes from our study in Numbers 9. They came from the Israelites of Moses’ day who were restrained from worshiping the Lord, who responded to this with vehement objection.
The Lord appreciated their love for Him and desire to be with Him. The Lord isn’t in the habit of turning anyone away, who approaches Him on His terms with the desire to have fellowship with Him. So the Lord allowed them to celebrate the Passover on the second month rather than the first month, after they were ritually cleansed.
There’s a message for us in this story. Are we living like Martha or like Mary? Are we the Israelites who insisted on participating in the worship of the Lord, or do we prefer to stay home and watch Walt Disney? Or maybe we attend for the festivities and socializing, and for the social recognition of being upstanding and moral church members.
Only one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the better part, and it won’t be taken away from her. If I can be alone with Jesus daily and worship Him in spirit and in truth, it suffices for me. All else pales in the light of His glory.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Some Israelites were just handed a hall pass, carte blanche, to skip some obligatory religious exercise. They could stay home and watch Walt Disney! What? They had a problem with that? Let’s investigate and see what their problem was.
Here is the wonderful part. They came to Moses and objected to being excluded from worshiping the Lord via the Passover. They didn’t want to stay home and watch Walt Disney on the TV, you see. They were perturbed at being excluded from participation in the Passover.
On the other hand they weren’t perturbed because the Passover was a grandiose public event, an opportunity to socialize and have all you can eat, while festivities flowed profusely. The wilderness Passover was celebrated in each home, in their case each tent. It wasn’t a social event: it was a family affair.
So these Israelites who were unclean from contact with a corpse didn’t want to skip out on the Lord’s worship (i.e., stay home and watch Disney). Nor did they want to attend in order to socialize and eat a lot. They didn’t care about either of those two extremes, whether extrovert or introvert.
These Israelites were hurt because they weren’t allowed to be with the Lord and worship Him. The Passover was one of those times established by the Lord to do so. They wanted their part in the true worship of the Lord. Hallelujah!
So they marched straightway to Moses and objected, Why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel? See! They didn’t want to get out of attending. They were “restrained” from attending. And they didn’t want to party and have a gala bash. They wanted to “present the offering of the Lord” (i.e., worship Him).
Martha wanted to socialize, but Mary wanted to hear the voice of Jesus proclaim the Word of God. I think we can identify Mary’s genes from our study in Numbers 9. They came from the Israelites of Moses’ day who were restrained from worshiping the Lord, who responded to this with vehement objection.
The Lord appreciated their love for Him and desire to be with Him. The Lord isn’t in the habit of turning anyone away, who approaches Him on His terms with the desire to have fellowship with Him. So the Lord allowed them to celebrate the Passover on the second month rather than the first month, after they were ritually cleansed.
There’s a message for us in this story. Are we living like Martha or like Mary? Are we the Israelites who insisted on participating in the worship of the Lord, or do we prefer to stay home and watch Walt Disney? Or maybe we attend for the festivities and socializing, and for the social recognition of being upstanding and moral church members.
Only one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the better part, and it won’t be taken away from her. If I can be alone with Jesus daily and worship Him in spirit and in truth, it suffices for me. All else pales in the light of His glory.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Church or Disney? – Part 1
But there were some men who were unclean because of the dead person, so that they could not observe Passover on that day; so they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. Those men said to him, “Though we are unclean because of the dead person, why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?” [Numbers 9:6-7]
When I was in grade school, Walt Disney shows came on Sunday night at the same time church services occurred. Back in the day there was no DVR or TiVo. Consequently, either I stayed home and watched Walt Disney or I went to church, but I couldn’t do both.
Here’s the thing. I didn’t have a choice in the matter. Mom did, and she chose church. To this day I think Walt Disney held all the more prominence to me back then, just because I couldn’t see it! It’s funny how things work that way, huh? We want something even more if we cannot have it.
That was just me. As a kid I didn’t have much interest in the things of God. I was closer to Esau than Jacob, though neither one were anything to write home about when they both lived with mom and dad.
It was quite different with my kids. I raised them while being a pastor, and we had daily family devotions from the time they were born—actually from the time my wife and I were married, which was long before they were born. We also had our daily personal time alone with the Lord and regular Bible readings.
