Category Archives: Bible Insights

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The Greatest Place in the World

ThanksLiving: 365 Days of Gratitude

The fact of the matter is, you are in God’s hands. Right now! He has your back. He is watching over you. He is carrying you forward and will bring you to the place that he desires. And at the end of the day, at the time, in the place and under the circumstances of his choosing, he will bring you to the eternal dwellings. God is in control of you. And that, my friend, is the world’s greatest place!

Going Deep // Focus: 1 Chronicles 12:16-17

Other Benjamites and some men from Judah also came to David in his stronghold. David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, I am ready for you to join me. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, may the God of our ancestors see it and judge you.”

The fact of the matter is, you are in God’s hands. Right now! He has your back. He is watching over you. He is carrying you forward and will bring you to the place that he desires. And at the end of the day, at the time, in the place and under the circumstances of his choosing, he will bring you to the eternal dwellings. God is in control of you.

Perhaps you don’t realize that, or maybe you do, but you are not choosing by faith to live in the daily reality of God’s control over your life. If that is the case, you will wrestle with fear and anxiety. You may even struggle with anger and depression. You will be upset over many things, from the circumstances that you perceive are coming against your life to the upheaval that you perceive is ruining the larger world around you. The peace of God that passes all understanding is not guarding your heart and mind. That is what happens to people when they have not surrendered control of their world to the care and competence of Almighty God.

David did! In the long journey from his anointing to be the next king of Israel in the place of the backslidden King Saul—which turned out to be many difficult years living as a fugitive—to his actual coronation, God began to bring a support team around David. Courageous and skilled warriors began to join David, making him a formidable force. But as these fighting men came to him, it was certainly possible that some of them were actually spies from Saul; infiltrators bent on capturing or killing him. After all, as a fugitive on the lam, David still had a price on his head. He was in an exceedingly vulnerable place.

So how did David handle it? How did he stay sane, how did he remain focused, and he did he keep walking an honorable path of obedience as God prepared the kingdom of Israel for his eventual leadership? He trusted, that is what he did. He placed himself in God’s hand, entrusting his health, safety and promotion to the care and competence of the Almighty. Knowing that the timing and circumstances of his advancement were well above his pay grade, he surrendered himself to the purposes of his Great Shepherd.

Did you notice the opening verse? Men from the tribe of Benjamin joined him. If you will remember, Benjamin was the tribe of King Saul. These warriors were relatives of the current king, and perhaps they still carried some family loyalties to their monarch cousin. In letting them into his inner circle, David was risking his very life, and the lives of his family and friends. But take note of David’s trust in God’s protection as he opens the door to these people:

“If you have come in peace and to help me, you are most welcome to join this company; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies, innocent as I am, the God of our ancestors will see through you and bring judgment on you.” (1 Chronicles 12:17, MSG)

When we come to the point where we can leave our health and welfare, our success and wealth, our fame and security with Almighty God, we will have arrived at the greatest place in the world: the hands of God. Again, God already holds us there, but until we acknowledge that he’s got us, and until we surrender our entire being—body, mind and soul—to his care and competence, we will not be fully at peace. But when we do, we will arrive at that place uncommon to most human beings—the place of which David so eloquently wrote in what we call the Twenty-Third Psalm:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

There is no better place in the world to be than in the care of the Good Shepherd. And we get there by surrendering our trust into his hands.

Going Deeper With God: Read Psalm 23 every morning this week before you leave your house.

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The Power of Team

ThanksLiving: 365 Days of Gratitude

God typically works in plurals. He is not primarily interested in creating superstars, but in creating winning teams. Abraham had his fighting men, Jethro gave Moses his team of judges, Jesus had his disciples, Paul had his unsung heroes, and David had his mighty men. God works in teams, even when he puts a single individual as the front of that pack. But the leader would be nothing without the pack.

Going Deep // Focus: 1 Chronicles 11:10

These were the chiefs of David’s mighty warriors—they, together with all Israel, gave his kingship strong support to extend it over the whole land, as the Lord had promised.

Do you desire to do great things for God with your life? That is a good thing to want, and God may just grant it. That is why it is never a bad idea to ask God to use you for big things. And why not? God is in the prayer-answering business, and big, bold prayers don’t scare him at all. In fact, the largeness of our prayer honors our Heavenly Father in that it places great confidence in his sufficiency and generosity. One of my life verses, 2 Chronicles 16:9, tells us that God is actually looking for people with that kind of audacious faith in him:

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

But when you ask for big things, don’t forget that God typically works in plurals. He is not primarily interested in creating superstars, but in creating winning teams. Abraham had his fighting men, Jethro gave Moses his team of judges, Jesus had his disciples, Paul had his unsung heroes, and David had his mighty men. God works in teams, even when he puts a single individual as the front of that pack. But the leader would be nothing without the pack.

1 Chronicles 11 is a long list of names that have mostly been forgotten, but neither God, David, nor the author of the Chronicles—likely Ezra the priest—forgot these mighty men of valor and their super-human achievements. They were men of strength, fearlessness, skill and tremendous loyalty to David. David would not have made it to the throne without them, nor would he have maintained his rule over Israel, given the enemies who lined up to bring him down, without his mighty men.

So yes, desiring to accomplish great exploits for God with your one and only life is a noble thing. Praying for extraordinary courage, Holy Spirit infused skill, and divine favor is a good thing—and you should. But since God alone is the one who is to receive the credit for our accomplishments, and since he has a track record of doing great things through great teams, it would rather be a much better prayer to ask, “God, bring around me men and women of valor, skill and loyalty to help me accomplish something great for you.” Or perhaps the wiser prayer would be, “God, make me a person of valor, skill and loyalty, and place me on a team that you can use to do great exploits.”

God wants to use you to do great things. So start looking for the people he will place you with to do them!

Going Deeper With God: God does his kingdom work today through the church. And every church is made up of friends of Christ. But every church also has enemies of the Gospel. Even your church! That means, like David, your pastor needs mighty men and women of God to help keep the church strong. Given that, here is your two-part assignment as someone who desires to be a person of valor: First, take the time to express your gratitude to God for those true friends who make the advancement of the Gospel possible in your church. And not only thank God for them, thank them, too. Second, simply and steadfastly stay alert to anyone that would cause a division in your fellowship—and don’t let them. Satan’s chief strategy to weaken your church is to divide it—and he usually begins with small, subtle cracks! Your job is to stand your ground for as long as it takes to preserve the calling of your church!

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An Opportunity To Distinguish Yourself

ThanksLiving: 365 Days of Gratitude

If you are facing a back-against-the-wall situation in your life today, you have the perfect opportunity to exhibit faith in the face of it. Faith is an investment of trust in the sufficiency of God to take care of you. The return on your investment is up to God, but to this point, he has a 100% track record of delivering a yield of ever-increasing value in response to faith. Step out in faith, my friend, and you too, like the heroes of the Bible, will earn your spiritual bona fides.

Going Deep // Focus: 1 Chronicles 10:11-12

When all the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all their valiant men went and took the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh. Then they buried their bones under the great tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.

You and I never want to have our backs against the wall, but on the other hand, isn’t a backs-against-the-wall circumstance usually the very place where our natural lives are infused with supernatural empowerment that enable us to do great exploits for God? We normally don’t develop outstanding testimonies of faith in the good times. Those stories come out of desperation and darkness. When we are pressed into knowing no helper but God is when we, well, know God. As someone has rightly pointed out, you will never know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.

In this sad story, Israel’s arch nemesis, the Philistines, have defeated the army of Saul. An enemy archer wounded the king, and fearing that he will be captured, and tortured in the most unspeakable way, he pleads with his armor bearer to take his life. When the loyal soldier refuses, Saul falls on his own sword, and the glory of Israel is snuffed out. The Philistines overrun the rest of the army, Saul’s sons, including the heroic Jonathan, are also killed, and God’s people are put to flight.

And true to his fears, the Philistines mutilate Saul’s body, and then abuse his honor by putting it on display in the temple of their god:

They stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news among their idols and their people. They put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung up his head in the temple of Dagon. (1 Chronicles 10:9-10)

Israel is at a low point, and all the people in the nearby towns flee in fear to escape similar brutality at the hands of this cold-blooded enemy. All—except some incredibly courageous men from the town of Jabesh Gilead. On that dark and desperate day, we are told that they put together their special forces and marched right into the temple of Dagon to recover the bodies of King Saul and his sons. They brought them back to Israel, gave them a proper burial, and mourned their loss for a number of days that was appropriate in that culture. Later, when David was anointed king, he singled these brave men out for special recognition:

When David was told that it was the men from Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul, he sent messengers to them to say to them, “The Lord bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him. May the Lord now show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this. Now then, be strong and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me king over them. (2 Samuel 2:3-7)

What inspired the bravery of these warriors from Jabesh Gilead? Were they just naturally courageous fighters? Did they have such love for the Lord or such hatred for the Philistines, or both, that they acted with such bold defiance in the face of such an atrocity? We don’t know for sure, but what we do know is that their backs were against the proverbial wall, and they acted in faith. And in that act, they “made their bones!”

Courage isn’t the lack of fear, it is the presence of faith. Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, the famed American pilot in World War I and recipient of the Medal of Honor, said,

Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you are scared.

I would propose that you could drop the word “faith” in the place of “courage” and it would be just as true.

If you are facing a back-against-the-wall situation in your life today, you have the perfect opportunity to exhibit faith in the face of it. Faith is an investment of trust in the sufficiency of God to take care of you. The return on your investment is up to God, but up to this point, he has a 100% track record of delivering a yield of ever-increasing value in response to faith.

Step out in faith, my friend, and you too, like the men of Jabesh Gilead, will earn your spiritual bona fides.

Going Deeper With God: You may not be facing something as dramatic as a Philistine today, but you will likely face an enemy of God in the small details of your Christian walk: an opportunity to fudge on a report, cut a corner in your job, gossip about someone, etc. Show courage instead by choosing what faith would have you to do. Do that in the small matters, and then when the big enemies show up, you will be more prepared to exhibit Jabesh Gilead type courage.

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Gratitude for the Gatekeepers

ThanksLiving: 365 Days of Gratitude

Let’s hear it for the gatekeepers! Today we probably call them church custodians. They are the unsung heroes who don’t get much recognition—unless something goes wrong. They guard the house of God. They prepare it for worship. They unlock the doors for services and batten down the hatches when everybody else abandons ship and heads for home at the end of the day. They make sure the temperature is just right—although in my experience, the gatekeepers will never achieve that lofty ideal. They make sure the restrooms are presentable and keep all the light bulbs working. Their work really never ends. Thank God for them!

Going Deep // Focus: 1 Chronicles 9:26-27

The four chief gatekeepers, all Levites, were trusted officials, for they were responsible for the rooms and the treasuries at the house of God. They would spend the night around the house of God, since it was their duty to guard it and to open the gates every morning.

Let’s hear it for the gatekeepers! Today we probably call them church custodians. They are the unsung heroes who don’t get much recognition—unless something goes wrong. They guard the house of God. They prepare it for worship. They unlock the doors for services and batten down the hatches when everybody else abandons ship and heads for home at the end of the day. They make sure the temperature is just right—although in my experience, the gatekeepers will never achieve that lofty ideal. They make sure the restrooms are presentable and keep all the light bulbs working. Their work really never ends.

They are truly heroes of the faith—but they don’t get credit for it. They are mostly unnoticed, underappreciated, and probably underpaid. But they did make it into God’s bulletin—they got listed in 1 Chronicles 9 along with the star quarterback and the wide-receivers—i.e., the priests and tribal leaders. They were the gatekeepers, and they were “trusted officials.”

I’ve been in church all my life—I cut my teeth on the backs of the pews, even carved my initials in one—and all my adult life has been in vocational ministry. And in each of the churches that I have been a part of, the “gatekeepers” played a significant but underappreciated roll in the ministry of those houses of God. And I have to confess, I don’t think I did a proper job of appreciating them.

So here’s what I’d suggest: This week, write a note to the “gatekeeper” of your church, and tell him or her how much you appreciate them and value the work they do to prepare God’s house so that you might enjoy worship. Perhaps you can take it a step further and take them out to lunch or buy them an appreciation gift.

And make it a regular practice—they deserve it.

Oh, and one more thing: Encourage others in your fellowship to do the same. And by all means, teach your children to show respect for them.

Going Deeper With God: A prayer of gratitude for the gatekeepers: “Lord, I want to acknowledge the scores of people throughout my life that have served as gatekeepers in your house. Most of them have been behind-the-scenes type people, and I am not sure I ever remember any one of them ever being singled out for special appreciation. I pray that you will honor each one in some tangible way. I ask for blessings to be poured out upon them and that deep within their spirit they will sense your love and affirmation. And Lord, the ones who are in my life currently serving as gatekeepers, I will commit before you in this moment that I will do something to show my appreciation for their labor of love.

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Warts and All

ThanksLiving: 365 Days of Gratitude

If God can redeem his ancient people from bad leaders like Saul by giving them good men like David, through whose lineage comes the Son of David, there is hope for us. Through Jesus, the only perfect God-man, we find eternal rescue. Yes, God will redeem us too, warts and all.

Going Deep // Focus: 1 Chronicles 8:1,33

Benjamin was the father of Bela his firstborn…Ner was the father of Kish, Kish the father of Saul, and Saul the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab and Esh-Baal.

Israel’s first king turned out to be a complete disaster. The prophet Samuel anointed Saul, a once humble Benjamite, to be Israel’s inaugural monarch. He began with such promise and utter dependence on the Lord. He looked to Samuel for mentoring, and early on, he led the nation to stunning victories over their enemies—the dreaded Philistines and pesky Ammonites, to name a few. After hundred’s of dismal years under the Judges, Israel had a champion, a man who was head and shoulders, both physically and in terms of personal charisma, above everybody else. You can read about Saul’s early successes in 1 Samuel 10-11.

But things quickly went south when Saul began to take credit for his stunning successes. His victories and growing popularity among a nation desperate for a king went to his head, for he didn’t have the depth of character to withstand human worship. In fairness, not too many people can, since only God is built for worship. Because Saul drifted from humble dependence, organic acknowledgement and quick obedience to God, the Spirit of God lifted from him and he became an increasingly desperate, even demented leader. Saul crashed and burned—publically and spectacularly.

So why would scripture then give him am entire chapter by spelling out his genealogy? Why not hide this sad and sordid part of Israel’s history? Well, the chronicler probably had several things in mind, not the least of which was to connect the dots in the history of Israel’s monarchy. That is the job of someone who is tasked with reporting the history of something. But I believe that God had a higher purpose in mind than what the writer may have been thinking in his conscious brain.

You see, one of the things that powerfully authenticates the veracity of scripture is its willingness to present God’s people, warts and all. The Bible doesn’t try to hide the flaws of its characters, even it’s heroes: Abraham’s fears, Jacob’s deceptiveness, David’s adultery, Solomon’s addictions, Peter’s blunders, and so on. Other books that purport to be divinely inspired go to great lengths to hide the misdeeds and missteps of their heroes; not the Bible. It is raw, it is real and it treats sin as it deserves, roughly.

