A Word about Calling Upon the Lord

Today I want to share a word about calling upon the Lord, as I comment on Psalm 3. This passage reads:

Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, there is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.

The comedy film “Ghost Busters” popularized the phrase “Who ya gonna call?”  Though not proper English, it is a valid question. Who do you call upon in time of trouble?  Do you call on the government?  Do you call on friends?  How about a lawyer?  Each of these are valid, and should be used, but they aren't the ultimate source of our help. When in trouble, despite whomever else we may call upon, we should always call upon God, as did the Psalmist in our passage for today.

THE PROBLEM:

In a word, the Psalmist’s problem was people.  He had people who opposed him. This reminds me of a joke I heard when we served as international missionaries, “Missionary service is wonderful except for two things: the other missionaries and the local believers!” 

David was not alone in having people oppose him. They opposed Jesus also, as He told us in John 15:18-19:

If the world hates you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.  But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.

Jesus clearly taught in this passage that the people who oppose Him also will oppose us, because we identify with Him. As I have often said, the way of salvation is narrow, and it seems to be superimposed on the broad way that leads to destruction. As people work their way towards eternal separation from God, they bump into us and jostle us who are heading toward our Lord!

This problem became a real plight for the Psalmist. Every time he faced adversity, every time something went wrong, people would say it was his fault. He must have strayed from God! God had abandoned him, or so it seemed. 

This situation reminds me of the attitude displayed by the test pilots featured in the book and movie, The Right Stuff. Anytime a pilot crashed and died, it was because he didn’t have “the right stuff,” regardless of the true cause of the crash. Even when a mechanical failure occurred, a pilot with that magical “right stuff” would be able to fly his way out of trouble. David was facing this same type of judgmental attitude and it was becoming oppressive to him.

THE PROTECTION:

Although those around him had their doubts, the Psalmist knew where he could acquire the help he needed. It was from God, and from God alone! Only God could shield him from his adversaries. Only God could lift him up and allow him to hold his head high.  Nothing else that David could turn to could do that, but God could.

David’s God was also Paul’s God. It could well be that Paul was thinking of the 3rd Psalm when he wrote to the church at Ephesus about the full armor of God:

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;  and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:11-17

Of course, knowing that God can protect us does us no good if we can’t get His attention. Remember how the prophets of Baal danced and shouted and cut themselves on Mount Carmel? Remember also how Baal never said a mumbling word back to them? David knew that Yahweh God heard him, and when He did, He responded! Of course, our God still hears and responds to His people today!

THE PEACE: 

Because Yahweh God is faithful, we can trust Him. Because we can trust Him, we can rest. Ship’s captains cannot rest if they don’t have faith in the other mates in a ship. A young mother out on a date night with her husband can’t enjoy herself if she doesn’t have faith in their babysitter. People about to have surgery can’t rest if they don’t trust their doctor or hospital. David could have peace, because he knew his God, and our God, is faithful.

Since we know that God has our back, we can not only have peace, but we can also be fearless. We admire the sacrifice of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, but David said that ten thousand could not hurt him if God was his protection! That’s why he could stand up against Goliath with only a sling shot and why Samson could fight and kill 1,000 with the jawbone of a donkey. Even should our human fate be to die opposing evil, we can still say with the writer of Hebrews, “The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

THE POWER:

When he was in trouble, when he needed help, when he saw that he was lost without God, the Psalmist uttered a simple plea: “Arise, O Lord, and save me!” It has been said that the most common and most urgent prayer of all is the simple, “God help me!” David cried out in just that manner in his time of need. We should not be ashamed or too proud to call out in the same way when we need God’s intervention. We know God hears the prayers of His people, however simple or complex they might be, and He acts to bless us.

It is equally important for us to know, as did David, that God has the power to protect us. As Isaiah 59:1 tells us, “Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear.” 

In fact, not only does He hear our cries and defend us from our enemies, but God also does it with style. He slaps their face, and He breaks their teeth, and He publicly embarrasses the enemies of God’s people. We saw this in the contest on Mount Carmel and David also saw it in his personal life.

THE PARDON:

If we can trust God to save us from our earthly foes, should we not trust God even more to save us from our spiritual foes? Paul knew that our spiritual battles with unseen foes was as real as and even more consequential than our battles with our visible enemies. This is what he told the church at Ephesus: 

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12

Of course, our biggest enemy, our greatest threat, is not external to us, but internal. We are our own worst enemy. We are all lost in our sins, and we know that, as Paul wrote to the Roman church, 

There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Romans 3:10-12

Clearly understanding his own sin, Paul went on to cry out to God like David did in the 3rd Psalm, asking,

O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 7:24-25

Like David, not only did Paul see the problem, but he also knew the answer which he shared with the Ephesians, saying, 

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.  Ephesians 2:8-10

This is another way of saying what Peter taught in Acts 4:10-12, 

Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

CONCLUSION:

So, who are you going to call upon in your time of need?