With the proper spiritual climate established, my two young’uns took to church like ducks take to water. They wouldn’t want to stay home to see Disney (an anachronism for them), even if I permitted them to do so. They wanted to be in church.
Though they as kids responded to church quite opposite to how I did as a kid, still things were not necessarily what they seemed to be. I mean, their social existence revolved around the church building and church services, even more than it did around school or school vacations. It was a social thing, you see. This isn’t necessarily bad, but it can be and often is.
Because I wasn’t all gung-ho for church as a kid, later in life when I truly met the Lord the experience was much more real and deeper seated. Again, when we can’t have something we want, we value it all the more. My background led me to not want church. When I finally realized what I was missing, I couldn’t just flip on a wall switch and become all gung-ho for church.
It took the Lord to flip the switch. He expended much effort to woo me to Him because I was quite resistant to His advances. When He finally won out by wearing me out, I was so glad He did and appreciated my new life with Him all the more.
And I still do! But we are out of time today. I’ll continue this saga in our next study. Jesus calls us. Let’s not keep Him waiting.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
When I was in grade school, Walt Disney shows came on Sunday night at the same time church services occurred. Back in the day there was no DVR or TiVo. Consequently, either I stayed home and watched Walt Disney or I went to church, but I couldn’t do both.
Here’s the thing. I didn’t have a choice in the matter. Mom did, and she chose church. To this day I think Walt Disney held all the more prominence to me back then, just because I couldn’t see it! It’s funny how things work that way, huh? We want something even more if we cannot have it.
That was just me. As a kid I didn’t have much interest in the things of God. I was closer to Esau than Jacob, though neither one were anything to write home about when they both lived with mom and dad.
It was quite different with my kids. I raised them while being a pastor, and we had daily family devotions from the time they were born—actually from the time my wife and I were married, which was long before they were born. We also had our daily personal time alone with the Lord and regular Bible readings.
With the proper spiritual climate established, my two young’uns took to church like ducks take to water. They wouldn’t want to stay home to see Disney (an anachronism for them), even if I permitted them to do so. They wanted to be in church.
Though they as kids responded to church quite opposite to how I did as a kid, still things were not necessarily what they seemed to be. I mean, their social existence revolved around the church building and church services, even more than it did around school or school vacations. It was a social thing, you see. This isn’t necessarily bad, but it can be and often is.
Because I wasn’t all gung-ho for church as a kid, later in life when I truly met the Lord the experience was much more real and deeper seated. Again, when we can’t have something we want, we value it all the more. My background led me to not want church. When I finally realized what I was missing, I couldn’t just flip on a wall switch and become all gung-ho for church.
It took the Lord to flip the switch. He expended much effort to woo me to Him because I was quite resistant to His advances. When He finally won out by wearing me out, I was so glad He did and appreciated my new life with Him all the more.
And I still do! But we are out of time today. I’ll continue this saga in our next study. Jesus calls us. Let’s not keep Him waiting.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Church or Disney? – Part 2
But there were some men who were unclean because of the dead person, so that they could not observe Passover on that day; so they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. Those men said to him, “Though we are unclean because of the dead person, why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?” [Numbers 9:6-7]
In my days of youth I wanted nothing to do with the Lord. But He wanted me and didn’t stop wooing me until He finally won me over. It wasn’t because I was such a great catch, mind you. It all stemmed from His love, not from anything in me. It was all of grace. But I appreciate Him all the more because of it. I don’t take Him for granted or find it an onerous chore to be with Him.
When I try to communicate with my grown kids about this, they can understand what I’m saying intellectually but not from the heart. They never experienced having difficulty going to church. They never knew how not to read the Bible and pray. It shouldn’t be hard to understand from this how they potentially could miss out on really growing close to the Lord in real love for Him. It is normal not to value something as much, when we’ve always had it and know no different a life than that.
I am long past the grade school years (lo~~~ng past!), even past my born again day (my rebirthday). My current spiritual state is much more satisfactory than all that has gone before. Jesus told Martha that only one thing is needful, and her sister Mary chose it, the better part. That is where I am in my relationship with the Lord at this time of my life. I choose the better part, the one thing needful.
There are always more church services, more church functions, more trips and fellowship gatherings, more Bible studies—more social activities and events. Each and every one of them can be worthwhile and rewarding too. I’m not knocking them in the least. But they only matter if they are spiritual events and activities, not social occasions alone.