That is one of the reasons why you can trust the Bible. There are other reasons of course, and this is neither the time nor the place to detail those reasons, but the transparency of scripture is a very powerful indicator of its trustworthiness as well as a legitimate apologetic.

Now an important reason for this transparency must be acknowledged here: The Bible is this way because it is not a book primary about man; it is the book of God. It is about God and his plan for the ages. And what the Bible clearly reveals in exposing the flaws of our faith ancestors is that even the best of us are deeply flawed and desperately in need of God’s mercy and grace—which is exactly what is revealed throughout the pages of scripture, from beginning to end.

And that gives hope to thoroughly flawed and desperate people like you and me. If God can redeem his ancient people from bad leaders like Saul by giving them good men like David, through whose lineage comes the Son of David, there is hope for us. Through Jesus, the only perfect God-man, we find eternal rescue for our Saul-like souls.

Yes, God will redeem us too, warts and all.

Going Deeper With God: Memorize this verse today, and rejoice in it throughout the day: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

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You Go Girl

ThanksLiving: 365 Days of Gratitude

The Bible has been accused of being a sexist book that regards women as nothing more than the property of men. I will grant that most of the stories in Scripture feature men, but just read the Good Book and you will discover enough inspiring stories about a few good women of impact to see that God is no respecter of persons. He doesn’t look at the outward appearance or the genetic makeup of an individual, he looks at their heart. God uses people—men and women—who have a large faith capacity and a willingness to be stretched.

Going Deep // Focus: 1 Chronicles 7:24

Ephraim had a daughter named Sheerah. She built the towns of Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah,

Reading through the first 8 chapters of 1 Chronicles is like reading from the phone book. If you are not careful, you can zone out. Honestly, you won’t miss much—can I say that about the Bible without getting struck by lighting?—name after name that meant something to them back then, but have very little value to us today.

Except that within these mind-numbing lists there is the occasional interruption of something very interesting, surprisingly inspiring, and quite intriguing. In fact, the little bit of information you get leaves you longing for more. And if you had allowed yourself to sleepwalk your way through these names, you could have missed one of these gems.

I have to confess, as many times as I have read the Bible, I don’t remember the story of Sheerah. Apparently I have been guilty of habitual sleepwalking when it comes to 1 Chronciles 7. But I was awake today, and what an interesting story Sheerah’s is. I wish I knew more about her.

She was born to Ephraim after two of his sons were killed trying to steal livestock, the text tells us. Her father had been in mourning for these two sons—how old they were we don’t know, why they were stealing we don’t know—all we know is that they were dead and their father was distraught. And the Lord had comforted his grieving heart by blessing him with another son and this daughter, Sheerah.

What is perhaps most interesting is that her story gets space in the record that is normally dominated by male figures. In that culture, at that time, women weren’t prominently featured and even a passing mention would have been rare. So when a women does make the front page, hold the press—this is big news. Sheerah must have been quite a gal!

And Sheerah was! She built three towns. How she got people, probably men, to follow her leadership will remain a mystery, but she did. She obviously had great leadership skills, personal charisma, a fearless personality, and the favor of the Lord. And she knew how to use it. And for all of time, and perhaps even in eternity, her story has been memorialized in the Word of God.

The Bible has been accused of being a sexist book that regards women as nothing more than the property of men. I will grant that most of the stories in Scripture feature men, but just read the Good Book and you will discover enough inspiring stories about a few good women of impact to see that God is no respecter of persons. He doesn’t look at the outward appearance or the genetic makeup of an individual, he looks at their heart.

God uses people—men and women—who have a large faith capacity and a willingness to be stretched.

So let’s hear it for Sheerah! You go girl!

Going Deeper With God: The Lord looks at the heart and not the outward appearance. What about you? If you are like me, you need the Lord to teach you to see people as he does. Which means there is probably someone he will put on your radar who needs your encouragement. Make sure you do just that—encourage that person today!

