Last week, I spoke about Paris, and I mentioned that in a tragedy like this, we as Christians become burdened for a little while and then a few days later, go on with their lives. Maybe we make a temporary Facebook profile picture, maybe we put up flags, but eventually the emotion of the moment dies down, and we ignore the still real ramifications of what's going on in the world.
And I must admit that I am as guilty about this as anyone else. I have had times where my burden for the situation in Paris, which was first so strong because of the number of people affected, and the superb opportunity for the church to shine a spotlight in this tragedy, has started to slowly dwindle. I pray about it every other day, but not as a consistent daily occurrence.
And it's only been a week since the events happened! How is this so? How is that the emotions that are felt throughout the world are so transient that we even now start to feel unaffected by the tragedy and more concerned with the implications of a text message we sent?
A far cry are we from the works of Nehemiah who kept his burden for 4-5 months. A far cry are we from the old men of the faith who would pray constantly and long-term for those affected by poverty.
Admittedly, we will not all be burdened like Nehemiah about every situation. That would be insane and a scary world. But I think we should be able to still desire prayer for these people.
And then of course, there are the people critiquing the fact that we are up in arms about this and not about the killings that happen in Africa. Ok, let's pray about those too. Further, I don't think it's ok for them to condemn anyone for the burdens that we have in society.
At any rate, I feel strongly about Paris, and wish that I could specifically do something to help. Since I'm not in that position, I'm praying the Lord would burden and guide those that are. And you can probably expect to hear about Paris for several Mondays to come. If you would, at least take that time, to pray about the situation.
Showing posts with label burdens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label burdens. Show all posts
Monday, November 23, 2015
Monday, November 16, 2015
A Tragedy in Paris
Good afternoon, fellow blog readers, I apologize for the failures in blog writing on Friday and the subsequent delayed post today. But I think that there is a bigger tragedy that should be on all of our minds.
The type of thing that happened in France just doesn't happen on a normal basis. I haven't seen something like this in my lifetime. 9/11 is a similar event, but there's something different about someone having the audacity and the calm demeanor to cause this kind of panic and to watch the faces of people that they shoot and kill one by one.
That doesn't make the losses of lives any more tragic but it does raise questions about the nature of the evil we are now seeing. I can imagine, though thankfully, it's only something I can imagine that it is easier to take a life if you do not see the results. Victim images are hard to deal with on any level, and I can't imagine how I would feel causing them. But I'm getting sidetracked a bit.
Today, I want to simply urge you to pray for the people affected by this tragedy, and more than that, I want to ask that you remain burdened by prayer for the next several months about this tragedy. I think it is very easy for us as Christians to feel burdened about a tragedy like this for a few days, pray about it much through those times and then move on with life, as if nothing had ever happened.
When was the last time you prayed about the still ongoing ISIS crisis? Our minds are geared toward hearing the stories of disasters, but we're not always great about seeing people recover from those suffering.
Join with me in praying that the church in France and the surrounding countries (and maybe even a few well-established churches in America) would be burdened by the Lord with a clear insight in how they should respond. Join with me in praying that the church, both in America and around the world, is forever changed and burdened by this event. Join in me praying that our lives themselves will change in focus.
The type of thing that happened in France just doesn't happen on a normal basis. I haven't seen something like this in my lifetime. 9/11 is a similar event, but there's something different about someone having the audacity and the calm demeanor to cause this kind of panic and to watch the faces of people that they shoot and kill one by one.
That doesn't make the losses of lives any more tragic but it does raise questions about the nature of the evil we are now seeing. I can imagine, though thankfully, it's only something I can imagine that it is easier to take a life if you do not see the results. Victim images are hard to deal with on any level, and I can't imagine how I would feel causing them. But I'm getting sidetracked a bit.
Today, I want to simply urge you to pray for the people affected by this tragedy, and more than that, I want to ask that you remain burdened by prayer for the next several months about this tragedy. I think it is very easy for us as Christians to feel burdened about a tragedy like this for a few days, pray about it much through those times and then move on with life, as if nothing had ever happened.
When was the last time you prayed about the still ongoing ISIS crisis? Our minds are geared toward hearing the stories of disasters, but we're not always great about seeing people recover from those suffering.
Join with me in praying that the church in France and the surrounding countries (and maybe even a few well-established churches in America) would be burdened by the Lord with a clear insight in how they should respond. Join with me in praying that the church, both in America and around the world, is forever changed and burdened by this event. Join in me praying that our lives themselves will change in focus.
