A Word about Payback

Today I want to share a word about payback, as I comment on Joel 2:23-32.  This passage reads:

O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the LORD your God; for he has given the early rain for your vindication, he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the later rain, as before. The threshing floors shall be full of grain, the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent against you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the LORD, am your God and there is no other. And my people shall never again be put to shame. Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my spirit. I will show portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. Then everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.

Like in many families, when my sister and I were younger, we had something of a love-hate relationship. She was older than me, and even though she would never admit it, she took advantage of that. She also took advantage of the fact that I was forbidden by my parents to ever hit her, so she could bedevil me all that she liked, but my means of payback were limited.

Then, one day, I had a brainstorm. My sister often asked me to fetch her something to drink from the kitchen, which gave me an opening that I waited until the opportune moment to seize. On a hot and humid summer’s afternoon, she asked me to bring her a glass of cola from the fridge. And like a panther, I pounced!

I did bring her the glass of cola, but not before I poured a large amount of table salt in it. She took the glass and immediately swallowed a big gulp of cola. It is more accurate to say that she tried to swallow a big gulp of cola, but the salt-laced cola would not go down. Instead, it burst forth from her mouth and nostrils with such force that I am surprised it didn’t shoot out of her ears as well! I truly got my payback . . . until she clobbered me, that is. You see, I couldn’t hit her, but she could, and did on that occasion, hit me! Still, at the time I thought it was worth it to get some payback.

In our passage for today, Joel tells us about how God is going to payback his people. His way of doing so will be a great deal more palatable than what I did to my sister!

THE DAY OF THE LORD:

Joel was one of the earliest of the Minor Prophets. His theme was “The Day of the Lord,” which would be a day of judgment and of settling accounts with God. In that regard, one writer called him the “First and last of the Minor Prophets,” because he wrote early about events in the end times.

Like all the Old Testament prophets, Joel’s message applied to Biblical Israel as well as to God’s people of the future. The Kingdom of Judah did experience “The Day of the Lord” when they were overtaken by Babylon, but another day of judgment is coming, the final day when God will create the New Heaven and the New Earth. Some people, probably many people, will regret that day, but God’s People will rejoice, because their payback will be quite different!

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL:

God is well aware that His People are “strangers in a strange land.” One of the key elements of salvation is regeneration; that is, people who were dead in their sin are born again and become new creatures. Regenerate people are citizens of Heaven and not citizens of this world, and that causes us much trouble.

We know that the way that leads to destruction is broad, and the way that leads to salvation is narrow, but I am convinced that they are superimposed on each other. What I mean by that is believers are walking toward Heaven in the midst of the flood of people who are walking towards destruction. Therefore, we get jostled and bumped, and even pushed back from time to time, although our movement in life is ever forwards toward “the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” 

Jesus, of course, lived among us, and He understands the struggle. As God and man, He was able to negotiate His life on earth immeasurably better than we can, even with the power of the Holy Spirit. Yet, He walked many miles in our shoes. Because of this, He can and does identify with us and our often-difficult journey of life.

THE DAY OF BLESSING:

As difficult as life on earth can be, God will repay His people for their faithfulness. If we look carefully at our passage for today, we can see that God will do so in a holistic manner.

• First, the ultimate Day of the Lord has a physical element: We will have new, glorified bodies.
• Next, the ultimate Day of the Lord has an emotional element: We will not be put to shame by God.
• Finally, the ultimate Day of the Lord has a spiritual element: We will be saved from our sin, and we will be in the right relationship with God forevermore.

God is perfect, and His repayment to us will also be perfect. We have a great blessing to look forward to when The Day of the Lord appears!

CONCLUSION:

When R.G. Lee preached his famous sermon “Payday Someday,” it was based on a different passage of Scripture, but the point is still the same. When the time comes for payback, which side will we be on? I pray for all of us that we will be on the Lord’s side!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about Interdependence

Today I want to share a word about interdependence, as I comment on Joshua 1:10-18. This passage reads:

Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it. And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them; until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord's servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising. And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage. 

One of my favorite memories from raising our children was the season of life when they were learning to dress themselves. Often, as they struggled to tie their shoes or button their shirts, we would reach out to help them. Invariably, they would pull away from us, protesting vigorously, “I can do it myself!” Whenever I think of that it makes me smile, but it also causes me pause. 

One of the deeply ingrained values in America is the idea of rugged individualism. This is the same idea expressed by the Frank Sinatra song which proudly proclaimed that “I did it my way!” It is also echoed by the final words to the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley which famously, or maybe infamously declared, “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” Even our doctrine of salvation has often been used to promote the idea of the autonomy of the individual, like in the folk song which said, “Me and Jesus, we got our own thing going, me and Jesus, we got it all worked out. Me and Jesus, we got our own thing going, we don’t need anybody to tell us what it’s all about!”