• Your family and friends?

• Your lawyer or your doctor?

• The police or the fire department?

Yes, do! But also remember to call upon the Lord who can save us from the things that these others cannot! This includes ourselves and our own self-defeating tendencies!

Who ya gonna call? Like David, call on God! He will answer, He will respond, and He will save!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about Blessed People

 

Today I want to share a word about blessed people, as I comment on Psalm 1.This passage reads:

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

This Psalm vividly describes the distinctive way that blessed people live. To really get a feel for the significance of this Psalm, let’s flash forward to James 4:1-4 in which James, in an equally vivid way, rebukes some members of the early church for their carnality:

Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

How are blessed people different from the people that James was correcting?

FIRST, WE SEE THEIR PURITY:

In the first verse, the Psalmist notes that blessed people are distinguished by their purity, which is found in three things that they don’t do. They don't live their lives like the world does. They don't think the same way the world does. They don't talk the way the world does.

Yes, blessed people might fall into the ways of the world at times because they are human, frail, and fallible.  People do make mistakes. The difference is that blessed people don’t make this a way of life. In Hebrew the word seat means dwelling place, the place where one resides. This is like the difference between falling into the mud and wallowing in it.

In short, there is a qualitative difference in the lifestyle of blessed people. It’s not about how much money people have, but what they do with it. It’s not how much people produce, but how good it is. It isn’t how often people do something, but how well they do it that makes all the difference.

SECOND WE SEE THEIR PIETY:

In the second verse, the Psalmist tells us that blessed people have two spiritual emphases: They love to know God's Word and they live it out the best they can!

God's Word is the desire of blessed people. They find pleasure in their pursuit of it, and they want more and more of it. God's Law that the Psalmist refers to here is all God's Revelation and blessed people love studying it, and they never stop being life-long learners about God’s Word.  But, blessed people do more than study the Word, they also meditate on it. 

The word meditate here means literally to mutter, to mumble.  It connotes pondering aloud as one makes decisions. Pilots talk with their copilots and to themselves as they complete checklists and make decisions about takeoffs, landings, and other maneuvers as they fly aircraft. They do this so that they don’t miss something important. In the same way, blessed people remind themselves and their family and friends about what the Word says as they make the Word part of their everyday life.

James 1:22, says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves . . .”  Blessed people study God's Word so that they can live it out.

NEXT, WE SEE THEIR PROSPERITY: 

The third verse tells us that the prosperity of blessed people stems from their way of life. They are pure in their hearts because they follow God's Word. This causes them to be like a tree planted by a river, being refreshed and nurtured by the flow of abundant water.

When I served in Iraq as a chaplain, I had never been in such a dry place before. I traveled all around Baghdad and the surrounding areas and everywhere you looked was a shade of brown or tan. One day, however, we travelled to visit some troops at a camp located on the banks of the Tigris River south of the city. The contrast was amazing. Along the river we saw lush green grass where cows could graze, and where tall sturdy trees grew. Although the rest of our area of operations was barren desert, the Tigris valley was a long, beautiful oasis. Blessed people are like that; they are an oasis of beauty in the barren landscape of the empty and futile way of the world.

We have to understand two important words in this verse. First, season means that prosperity comes in due time, in proper time, which implies in God’s timing. Next, the word does can imply many things (twenty-three synonyms in fact) including: work, labor, toil, create, build, accomplish, earn, acquire, fulfill, happen.

So like King Midas, everything blessed people touch will turn to gold, but in God’s timing.

The prosperity that blessed people will realize comes in two different time frames. We know that in John 10:10, Jesus said that He came to give abundant life to us, and we know that Romans 8:28 tells us that all things are used by God to bless His people. So, from this we can know that blessed people will enjoy both temporal, or earthly abundant life, which is the main emphasis of the Psalmist, and eternal abundant life, which was Paul’s main emphasis in Romans.

In essence, blessed people have the best of both worlds, in the here and now and in the hereafter as well, and so this leads to the Psalmist’s final point.

LAST, WE SEE THEIR PROSPECTS:

The last three verses of this Psalm tell us that the prospects of blessed people are different than those without a relationship with God. 