Friday, August 15, 2014
The Effect of Sin upon Emotions
From one young king in the last few years of Judah's freedom to the other young king of Judah, that is where we are heading in relation to this blog as we go from last week's post about Joash to this week's post on Josiah.
Josiah was 8 years old when he began to reign. Unlike Joash, he didn't have one single counsellor that he relied upon solely for his life and decisionmaking. Still he successfully served the Lord from the outset of his reign. The Bible even goes so far as to say that he "declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left."
It all starts at the age of 16. This is when the Bible explains that Josiah truly began to seek the Lord and comes closer to Him. After he has developed a personal relationship with the Lord, Josiah turned his attention to the sin of the people. At the age of 20, he went around Judah to crumble all the idols and altars for worship of false gods into dust.
Finally, at age 26 with a pretty stellar resume of service to the Lord already established, he ordered that the Lord's house be cleaned up and brought to a state of usefulness once more. In the process, the Law of God is found.
When Josiah heard the words of the Law, he had a most emotional response. Let's listen in on II Chronicles 34:18-21,
Even with the awe-inspiring works that Josiah had done in his life, when he read the book of the Law and realized that he and the people were simply falling short of the standard God had put in their lives, he rent his clothes in anger. His sin and the sin of the people put a heavy burden on his heart, that he couldn't just ignore.
So how does our sin weigh on us? Do we examine our sin as if it's no big deal because God has already forgiven it? Do we claim that because of all the other good we have done our sin in x area is meaningless? I certainly hope not!
Josiah had done much for the Lord through his young years. But that didn't change his reaction when he learned some of his actions were actually sinful. Despite all the good Josiah had done, he looked down on himself and was angry at his own sin. That also should be our response.
We can't just treat sin as if it's no big deal. When we do, it is allowed to grow and fester. Our sin needs to bring us to our knees to confess and ask the Lord to forgive.
Josiah was 8 years old when he began to reign. Unlike Joash, he didn't have one single counsellor that he relied upon solely for his life and decisionmaking. Still he successfully served the Lord from the outset of his reign. The Bible even goes so far as to say that he "declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left."
It all starts at the age of 16. This is when the Bible explains that Josiah truly began to seek the Lord and comes closer to Him. After he has developed a personal relationship with the Lord, Josiah turned his attention to the sin of the people. At the age of 20, he went around Judah to crumble all the idols and altars for worship of false gods into dust.
Finally, at age 26 with a pretty stellar resume of service to the Lord already established, he ordered that the Lord's house be cleaned up and brought to a state of usefulness once more. In the process, the Law of God is found.
When Josiah heard the words of the Law, he had a most emotional response. Let's listen in on II Chronicles 34:18-21,
"Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king's, saying, Go, enquire of the Lord for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do after all that is written in this book."
Even with the awe-inspiring works that Josiah had done in his life, when he read the book of the Law and realized that he and the people were simply falling short of the standard God had put in their lives, he rent his clothes in anger. His sin and the sin of the people put a heavy burden on his heart, that he couldn't just ignore.
So how does our sin weigh on us? Do we examine our sin as if it's no big deal because God has already forgiven it? Do we claim that because of all the other good we have done our sin in x area is meaningless? I certainly hope not!
Josiah had done much for the Lord through his young years. But that didn't change his reaction when he learned some of his actions were actually sinful. Despite all the good Josiah had done, he looked down on himself and was angry at his own sin. That also should be our response.
We can't just treat sin as if it's no big deal. When we do, it is allowed to grow and fester. Our sin needs to bring us to our knees to confess and ask the Lord to forgive.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Why is Thy Countenance Sad?
Christians will often find themselves with burdens for the things of God. They feel as if a problem needs solving and feel God working in their heart to provide them with a solution. These burdens can be simply looking to adopt a child from a third-world country, or going into that third-world country permanently as a missionary to help all the little orphans that are there. Either way, these burdens are always truly a great blessing to have placed in your life.
The beginning of the book of Nehemiah tells us a lot about how to handle our burdens. In it, we learn that Nehemiah hears of the plight of the Jews that had returned to Jerusalem during the Persian captivity. He learns that,
Upon hearing these words, Nehemiah immediately is burdened by the needs of his brethren the Jews. He wants to be able to do something about it. Wisely, he prays, confessing the sins of the children of Israel, committing the problem to the Lord, and asking,
You see, Nehemiah was the King Artaxerxes' cupbearer, and as such, was in a prime position to be used of God to help the struggling Jews in Jerusalem. And that is exactly what Nehemiah wanted to do. So as we all so well know, in the next chapter, Nehemiah finds himself in the presence of the king with the opportunity to actually present the king with his burden and do something about it! In fact, Nehemiah is so obviously burdened that he doesn't have to broach the subject with the king! Artaxerxes asks him,
And then just a short amount of time after being burdened, Nehemiah is given the opportunity by God to go to Jerusalem to help the people there rebuild the walls, regain their lands, and reestablish their relationship with the Lord. That's how it goes right?