Anything spiritual grows out of the Word of God and a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. If I enjoy church because I am a social creature at heart and know no other existence, then my church life isn’t spiritual, it’s social. If I am naturally gregarious, my jovial personality at church can appear to be Holy Spirit fire. Looks can be deceiving, dear friends.
The church life of a naturally sociable person might and probably does appear the same as someone whose church life is spiritual, mind you. But a fly on the wall of his house will see an altogether different reality than that same fly will see in the house of the spiritual person.
“How so?” you wonder.
Well, that is a good question, and the answer is well worth the hearing. Alas, but our time is up today, so the answer will have to await the morrow. For now enjoy time alone with Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In my days of youth I wanted nothing to do with the Lord. But He wanted me and didn’t stop wooing me until He finally won me over. It wasn’t because I was such a great catch, mind you. It all stemmed from His love, not from anything in me. It was all of grace. But I appreciate Him all the more because of it. I don’t take Him for granted or find it an onerous chore to be with Him.
When I try to communicate with my grown kids about this, they can understand what I’m saying intellectually but not from the heart. They never experienced having difficulty going to church. They never knew how not to read the Bible and pray. It shouldn’t be hard to understand from this how they potentially could miss out on really growing close to the Lord in real love for Him. It is normal not to value something as much, when we’ve always had it and know no different a life than that.
I am long past the grade school years (lo~~~ng past!), even past my born again day (my rebirthday). My current spiritual state is much more satisfactory than all that has gone before. Jesus told Martha that only one thing is needful, and her sister Mary chose it, the better part. That is where I am in my relationship with the Lord at this time of my life. I choose the better part, the one thing needful.
There are always more church services, more church functions, more trips and fellowship gatherings, more Bible studies—more social activities and events. Each and every one of them can be worthwhile and rewarding too. I’m not knocking them in the least. But they only matter if they are spiritual events and activities, not social occasions alone.
Anything spiritual grows out of the Word of God and a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. If I enjoy church because I am a social creature at heart and know no other existence, then my church life isn’t spiritual, it’s social. If I am naturally gregarious, my jovial personality at church can appear to be Holy Spirit fire. Looks can be deceiving, dear friends.
The church life of a naturally sociable person might and probably does appear the same as someone whose church life is spiritual, mind you. But a fly on the wall of his house will see an altogether different reality than that same fly will see in the house of the spiritual person.
“How so?” you wonder.
Well, that is a good question, and the answer is well worth the hearing. Alas, but our time is up today, so the answer will have to await the morrow. For now enjoy time alone with Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Church or Disney? – Part 3
But there were some men who were unclean because of the dead person, so that they could not observe Passover on that day; so they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. Those men said to him, “Though we are unclean because of the dead person, why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?” [Numbers 9:6-7]
A fly on the wall of a Martha person will see a life in great contrast to the life the same fly will see in the house of a Mary person. That fly in a Martha person’s house will see someone busy with many things, such that he can’t and won’t set aside daily time to be alone with the Lord Jesus in prayer and Bible reading. The Martha person will be caught up in social entertainment and distracted by friends, shopping, eating out, etc. Those activities will have him missing out on personal time alone with the Lord.
In Mary’s house, contrariwise—Mary being the spiritual person—the fly on the wall observes Mary sitting at the feet of the Lord Jesus, oblivious to worldly pursuits like socializing and entertaining, because Jesus is talking and she wants to listen. When Jesus talks, by definition that is the Word of God. Mary, you see, chose the Word of God over socializing. Martha for her part chose socializing and activities over the Word of God.
We could play modern man and rationalize this away, as is frequently done even in the churches. We could postulate that Martha’s and Mary’s choices were based on entirely different personalities, and that would have some truth to it.
Martha couldn’t help that she was gregarious, while Mary was an introvert. This is a common understanding in today’s activities-driven milieu, where activities and socializing trump introspection and self-improvement every day all day. In today’s society Martha is heralded and Mary is pitied.
But is that the way Jesus expressed it (cf., Luke 10:38-42)? Am I getting my values from what is prevalent in society today, or do my values grow inside the covers of the Bible? Martha people are needed in the church and in society as a whole. That’s not the issue, dear friends.