The Psalmist says that the ungodly are blown away like chaff. When wheat is being threshed, even a light breeze will suffice to separate the grain from the chaff; such is implied here by the term wind which meaning is really more akin to a breath. Those without God can't stand a proper, righteous judgment and their way shall perish. It will face destruction and desolation. They will be like a nation which is utterly defeated.

In contrast the way of blessed people is known by God.  He has a plan for them and a way for them to follow. He has a life for them to enjoy. The children of God are like those of a king whose lives are planned and who have every advantage life brings them.

CONCLUSION:

So, what lessons can we take from this passage? 

• First, to be like the blessed people described by the Psalmist, we must avoid the pitfalls of following the world.  
• Next, we should desire God’s Word and embed it in our beings so that we live it out.  
• Finally, we must trust God and allow Him to bless us instead of struggling to make our own way in the world using the world’s methods and mores.

If we do these things, we will be blessed, both in this world and in the next.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

A Word about the Frog in the Kettle

Today I want to share a word about the frog in the kettle, as I comment on Judges 16:18-20.  This passage reads:

And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.” When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. 

It is a common saying that, “Ignorance is bliss.” Another familiar sentiment is, “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.” Both of these old saws are often false, as we find in our Scripture passage for today. What Samson did not know came back to bite him, hard.

WHAT HAPPENED TO SAMSON?

He was a Nazarite and God had been with him. He had been set apart from the time of his birth, and he had judged Israel for 20 years. God had done some mighty works through him to protect His people:

• He had killed a Lion with his bare hands.

• He had killed 30 men of Ashkelon.

• He had killed another 1,000 men with the jawbone of a donkey.

• He broke the strongest ropes the Philistines had.

Yet, at the time he needed it most, his strength left him, and he was taken by the Philistines. To understand what happened, we must understand what Samson had become.

SAMSON WAS THE FROG IN THE KETTLE:

Christian researcher George Barna once wrote a book entitled, The Frog in the Kettle. This title comes from the idea that if a frog is placed into a kettle when the water is cool, it will not notice how the water grows ever hotter when the heat is turned up under it. Eventually the frog will be boiled to death without ever knowing what was happening to it. Whether or not this is actually true or only a fable, it is a great parable to illustrate how our consciences can become hardened by small and gradual compromises over time. 

Josh McDowell, another noted author, has commented on this tendency in the lives of Christians, and he calls it the “law of diminishing returns.” A little indiscretion (sin) is thrilling for a time, but then it begins to pale and become boring. That prompts us to go a little more over the line to get a thrill or satisfaction, and then even more. 

Even secular writers have observed this phenomenon. In his book, Delinquency and Drift, David Matza promoted the thesis that most felons simply drift, little-by-little, into a life of crime. If the chain of seemingly random and often minor events could be broken, then such an outcome could be averted.

A look at Judges 16 will reveal Samson’s step-by-step into the abyss of failure.

• He associated with a harlot.

• He foolishly misused his great strength.

• He loved an untrustworthy woman.

• Three times he teased Delilah, like a moth dancing over the flames of a candle.

• He had fallen so far that he did not even know it when a man cut his hair.

When he awoke, he didn’t realize that God had removed His power from him. He discovered, to his dismay, that there is a difference between a fire-fighter and a firebug and there is a difference between a trash man and a trashy man.

CAN THIS HAPPEN TO US?

The New Testament says it can, as in 1 Timothy 4:1-2:

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron . . .

Also, 2 Timothy 3:1-9 says,

 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith;  but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

Blessedly, the Scriptures also tell how us to avoid this type of gradual fail-ure as in 2 Corinthians 4:1-2 which says:

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.  But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

Also, in Ephesians 4:17-23 Paul taught us this: 

This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,  having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Finally, the writer of Hebrews in chapter 3:12-15 urged:  

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;  but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said:   "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."

CONCLUSION:

One of the most painful memories of parenthood for me was the time my son went on day trip to the beach with the youth group from our church. He spent all day shirt-less in the broiling sun, without realizing how badly sun-burnt he was becoming. When he got home that evening, he had to lie shirt-less on his stomach in bed for a couple of days until the pain became more bearable. When we play with sin, we get burned!

Too often, our young Christian leaders grow in talent, skill, and acclaim faster than they grow in maturity, integrity, and discretion. In the end, the result is disaster, as we saw in the life of Samson. In the words of Jesus, “he who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Every blessing!

Dr. Otis Corbitt

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