We often pursue this value of rugged individualism to the point of it becoming a hinderance rather than a help. If we would consider the Biblical record, however, it will give us a different perspective.

THE REQUEST:

When the Children of Israel were delivered from slavery in Egypt, God had Moses lead them to the east bank of the Jordan River. This took far longer than it should have, because of the sin of the people and of Moses, but the day came when they were assembled at the Jordan and Moses and Joshua were preparing them to enter and possess Canaan, the land that they were promised by God. The specter of individualism arose, however.

The tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh looked around themselves and thought, “Hey, this place is great. We are already here, we like it, and we want to stay. We are tired of all this wandering around. We want to stay right where we are.” And so, they petitioned Moses to grant them their inheritance in that fertile piece of land east of the Jordan River.

God, being a loving and benevolent God, allowed the two-and-a-half tribes to settle in their chosen land. They were allowed to build houses for their families, corrals for their animals, and to make a life for themselves there. There was, however, one requirement.

THE REQUIREMENT:

When the leaders of Rueben and Gad made their petitions known to Moses, this was his immediate reply:

And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord hath given them? Numbers 32:6-7

Moses quickly reminded these two-and-a-half tribes that it was not right for them to sit in their homes, fat and sassy, while their brothers were having to fight for their inheritance. Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh didn’t have to even break a fingernail to gain their portion of the land. Moses (and God) would not stand idly by and allow them to take a knee while the rest of the Children of Israel were fighting. Not only was this morally and spiritually wrong, it also would wound the hearts and the morale of the rest of the tribes.

To their credit, the leaders of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh readily agreed to these terms. But there was a twist that might have been unexpected. You see, not only were these two-and-a-half tribes expected to fight alongside the rest of Israel, but they were also assigned to lead the charge. 

As we read in our Scripture passage for today, the two-and-a-half tribes were told to cross the river first, leading the way into the Promised Land. They did so, and to their credit, they marched and fought across the Promised Land until released by Joshua to return to their homes across the river. 

THE RECORD:

Our passage for today is not the only place in Scripture that supports the value of interdependence among God’s people. For example:

In Nehemiah we find that all of God’s people in Jerusalem were expected to help rebuild the walls. Each family was given their portion of the wall to repair, so everyone had to do their own work so that the city as a whole could be safe.

In Acts 15, we see that the missionary enterprise had gotten ahead of their doctrine. Paul had caught some fish (Gentiles) they had not anticipated!  Did Paul (an apostle himself) decide what to do?  No! His church sent Paul and Barnabas to inquire from other churches how to properly handle this situation.

In Romans 15:25-27 we can see the churches in Asia working together to send benevolence to the mother church in Jerusalem which was under persecution, and which had great needs. We can also see how, in 1 Corinthians 16:19-20, that the churches of Asia were concerned about, and expressed their care to, the churches in Europe.

Finally, in 2 Corinthians 11:5-10, we see evidence of churches cooperating to send out missionaries. If the Biblical record is any indication, and of course it is, God expects His people to work together to build His Kingdom.

CONCLUSION:

A man once had a dream about the afterlife. He appeared in a room where sickly and emaciated people were sitting around a kettle full of delicious smelling food. Although the people were desperately hungry, they could not feed themselves because their arms and legs were in casts and their only utensils were four-foot-long spoons. Try as they might, they could not get any food into their mouths. As the man stared, horrified, one of the pitiful creatures fell over, apparently lifeless.

Next, the man was translated into another, seemingly identical space, with the same kettle, the same spoons, and the same casts on arms and legs. He immediately saw a difference, however, because all the people gathered around the kettle were hale and hearty, with more than one of them approaching portliness. What made the difference in this scene was that instead of trying to feed themselves, the people used the four-foot-long spoons to feed the person across the kettle from themselves. Everyone was well fed and sitting tall and strong.

When the man awoke, he realized that the first room was a vision of hell, and the second room was a vision of heaven. The moral of this dream is clear: when we forget that we need each other we can make our existence a hell on earth. Conversely, when we are interdependent and work with one another, we can make our time on earth more like the heaven we all look forward to enjoying. 