Martha people must not, nay, cannot be one-sided, like the Martha depicted in Luke 10. And Mary people must get up off their knees at the feet of Jesus sooner or later and take care of business. Truth be told, Mary people are led by their time alone with the Lord to do just that.
The same doesn’t follow for Martha people though, especially in today’s social climate where we are expected to run until we drop. The temptation and danger for the Martha people is to become so preoccupied and distracted by functions and activities, that time unwittingly disappears and none is left to spend alone with Jesus.
Spiritual lethargy and enervation are the symptoms, when time alone with Jesus falls to the wayside in our daily living. We will pursue this topic further tomorrow. I’m going to arise and go to Jesus now. You no doubt want to do the same.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
A fly on the wall of a Martha person will see a life in great contrast to the life the same fly will see in the house of a Mary person. That fly in a Martha person’s house will see someone busy with many things, such that he can’t and won’t set aside daily time to be alone with the Lord Jesus in prayer and Bible reading. The Martha person will be caught up in social entertainment and distracted by friends, shopping, eating out, etc. Those activities will have him missing out on personal time alone with the Lord.
In Mary’s house, contrariwise—Mary being the spiritual person—the fly on the wall observes Mary sitting at the feet of the Lord Jesus, oblivious to worldly pursuits like socializing and entertaining, because Jesus is talking and she wants to listen. When Jesus talks, by definition that is the Word of God. Mary, you see, chose the Word of God over socializing. Martha for her part chose socializing and activities over the Word of God.
We could play modern man and rationalize this away, as is frequently done even in the churches. We could postulate that Martha’s and Mary’s choices were based on entirely different personalities, and that would have some truth to it.
Martha couldn’t help that she was gregarious, while Mary was an introvert. This is a common understanding in today’s activities-driven milieu, where activities and socializing trump introspection and self-improvement every day all day. In today’s society Martha is heralded and Mary is pitied.
But is that the way Jesus expressed it (cf., Luke 10:38-42)? Am I getting my values from what is prevalent in society today, or do my values grow inside the covers of the Bible? Martha people are needed in the church and in society as a whole. That’s not the issue, dear friends.
Martha people must not, nay, cannot be one-sided, like the Martha depicted in Luke 10. And Mary people must get up off their knees at the feet of Jesus sooner or later and take care of business. Truth be told, Mary people are led by their time alone with the Lord to do just that.
The same doesn’t follow for Martha people though, especially in today’s social climate where we are expected to run until we drop. The temptation and danger for the Martha people is to become so preoccupied and distracted by functions and activities, that time unwittingly disappears and none is left to spend alone with Jesus.
Spiritual lethargy and enervation are the symptoms, when time alone with Jesus falls to the wayside in our daily living. We will pursue this topic further tomorrow. I’m going to arise and go to Jesus now. You no doubt want to do the same.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Church or Disney? – Part 4
But there were some men who were unclean because of the dead person, so that they could not observe Passover on that day; so they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. Those men said to him, “Though we are unclean because of the dead person, why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?” [Numbers 9:6-7]
The tale of Mary and Martha is right on target for teaching this spiritual truth, dear friends. Salvation is not an organization (church) or activities (service to God). Neither is salvation a set of doctrines or denominational beliefs. Salvation is not even Bible reading, though we dispense with it to our own peril.
Salvation is a person, more accurately the Person of Jesus Christ. If we are born again, it is because we personally took the Person of Jesus Christ up on His offer. Whatever spiritual growth we achieve after being born again will come from personal time alone with the Person of Jesus Christ.
This time consists of prayer and Bible meditation. We talk to Jesus in prayer and He talks to us in the Bible as the Holy Spirit guides us. This time is personal, not social. Studying Sunday School booklets and topical books about the Bible cannot replace God’s personal Word to us, which we acquire in time alone with Jesus and the Bible.
Man’s teachings feed the mind and so we think we’re “smart”, but we’re still the same sinner. God’s teachings feed the heart as well as the mind and change us into the image of Jesus. Man’s words are intellectual, but God’s Word is life.
The story of Martha and Mary illustrates this admirably, but our study today is not about them. There is another story in Numbers 9 which warms my heart, and I just have to share it with you. I’ll begin at the beginning with the context.