Well, not exactly. This image that most people receive upon reading the book of Nehemiah (myself included, and I memorized it!) is not actually quite the case. Sure all the events, and quotations that I just gave to you come directly from the book of Nehemiah, but what we all fail to realize is the amount of time between Nehemiah's burden and when he was able to act upon it.
In Nehemiah 1:1, we learn that we are in the twentieth year. We further know that it is the month Chisleu. When we research out the Jewish/Babylonian calendar, we learn that this is the first month of the civil year, and would take place during November or December of the Gregorian calendar we use today. This is when Nehemiah learns of the wall being torn down. It is just beginning to cool down for the winter months, Hanukkah is happening, or since I'm not Jewish, it's Christmas season! Nehemiah is now burdened with the news of the Jewish people at Jerusalem.
However, he would have to carry that burden until an opportunity comes to come before the king (remember how in Esther, we learn that it is dangerous to enter into the king's presence uninvited; this is the self-same kingdom). We tend to assume since there is no verse between 1:11, where Nehemiah prays for mercy in the sight of Artaxerxes and 2:1 where he comes into the presence of the king, that there is only a short amount of time between them. But you have probably figured out by now that this blog post would be written in a completely different way should that actually have been the case.
In Nehemiah 2:1, we see that it is still the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, but now it is the month Nisan. The month Nisan also goes by the Hebrew name, Aviv, which means "Spring." It matches with our Gregorian calendar during the months of March or April, and is famous for celebrations like Passover and Easter. This is then when Nehemiah is given the opportunity to do something about his burden for the remnant of the captivity.
A far cry from the week or so we typically imagine, Nehemiah sat festering with his burden for 4-5 months (depending on whether the twentieth year of Artaxerxes was a leap year).
This certainly makes the fact that Nehemiah was still so burdened by the situation that it could still be noticed by the king all the more impressive. Here we have someone who would have had other difficulties of his own throughout this entire situation, and would have had ample reason to forget about this burden, still with a sad countenance over the plight of the Jewish people.
I don't know about you, but I tend to forget my burdens much more easily than that. I mean how often do we give up on our New Year's Resolutions after only one week? But Nehemiah's example shows us that it is possible (and probably should happen all the time) to have a burden so lasting that 4-5 months later, people still wonder what has changed in our countenance. Now I wouldn't advise that you go around all the time with a frown on your face, so people ask you what's wrong. But there ought to be something in your life that makes you so burdened you can't forget about it, even if you tried.
And that something shouldn't be a death in a book, it shouldn't be the destruction of a tv series, it shouldn't be anything of this world. Instead it should be something of the things of God.
Furthermore, the 4-5 month period of time that Nehemiah waited teaches us that the Lord's timing might not always be as quick as we would like it to be.
The Lord most certainly did not work right away in the life of Nehemiah, but Nehemiah stayed patient and trusted in the Lord fully. It could have been easy for Nehemiah to find his own way in the crisis - to just enter the presence of the king without being called. What would have happened should Nehemiah actually did try his own timing is uncertain.
I'm sure though that Nehemiah grappled with the notion - that he prayed about the possibility. We see later on in the chapter that he is a man of action when the Lord wants him to be, but here he decides to wait on the Lord. He trusts that the Lord will give him the opportunity to work with his burden at some point and patiently waits for the Lord's timing.
I think we could truly learn from the man Nehemiah here. I think too often we think that when the Lord gives us a burden, we HAVE to do something about it right NOW! We don't want to carry it around for a while; we want to get our tasks done. There is just something magical about being able to strike tasks off your to-do list. That's our mentality. But perhaps we should consider whether the Lord is telling us to be patient - to put that on the backburner and trust in his timing as he works through this situation.
I urge you to look to the words of Psalm 27:14,
The beginning of the book of Nehemiah tells us a lot about how to handle our burdens. In it, we learn that Nehemiah hears of the plight of the Jews that had returned to Jerusalem during the Persian captivity. He learns that,
"The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the walls of Jerusalem is also broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire."
Upon hearing these words, Nehemiah immediately is burdened by the needs of his brethren the Jews. He wants to be able to do something about it. Wisely, he prays, confessing the sins of the children of Israel, committing the problem to the Lord, and asking,
"Oh, Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man."
You see, Nehemiah was the King Artaxerxes' cupbearer, and as such, was in a prime position to be used of God to help the struggling Jews in Jerusalem. And that is exactly what Nehemiah wanted to do. So as we all so well know, in the next chapter, Nehemiah finds himself in the presence of the king with the opportunity to actually present the king with his burden and do something about it! In fact, Nehemiah is so obviously burdened that he doesn't have to broach the subject with the king! Artaxerxes asks him,
"Why is thy countenance sad seeing thou art not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart."
And then just a short amount of time after being burdened, Nehemiah is given the opportunity by God to go to Jerusalem to help the people there rebuild the walls, regain their lands, and reestablish their relationship with the Lord. That's how it goes right?
Well, not exactly. This image that most people receive upon reading the book of Nehemiah (myself included, and I memorized it!) is not actually quite the case. Sure all the events, and quotations that I just gave to you come directly from the book of Nehemiah, but what we all fail to realize is the amount of time between Nehemiah's burden and when he was able to act upon it.
In Nehemiah 1:1, we learn that we are in the twentieth year. We further know that it is the month Chisleu. When we research out the Jewish/Babylonian calendar, we learn that this is the first month of the civil year, and would take place during November or December of the Gregorian calendar we use today. This is when Nehemiah learns of the wall being torn down. It is just beginning to cool down for the winter months, Hanukkah is happening, or since I'm not Jewish, it's Christmas season! Nehemiah is now burdened with the news of the Jewish people at Jerusalem.
However, he would have to carry that burden until an opportunity comes to come before the king (remember how in Esther, we learn that it is dangerous to enter into the king's presence uninvited; this is the self-same kingdom). We tend to assume since there is no verse between 1:11, where Nehemiah prays for mercy in the sight of Artaxerxes and 2:1 where he comes into the presence of the king, that there is only a short amount of time between them. But you have probably figured out by now that this blog post would be written in a completely different way should that actually have been the case.
In Nehemiah 2:1, we see that it is still the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, but now it is the month Nisan. The month Nisan also goes by the Hebrew name, Aviv, which means "Spring." It matches with our Gregorian calendar during the months of March or April, and is famous for celebrations like Passover and Easter. This is then when Nehemiah is given the opportunity to do something about his burden for the remnant of the captivity.
A far cry from the week or so we typically imagine, Nehemiah sat festering with his burden for 4-5 months (depending on whether the twentieth year of Artaxerxes was a leap year).
This certainly makes the fact that Nehemiah was still so burdened by the situation that it could still be noticed by the king all the more impressive. Here we have someone who would have had other difficulties of his own throughout this entire situation, and would have had ample reason to forget about this burden, still with a sad countenance over the plight of the Jewish people.
I don't know about you, but I tend to forget my burdens much more easily than that. I mean how often do we give up on our New Year's Resolutions after only one week? But Nehemiah's example shows us that it is possible (and probably should happen all the time) to have a burden so lasting that 4-5 months later, people still wonder what has changed in our countenance. Now I wouldn't advise that you go around all the time with a frown on your face, so people ask you what's wrong. But there ought to be something in your life that makes you so burdened you can't forget about it, even if you tried.
And that something shouldn't be a death in a book, it shouldn't be the destruction of a tv series, it shouldn't be anything of this world. Instead it should be something of the things of God.
Furthermore, the 4-5 month period of time that Nehemiah waited teaches us that the Lord's timing might not always be as quick as we would like it to be.
The Lord most certainly did not work right away in the life of Nehemiah, but Nehemiah stayed patient and trusted in the Lord fully. It could have been easy for Nehemiah to find his own way in the crisis - to just enter the presence of the king without being called. What would have happened should Nehemiah actually did try his own timing is uncertain.
I'm sure though that Nehemiah grappled with the notion - that he prayed about the possibility. We see later on in the chapter that he is a man of action when the Lord wants him to be, but here he decides to wait on the Lord. He trusts that the Lord will give him the opportunity to work with his burden at some point and patiently waits for the Lord's timing.
I think we could truly learn from the man Nehemiah here. I think too often we think that when the Lord gives us a burden, we HAVE to do something about it right NOW! We don't want to carry it around for a while; we want to get our tasks done. There is just something magical about being able to strike tasks off your to-do list. That's our mentality. But perhaps we should consider whether the Lord is telling us to be patient - to put that on the backburner and trust in his timing as he works through this situation.
I urge you to look to the words of Psalm 27:14,
"Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."
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