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about Self-control

 

Today I want to share a word about self-control, as I comment on Galatians 5:19-25. This passage reads:

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

As I write this devotional, a video has gone viral on the internet of a National Football League coach’s response to his team’s loss. The coach was the team’s offensive coordinator, and one of their wide receivers had botched a last-minute chance to win the game by not stopping the clock by stepping out of bounds. The coach was so upset, frustrated, and angry that he pitched an epic fit, screaming and throwing objects around the coach’s booth. His behavior was so embarrassing that another coach in the booth reached over and covered the camera with his hand. Without a doubt that coach lost all control of his emotions and his actions.

Contrast this with the behavior of my father-in-law. He was a die-hard fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide. In his mind, their coach, Paul “Bear” Bryant, could do no wrong. I remember my father-in-law intently watching Alabama play a bowl game one year which had great implications for the national championship of college football. Alabama did not play very well, and while they, too, had a last second chance for victory, they also came up short. This defeat cost them the chance at the national title that year. My father-in-law stared silently at the television as the last seconds of the game ticked away. Then he stood, put on his hat, and said, “Well, that’s that.” He then turned and went out to tend to some chores.

Now, admittedly, it was the NFL coach’s job to help his team win football games, and my father-in-law did not have such career issues to deal with. Still, he was passionate about University of Alabama football, and his passion ran deep. He just didn’t make a spectacle of himself by losing control.

Like the Bible and the Christian faith, people may see self-control as a list of things one shouldn’t do. I would assert that self-control actually has two major aspects. The first one is, indeed, the idea that one should avoid some actions and attitudes. The second, however, is the idea that self-control includes some behaviors and attitudes that people should actively seek out. Let’s unpack those in the order that I gave them, because we always want to end on a positive note!

THINGS TO AVOID:

Paul’s counsel to the Galatians clearly stated a number of actions and attitudes that we should avoid as believers. People are not mere animals, but when we give in to our baser instincts we can act like animals. When we do, the consequences can be severe.

When we lose control and act badly, people can get hurt, physically, spiritually, and emotionally. A prime example of that is Matthew 14:6-11:

But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger. And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.  And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.

Herod lost control and gave into his lusts and desires and the result was that John the Baptist, who had done nothing except preach God’s Word, was executed.

Not only do other people get hurt when we don’t exercise self-control, but we also do ourselves. When we lose control we eat too much, we drink too much, we gamble too much, and we abuse our own bodies, souls and minds. To be clear, I do not endorse drinking alcohol and I do not endorse gambling, but even people who do should realize that a lack of self-control in these practices will lead to personal and interpersonal disaster.

Yes, self-control is a matter of resisting temptation, but it is more than that. Self-control is not only avoiding negative actions and attitudes, but it is also cultivating positive actions and attitudes.

THINGS TO PURSUE:

We can avoid the negative behaviors and attitudes that Paul listed in our passage for today, but still miss the mark for an abundant life. It is a fact that muscles which are not exercised will atrophy and weaken, and so will our lives if we don’t act in positive ways with a positive mindset. The Bible is full of positive commands which, if we follow them, will result in our blessing and the blessing of others. Some of them include:

Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Matthew 7:7

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:37-40

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Luke 6:38

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:5-8

Self-control means doing the right things in the right ways, even when we don’t feel like it. Jesus is our model for this. He went to the Cross in obedience to His Father, even though in the garden the night before He prayed to be relieved of that task. Remember also that Jesus did this for us, even though we were sinners and estranged from God:

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

So, Jesus not only avoided sin to live a sinless life, He also took the necessary action to save all of us from our sins. I am so glad He did! Aren’t you?

CONCLUSION:

One of my besetting sins is that I can have a short temper from time-to-time. I jokingly blame it on my mother’s red hair, but I have long ago realized it is a tendency that I must control. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I have learned that I can have some success with controlling this character flaw. This is important because you never know who is watching.

Recently I had to go into a local bank to transact some financial business for my ministry. I stood for quite some time in the lobby while the teller was looking at her telephone. I was starting to feel frustrated and, yes, a little angry, when she looked up, saw me, and motioned me forwards.

Although I was frustrated at the delay, I was cordial to the young lady, which was fortunate, because as she was processing our deposit, she looked at me and said, “Is it true that your ministry provides counseling services? My husband and I need some help with our relationship.” At this, I was both pleased and embarrassed.

I was pleased that this young lady was reaching out for help. I did not know her, but she apparently recognized me, and I was glad to help her. I was also embarrassed because I had almost given into my frustration. She didn’t notice, which made me glad, but if I had given in to my baser instincts, I would have ruined everything. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit helped me keep my composure, and for that, I am most grateful!