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The Priesthood Then—Our Priest Now

ThanksLiving: 365 Days of Gratitude

Jesus Christ, in one act at one point in history accomplished what thousands upon thousands of sacrifices into the millions of sacrifices by multitudes of priests could never accomplish. He opened the way to God permanently so that any person at any time by faith in Christ might enter into God’s presence. He is our great High Priest forever.

Going Deep // Focus: 1 Chronicles 6:49

Only Aaron and his descendants served as priests. They presented the offerings on the altar of burnt offering and the altar of incense, and they performed all the other duties related to the Most Holy Place. They made atonement for Israel by doing everything that Moses, the servant of God, had commanded them.

God selected the tribe of Levi out of all the tribes of Israel to manage the physical place of his dwelling. The Levites were a privileged group. But out of Levi, he then selected the clan of Aaron to serve as the priests, and they became the privileged few who ever got to offer sacrifices in the place of worship—the tabernacle, then later, the temple—to the Lord God. They managed the presence of God, mediated the worship of God’s people and made atonement for their sins. Out of all the people who ever lived on Planet Earth, only a select few got to be this close to the presence of the Lord in this important of a role.

Once we get past the Old Testament, there is not much information on the Jewish priesthood. One of the final interactions with this unique group is in Luke’s account of the birth of Christ. We are told in Luke 1 of the father of John the Baptist, who was to be the forerunner of Jesus the Messiah. His name was Zechariah, and he was a priest. He was on duty when an angel of the Lord suddenly showed up to announce to this old man that his old and barren wife was about to give birth to the greatest and last prophet of Israel, and they were to name him John. It is a great story that is worth reading again—a timely story of how God always remembers his promises and is dedicated to fulfilling his plan, but always in his sovereign time.

Now as a priest, Zechariah was a descendant of the priestly line of Aaron—at a time in Israel when there were around 20,000 other priestly descendants. This may seem like a large number, but again, keep in mind that when you consider all human beings who were alive at the time, it was a select group. In the context of tiny Israel, with that many priests and only one temple, these 20,000 men had to be divided into groups that served in the temple only two weeks per year so that all of them could serve.

Now the greatest privilege for an ordinary priest like Zechariah was to burn incense on the altar of the Holy Place. This was granted by lots, so only a very few priests would ever get this opportunity. If a priest was fortunate enough to be chosen, it was the only chance he would get—ever! So when Zachariah was chosen, it was the chance of a lifetime. That is when the angel interrupted his duties with a message.

This angel appeared and stood at one end of the altar in front of the aging priest! Now understand the shocking significance of this event: 400 years of nothing between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the gospel—and not only does God speak, but it’s not through the utterance of a human prophet. This news is so big, so important, and so good that God sends the angel of the Lord! Gabriel appears! As you can imagine, Zechariah did what we would have done: his knees had fellowship one with another. To say the least, he was afraid. But the angel calmed him with these next words, “Your prayer has been heard.” And with that, a new era began; John’s birth was followed by Jesus’s birth, and a new and living way into the very presence of God was ushered in. (Hebrews 10:20).

Jesus Christ, by his birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension, became the first non-Aaronic priest of God. And not just any priest, the Lion of the tribe of Judah became a High Priest forever—our personal and only priest before God. Through him, we have permanent and free access to the very presence of God. We also have him as our fulltime mediator and intercessor before the Almighty. We don’t have to come to a temple or go through an earthly priest or wait in line to offer a sacrifice for our sins, Jesus our High Priest did that once and for all for us. He ever lives to intercede for us, and he makes a way—he is our way—into God’s awesome presence any time we want for as long as we want.

Can you wrap your mind around that? Jesus is your permanent, personal full-time High Priest. And that makes you one of the privileged!

Going Deeper With God: Have you taken Jesus up on his offer to bring you into God’s awesome presence lately? Remember, through him, you can approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that you may receive mercy and find grace to help you in your time of need. (Hebrews 4:16) Do it today—through Jesus, get before God’s throne of grace.