The Lord delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery by means of ten plagues on Egypt. The tenth plague was the Passover, where all the firstborn sons in every home throughout Egypt were killed by the destroying angel—all, that is, except those whose front doors were outlined with the blood of the Passover Lamb, as per the Lord’s precise instructions.
The Passover served as the birthday for the nation of Israel. They were to reenact it every year as a memorial of their birth as a nation. One year after the actual Passover event, the first memorial of the Passover was reenacted by the Israelites. They were still under the shadow of Mount Sinai at the time.
Well, the Passover was one of the holidays of Israel, and holidays are “holy days”. Whatever is holy cannot be handled or participated in by what is not holy. And that is where the problem occurred.
Some Israelites came into contact with a corpse at Passover time. They weren’t careless, and they certainly weren’t indifferent when they contacted the corpse. Notwithstanding, contact with a corpse under the Law of Moses ritually defiled a person. Those Israelites were unclean (i.e., not holy but profane) because of it. Ergo, they were prevented from celebrating the Passover with their compatriots.
This didn’t sit too well with them, let me tell you. No, don’t let me tell you. I’ll have to tell you in our next study because we are out of time again. Enjoy our blessed Lord a while, why don’cha.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The tale of Mary and Martha is right on target for teaching this spiritual truth, dear friends. Salvation is not an organization (church) or activities (service to God). Neither is salvation a set of doctrines or denominational beliefs. Salvation is not even Bible reading, though we dispense with it to our own peril.
Salvation is a person, more accurately the Person of Jesus Christ. If we are born again, it is because we personally took the Person of Jesus Christ up on His offer. Whatever spiritual growth we achieve after being born again will come from personal time alone with the Person of Jesus Christ.
This time consists of prayer and Bible meditation. We talk to Jesus in prayer and He talks to us in the Bible as the Holy Spirit guides us. This time is personal, not social. Studying Sunday School booklets and topical books about the Bible cannot replace God’s personal Word to us, which we acquire in time alone with Jesus and the Bible.
Man’s teachings feed the mind and so we think we’re “smart”, but we’re still the same sinner. God’s teachings feed the heart as well as the mind and change us into the image of Jesus. Man’s words are intellectual, but God’s Word is life.
The story of Martha and Mary illustrates this admirably, but our study today is not about them. There is another story in Numbers 9 which warms my heart, and I just have to share it with you. I’ll begin at the beginning with the context.
The Lord delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery by means of ten plagues on Egypt. The tenth plague was the Passover, where all the firstborn sons in every home throughout Egypt were killed by the destroying angel—all, that is, except those whose front doors were outlined with the blood of the Passover Lamb, as per the Lord’s precise instructions.
The Passover served as the birthday for the nation of Israel. They were to reenact it every year as a memorial of their birth as a nation. One year after the actual Passover event, the first memorial of the Passover was reenacted by the Israelites. They were still under the shadow of Mount Sinai at the time.
Well, the Passover was one of the holidays of Israel, and holidays are “holy days”. Whatever is holy cannot be handled or participated in by what is not holy. And that is where the problem occurred.
Some Israelites came into contact with a corpse at Passover time. They weren’t careless, and they certainly weren’t indifferent when they contacted the corpse. Notwithstanding, contact with a corpse under the Law of Moses ritually defiled a person. Those Israelites were unclean (i.e., not holy but profane) because of it. Ergo, they were prevented from celebrating the Passover with their compatriots.
This didn’t sit too well with them, let me tell you. No, don’t let me tell you. I’ll have to tell you in our next study because we are out of time again. Enjoy our blessed Lord a while, why don’cha.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Church or Disney? – Part 5
But there were some men who were unclean because of the dead person, so that they could not observe Passover on that day; so they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. Those men said to him, “Though we are unclean because of the dead person, why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel?” [Numbers 9:6-7]
Some Israelites were just handed a hall pass, carte blanche, to skip some obligatory religious exercise. They could stay home and watch Walt Disney! What? They had a problem with that? Let’s investigate and see what their problem was.
Here is the wonderful part. They came to Moses and objected to being excluded from worshiping the Lord via the Passover. They didn’t want to stay home and watch Walt Disney on the TV, you see. They were perturbed at being excluded from participation in the Passover.
On the other hand they weren’t perturbed because the Passover was a grandiose public event, an opportunity to socialize and have all you can eat, where festivities flowed profusely. The wilderness Passover was celebrated in each home, in their case in each tent. It wasn’t a social event: it was a family affair.
So these Israelites who were unclean from contact with a corpse didn’t want to skip out on the Lord’s worship (i.e., stay home and watch Disney). Nor did they want to attend in order to socialize and eat a lot. They didn’t care about either of those two extremes, whether extrovert or introvert.
These Israelites were hurt because they weren’t allowed to be with the Lord and worship Him. The Passover was one of those times established by the Lord to do so. They wanted their part in the true worship of the Lord. Hallelujah!
So they marched straightway to Moses and objected, Why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel? See! They didn’t want to get out of attending. They were “restrained” from attending. And they didn’t want to party and have a gala bash. They wanted to “present the offering of the Lord” (i.e., worship Him).
Martha wanted to socialize, but Mary wanted to hear the voice of Jesus proclaim the Word of God. I think we can identify Mary’s genes from our study in Numbers 9. They came from the Israelites of Moses’ day who were restrained from worshiping the Lord, who responded to this with vehement objection.
The Lord appreciated their love for Him and desire to be with Him. The Lord isn’t in the habit of turning away anyone who approaches Him on His terms with the desire to have fellowship with Him. So the Lord allowed them to celebrate the Passover on the second month after they were ritually cleansed, rather than on the first month.
There’s a message for us in this story. Are we living like Martha or like Mary? Are we the Israelites who insisted on participating in the worship of the Lord, or do we prefer to stay home and watch Walt Disney? Or maybe we attend for the festivities and socializing, and for the social recognition of being upstanding and moral church members.
Only one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the better part, and it won’t be taken away from her. If I can be alone with Jesus daily and worship Him in spirit and in truth, it suffices for me. All else pales in the light of His glory.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Some Israelites were just handed a hall pass, carte blanche, to skip some obligatory religious exercise. They could stay home and watch Walt Disney! What? They had a problem with that? Let’s investigate and see what their problem was.
Here is the wonderful part. They came to Moses and objected to being excluded from worshiping the Lord via the Passover. They didn’t want to stay home and watch Walt Disney on the TV, you see. They were perturbed at being excluded from participation in the Passover.
On the other hand they weren’t perturbed because the Passover was a grandiose public event, an opportunity to socialize and have all you can eat, where festivities flowed profusely. The wilderness Passover was celebrated in each home, in their case in each tent. It wasn’t a social event: it was a family affair.
So these Israelites who were unclean from contact with a corpse didn’t want to skip out on the Lord’s worship (i.e., stay home and watch Disney). Nor did they want to attend in order to socialize and eat a lot. They didn’t care about either of those two extremes, whether extrovert or introvert.
These Israelites were hurt because they weren’t allowed to be with the Lord and worship Him. The Passover was one of those times established by the Lord to do so. They wanted their part in the true worship of the Lord. Hallelujah!
So they marched straightway to Moses and objected, Why are we restrained from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the sons of Israel? See! They didn’t want to get out of attending. They were “restrained” from attending. And they didn’t want to party and have a gala bash. They wanted to “present the offering of the Lord” (i.e., worship Him).
Martha wanted to socialize, but Mary wanted to hear the voice of Jesus proclaim the Word of God. I think we can identify Mary’s genes from our study in Numbers 9. They came from the Israelites of Moses’ day who were restrained from worshiping the Lord, who responded to this with vehement objection.
The Lord appreciated their love for Him and desire to be with Him. The Lord isn’t in the habit of turning away anyone who approaches Him on His terms with the desire to have fellowship with Him. So the Lord allowed them to celebrate the Passover on the second month after they were ritually cleansed, rather than on the first month.
There’s a message for us in this story. Are we living like Martha or like Mary? Are we the Israelites who insisted on participating in the worship of the Lord, or do we prefer to stay home and watch Walt Disney? Or maybe we attend for the festivities and socializing, and for the social recognition of being upstanding and moral church members.
Only one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the better part, and it won’t be taken away from her. If I can be alone with Jesus daily and worship Him in spirit and in truth, it suffices for me. All else pales in the light of His glory.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