Self-control, self-discipline, temperance, whatever we call it, it isn’t a one-time thing. It is a lifestyle. I am grateful to God for the Gift of the Holy Spirit who empowers us to live a life that is both pleasing and honoring to God.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about Generosity

 

Today I want to share a word about generosity, as I comment on Acts 20:32-36. This passage reads:

And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.  Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all.

One aspect of being involved in ministry for more than three decades is that I have many memories Some are pleasant, others are unpleasant, and others are just . . . let’s say that they are unique. In that regard I remember the time I was given a gift of a dozen pairs of white athletic socks.

I had travelled to a small town to advise a church about how to expand and improve their buildings to support their church’s ministry. It was quite a long drive to get to this town, but our meeting went well, and I felt like the church’s leadership was well on its way to making some good decisions for the future. As I was about to take my leave, one of the lay leaders of the church asked me to walk with him out to the parking lot. 

When we arrived at his car, he reached inside and pulled out a plastic bag which he then thrust into my hands. “We know you had a long drive up here,” he said. “Here’s something to show our appreciation.” In that bag were the aforementioned white athletic socks.

The missing element to this story was that the town in question was known for being the location of one of the largest, and last, garment factories in our state, which, as a matter of fact, produced socks. Socks were, therefore, a common and imminently practical, gift to visitors.

Beaming with pride, my host said, “I hope you enjoy these!” And I did. Those socks were an unusual gift, but I used them for many months. I was glad to have them, and I was glad to allow my host to enjoy the blessing of generosity.

Paul also knew the blessing of giving to others. In fact, generosity was important enough to him that he included it in his final words to the elders of the church at Ephesus before being taken to Rome for his audience with Caesar. Such an event is likely to focus one’s thoughts, so the fact that Paul reminded them of the teaching of Jesus about generosity is instructive. 

An interesting fact is that one of the most common topics that Jesus taught about was money, including economics, greed, taxes, and giving. For example, in The Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6, Jesus taught:

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Luke 6:38

From this passage we can glean at least two basic principles about generosity.

GENEROSITY RECOGNIZES GOD’S OWNERSHIP:

The basis of generosity as well as stewardship and several other values is the fact of God’s ownership of everything. As creator, God can and does claim possession on everything we see and of everything we do not see. The right of God to be in control of all of creation is beyond doubt, argument, and challenge. The interesting thing is what God has done with creation: He gave it to us!

You see, our God is a giving God. He gave us this world, He gave us life itself, and He gave us His Uniquely Begotten Son to save us from our sin. God is not a hoarder, keeping all things for Himself. God is not a spoiler, denying things to others out of spite. God is not forgetful, ignoring the needs and wants of people. No! God is a giver!

Not only does God want to give, but God also has the power to give as Paul wrote in his benediction in the Letter to the Ephesians:

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Ephesians 3:14-21

God is our model for generosity, and He also has the right to expect us to be generous in return. In fact, when He made His covenant with Abraham, God told him:

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 12:2-3

God’s people are intended to be generous people

GENEROSITY REALIZES GOD’S BLESSING:

Besides recognizing that God expects us to be generous, we can also see here that God blesses those who are generous. In Luke 6:38, Jesus taught that when we give, we get blessed, and He also gave us clues to the dimensions of that blessing:

Good measure: One of the ways merchants cheated people in Biblical times was to have false scales, or grain measures that were not accurate. God, however, is scrupulously honest. He never cheats His people. Or anyone else for that matter!

Pressed down and shaken together: When some commodities are measured their shapes cause air pockets to form. To make sure that the measurement is true, these commodities should be shaken to minimize the air pockets and maximize the amount of product being sold. This is exactly why boxes of cereal are labeled to note that they are “packed by weight and not by volume.” If we were buying cereal from God, He’d shake the box so that the cereal would settle to the bottom, but then He’d top it up with more!

Running over: God is not cheap with His blessings. They are so great that they would overflow any container in which they are put, should that be physically possible. God is generous, and He gives us “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think!”

When I was in seminary in New Orleans, I learned about a French word that was commonly used in that city: Lagniappe. This means a little something extra, like the 13th doughnut in a Baker’s Dozen. When we give, God blesses us with more than at the level of lagniappe. He gives us much more than a little extra. He pours out His favor on us, the way that Mary poured out the expensive perfume on the hair of Jesus during the supper at Bethany. Our God is an extravagantly generous God!

CONCLUSION:

I once heard my pastor describe the way of the world when it came to possessions in this manner: “Get all you can. Put it in a can. Put a lid on the can. Sit on the lid!”

On the other hand, love really doesn’t help anyone unless it is given away. And, since God is Love, it’s natural that He is a giving God. Thus, it is natural that we should be generous people as we imitate His behavior towards us.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt