I Promise

You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.
Deuteronomy 23:23

A promise made to God is not a light issue. It is not good to be incautious in promising something to God. He expects us to fulfill our vows. The childhood Sunday School song has double impact: "Oh be careful little lips what you say." Good promises can be as important to understand... even more so than why we avoid using bad language. In fact, insincere promises may be more damaging... at least in terms of our relationship with God.

Part of the reason that I pray with people when we counsel together and reach biblical understandings of what they should do has to do with this principle of honoring our vows. They should keep their promise to God, not just to me or to another person. It is in that promise that true and vital accountability takes place. God will make sure by circumstance or conviction of His Spirit that the promise is understood and kept by His child. God is faithful, and He expects the same in us in what we say to Him.

Promises are certainly cheap these days. But they should not be so. We should carefully commit to what we promise to do for several reasons. I'd like to suggest that these three are a good place to start thinking of the impact of our promises:
1) If the promise is a commitment before God, it should be held as a deep conviction, not just a casual wish or desire.
2) God's character ultimately is reflected in the way I keep a promise if I am His child. I should always consider this when I have made a promise to Him, before Him, or because of His work in my heart.
3) Our relationship with God is tested and challenged to maturity by the commitments we make to God. Making such promises and commitments (promises if you will) are then a living path of real sanctification.


- Posted with my iPad. The Apple Kool-Aide tastes fine.

"It is finished!" - triumph in the tragedy.

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 19:30

For the disciples this seemed like an ending, but for all of us, this was the beginning. The crucifixion was not just some horrifying injustice. It was not about man's cruelty to man. It was about God's love for mankind despite their cruel sin. And the world of humanity, represented by Roman authority and Jewish religiosity turned against God in a momentous sin. They crucified the Son of God. Yet, He gave up His spirit on His own. He would lay down His life of His own accord... freely.

It took these events to bring salvation. And the sins of the whole world, my own sins, were carried by Him to that cross and in His death I died. In the hours that followed, Jesus' body was lowered from that pain-filled cross and buried in a rich man's borrowed rock tomb. But on the third day... all the trauma turned to triumph.

His last cry from vinegar soaked lips was "It is finished!" And that is the first shout of victory that echoed three days later when His followers murmured unbelievably, "He is risen!" Christ's victory over sin and death came at a high price. And by faith I accept, living it at a high cost... offering my life in obedience to my Lord.


- Posted with my iPad. The Apple Kool-Aide tastes fine.

2 & a half tribes: selflessness & sacrifice

We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance.

Numbers 32:18

 

Two and a half tribes found the land the land east of the Jordan that had just been conquered by defeating Midian to their liking. Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh were all predominately herdsmen, and the land east of Jordan was suitable to their herds and livelihood. They wanted to settle in and start enjoying permanent possession of the land. But before the farms and towns went up, they would be men of honor and courage.

 

They also realized that they had an obligation to the nation of Israel, not just their individual tribes. Most of their countrymen had hard work to do to win full possession of all the land that God had promised. That is why they made the commitment to stay in the fight until all their brothers received the inheritance they were claiming now. They vowed to stay in the battle until then.

 

I am encouraged by a faith that fights not just for itself. My culture is so obsessed with personal pursuits that few people would make these kinds of selfless commitments. We want the American Dream first, a society somewhere distantly down the line. The mantra of most is “what’s in it for me?” But there is none of that kind of thinking in the what these Reubenites and Gadites say. It is about God being honored first, working to see their brothers blessed second, and then personal concerns coming further down the list. And they trusted God for the outcome of all this hope. That kind of refreshing commitment could certainly use a resurgence!

 

Technorati Tags: Christianity,Discipleship,Religion

No Turning Back

Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell -to those at my home."
Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Luke 9:61-62

I stand with hand to the plow

the work ahead

needs focus on You, Lord

I am not sure how

I’ll earn my bread

but You will supply, Lord

You warned against looking back

I’d be unfit to enter into

Your kingdom of holiness

So fixed on You and on the attack

I move forward looking through

distractions to Your infinite worthiness

Technorati Tags: Luke,Jesus,Commitment,Discipleship

A Disciple’s Commitment & Passion

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?”

Mark 8:34-47

Jesus made the case for all to enter into a discipleship relationship with Him. And He clearly made known what this meant. He invited the crowd to bump up the commitment. He explained the details of the relationship by redesigning the relationship of rabbi and disciple.

In Jesus’ day, if a person wanted to become a follower of a rabbi or a certain rabbinical tradition, generally the parents of the young man would seek out the rabbi and make admission to have him accepted as a disciple. There would be requirements. They had to first seek the teacher, then be approved, then follow. But Jesus changed the procedure. He went after disciples. He invited them to come and to follow Him. He initiated the relationship.

And His call to the crowds here is to let those who wanted to change their level of commitment to do so. He invited each one to “come after me… take up his cross and follow me.” This was an appeal for discipleship. It was a concept that Jesus took hold of and re-engineered for the purposes of setting the standards for the lives of His followers. And Christians have been challenged by Jesus with these statements ever since.

What makes it challenging? These statements get to our heart, our passions, and our deepest desires. We are called to self-denial for the sake of Jesus. I do not commit to following Christ for the advancement of my own agenda, but for saving and life-changing commitment to the King. We are called to public humbling by “taking up” a cross. Jesus uses the spectacle of public execution to let His disciples in on the results of discipleship. It is not just self-denial. It is an attitude of self-death. And of course we are to follow after Jesus. The end result of the self-denial and self-death is a new relationship where Jesus sets the agenda for the course of our lives. I no longer dictate the direction or the deeds of my life… Jesus does.

And life and death hang in the balance. We are told that salvation is worth the sacrifice… that our souls are of more value than all the world. That giving up our own agenda for His will be more valuable than we can possibly imagine. And millions of believers have come to know this as true, even as they waited for eternity to bear fruit in their lives by this commitment.

Technorati Tags: Mark,Discipleship,Commitment