He humiliates because He loves

Here's what will happen if you don't obediently listen to the Voice of God, your God, and diligently keep all the commandments and guidelines that I'm commanding you today. All these curses will come down hard on you....God will lead you and the king you set over you to a country neither you nor your ancestors have heard of; there you'll worship other gods, no-gods of wood and stone. Among all the peoples where God will take you, you'll be treated as a lesson or a proverb—a horror! -Deuteronomy 28:15, 36-7 (The Message)

I love this passage and I hate it. What this basically says is that if we don't do what God commands, we will end up humiliated... we will be used as an example of what not to do. Which reminds me of a picture I saw one time:



So, basically God humiliates those who don't follow his commands. At some point in our lives, we've all done something that we knew we shouldn't do, but the pull of the flesh is so strong or our desire so overpowering that we do it anyway. And all of us, at some point in our lives, have been humiliated by something we've done and only we can take responsibility for. And we end up as a lesson for others.

I think this really strikes at the heart of God. See, most people look at "The Law" laid down in the Old Testament as God being a controlling, wrathful, vengeful God. But really, he put the law there because he loves us, and as the one who created us, he understands the way to live that is best for us, and the way that is less than ideal. When you begin to see God as a loving father who's crazy about you, and only wants what's best for you, it becomes easier to listen to His words and obey His commands.

Yesterday, we announced our lead pastor, Jeff Smith, is leaving to plant a church in southern Missouri, where he's from. From the time I've known Jeff, this has been a calling God laid on his heart. Had he said, "no" to God, he could have ended up humiliated and used as an example by God of what not to do. He could have very easily stayed and enjoyed the fruit of some of the seeds he'd planted, but then, he says, he would have had to answer to God for what he didn't do.

Obediantly listen. Keep His commands. And the only purpose of your life will not be as an example to others.

Don't let God step in your mess

Mark out an area outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourselves. Along with your weapons have a stick with you. After you relieve yourself, dig a hole with the stick and cover your excrement. God, your God, strolls through your camp; he's present to deliver you and give you victory over your enemies. Keep your camp holy; don't permit anything indecent or offensive in God's eyes.- Deuteronomy 23:12-14 (The Message)

At first, this passage seems kind of silly. Cover up your mess so God doesn't step in it. But this idea that God is "present to deliver you and give you victory over your enemies" is the priceless part for me. So many times, I miss the idea that our God is a God of refuge. For me, when I'm in trouble, I usually look for God to come and rescue me. I completely miss the fact that he is always here with me, strolling through my camp, and available to provide refuge.

It's easy for us to pray to be delivered from a situation. It's much tougher to pray that God would walk with us through it and make us stronger through it. The idea that he is always here, strolling through our camp, gives us hope. So maybe, when we're in the heat of battle- dealing with sin, with addiction, with relationship hassles, with money problems - we need to stop looking for a way out. Instead, maybe we should look around for God to walk through it with us.

Peace

Moses had a heart for killers

When God, your God, throws the nations out of the country
that God, your God, is giving you and you settle down in their cities and houses, you are to set aside three easily accessible cities in the land that God, your God, is giving you as your very own. Divide your land into thirds, this land that God, your God, is giving you to possess, and build roads to the towns so that anyone who accidentally kills another can flee there. - Deuteronomy 19:1-3(The Message)

This passage always got me. I used to think that this was something Moses just made up. We all know Moses was a murderer (even if an accidental one), and it would have been really easy for him, as he's getting commands from God, to just throw this one in on his own - make a refuge. But, now I think it's more than that.

First, I think God gives us answers to what we seek from him. Matthew 7:8 tells us we will find what we seek, and if Moses were bothered by this thoughtless act earlier in his life, it's likely he would have been seeking an answer for how to help others in the same situation. Since he certainly would have prayed about it and sought God's wisdom in earnest, it's likely God would have given him this answer.

Second, I have often seen God use people who have been through a situation to help others go through that same situation. This is the whole philosophy of the 12-step program, no? Let people who have been there help people who are there. Whether it's addictions, relationships, illness, or anything else we can go through, we're not the first to go through it. Often, one of the most powerful forces God puts in our lives are people who have been through what we're going through.

I have a friend right now who's going through a rough time in his marriage due to some poor choices he made. His strongest advocate and wisest counselor is another man who made those same poor choices a few years ago. God has worked in my friend's heart intensely through this relationship.

Former addicts have a heart for addicts. Divorcees have a heart for those going through divorce. Moses had a heart for killers. And when he sought God's wisdom, he found how to help them. If you seek His wisdom, you will find it too.