HACKED BY NESAS_0DAY

Category: Devotion

  • The presence and pleasures of God– Psalm 16

    The presence and pleasures of God– Psalm 16

    By Rosie Moore.

    Do you ever picture God as a killjoy? In His presence, people walk around in formal attire with polite smiles on their faces. No fun allowed here! Yet, at the end of Psalm 16, David links God’s presence with life, joy, and pleasures forevermore:

    “You will make known to me the path of life;

    In your presence is fullness of joy;

    In your right hand there are pleasures forevermore” (Ps 16:11)

    Psalm 16 answers the existential longings of every generation: Where do we find life, happiness, pleasure, and purpose?

    David knew that a vital, personal relationship with the Lord is the only bedrock of true and lasting satisfaction, as opposed to the quicksand of idolatry. And Psalm 16:11 captures John Piper’s summary of the Christian life: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”

    The Path of Life.

    Last week we saw that King Saul was a self-focused man who craved man’s admiration rather than a personal relationship with the Lord. His attitude to God was cavalier and careless, leading him to be consumed and enslaved by other gods instead of exalting the one true God. It was the path of death (1 Sam 31).

    David, in contrast, is called a ‘man after God’s own heart’. Even while pursued by Saul, the refugee of Psalm 16:1 found himself the heir of Psalm 16:11—Heir of the greatest, deepest, most enduring pleasures the mind can conceive. David found that the secret to joy is to live a God-centred life. It is the path of life.

    Psalm 16 is a wonderful prayer to steady us when we feel wobbly. It is also a Messianic Psalm that takes our eyes off our circumstances and fixes them on the Lord Jesus who lives and reigns. Psalm 16 gives us hope if we are believers. But let’s back up and look at the whole Psalm to see how King David gets to this place of joy and delight in the Lord.

    Preserve me, O God.

    Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.
    2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    I have no good besides You.”
    3 As for the saints who are in the earth,
    They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
    4 The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied;
    I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
    Nor will I take their names upon my lips.

    5 The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
    You support my lot.
    6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
    Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.

    7 I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;
    Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.
    8 I have set the Lord continually before me;
    Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
    9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    My flesh also will dwell securely.
    10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
    Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
    11 You will make known to me the path of life;
    In Your presence is fullness of joy;
    In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

    David sets his mind on the Lord.

    Because David has “set the Lord continually before [him]”, he will not be shaken (Ps 16:8). Yahweh, the God who saves, is his Lord, the personal, faithful, covenantal God of his forefathers (Ps 16:2). David’s refuge is not an impersonal religious deity. He does not run to gods of comfort, paganism, or his army to save him. He runs to the Lord.

    David does not give in to complaining or brooding, but admits his bankruptcy in his call for help, “Keep me safe,” followed by a declaration of trust, “You are my Lord” (Ps 16:1-2). David shows that his confidence is in the Lord alone and that he has nothing to offer. He talks to himself rather than listening to himself. He picks up his heart and mind, and puts them in a spiritually healthy place, instead of ruminating on his troubles.

    What does it mean for us to set the Lord before us, as David did? As Christians, our minds drift all day long and it is easy to be carried along to wherever our thoughts and emotions may take us. But left to themselves, our minds go digging in the landfill of fleshly desires, of untrue, unlovely, unkind, regretful and bitter thoughts. It’s no wonder we often feel unworthy, discontented, empty, envious or fearful. Setting the Lord before us reminds us that we are not enough, but He is! It frees us up to address our troubles with a better attitude and clearer perspective.

    Setting our minds.

    Like David, we must learn to take mental stock every day, anchoring our minds to spiritual things (Rom 8:5-6); heavenly things where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Col 3:1-2); things that are true, noble, right, just, pure, lovely, excellent and praiseworthy (Phil 4:8). We must learn to fix our eyes on Christ himself, the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2). Setting our minds on the gospel is the only escape from the mental traps that besiege us from day to day.

    But it requires diligence and patience to take ownership of our thoughts in what we watch, read, listen to and meditate upon. We need grace to set our minds on things above, at the right hand of God where Christ is. But it’s worth it! The result is an unshaken spirit (Ps 16:8-9), for “the mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” (Rom 8:6)

    Only Jesus could perfectly set his mind on the joy before him, as he set his face towards the cross, while maintaining perfect fellowship with His Father. That is why Christ did not fear the powers of earth and hell which conspired against him. But when we commit to setting the Lord continually before us, we are placing our trust in Christ. To trust the Lord in times of trouble is the highest honour we can pay Him.

    David delights in the saints.

    “As for the saints who are in the earth,
    They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight”     (Psalm 16:3)

    David was not embarrassed to be numbered among God’s people on earth. Prophetically he knew that God’s chosen King would be given the nations as His inheritance, the ends of the earth as his possession (Ps 2:8, Rev 7:9-10). They are the majestic ones in whom David, and later Christ, delights.

    The apostle Peter also uses royal language to describe the saints: “a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, who declare the praises of Him who called them out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9-10). We are saints simply because we have received God’s mercy, not because we are anything special. The saints of the earth are “the joy set before Him” which motivated Christ to endure the cross (Heb 12:2).

    But what about us? Do we honour other believers as fellow heirs of the grace of life? Do we delight in the Church, Christ’s Bride? After all, Jesus loved the Church and gave himself up for her (Eph 5:25).

    Or do we show contempt for Christians who live today, or in the past? Love for fellow Christians is a mark of a true believer and a yardstick of our relationship with the Lord (1 John 4:20, 3:10; John 13:34-35.) Christ delights in the people of every generation and every nation who make Him King of their hearts and lives. We ought to do the same. “This is my command: Love each other.” (John 15:17).

    David delights in his inheritance.

    The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
    You support my lot.
    The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
    Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me     (Psalm 16:4-6).

    Are you happy with your lot in life? Or do you sometimes wonder if God is doing this horrible thing to you instead of for you, to teach you to rely on Him in every situation? Are you focussed on your future inheritance?

    David was living as a refugee, yet he focused on the unseen reality of his inheritance. Because of his secure future heritage, David trusted the Lord to provide for him in the present. He experienced contentment and even joy amid the dangers. “Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely (Ps 16:9).

    Dwelling securely.

    As Christians, we can also dwell securely in our volatile world. Actually, we have an even firmer hope than David had: We have a new birth into a living hope which Christ secured for us by rising from the dead, and a future inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade (1 Peter 1:3). If we have trusted Christ as our Saviour, our souls cannot be harmed, since He has reserved our inheritance in the city of God. Whatever happens to our earthly home, this inheritance is secure.

    But even now, God supports our lot. Christ’s love abides in us and we can confidently ask Him for mercy and grace in our time of need (John 15:9; Heb 4:14-16). Moreover, we have title deeds to God’s home where there are no tears, death or pain (Rev 21:1-4). There are no leases or land grabs in heaven. Because of our heavenly heritage, we can dwell securely on earth.

    And God will help us remain true to our faith, whatever our lot in this life (1 Peter 1:4-5). Since Christ has emptied the cup of God’s wrath on our behalf, our cup will always be full of His mercy and goodness. Life is not just a lottery of random events (Rom 8:28).

    And so, a Christian can say with absolute confidence, “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me…My flesh also will dwell securely” (Ps 16:6,9). These are not just positive affirmations. We are standing on God’s firm promises.

    A Michtam.

    Psalm 16 is a ‘Michtam of David’, a term that may mean to cover or atone for. Psalmists wrote Michtams to seek God’s protection in times of crisis.

    How wonderful that the Apostles often quoted Psalm 16 to show how the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ provides atonement (covering) for all who repent and trust in Him (Acts 2:25-28, 31; 13:35-37). Christ alone can save us from the greatest crisis of all—God’s holy wrath against sin. He is our hiding place and our covering.

    Unknowingly, David was delighting in Jesus, the Holy One of God who would appear on earth a millennium later, to bear the penalty of human sin. Only the Holy One can usher sinners into the presence of God to experience fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore.

    David’s settled hope that the Lord would not abandon his soul in the grave was firmly rooted in the resurrection of Christ, even though he had not yet heard the name of Jesus! King David’s body died and decayed, as will ours one day, but death could not hold King Jesus in the tomb (Acts 2:24). It was this message that transformed thousands of sceptics into saints on the day of Pentecost. It is also why we can enjoy fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore at God’s right hand, a place of honour.

    Pleasures forevermore.

    David delighted in God’s presence above all else (Ps 16:11) And as Christians, we dare not forsake God’s presence for lesser pleasures. While sin does not change our union with Christ, it surely breaks our communion with God. We cannot enjoy lasting pleasures outside of fellowship with the Holy God who created pleasure in the first place. Perverted pleasures lead only to pain.

    God offers us a world of pure pleasures to enjoy, within the boundaries and order He has revealed in His Word—Sleeping, eating, drinking, making love, celebrations, playing, learning, singing, creating, working, sport, music, holidays, nature, pets, family and friendships… They are all God’s ideas. He offers a satisfying life far above the fickle idols of comfort, entertainment and distraction that pass as pleasures. And best of all, God’s people look forward to the feast of all feasts in heaven (Rev 19:7).

    What a blessing that God has shown us the path of life in the gospel! We could never have found this path on our own. As the world’s paths become increasingly wayward and deadly, the Bible continues to refresh us with life. Scripture gives our hearts wisdom and joy in living righteously in God’s world. His counsel is never outdated and always true (Ps 19:7-8). Why on earth would we trade it for the world’s pleasures, philosophies and empty deceptions?

    “I will bless the Lord who has counselled me” (Ps 16:7).

    Prayer

    Lord, thank you that we can follow the path of life that leads to pure and permanent pleasures. You have revealed the path of life in your Word and your Son who said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever believes in me will never die. (John 11:25-26). I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Help us to guard our fellowship with you and eliminate anything that hinders it. May we experience the favour and blessing, honour and security, peace and joy that comes from living in your presence, covered by the precious blood of Jesus. In His name, Amen.

    Listen to “Fullness of Joy” by Shane and Shane.

     

     

     

     

  • To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice–King Saul

    To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice–King Saul

    By Rosie Moore.

    Prideful insecurity got a foothold in Saul’s life, drove him off his throne and literally to his suicidal death (1 Sam 31:4). Pride is a burning desire for others to admire us and see us as impressive, while insecurity is the fear that people will see us as deficient. Saul’s life illustrates how lethal this combination can be.

    Yet, initially Saul appeared to be the perfect leader and man of God. He even joined the prophets in their prophesying (1 Sam 10:6-10). He stood tall and had a striking appearance. To the human eye, he seemed to possess the raw ingredients of a strong leader and a decisive action man.

    I have always found Saul’s progression into sin deeply disturbing (1 Sam 9-31). I’ve also recently witnessed a professing Christian follow the same trajectory as Saul, resulting in tragic and far-reaching collateral damage. It’s worth asking, “What went wrong with Saul? What can we learn from the life of this Old Testament character, so that we do not repeat the sins of our fathers” (1 Cor 10:11-14)?

    Saul’s prideful insecurity.

    King Saul’s life is a sober warning that prideful insecurity can lead to a truly wicked life. No wonder “Samuel mourned for him and the Lord was grieved that he had made Saul king of Israel” (1 Sam 15:35).  This is a tragic story of a man who often showed remorse and regret, but never repentance.

    Although King Saul may have been an impressive character, he was more concerned with creating impressions than pursuing a vital, humble relationship with God. The approval of man was more important to him than the commandments of God. Because he lacked an awareness of the holiness of God and the guilt of his sin, he remained self-righteous, independent, and defiant to the end.

    By midway through 1 Samuel, King Saul had run out of excuses and his time of reckoning had come. He had already been disciplined by God for performing the burnt offering when he knew it defied God’s law (1 Sam 13:8-14). But God had been gracious by sending Saul on a mission to carry out judgment on the Amalekites. He was given another chance to obey the Lord. God’s instructions were clear, but again Saul had disobeyed them.

    And so, God finally rejected him as king and took away his kingdom. Saul spent the last few years of his reign as a paranoid madman, obsessed with jealous rage against David. He even tried to kill his son Jonathan for not handing David over to him (1 Sam 20:30-34). Saul went on to slaughter 85 priests of God and to consult with a medium even though he had banned witchcraft from the land (1 Sam 28:3-8).

    Let’s zoom in on 1 Samuel 15 together. It would be useful to read the whole chapter on your own.

    Speaking truth to power.

    The old prophet quivered at the prospect of delivering the Lord’s message to a King who feared public humiliation more than God’s approval, but since Samuel feared God more than man, he obeyed the Lord anyway. The King, on the other hand, was feeling inflated from his recent victory against the Amalekites and had just set up a monument in honour of himself (1 Sam 15:12).

    Saul beamed with confidence when he greeted Samuel: “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” (1 Sam 15:13). What a blatant lie! Saul had presumed to know better than God by failing to destroy all the Amalekites and their plunder as God had commanded (1 Sam 15:3). But he spiritualised his sins with a blessing, using God’s name as a mantra. If Saul thought his lie went undetected or that what he did was not wrong, he was deceiving himself. We cannot hide our sins and expect God’s blessing.

    It must have taken courage for Samuel to challenge King Saul so forthrightly:

    “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears?”

    “Why did you not obey the Lord?”

    “Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?” (1 Sam 15:14, 19).

    The old prophet didn’t pull any punches. He didn’t use euphemisms or try to be winsome with the powerful king. He called his disobedience ‘evil’ and reminded Saul of the all-seeing ‘eyes of the Lord’. He spoke truth to power.

    Saul’s excuses.

    Saul must have felt exposed by Samuel’s questions, but this time the cowardly king hid behind the people, just as he hid behind the luggage during his inauguration.

    “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction” (1 Sam 15:15).

    Saul conveniently shifted blame to the men under his command, instead of acknowledging responsibility for his own disobedience. He spoke as if the ‘collective’ absolved him of personal guilt, using the pronouns “they/we” instead of “I”. He used the ‘righteousness’ of a sacrifice to disguise his contempt for the Lord’s command. Actually, Samuel’s God should be grateful for the plump livestock Saul ‘spared’ for the sacrifice!

    Saul’s delusions.

    As pressure mounted, Saul protested more defiantly, exposing the delusions of his heart. He seemed to believe his own lies:

    “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal” (1 Sam 15:20-21).

     It is revealing that Saul again says the Lord your God, not my God. He was eager to perform acts of religious ritual, but did not worship God from his heart. Saul did not have a personal relationship with the Lord. Filled with exasperation and sadness, Samuel delivered God’s verdict to Israel’s king– the first of many failed kings.

    To obey is better than sacrifice.

    “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
        as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
    Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
        and to listen than the fat of rams.
    23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
        and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
    Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
        he has also rejected you from being king.” (1 Samuel 15:22-23)

    The prophet Samuel’s verdict is the first of many places in the Bible where we see the theme “to obey is better than sacrifice”. Jesus repeated it when confronting the Pharisees with their hypocrisy (Matt 12:7; Mark 12:33). Samuel was clearly not saying that sacrifice was unimportant. Rather, he was pointing Saul to the relationship between God and man that every sacrifice pointed to. Since Saul did not truly love or submit to God, his sacrifice was a hollow ritual—an offense to the Lord.

    Saul’s presumption.

    Rebellion and presumption are equated with witchcraft and idolatry (1 Sam 15:23). They amount to a rejection of God and his word, and are rooted in pride. Time after time, under the guise of confidence and decisiveness, Saul acted arrogantly and with total contempt for God’s commands (1 Sam 13:13-14). He nurtured his prideful insecurity throughout his reign, with disastrous consequences. Here are just five examples:

    1. Saul lusted after admiration, so took credit for the accomplishments of others, like a battle that his son, Jonathan had won (1 Sam 13:3-4).
    2. Saul craved praise, so he grew obsessively jealous when the women danced and sang out, “Saul has slain his thousands, but David has slain ten thousands” (1 Sam 18:7-14). He refused to honour others, loving his own reputation too much.
    3. Saul feared people, so despised God and his commandments. He impatiently offered sacrifices himself instead of waiting for the priest (1 Sam 10:8).
    4. Saul had no fear of the Lord, so was cruel and unforgiving to others (1 Sam 20:30-34; 22:11-19).
    5. Saul pursued his own glory over God’s glory, so he made altars to himself and spoke foolish oaths which harmed his men (1 Sam 14:24).

    Saul’s remorse.

    When we disobey, as Saul did (and all of us disobey every day), God calls us not to mere remorse or regret, but repentance. Wayne Grudem describes repentance as “a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ.” Repentance does not mean perfection, but it means that we are no longer at peace with our sin (1 John 2:1).

    King Saul’s confession shows no heartfelt sorrow for sin, only regret over sin’s consequences: “Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.” (1 Sam 15:24-25)

    Sadly, king Saul’s true spiritual condition was revealed under pressure. His heart did not belong to God, but to his own interests. He stubbornly rejected God’s word and His means of forgiveness, and chose to do it his way. And because Saul excused and refused to forsake his sin, he forfeited the Lord’s promise of mercy: “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Prov 28:13).

    Even in his ‘confession’, Saul sees himself as a hapless victim of circumstance and powerless against the people. He does not hate his sin or wage war against it. He seeks Samuel’s pardon, not the Lord’s, and he sees forgiveness as a transaction, not an act of mercy. He begs Samuel to go with him to worship, but his motive is not to restore a right relationship with God. It is to show the public that Samuel still supports him. Saul is all about the optics, even in his shallow confession.

    To borrow New Testament words, King Saul showed worldly grief, as opposed to godly grief which “produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death” (2 Cor 7:9-10). Saul’s worldly grief did not lead to forgiveness but to a hopeless death on Mount Gilboa.

    For us, the sin that leads to death is a stubborn refusal to trust in the perfect King who alone can give life–Jesus Christ, the Son of God (1 John 5:16-17.) He is God’s living Word and the only legitimate sacrifice for our sins (1 John 1:1-4). Like Saul, we remain presumptuous rebels if we seek God’s blessing on any other terms.

    What do we fear most?

    Saul is a sober reminder that we will obey whatever we fear most. If the praise of man looms large and God’s commandments are small to us, we will disobey the Lord as Saul did. The progression of sin can be devastating over a lifetime.

    As our own prideful insecurities are exposed under pressure, let us not be deceived into thinking these sins are benign. Like a baby python nursed in the basement, pride eventually morphs into a fully grown adult capable of strangling us. Let us humbly bring our sins to the cross of Christ and repent of them before they bring forth death (James 1:13-16). Saul’s suicide is a graphic picture of where unrepentant sin leads.  As the early apostles said, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). We must choose to “fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt 10:28).

     

     

     

     

  • The Unwilling Worker.

    The Unwilling Worker.

    Series: Born to Work (part 5). By Rosie Moore.

    “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (1 Thess 4:11-12).

    There is much talk about ambition, position, and power dynamics in the workplace. This seems to be the direct antithesis of Paul’s instruction to the Thessalonian believers to “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders.” The Bible urges Christians to be ambitious, but to direct our ambition towards living a quiet life before God, not a powerful life before man.

    The ‘quiet life’ of the Christian is unpretentious and incompatible with the status-obsessed life of the world. That’s because the world’s religion worships the god of self, whereas the Christian is called to serve Christ and our neighbour. This polarity is especially visible in the context of our work and vocation.

    The ‘quiet life’ at work.

    In the first century, Paul fleshed out his instruction to “work with your hands” in the context of the Thessalonian church, where some of the believers had become idle busybodies, relying on other Christians for handouts. They were using their status as believers as an excuse for laziness and meddling in the affairs of others. Instead of being busy with their own work, they were busy disrupting the good work of the church. Paul re-iterates the spiritual law that God has written into his world: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he will not eat.”

    In God’s eyes, a Christian cannot effectively share the gospel with outsiders if we aren’t a credible witness in our own workplace. That goes for ministry leaders as well as believers in secular work. After all, God gave us a carpenter-King, fishermen-apostles and tent-making missionaries to lead the way. There is no place for an idle Christian.

    Reasons for idleness.

    There were two possible reasons for idleness among the Thessalonians: Firstly, the surrounding Greek culture looked down on manual labour, and this tradition of man had seeped into the church.

    Secondly, some of the Christians had stopped working because they were waiting for Christ’s return. They spiritualised their laziness by saying that since they were getting ready for the new kingdom, they had more important things to do than attend to lowly work every day. They were dualistic and proud in their understanding of how the gospel impacts daily life.

    But Paul warns these believers in no uncertain terms to get back to work and earn the food they eat! Being ready for Jesus’s return means using our time and talents responsibly, faithfully supporting our own households (1 Tim 5:8). Being ready for Christ’s return means honouring work as God’s appointed means for the good of society and the church.

    We eat because we work.

    In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul fleshes out the spiritual axiom that permeates all of Scripture: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat”. In other words, we eat because we work:

    ‘In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, labouring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.

    11 We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. 13 And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.

    14 Take special note of anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them, in order that they may feel ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard them as an enemy, but warn them as you would a fellow believer” (2 Thess 3:6-15).

    Again, in 2 Thessalonians 5:14, Paul urges the believers in Thessalonica, “Warn those who are idle.”

    Paul draws a clear line between true faith and faithfulness in work. He describes idleness as a disorderly, undisciplined lifestyle which disturbs the harmony of the Church and goes against the essential doctrines handed down by the apostles (2 Thess 3:6-7).

    Unwilling to work…

    Who is Paul warning?

    Notice that Paul is not addressing a person who is genuinely unable to work due to disability or lack of employment opportunities. Nor is Paul warning a person who has lost his job and is industriously looking for work. He is talking about the professing Christian who could work, but either actively or passively refuses to work or avoids work.

    Paul’s rebuke could apply to someone who is too proud to apply for a position that is below his qualifications, or an unmotivated employee using work hours to pursue her own interests, or one who is simply content to live off the hard work of others. Or a worker who is constantly preaching to others while neglecting their own responsibilities.

    Diligent workers.

    Paul also has a word of encouragement for the brothers and sisters who are working hard in Thessalonica: “As for you brothers and sisters, don’t grow weary of doing good.” (2 Thess 3:13).

    There will always be members of the church who are profoundly needy—widows, orphans, those who are sick, disabled or grieving. People who are unwilling to work should not cause Christians to lose their compassion for those who genuinely need our support. Paul is urging Christians not to become cynical or give up doing good for those who truly need our love and charity.

    Profile of a sluggard.

    The wisdom literature is not complimentary about a person who habitually avoids work. This person is called a sluggard! A sluggard fails to finish tasks (Prov 12:27) and doesn’t take care of what he owns (Prov 24:30-31; 18:9). She is excessively fond of sleep and leisure (Pro 6:9; 20:13), working for immediate pleasure instead of long term reward (Prov 20:4; 21:25; Ecc 4:5). A sluggard is always restless and unsatisfied in their work (Prov 13:4).

    It is quite possible for a sluggard to be a ‘busy’ person who is socially active, or somebody caught up in noble causes. The problem with an idle person is that he is a busybody– never busy with his own duties, but very busy telling others how to live their lives.

    In fact, Paul views idleness as such a serious sin in the church that he calls the believers to distance themselves from those who refuse to work (2 Thess 3:13-14). The picture is of someone who is disruptive and unruly in the body of Christ, like a soldier who is breaking ranks, a self-willed person who refuses to submit to God’s word. But the goal of this shunning is to lead the believer to repent and be restored to fellowship. The idle person must be treated as a beloved brother or sister in Christ, not as an enemy of the church, in the hope that he will confess and forsake his sin.

    Paul’s profile as a worker.

    Paul’s own example of hard work implies that leaders in the church are to be recognised, not by their titles or power, but by their consistent service and labour among God’s people under their care. Imagine Paul and Silas working “night and day, labouring and toiling so that [they] would not be a burden to any of you” (2 Thess 3:7-10).

    Paul’s own example as a Christian minister backs up his teaching on work. As a highly gifted preacher and intellectual, Paul willingly worked as a tentmaker alongside artisans, Aquila and Priscilla, in order to provide for himself in Corinth and to support his second missionary journey (Acts 18:3). Paul was more interested in his responsibilities than his rights as a minister. Tentmaking was a tough, precise job that required long days of physical labour, using thick leather, scissors, and needles. “We toil, working with our hands”, Paul wrote in 1 Cor 4:12.

    On one hand, Paul believed that a Christian worker is worthy of his wages and that he had a right to financial support: “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain” (1 Cor 9:9). But at the same time, Paul wanted to set an example by working hard to buy what he needed, so as not to burden believers who cared for him in the struggling churches.  If Paul, the most prolific author of the New Testament and learned Apostle, did not believe that making tents was below his rank, surely he offers us a godly model?

    Conversely, in his first letter to the Thessalonian church, Paul writes:

    “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labour among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves” (1 Thess 5:12-13).

    Christian ministers who labour to preach the whole truth of the Word and pastor their flock in love week after week, deserve to be highly honoured and loved by God’s people (1 Thess 5:12). Christian workers should be supported and commended by the people they serve in the local church.

    At the same time, hard work is an essential aspect of ministry, thus a lazy pastor or idle church worker is a contradiction in terms.

    Work is a privilege.

    In summary, work is a privilege by which we use the talents and opportunities that God has given us to display the very image of God that is in us and to demonstrate our love for Jesus. It is a worthwhile stewardship, both inside and outside the church. Because Christ is faithful, He will give us the grace, strength, and perseverance we need to do our work faithfully and wisely until our Master returns (2 Thess 3:3-5).

    And through our human efforts at work, we are extending common grace to unbelievers and a sweet blessing to fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Christians ought to be the most motivated workers in the world because we’re serving Christ and preparing for his blessed return. Does the Lord himself not give us the best motivation and incentive for whatever work He has placed before us?

    “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them…  42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions….  48 Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more..” (Luke 12:41-48)


     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Top 12 Temptations at Work

    Top 12 Temptations at Work

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    Series: Born to Work (Part 4), By Rosie Moore.

    “There are things for humans to do all day long without His minding in the least – sleeping, washing, eating, drinking, making love, playing, praying, working. Everything has to be twisted before it’s any use to us” (CS Lewis).

    Screwtape, a cunning devil, advises his nephew Wormwood on how to twist and distort good gifts like work so that instead of being a blessing, it becomes a curse. Our everyday work presents ample opportunities for good, but it also brings temptations for sin and disorder.

    Two biblical concepts—Authority and Accountability—shape relationships in the workplace and provide guidance for navigating its challenges.

    Authority.

    As Creator and ruler of His world, God has designed a balance of human authority in various spheres—family, church, state, and workplace—each with its own jurisdiction. When we fulfil our roles within this framework, a good balance is achieved. But whenever we abandon God’s framework, we reap disorder.

    In the workplace, employers are to exercise good leadership and impartiality. They are responsible for providing protection and direction to employees, opportunities for growth, disciplining wrongdoers, and praising those who do well. They are called to treat their employees justly and fairly, knowing that they also have a Master in heaven (Col 4:1; Eph 6:9).

    On the other hand, employees are called to “be subject to [their] masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust” (1 Peter 2:18). They are to obey and serve their employers diligently “and do it, not only when their eye is on [them] and to curry favour, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord” (Colossians 3:22-23). Workers are to be “well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour” (Titus 2:9-10).

    Although this model is not in vogue today, it is clearly God’s established order throughout Scripture and bears powerful witness to the gospel.

    Accountability.

    The Bible teaches that all human authorities are accountable to God in how they exercise their authority. Likewise, workers are accountable to God for their responses to authority. Authority and accountability are the two sturdy legs on which healthy workplace relationships stand.

    The gospel’s message of equal obligation is a radical one that transforms the employment relationship for disciples of Christ. We see this in the earliest gospel pronouncements of the New Testament:

    In Luke 3, John the Baptist provides real-life examples from the workplace to illustrate how to “bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Luke 3:8). First, he urges believers who have abundant possessions to share with those who have nothing (Luke 3:10). Then, John instructs Christian tax collectors not to exploit their power for personal gain. He tells soldiers, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay” (Luke 3:14). Here, the evidence of true faith is seen in the context of work.

    Similarly, Paul writes to believing slaves to improve their situation if it will honour God: “If you can gain your freedom, do so”. But just before, he says, “Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you” (1 Cor 7:21). The fruit of repentance is visible in both our diligence and contentment at work, and we will all answer to Christ, regardless of our role or position.

    Often, it is in the pressure cooker of the workplace that our Christian character is tenderised, tested and put on exhibition for the world to see. Charles Spurgeon aptly captures this truth: “Grace makes us the servants of God while still the servants of men… It sanctifies the common duties of life by showing us how to perform them in the light of heaven.”

    Paul urges both bondservants and masters to submit themselves to Christ as Lord. Knowing that we are servants of Christ is the greatest safeguard against temptation at work.

    Servants of Christ.

    “Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him” (Ephesians 6:5-9).

    While God does not show partiality based on our rank or power, there are specific temptations that attach to our roles as employers and employees. Here are my top twelve:

    Temptations at work.

    1. Abuse of power: In Colossians 4:1, Paul instructs employers, “Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.”

    Those in positions of authority will always be tempted to treat workers as a means to an end, rather than as human beings made in the image of God. A Christian employer should exercise self-control, gentleness and consistency, mindful of the temptation to prioritize appearances over the Lord’s impartial eye (Ephesians 6:9). Favouritism is a common temptation for employers, which is why Paul emphasizes fairness.

    2. Bad attitude: An employee should work with a willing, sincere heart, not just when the boss is around (Colossians 3:22). A complaining, entitled, or sullen spirit violates God’s instruction in Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”

    3. Workaholism: “Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind” (Ecclesiastes 4:6).

    Though work is a good thing, any fixation other than God becomes an idol. Jesus said that if money is our master, then God is not (Matthew 6:24).

    Workaholism often arises out of anxiety, fear, perfectionism and need for approval, but it is a sin which we need to confess and forsake before it takes hold. God knows our needs and has promised to provide (Matthew 6:25-34). One sure way to resist the idol of work is to observe a Sabbath every week, as it reminds us of our dependence on God’s provision. When we take a day of rest, we remember that Christ is the Lord and we are not (Ex 20:10.)

    4. Slackness: “Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys” (Proverbs 18:9).

    Slackness is a subtle temptation. Solomon points out that negligence from a worker can destroy projects and relationships. A careless and apathetic attitude is hard to pin down, but it is contagious in an organisation and as dangerous as a deliberate act of sabotage. That’s why the Bible points us to the ways of the ant in our work (Prov 6:6-8). It is wise to build conscientious habits into our day to safeguard ourselves against slackness.

    5. Envy and selfish ambition: “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice” (James 3:16.) “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.” (Ex 20:17).

    Envy and selfish ambition lead to discontent and rivalry at work. In a chapter titled “Trusting God for who you are”, Jerry Bridges exposes the sinful roots of envy in our vocations. His last sentence is profound—

    “Just as we must trust God for who we are, we must also trust Him for what we are—whether it be an engineer or missionary, a homemaker or a nurse. If there is one area of life where the saying “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” applies, surely it is the area of vocational calling and station in life. Someone has estimated that as many as eighty percent of our work force are dissatisfied with the jobs they are in. For many of us that may be due to a reluctance to be what God planned for us to be.”

    6. Greed: “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” (1 Tim 6:9) “Then Jesus said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15)

    God does not bless us in our work so that we can hoard our wealth or covet our neighbour’s greater wealth. Greed is a temptation that we all face as workers, rich and poor alike.

    7. Withholding wages: “Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty” (James 5:4)

    Failure to pay a worker or supplier of services is an injustice against the Lord, “For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain” and “the labourer deserves his wages”(1 Tim 5:18).

    8. Corruption: “Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel” (Prov 20:17) “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.” (Prov 11:1) “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them” (Prov 11:3). “Yet Samuel’s sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice” (1 Sam 8:3)

    Samuel’s sons were appointed to be judges over Israel, but turned out to be corrupt, much like Eli’s sons (1 Sam 2:12). Today, it seems that corruption, collusion and ill-gotten gain are as prevalent as in Israel at the time of the Judges. A Christian upbringing is no guarantee of integrity, as Eli and Samuel discovered.

    Because workers often stand at the coalface of corruption, parents and churches have an awesome responsibility to prepare our children to fear God and resist moral compromise at work. We must talk about these things with our children, preparing them to recognise and expose corruption when they encounter it.

    9. Exploitation: “But you have eyes and ears only for your dishonest gain for shedding innocent blood and for practicing oppression and violence” (Jer 22:17).

    God’s Old Testament laws gave the poor and vulnerable opportunities to improve their situation. They also revealed God’s anger towards those who take advantage of the needy (Deut 24:14-15; Lev 19:13). And so, we are not left guessing what God thinks of exploitation, bullying and sexual harassment in the workplace. These practices are vile and offensive to Him.

    10. Brooding: “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (Ps 16:8).

    Although our thought life is hidden from our work colleagues, it is a fertile soil for sin. Because of work’s thorns and thistles, we are often tempted to despair, to feel resentful or angry, to regret our failures and to judge the motives of others. When treated unfairly, we can quickly become a prisoner of our feelings. But Christians are called to capture every thought to the obedience of Christ, choosing to trust God rather than be ruled by our feelings. In 1 Peter 2:23,  workers are urged to let go of injustice and entrust ourselves “to Him who judges justly and bore our sins on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.”

    11. Compromise: “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17).

    As pressure mounts from lobby groups and policies in the name of ‘Reproductive Healthcare;’ ‘Environmental justice,’ and ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’, Christians will be tempted to compromise their faith in the workplace. Pride Month draws a sharp line in the sand for Christians, calling us not just to tolerate sin, but to celebrate and align ourselves with it.

    The proposed Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill criminalises expressions deemed hate speech with a jail term of up to 8 years for offenders. But with no proper definition of “hate” and a subjective definition of “harm”, Christians in the workplace may face costly choices when pressured to violate God’s Word and their own conscience. Being Christ’s faithful servant at work may soon lead to more than just mockery, rejection and ridicule. Resisting compromise may result in dismissal, prosecution, fines and imprisonment.

    12. Idleness: “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us… For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat” (2 Thess 3:6, 10).

    Idleness is one of the more subtle temptations that we face as Christian workers. Paul singles out this sin in both his letters to the Thessalonian believers, so it was evidently a cultural problem that had been normalised in the church. Join us next week to unpack the maxim: “If anyone does not work, he will not eat.”

    Prayer.

    Lord, in whatever we do, we trust that you have equipped us to fulfil your purpose. You determine the course of our lives, so help us not to squander our stewardship at work. Help us to take every opportunity to improve our situation in a way that will honour you, but at the same time to embrace whatever vocation we are in and to accept the situations we cannot change. Give us daily strength to work with all our hearts, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since we know that we will receive an inheritance from you as a reward. Give us eyes to see that it is the Lord Christ we are serving, not men. All glory be to Christ our King. Amen.

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  • Our work and God’s work.

    Our work and God’s work.

    Series: Born to Work, By Rosie Moore. (part 3)

    “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied” (Prov 13:4)

    The Bible’s view of work as part of our worship and service to the Lord has proven to be wise advice.

    Research conducted by psychologist Angela Duckworth shows that we need meaningful work to thrive as human beings. If we work only to get rich, we find it unsatisfying, but if we throw ourselves wholeheartedly into our work and connect with people while doing it, we experience joy.

    Duckworth argues that it is ‘grit’, not talent that enables a worker to achieve his/her potential. She defines grit as the combined force of passion and perseverance for long term goals. Passion is a focused approach to something you care deeply about, while perseverance is the resilience and desire to work hard over the long haul. (Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Angela Duckworth.)

    It’s no surprise that the Bible has been giving this wise counsel for thousands of years, because God is the inventor and model of work.

    Work is good for us.

    There are many benefits of hard work listed in the Bible. Here are a few to meditate on:

    • Work helps us escape the poverty and emptiness that idleness brings. “The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work.” (Prov 21:25). “Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing.” (Prov 20:4)
    • Hard work leads to healthy tiredness and restful sleep (Ecc 5:12)
    • Work provides a deserved income to meet our basic needs and legitimate pleasures (1 Thess 4:12; 2 Thess 3:10; Ecc 5:18-20). “The labourer deserves his wages” (1 Tim 5:8).
    • Work is God’s means to provide for our relatives, “and especially for our own household” (1 Tim 5:8).
    • Work increases the wellbeing of society, where each person enjoys the fruits of their own labours (Prov 14:23). “And each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to make them afraid” (Micah 4:4). “You will eat the fruit of your labour; blessings and prosperity will be yours.” (Ps 128:2)
    • Work provides an income to give to God. (Prov 3:9-10)
    • Work provides an income to share with those who genuinely don’t have the opportunity or ability to work (Eph 4:28; 1 Thess 4:12).
    • Work provides a God-given sense of joyful accomplishment and fruitfulness (Ecc 9:7; 5:18).

    The idea of working to the glory of God and for the eye of our Lord Jesus was the foundation of the Protestant work ethic, which brought prosperity to the Western world. When we use our talents and connect with others to provide good service and products, we are contributing to human flourishing.

    That is why the 36% unemployment rate in South Africa is a terrible blight on our nation. Individuals and families cannot flourish in a society in which so many of its able people are unemployed and depend on the state for support.

    But even if a person is out of work, they still have a job to do. It is to spend every day looking for a job and being willing to do unpaid work until they find a paid job. If a jobless person does that, God is satisfied with their labours.

    Work is for God’s glory.

    Paul writes that we are called to glorify God in everything, including our work (1Cor 10:31). Thus, work is never futile labour, but a calling to serve Christ as a faithful servant wherever we find ourselves (Col 3:23; Matt 25:23). To appreciate this calling, it’s helpful to ponder on God Himself as the prototype of a worker:

    For all eternity, God has worked with unfathomable wisdom, skill, and creativity to create the universe, and sustain it. From the beginning, God blessed Adam and Eve and told them to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it, to rule over the fish, birds, every living thing that moves on the earth as His representatives.

    He gave us every tree that yields seed and fruit as food for us, every beast of the earth, every bird of the sky, every moving thing, and every green plant for food. Humanity was given the responsibility to care for God’s creation, to cultivate and tend to it for His glory and our good.

    It is this work which sets us apart from the animal kingdom (Gen 2:15). Animals don’t paint pictures or design beautiful buildings. They don’t grow gardens, make clothes, or cultivate farms. They don’t compose symphonies, produce movies, or cook three course meals. They don’t heal, invent, or start businesses. They don’t collaborate to build a city. That’s because animals are not made in God’s image and have not been given dominion over the earth as humans have (Gen 1:26).

    Likewise, Scripture describes Jesus as a worker. In John 9:4, Christ said, “I must do the works of My Father…My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish His work” (John 4:34). “My Father is working still and I am working” (John 5:17).

    Having accomplished his work of creation and his work of redemption on the cross, Christ works to hold all creation together and lead his church (Col 1:16-17). Even today, He works to create, redeem, judge, and rule as God’s appointed King (Ps 2:4-6; 9). His work at the end of history will be to judge the living and the dead, to restore the new heavens and new earth, to rule with perfect justice and righteousness (Rev 6; Rev 21:2; Isa 33:5). God has a vast job description!

    The Holy Spirit is a worker too. He was brooding over the waters at Creation and continues to work powerfully to sustain the universe. Over a period of 1500 years, the Spirit inspired forty men to write the Bible perfectly and accurately. Today, whenever a sinful heart is regenerated and transformed, the Spirit is engaged in the work of redemption and renewal. He still works to enlighten, convict, save, fill, assure, comfort, sanctify and guide believers in wisdom all over the world.

    To use Angela Duckworth’s definition, God’s work is full of grit. It is persevering, eternal work with the long-term goal of complete redemption. That’s why human beings, made in God’s image, are commanded to work for six days, and on the seventh day, to rest (Ex 20:9-10).

    Even after the Fall, our earthly work is designed to redeem the cursed universe in some measure until the final Sabbath rest of the new creation:

    Work of redemption.

    We reflect God’s redemptive and reconciling work whenever we help people to repent and trust in Jesus, when we are peacemakers, and when we create order out of chaos or cultivate a farm out of virgin veld. We partake in His redemptive work when we do good things for the city we are living in, “because if there is peace in that city, you will have peace also” (Jer 29:7-11).

    Work of creation.

    We represent God’s creative work when we use our gifts to beautify the world, to express what is true, noble, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy through art, music, literature and architecture. Scripture gives many examples of gifted individuals who used their skills for God’s glory (2 Chron 2:7).

    In Exodus 35:10, Moses says, “Let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the Lord has commanded”. Again, in 28:3, God says, “You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood”.

    The Lord filled Bezalel, son or Uri, “with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and carving wood, to work in every craft…” (Ex 31:1-18). And Chenaniah, leader of the Levites in music, was appointed to direct the music, “for he understood it” (1 Chron 15:22).

    Clearly, we are not all skilled to do the same work, but each of us has a gift which we must use and cultivate for God’s glory and the good of humanity.

    Work of providence.

    “Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who guards his master will be honoured” (Prov 27:18).

    We mimic the providential work of God when we tend to animals and plants; conserve nature for humanity to enjoy; provide generous hospitality and take good care of our natural resources and possessions. We partake in God’s work of providence when we feed and care for people, steward schools, parks and neighbourhoods. Adam was instructed to do this work in Genesis 2:15.

    Work of justice.

    Christians have a role to play in maintaining justice and restraining evil in the world. We imitate God’s work of justice when we contribute to our legal system; maintain law and order; work and pray for righteous laws and leaders to rule for the good of all citizens; and treat people fairly and impartially, hearing “the small and the great alike” (Deut 1:17).

    We do God’s work of justice when we defend the innocent from the oppressor and speak for the unborn who cannot speak for themselves (Prov 31:8; Prov 24:11-12; Jer 22:3). We do God’s work of justice when we pay our staff on time and do not exploit our vulnerable employees (Deut 24:14-15; Lev 19:13).

    God calls His people in every generation “to seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts” (Amos 5:15). Christ also calls Christians to uphold justice and truth in the local church (Matt 18:15-17).

    Work of compassion.

    We emulate God’s work of compassion and mercy when we are involved in comforting, healing, charitable, and shepherding vocations (James 2:13; Col 3:12; 1 Peter 5:4).

    Work of revelation.

    We mirror God’s revelationary work when we teach, speak, sing, or write words that express wisdom and insight. Daniel was an example of such a worker, “skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding and learning” (Daniel 1:3-4). In fact, every Christian is equipped to do the work of teaching and admonishing one another with all wisdom, provided that the “word of Christ is richly dwelling within us” (Col 3:16).

    The glory of the nations.

    In Revelation 21, John says that the kings of the earth will bring the “glory of the nations” into the new heavens and new earth. This seems to suggest that valid work from every nation will contribute something beautiful to the new creation, for the benefit of all God’s people (Rev 21:24-26). Our work is not wasted.

    But although our work is valuable, and should reflect the excellence and beauty of our God, Scripture warns that it should never become a source of pride, self-sufficiency or idolatry. Our work is for God’s glory, not our own. Paul warns Christians not to be driven by selfish ambition and vain conceit, but rather to serve humbly, as Christ served us in His work:

    “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil 2:3-4).

    Our work and God’s work.

    Truthfully, all our plans, efforts, and abilities are useless unless the Lord prospers them.

    We are called to be prudent in our work, but also to pray; to be diligent, but also to depend on the Lord. We are called to provide for our families, but also to trust in God’s providence, for it is the Lord who causes the sun to rise, and He sends the rain. While the farmer uses his skills and resources to plough, plant, fertilise, weed, and harvest a crop, he must also trust the Lord to control nature so his crop will grow.

    In an age of self-sufficiency, the Psalmist reminds workers to live in conscious dependence on God’s daily provision:

    “Unless the Lord builds the house,
        those who build it labour in vain.
    Unless the Lord watches over the city,
        the watchman stays awake in vain” (Ps 127:1)

    It is dangerous to reach a place of abundance and complacency where we say, as the Israelites said, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”

    Moses warns us: “Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth” (Deut 8:17-18).

    Prayer

    Heavenly Father, for as long as you give us strength and opportunity, we long to do the work you have given us to do on earth. Help us to use our time wisely to steward your creation, and demonstrate love for you and our neighbour while we do it. Thank you for the privilege of partaking in your work in the world, and we ask for the ability and strength to do it excellently and faithfully, even though we will never do it perfectly. We ask that you establish the work of our hands and make it fruitful and pleasing to you.

    Amen.

  • Work: Gift or Curse?

    Work: Gift or Curse?

    Series: Born to Work (part 2)

    Work preceded the Fall. It isn’t evil, nor a side effect of sin, but work is part of the good universe that God created and essential to the blessing bestowed on Adam and Eve (Gen 1:28-31). Since the creation, God has given us work to do, so Christians everywhere, in every age, should see all our work as worship. Even in the least glamorous and most mundane job on earth, we can be fruitful in our work.

    In fact, Scripture mentions more than five thousand professions, trades, and means of employment, including weavers and spinners, stonemasons and craftsmen, builders, carpenters and tanners, musicians, poets and washermen, merchants and physicians, tentmakers and blacksmiths, soldiers and tax collectors, priests, prophets and scribes, watchmen and shepherds, farmers and fishermen, doctors and lawyers, cupbearers, bakers, kings and queens. I’m sure I’ve missed a few! The Bible does not distinguish between noble and lowly, blue collar and white collar work. Those are the world’s categories, not the Lord’s.

    A gift.

    Since God intends our work for His glory and our good, work is a gift to enjoy. It is not a burden to endure. Our specific job may not be needed in the new heavens and new earth, but our work still elicits God’s pleasure and Christ’s eternal reward. Paul urges us to put our whole hearts into our work, as if we are working for the Lord, not a human master:

    “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favourtism.” (Col 3:23-25).

    If this was God’s instruction for a first century slave with no rights or status, it is surely for us too, irrespective of our occupation.

    Solomon observed that work is intrinsically valuable and satisfying, regardless of how our culture perceives an occupation:

     “This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labour under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart” (Eccl 5:18-20).

    But wait a minute, didn’t the curse of Genesis 3 turn work into toil and futility, sweat and tears? Didn’t God say to Adam,

     “Cursed is the ground because of you;
        through painful toil you will eat food from it
        all the days of your life.
    It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
        and you will eat the plants of the field.
    By the sweat of your brow
        you will eat your food
    until you return to the ground,
        since from it you were taken;
    for dust you are
        and to dust you will return.” (Gen 3:17-19).

    So then, is work a gift or a curse?

    The curse.

    Genesis 3 gives us a realistic framework to understand why we have so much frustration and painful toil in our work. The curse explains the daily grind of producing fruit from stubborn ground, infested with thorns and thistles:

    A harsh boss or lazy employee. Relentless deadlines and assignments. Unfair pay and no job security. Under appreciation and partiality. Long shifts and office politics. Incompetent managers and annoying co-workers. Mundane and repetitive tasks. Computer crashes and loadshedding. Market crashes, bankruptcy and retrenchment. Corruption, theft and collusion. Workplace bullying. Regulations and red tape. Traffic jams, transport problems and inadequate resources. Chronic illness and burnout.

    Whether we are an employer, employee, entrepreneur, volunteer, student, or homemaker, the curse means that we must expect to face obstacles and temptations in our work. The blood, sweat and tears of work may seem overwhelming at times, and the Bible doesn’t minimize the effects of sin. The curse is real.

    Purposeful work.

    But despite often feeling frustrated in our jobs, the Bible assures us that work has intrinsic value and dignity, because our Creator God is himself a worker, and we are made in His image. The fact that God’s Son was a carpenter who worked hard with his hands from the age of about twelve to thirty (Luke 3:23) implies that productive work is part of God’s plan for his children.

    That is why we are commanded to labour six days and on the seventh day to rest (Ex 20:9-10).  We have been given responsibility to care for God’s Creation, to cultivate it and tend it. This is our work.

    Moreover, our work is part of the “all things” that God works together for the good of those who love Him, to sanctify us and make us more like Christ (Rom 8:28-29). The fact that work is intended for our good and God’s glory gives our work a transcendent purpose.

    And so, as a believer, my attitude and the way I do my work (especially when it’s hard) is a powerful witness to the world. In fact, in writing to the Thessalonian Christians, Paul mentions diligent work as one of the marks of those who “walk properly before outsiders”. Our witness is not evangelizing our colleagues.  It is earning their respect by working hard and doing our job faithfully:

    “But we urge you, brothers… to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,  so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one” (1 Thess 4:11-12).

    And so, when we are discouraged by our work, we need to see our labours through God’s eyes, not through the blurry lens of our emotions or the world’s false philosophies. A clear biblical perspective will take the drudgery and boredom out of work. It will remind us that our work is not so much about what we do, but what we are, and who we are becoming. 

    In the adversity of painful toil, God is testing our faith to grow perseverance (Rom 5:3; James 1:3). He is teaching us that our strength to work comes only from Him, through faith. It is the Lord who establishes the work of our hands, not ourselves (Ps 90:17).

    Dualism versus dignity.

    One of the most destructive philosophies about work springs from the Ancient Greek lie of dualism. Dualism assumes that the physical is lowly and common, whereas the spiritual is elevated and lofty.

    That’s why first century slaves were made to do all the manual work. The free people took pleasure in art, philosophy, music, literature, and politics, which they believed were noble works of the mind. Similarly, Jewish culture had a disdain for secular work, reflected in this proud prayer from the Talmud:

    “I thank You, O Lord, my God, that You have given me my lot with them who sit in the house of learning and not with those who sit at the street corners, for I am early to work and they are early to work. I am early to work on the words of the Torah and they are early to work on things of no importance. I weary myself and they weary themselves, but I weary myself and profit thereby and they weary themselves to no profit. I run and they run. I run towards the life of the age to come and they run toward the pit of destruction.”

    We may say, “What an awful self righteous prayer!” But dualism comes in subtle disguises today. It may lead us to reject the work that God has given us to do, to feel ashamed of our work or title, and to make sinful comparisons with others. It may tempt us to envy those with more recognition, status, or success than us, or it may fool us into believing that certain work is below us. Full-time Christian workers may begin to feel smug and superior to lay Christians, believing themselves to be “professionals” while ordinary Christians have inferior jobs of hay, wood and stubble.

    In contrast, the Bible has a high view of work, including manual labour. Scripture is refreshingly down-to-earth and sensible about work to keep food on the table and rain off our heads. The Bible certainly does not call us to a life of leisure, nor does it distinguish between first- and second-class work:

     “A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing” (Prov 20:4). And again, “If a man is lazy, the rafters sag, and if his hands are idle, the house leaks” (Eccl 10:18).

    While dualism equates physical labour with low status in life, the Bible equates hard work with human dignity. The calling of a minister is not higher than other vocations such as business, carpentry or bricklaying.

    Go to the ant, you sluggard!

    There is nothing elitist about God’s Word. Christians are called to see work as part of our worship, whether we wear a suit or an overall, whether we work with a scalpel or spade. The Bible commends those who are self-motivated and diligent in their work but has harsh words for anybody who finds an excuse not to work hard. Hard work is a spiritual law that God has woven into his Creation. Even the tiny ant understands it:

    “Go to the ant, O sluggard;
        consider her ways, and be wise.
    Without having any chief,
        officer, or ruler,
    she prepares her bread in summer
        and gathers her food in harvest.

    How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
        When will you arise from your sleep?
    A little sleep, a little slumber,
        a little folding of the hands to rest,
    and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
        and want like an armed man.” (Prov 6:6-11).

    Do you see a man skilled in his work?

    Our kids are in their twenties now, in the throes of learning new skills and struggling to keep up with the demands of their work. Two of them are in healthcare and will have no control over where they are sent to do internship and community service.

    We cannot always choose our work hours, our boss, or our career path, but we can always choose how we will work. Solomon focuses on our responsibility to become skillful in our work, regardless of our occupation:

    “Do you see a man skilled in his work?
        He will serve before kings;
        he will not stand before obscure men” (Prov 22:29).

    Angela Duckworth agrees:

    “…There are no shortcuts to excellence. Developing real expertise, figuring out really hard problems, it all takes time―longer than most people imagine….you’ve got to apply those skills and produce goods or services that are valuable to people….Grit is about working on something you care about so much that you’re willing to stay loyal to it…it’s doing what you love, but not just falling in love―staying in love.”
    ― Angela Duckworth, Grit: Passion, Perseverance, and the Science of Success.

    Prayer

    Lord, we know that the Fall affects much of our work, but we thank you that your redemption influences every area of life too. Thank you that Jesus died for us, rose for us, reigns in power for us, and prays for us in our work. We long for the restoration of all things, but in the meantime, we pray for eyes to see how our work can participate in the redemption of all life. As we go to work this week, help us to see that we are all priests called to offer spiritual sacrifices and proclaim your excellency in a world of darkness (1 Peter 2:5; 9-10). Help us to trust in you for strength and to establish the work of our hands. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

     

     

  • Book Response: A Theology of Biblical Counseling, by Heath Lambert

    Book Response: A Theology of Biblical Counseling, by Heath Lambert

    By Rosie Moore.

    When I was ten years old, I was dropped off at boarding school with a suitcase, a fluffy toy and a study Bible.  In the preceding years, my dad had read the Bible to me every evening and we’d often discussed our faith as a family. I’d grown a real love for the Lord and his Word, but it was only when I faced my own struggles with homesickness, living with complete strangers in a tough environment 24/7, far from the people and places I loved, that my theology was tested in the crucible of life. Boarding school was the first refining pot for my beliefs (Prov 17:3).

    A refining pot.

    Who did I believe God to be? What did my relationship with Christ mean? What was the point of my sadness and struggles? What difference did my salvation make to everyday life? On whose shoulders did my world rest? What was most important in my day? Was I any different from my peers? Did I really trust that God was powerful, personal, caring and wise? Was God really in control?

    I read my Bible like a starving person, getting up early each morning to ask God to teach me and help me apply his Word to my life. The Lord Jesus was the most precious person in my world, so I scribbled verses, notes, and prayers in small journals throughout the next eight years of school. Those journals were the early seeds of The God Walk.

    The Lord nourished me by His Word in the power of the Holy Spirit, despite the fact that I didn’t know many theological words or doctrines. I didn’t only learn facts about God, I learned to trust Him. When I look back, I see that God provided for me in remarkable ways, sending me teachers and a good church, a Youth For Christ pastor who discipled and encouraged me.

    It may sound strange, but I’m grateful for those days as a termly boarder, far from the comforts of home but near to the heart of God. The adversity of school rooted me in Christ’s grace and truth from an early age, giving me confidence in his Word for everything I needed. Without knowing it, I was building a theological foundation which would inform all of my life.

    Heath Lambert’s book, A Theology of Biblical Counseling, shows that counselling is always a theological discipline, as what we believe about God, ourselves and our circumstances informs all of life. In each chapter, Lambert discusses the doctrines that we believe as Christians and then applies each of these doctrines to the adversities of real people that he has counselled.

    While affirming the role of medical interventions for physical problems, Lambert shows how the Scriptures are sufficient for counselling issues of the heart and life. The eleven chapters describe Biblical counselling and the far-reaching implications of our doctrine:

    A Theology of Scripture.

    A Theology of Common Grace.

    A Theology of God.

    A Theology of Christ.

    A Theology of the Holy Spirit.

    A Theology of Humanity.

    A Theology of Sin.

    A Theology of Suffering.

    A Theology of Salvation.

    A Theology of the Church.

    The Goal of Theology.

    Thoroughly equipped for every good work.

    Lambert’s book is anything but dry and boring! I love how he links systematic theology with his counselees’ real experiences and struggles. Lambert argues that theology is not just the foundation for counselling, but that counselling is a vital application of faithful theology.

    It is only logical that theologians who want to honour Christ and his Word must care deeply about counselling. The purpose of theology is not to accumulate a selfish storehouse of knowledge, which leads only to boastful pride and pretension (1 Cor 8:1). The purpose of theology is to know Christ and help others make the journey to know Him better too.

    So, if Christians are to counsel and disciple one another, as we are instructed to do (1 Thess 5:11; Gal 6:1; Matt 18:15; Heb 3:13; Eph 5:15; Col 1:28), faithful Biblical doctrine must motivate and shape our counselling at every point in the process. We cannot trust our own instincts or expect the world’s empty ‘wisdom’ and ever-changing psychologies to counsel us in wise living.

    I would recommend this book to everyone who believes that the Bible is sufficient to teach, convict, correct and train us in righteousness, “so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17).

    The Doctrine of God.

    I appreciate how Lambert framed his counselling of an abuse survivor, Jenny, with the Doctrine of God, showing how understanding the character of God and His attributes of strength and care were essential to Jenny’s redemption and healing.

    A sound theology of God, sin and salvation is surely the starting point in any counselling, as it takes a struggler’s eyes off one’s own overwhelming problems and fixes them on the one and only God, whose power, forgiveness and love are inexhaustible. Having laid a foundation for understanding sin and salvation, we must help people to put their full confidence in God’s ability to keep them as His children, in and through their difficulties.

    Thinking through our unique Christian doctrines affected me deeply. They stirred up greater trust and joy in the riches of the gospel. I am more thankful for God’s care, and more mindful of the Holy Spirit as my Helper, who daily renews my heart so that I’m no longer enslaved by my sinful behaviour and desires (2 Cor 5:17; Rom 6:6; 6:4; 2 Cor 3:18; Col 3:10).

    The realisation struck me that believers are not a mixture of old man and new man, but we are new creatures in Christ. We may still have remnants of sin to deal with, but sin must no longer rule and reign in our lives. Even in the midst of our troubles and temptations, our situation does not determine our response. Christians are fully empowered to live as new creatures in Christ.

    The Doctrine of God properly orientates us: God is self-sufficient and omniscient (Ps 139:1-6), omnipotent and omnipresent (Ps 139:7-10), infinite, holy, just and righteous, but these are not just big words. These attributes mean that we can “entrust ourselves to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1 Peter 4:19), even while our situation is bad.

    Since God is the only One equipped to deal with our sins and needs, weaknesses and suffering, disappointments and regrets, it makes sense to lead counselees to depend on Him. This is far more helpful than merely offering practical help. Or directing them to look within. Or supporting their desire for God to instantly fix all their problems and whisk them into paradise. Regardless of our circumstances, we must learn to trust God if we are to glorify God in them.

    Omnisapience was a new word for me! God not only knows our problems, but also understands exactly what is best for us in every situation. This divine wisdom is difficult to grasp. I think I’ve sometimes believed that God is omniscient, but not been fully convinced that He knows what’s best for me in every situation. Like Eve, I have often been foolish enough to second-guess God’s wisdom and goodness.

    Lambert’s book gave me fresh ears to hear Paul’s exclamation: “Oh, the depth and riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became his counsellor?” (Rom 11:33-34).

    Gaining a heart of wisdom.

    While digesting this book, it struck me that God is not only the perfectly wise Counsellor, but He also shares his wisdom with His people (James 1:5-8). This spurs me on to pray confidently for wisdom to live well in God’s world, and to lead others to do the same. We have an inexhaustible storehouse of wisdom in Christ. The prayer I prayed this morning was from Psalm 90:12: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

    After reading the chapters, Theology of Humanity and of Sin, the Theology of Suffering made more sense. It reminded me that God does not single out or victimise sufferers, but is always good and does good too. That is why, as Christians, we can embrace suffering instead of demanding a pain-free life. I have sometimes been guilty of sinful responses to suffering.

    Consider it pure joy.

    Before suffering comes, I want to be thoroughly convinced that God uses suffering for my good, for the good of others, and to glorify Himself.

    These benefits have sharpened my perspective on suffering. I have written them down, as I want to learn to trust more in God’s character and plan:

    • Suffering produces character, steadfastness and spiritual maturity (James 1:2-4).
    • Suffering proves that I belong to my loving heavenly Father (Eph 2:3; Heb 12:11).
    • Suffering proves my faith is genuine (1 Peter 1:6-7).
    • Suffering trains me to be holy and produces the fruit of peace and righteousness (Heb 12:11).
    • Suffering blesses others when I share Christ’s comfort with them (2 Cor 1:3-4).
    • Suffering glorifies God when His power and grace are displayed in weakness (2 Cor 12:9-10; 2 Cor 1:8-9; John 9:3).
    • Suffering teaches me to depend on Christ, pointing me to the profound, permanent joy found in Him alone (2 Cor 4:17).

    Real transformation.

    As I was reading this book, I thought of the victims of abuse that walk into the Mohau Counselling Centre at Christ Church Midrand. Some of these women have been violated and betrayed by people they trusted. They are like Jenny in Heath Lambert’s book. They need to know that God sees them and will never break their trust. They need to be led to the cross to find salvation, a new identity, and restoration in Christ, through repentance and faith. And they need to be welcomed into the fellowship of the church, where we have powerful resources for transformation that the world doesn’t possess.

    In fact, don’t all of us need to bring Biblical truth to the everyday struggles of Christian living? Don’t we all need to bear one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ? (Gal 6:2)

    That’s why I would highly recommend Heath Lambert’s book to anyone who wants to understand how Biblical doctrine relates to practical ministry in the church and in our own messy lives.

    Prayer

    My soul blesses You, O Lord; And all that is within me blesses your holy name.

    My soul blesses you, O Lord, And I will not forget all your benefits;

    You forgive all my iniquities and heal all my diseases;

    You redeem my life from the pit and crown me with love and compassion;

    You satisfy my desires with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s (Ps 103:1-5).

    Source

    Heath Lambert, A Theology of Biblical Counselling. The Doctrinal Foundations of Counseling Ministry. Zondervan Academic, 2016, Michigan.

  • Confessions of a Homemaker

    Confessions of a Homemaker

    Series: Born to work, by Rosie Moore.

    “The necessity for work—to be a creative, productive being—is built into man: Adam was created to be a working being” (Jay Adams, A Theology of Christian Counseling).

    As Christians, we believe that productive work is part of God’s design and is commanded by God (2 Thess 3:10-12; Gen 1:28; 2:15). We also know that sin has distorted and defiled work, making it hard, painful and often unfulfilling (Gen 3:17-19; Eccl 2:17-29). Yes, we are born to work, but work is not an end in and of itself. More accurately, we are born to worship our Creator in and through our work.

    Confessions of a homemaker.

    I confess that one of the most crippling lies I have believed in my lifetime relates to work and vocation. It was a “hollow and deceptive philosophy” that captivated me, a pretension that set itself up against the knowledge of God which needed to be demolished (Col 2:6-8; 2 Cor 10:5). Let me try to describe this lie to you as best as I can:

    As a woman educated within a worldly system, I wrongly assumed that being a steward of a home is an inferior calling. For many years I allowed the pendulum of what our culture values to sway my own thoughts and feelings about my work as a wife and mother. And because of this faulty thinking, I was ambushed at odd moments by the feminist lie that a woman’s identity is built on her public persona and accomplishments, especially a salaried job outside the home.

    But through Scripture, the Holy Spirit has progressively reshaped my twisted idea of work, plucking out the seeds of false guilt and futility that the enemy sowed in my heart. Paul’s instruction in Titus 2:1-5 convicted and corrected me in my sinful thinking about work as a Christian woman:

    “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behaviour, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.”

    Firstly, it’s important to debunk some myths about Titus 2:1-5: We know from examples of godly women like Lydia (a seller of purple cloth) and the industrious woman of Proverbs 31, that Paul is not saying that women should only work at home. Nor does this text imply that women have no place in the public arena or forbid us from being compensated financially for our work. Paul is not saying that Christian women should submit to all men and never contribute to church, community, or culture. These caricatures would deny the valuable contributions made by women in the early church and throughout history (Romans 16:1-15).

    But Titus 2 convinced me not to despise the vocation that God Himself has chosen for me as a woman. In his divine wisdom, He has given me specific work to do. He has given me a home, a family, and other responsibilities. Since God has called me to marriage and motherhood, obedience means faithfully doing the work He has set before me. It means obeying God’s commands to “work heartily as for the Lord, not for men” (Col 3:23), even when it seems repetitive and doesn’t deliver a fixed salary.

    Working heartily at home.

    Many workers are disillusioned when their job doesn’t deliver the fulfilment they seek, and homemakers are no exception. But for a Christian, job satisfaction comes from glorifying God in and through our work (Eccl 5:18-20). Fulfilment and joy are byproducts of heartfelt obedience to the Lord in whatever work God has given us to do.

    The Bible promises that when we pour ourselves heartily into our work, the Lord Himself will reward us in the future.

    “Work heartily…knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance” (Col 3:24).

    In the here and now, the Lord wants our wholehearted devotion. He commands us to work heartily, not out of a sense of duty or to earn His approval. In her practical little book titled, “How can I feel productive as a Mom?” Esther Engelsma warns women about the temptation of laziness, which produces a discontented and unproductive lifestyle. The antidote to laziness and lack of peace is to ‘work heartily, as for the Lord’.  Engelsma writes,

    “The exhaustion that comes at the end of a day of hard work is a far better feeling than the tiredness at the end of a lazy day of short tasks sandwiched between long breaks on social media. It is laziness that breeds discontent, not work. And while work does not guarantee contentment, you will never be content if you don’t do the work the Lord has put in front of you. It is in obedience that you find peace.”

    I have come to see that job satisfaction does not come from being productive in the world’s eyes or bringing home an impressive salary or raising well behaved kids, but from glorifying God and growing in godliness in and through my work at home. My work as a homemaker is my worship, an apt response to Christ’s work on the cross for me.

    Glorifying God at home.

    The first reason why work is inherently valuable is that it glorifies God. According to Titus 2, it glorifies God when women learn to be kind, pure and loving at home; content and grateful in their work, instead of believing that it is beneath them. It honours God when wives gladly follow their husbands’ leadership and team up with other women to share a Christian vision for their homes, helping each other live out this vision in practice.

    It pleases the Lord when older women, who have experienced the joys and challenges of homemaking, walk alongside younger women, offering godly encouragement, advice and prayers. This mentoring work is no less valuable than Adam tending the garden of Eden, or an architect designing a magnificent building, or a surgeon performing a heart operation. No person is more aptly suited to perform this role than an older woman who has walked with the Lord through the ups and downs of life.

    Titus 2:1-5 assures women that even if our culture does not affirm the significance of work within our homes, God sees and values the small moments of life. If Jesus “emptied himself” by taking upon Him the form of a servant (Phil 2:7), women imitate and glorify Christ when we pour out our energy, time, and abilities for those He calls us to influence at home.

    The Lord is pleased when you show little ones the beauty of His world and the wonder of the gospel. He is glorified when you love your work, use your time and resources well, and bring order and harmony to your home.

    Growing in godliness at home.

    The second reason why our work at home is inherently valuable is that it is designed to sanctify us day by day, year by year. We often forget this overarching purpose of our lives as believers. The Lord is always working all things for our good. And our ‘good’ is not a salary, nor praise, nor kids that make us look like good parents. Rather, our ‘good’ is that we are conformed to the image of Jesus, by the Spirit’s power (Rom 8:28-29). That means that God will infuse into our work exactly what is needed for our growth in godly character and faith.

    And so, if you are a young Christian wife with children, this means that the Lord Jesus hears every word you speak to your husband and children. He plans the fights you must mediate; the disappointments and failures you must respond to; the moments you come face to face with your own pride. He is working with you, and in you, as you prepare meals, drive the kids to school and sit beside the sport’s field.

    Christ watches over you as you shepherd young hearts to help them grow in their relationship with Him. He knows every sin you need to confess and forsake, every painful step to discipline a wayward child, or break sinful patterns of the past. He wants you to learn to trust Him increasingly through this long and unpredictable job of building a home and family.

    Your work is not to tick off boxes with your children, but to show them Jesus, so that when the Holy Spirit works in their lives, they are ready to believe. And in those seasons when you wonder if you have what it takes to be successful, be sure that you don’t have what it takes! But Jesus does. You need daily time in the Word to renew your mind; daily time in prayer to guard your heart; and intimate communion with God’s people to strengthen you with wisdom, hope, and love. You need Christ’s grace to grow in godliness and find your identity in Him alone, especially in trying circumstances.

    Women at work.

    Christian women of all ages and stages are called to faithful and fruitful work. God intends us to use our time well, to be enthusiastic, diligent workers who are a blessing to others. We see the nature of this work in the noble woman of Proverbs 31:

    “Her husband has full confidence in her

    And lacks nothing of value.

    She brings him good, not harm…

    She sets about her work vigorously;

    Her arms are strong for her tasks…

    She watches over the affairs of her household

    And does not eat the bread of idleness” (Prov 31:11-12; 17; 27).

    This doesn’t mean that we should neglect other important aspects of our lives, such as caring for the poor (Prov 31:20), visiting the sick, and reaching out to those who don’t know Christ, but the most important work a woman can do is to love and serve those whom God has entrusted to our care. This ‘home work’ is God’s work.

    I am now on the other spectrum of homemaking. As an empty nester, Titus 2 reminds me that “teaching what is good and training the young women to be godly in their own homes” is fruitful work in God’s eyes (Titus 2:4-5). The work of motherhood and homemaking must be learned from someone, and the world is a terrible tutor. At 82, my own mother continues to empty herself in service to her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She has always been a blessing and a mentor, and today “her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also” (Prov 31:28).

    Although we may never receive tangible rewards for homemaking, the Lord is writing the small, everyday work women do at home into His great story of redemption, for his glory and our good. Like every other worker, we are participating in God’s creation mandate (Gen 1:28). It is a great work from which we must not be distracted (Nehemiah 6:3), as stewardship of homes and families lies at the heart, not the periphery, of God’s mission in his world.

    To the extent that I have embraced this truth about my work, I have found joy and purpose as a steward of our home. It has been a privilege to be entrusted with the nurturing of family, to create a warm haven for my husband and four children, plus the wonderful son and daughter we recently acquired through marriage. I want my home to always be a place where outsiders feel welcomed and I am thankful to be involved in the lives of young adults who will, God willing, become stewards of their own homes one day.

    Nancy Wolgemuth concludes, “The heart for honouring Christ in and through our homes may express itself in different ways and may require more or less time and effort, depending on our season of life. But whether young or old, married or single, whether we own or rent our home or share an apartment or dorm room, the place we call “home” provides an opportunity to magnify Christ and bless others.”

    Preview of the next few weeks….

    I have shared this anecdote about my own faulty relationship with work to illustrate one of the many lies that a Christian may believe about work. Work is a good gift from God, but because of the curse it also presents many frustrations, pitfalls and temptations to sin (Gen 3:17-19).

    Join us in the next few weeks as we explore various Scriptures to understand work as a valuable part of God’s design for human beings.

    Sources and further reading:

    • Esther Engelsma, How I can feel productive as a Mom? Reformation Heritage Books, 2017.
    • Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets them Free. Moody Publishers, 2001.
    • Rachel Jankovic, You Who? Why you matter and how to deal with it. 
    • Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth– Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity.
    • Tedd Tripp, Shepherding a Child’s Heart. Shepherd Press, 1995.
  • As for me and my house…

    As for me and my house…

    Series: Joshua, by Rosie Moore. (Final part)

    It’s common to find the final excerpt of Joshua’s inspirational words printed on coffee mugs. “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” I confess that I have one of those mugs in my own kitchen. But if we read Joshua 23 and 24 in its entirety, we will get the full benefit of Joshua’s wonderful message. Perhaps our coffee will seem even more full-bodied and potent than usual!

    “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14:15).

    Joshua’s final words to Israel remind me of Paul’s farewell to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:13-38, ending with these words, “What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again” (Acts 20:38).

    Likewise, I doubt that there was a dry eye among the Israelites as they listened to Joshua’s final words and renewed the covenant with the Lord at Schechem. It was the same spot where Abraham had first camped when he arrived in Canaan 500 years before, the place where God had appeared to him, reminding him of the promises He had made to bless him, his descendants, and all the nations on earth.

    Joshua’s bittersweet farewell reminds us that spiritual leaders will come and go, but God’s purpose and his kingdom go on. Each new generation, each era of Church history, each family and each individual must face the same choice:

    Choose this day whom you will serve. Will it be the one true God? Or the gods of tradition and upbringing? Or gods of the spirit of the age? Either God is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all. You have only one life, so choose wisely. Serve the LORD!

    1. A Rehearsal of Grace.

    First Joshua catalogues Israel’s history, speaking the very words of God. Lest the Israelites think that they live in the Promised Land by their own brilliant effort, God gives them an accurate history lesson (Josh 24:1-14).  He rehearses centuries of God’s sovereign grace that brought them to Canaan. Seventeen times, God says “I” did it!

    As Joshua’s name suggests, “Yahweh saves!”

    By grace, God called their forefather Abraham. God doesn’t airbrush the nation’s Patriarch. Abraham was an idol worshipper who served the Babylonian gods of sophistication and intellect. Abraham did not choose God, nor was he a righteous man who was worthy of God’s favour. No, it was by God’s grace that Israel became a great nation.

    The history lesson continues into Exodus and Numbers. It was by Yahweh’s grace that the Israelites were rescued from slavery in Egypt and delivered at the Red Sea (Josh 24:5-7). It was the Lord’s grace that provided for the Israelites in the wilderness and brought them protection and victory over all their enemies (Josh 24:8-10). Moses and Joshua were just instruments of the Lord’s grace.

    And, it is only by God’s grace that they now enjoy the goodness of the Promised Land (Josh 24:8-12):

    “So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant” (Joshua 24:13).

    If God rehearses history to his people in this way, surely it’s important for us to record history accurately too, instead of re-writing the past to suit the thoughts, ideas and values of our own times? The Christian faith is based in history, not mythology.

    From start to finish, Israel’s chequered history and God’s grace are woven together. And so it is with us. It is an awesome wonder of grace that God calls us; rescues us from sin and slavery; protects and provides for us; fights for us, and leads us into the Promised Land of his kingdom! It is totally unmerited, unexpected and unsolicited. God owes us nothing less than judgment for our sin, yet he gives us grace upon grace instead.

    In light of His amazing grace, there is only one reasonable response: Total devotion to Him.

    1. A reasonable response.

    “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness”  (Joshua 24:14).

    A believer’s life is a ‘reasonable’ response to God’s grace to us. Grace is why we serve, evangelise, study, pray, work, teach, share, encourage, disciple and love each other. Holy service to Christ is a reasonable response to God’s grace to us, not the means by which we gain His favour. That’s why God rehearsed his grace to his people for twelve verses before Joshua draws the logical conclusion of verse 14.

    It makes me think of Paul’s “therefore” in Romans 12:1-2, which appears after eleven chapters of Paul proclaiming the riches of God’s grace:

    “I plead with you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”.

    But what about Joshua’s instruction to “fear the Lord?” We don’t hear much about fearing the Lord these days, but it is an appropriate fear.

    1. An appropriate fear.

    Christians often shy away from talking about the “fear of the Lord,” as if it’s an outdated idea that will somehow confuse people. After all, aren’t we a society plagued by fears and anxiety? Shouldn’t we become fearless instead?

    But at many times throughout Scripture, we are told that God’s mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation (Luke 1:50; Deut 5:29). Fear of the Lord is linked to faith and holiness.

    Here are just a handful of Scriptures which commend an appropriate fear of the Lord: Deut 8:6; Deut 10:12; Heb 11:7; Ps 34:11; Job 28:28;  Mal 3:5; Prov 1:72; 2 Cor 7:1; 2 Cor 5:11. Moreover, Jesus Himself commands us to fear God who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt 10:28).

    In fact, it is fear of people and circumstances that produces chaos and confusion in the mind, not fear of the Lord. Sinful fear creates irrational thinking and cripples us. It leads us to compromise, to be fainthearted or hypocritical, to give in to despair. As Solomon explains, “The fear of man brings a snare” (Prov 29:25).

    Sinful fear can destroy our relationships and neutralise our Christian witness. Sometimes we don’t do what’s right because we are afraid. Sometimes we are controlled by the opinion of others, or we become controlling of others, because we are driven by the wrong kind of fear.

    But God rehearsed Israel’s history to remind them of who He was, so that His people would fear Him rather than the surrounding nations and their false gods. As an old Puritan explained: “The fear of God will swallow up the fear of man. A reverential awe and dread of God will extinguish the slavish fear of the creature” (Flavel, The Works of John Flavel, 244). The God-fearing Puritans have much to teach Christians today on how to serve Christ faithfully in the family, the church, and the world.

    Thinking about who God is, what He has done and still does, produces great courage in a believer. It’s the antidote to fearing all the wrong kinds of things. The Lord still calls Christians today to fear Him, especially when our faith is tested in the furnace of real life.

    Peter encourages believers not to fear those who persecute and intimidate them, but rather to “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give account for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).

    Joshua was a strong and courageous leader, not because he was fearless, but because he feared the Lord. He feared God when he chose to reject the golden calf and fight the Amalekites, instead of following the majority. He feared the Lord when he believed God’s promise about the Promised Land, against the opinion of the majority. And he feared the Lord when he chose to follow the Captain of the Lord’s army into battle. Joshua urges us first to fear God, then to make a decisive choice.

    1. A decisive choice.

    God has created humanity with a capacity to choose. We have volition. And the Bible teaches that we can choose God or not choose God; choose Christ or reject Him; choose good or choose evil; choose to obey or disobey. And we live with the consequences of our choices.

    In 2020, just before Covid hit, we were on holiday with extended family at the coast. One night during family devotions, our children asked their grandpa to give them the most important advice he could think of. I’ll never forget the rapt attention of the children when my father landed on Joshua 24:15, drawing a line in the sand that would come to all of them. He explained that the line in the sand is the point beyond which you will not go, or the point of no return as a Christian. It is the point at which you are faced with a choice and must take decisive action either way.

    Giving examples from his own life, my father explained that at some point the children’s faith would be tested. They would need to choose to go the way of the cross and the Bible, or go the way of the world.

    In fact, since that pivotal evening, all our children and many of their cousins have spoken of the many difficult choices that have come to them in the last two years. For some, their choice to serve the Lord has cost them dearly, but they recognized the line in the sand when they saw it.

    Joshua spells out Israel’s choices to them (Josh 24:14-15): Either they will choose the Lord and serve him with wholehearted devotion. Or they will choose to serve the gods of heritage and tradition. Or they will serve the Egyptian gods of power. Or the Babylonian gods of enlightenment, education, philosophy, and science. Or the Canaanite gods of lust and child sacrifice. Or the gods of contemporary culture and the spirit of the age (the surrounding nations).

    As spiritual head of his household, Joshua didn’t dabble in false gods. He took a firm stand for the Lord, personally and on behalf of his household. But each Israelite would need to choose for himself or herself—willingly and decisively.

    Joshua asks us today, “Which god will you serve? Whom will you fear?” This is an inescapable choice for each of us, because we are born worshippers. And there are immense consequences attached to our choices, both for the present life and for future generations.

    Similarly, decades earlier Moses had summoned the people of Israel to make a choice, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life, that both you and your seed may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

    And five centuries after Joshua, Elijah would go before the people and say, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing (1 Kings 18:21).

    And 1400 years after Joshua, Jesus put the same choice to people, “No one can serve two masters…You cannot serve God and money (Matt 6:24). If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)

    The world presents a morally neutral hypermarket of choices and preferences, with seemingly no consequences. As for Christians, our choice is not always easy but it is clear, and there’s a lot at stake. This is our moment in history to choose:

    • Will we choose God’s Word as our standard, or chase the deceptive ideas and values that influence our culture?
    • Will we put our resources at Christ’s disposal, including our time, money, work, spiritual gifts and opportunities? Or will we choose to use them for ourselves?
    • Will we lead our households to serve the Lord with sincere and faithful hearts? Or will we abdicate our parental responsibilities?
    • Will we keep the Lord and His Kingdom number one? Or will we build our own kingdom and power and glory?

    The choice to serve the Lord exclusively is never an easy one, but it’s a reasonable response to his grace.

    May we lay down our own commitment stone just as Joshua did (Josh 24:27), saying:

    “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

    Prayer.

    Lord, today we are reminded that although you are incredibly gracious with us, you are also a holy, jealous God who tolerates no rivals. As we ponder the story of your amazing grace, help us choose life over death, your blessings over curses. Help us to respond to your grace by forsaking everything that displeases you in our lives. Show us what we are holding onto that keeps us from serving you wholeheartedly. Empower us to deal with particular sins in our lives which we have been overlooking for too long. Thank you that our inheritance is the same as Joshua’s, and the same inheritance as the thousands of God-fearing men and women who have faithfully served you in the past. Thank you for the Promised Land which our Lord Jesus is keeping for us in heaven. We look forward to the day of final conquest. Amen.

     

    Further reading:

    J.I Packer, A Quest for Godliness– The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life.

    Wayne Mack, Courage– Fighting Fear with Fear.

    Nancy Guthrie, The Son of David– Seeing Jesus in the Historical Books.

    Carl Laferton, Joshua. (Explore Bible commentary)

  • Joshua’s Farewell

    Joshua’s Farewell

    Series: Joshua

    By Rosie Moore.

    As an old man, Joshua gave the leader’s of Israel final words of encouragement, instruction and warning. After twenty chapters describing Canaan’s conquest, there is something very poignant about Joshua’s farewell just before his death at a hundred-and-ten years old.

    It marked the end of an era of eye-witnesses who had experienced God’s redemption from Egypt; his loving care in the wilderness, and the supernatural conquest of Jericho and the Promised Land. From then on, Israel would need to remember God’s faithfulness in the past. Perhaps the greatest tribute to Joshua’s godly leadership is implied in Joshua 24:31:

    “Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel”.

    For a leader, there can be no greater legacy. Joshua was a living example of the key message in his farewell: “Hold fast to the Lord your God” (Josh 23:8). “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Josh 24:15b).

    When Joshua bade the Israelites farewell, he knew the nation’s weak spots. These are the same weak spots of God’s people in every generation, as relevant today as they were then. Please read Joshua 23 and 24 on your own as we look at three timeless applications.

    1. To God be the glory!

    Consider how easy it would have been for Joshua to have focused on his impressive military career and shared anecdotes of his great battle victories. Leaders usually crave the adulation of adoring crowds.

    But Joshua deflects all credit to the Lord, reminding the people that His power and faithfulness secured their inheritance. Lest they become proud and self-sufficient, Joshua confirms their utter dependence on the Lord to fight for them in the future. Repeatedly, Joshua rightly ascribes all glory to Him.

    “And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. 4 Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. 5 The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. …

    “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good thing that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed” (Joshua 23:14).

    As people who have put our faith in Jesus, the greater Joshua, can we ever rightly accuse God of being unfaithful to us? Can you think of a single promise addressed to his people, which has not been fulfilled in the person and work of Christ?

    It is in the Lord Jesus that God affirms all His covenant promises and blessings (Eph 1:3). Without Christ, we cannot claim any of God’s promises or spiritual inheritance as our own. Paul describes Jesus as the ultimate promise keeper:

    “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. 21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee (2 Cor 1:20).

    And so, it is the privilege of every believer, and every Christian leader, to point people to the unmatched glory of Jesus, who came to redeem humanity by his life, death, resurrection and ascension. It is our duty and joy to make Him great and ourselves small. Only Jesus could serve the Lord fully and faithfully, which none of us can do (Josh 24:19-20).

    Joshua makes an unequivocal statement to Israel, “And you shall possess the land, just as the Lord your God promised you!” (Josh 23:5). There is a note of victory and inevitability in this promise to Israel.

    Likewise, believers today can have perfect assurance that we will inherit the new heavens and new earth if we trust in Jesus. It is our Promised Land, the heavenly country that God has promised us, “a city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Heb 11:14-16, 10).

    We can have full confidence in our strong and courageous leader, who was obedient in our place, earned our righteousness and paid our penalty. And we can draw daily encouragement from His Spirit, who seals our inheritance, indwells us, and empowers us to live a holy life of obedience.

    Joshua’s final words remind us to remain fully dependent on Christ and never to take credit for our blessings or accomplishments. “So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant” (Joshua 23:13).

    1. Submit to Scripture.

    Joshua also urges the people to “be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left” (Josh 23:6-9).

    This is the mirror image of God’s instruction to Joshua at his own commission as leader.

    “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Joshua 1:7-8).

    Obeying God’s Word has never been for the fainthearted, but it has always been the key to our distinctiveness and success as God’s people. Because all Scripture is God-breathed, it carries the full weight of God speaking. Thus, if we disbelieve or disobey Scripture, we disobey God Himself and we will never prosper. Keeping God’s Word is serious business.

    Moreover, all God’s Word is important, not just the bits we like or the doctrines that harmonise with our culture’s beliefs. Turning to the left or the right may lead us into legalism or licentiousness, and Satan loves these two extremes.

    As Christians, we have much more of God’s Word than the books of Moses that Joshua had. We have the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament to instruct, convict, correct and train us in righteousness (1 Tim 3:14-17). In the Scriptures, we have everything needed to lead us to salvation and equip us for every good work in this world.

    But how often are we tempted to dilute the Bible, to change or soften the message because people don’t like it, or it’s hard to obey?

    Maybe it’s a parenting situation. The Bible tells you what the Lord wants you to do with your children, but it feels too difficult. Maybe it’s a difficult relationship or a dishonest transaction. Maybe it’s hard to give when finances are tight. Maybe it’s the biblical command not to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever, but you’re desperate to get married or close that business deal. Maybe it’s Christ’s command to forgive someone who mistreated you.

    Maybe it’s standing firm on the Bible’s definition of sin, marriage and sexuality, as some of our brothers and sisters in the Church of England have done, rather than bowing to the world’s LGBTQI ideology which has swept through their denomination. Whenever the battle is hottest, we will be tempted to dilute or cherry-pick the Bible for the sake of peace. But Joshua’s message to us today includes a warning:

    Don’t exchange truth for lies. Don’t say what the world wants you to say, or do what they want you to do, so they will like you better. God has given us the Bible as his Word to us. Be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in it, even if it involves bitter conflict and cost.

    The more I study the Bible, the more confidence I have in Scripture and the preaching of the Bible as the means through which God works to transform lives. Apart from the Bible, no one can know God or find true peace, as it reveals the truth about our sinful hearts, Christ’s work of redemption, and how to be reconciled with God through faith in Christ. Scripture also teaches us how to live wisely in God’s world, as God intended. And so, if keeping God’s Word is the only way to flourish, it’s unloving and unkind to revise or neglect the Bible.

    Joshua’s words urge Christians to be disciplined about reading the whole Bible for ourselves; to meditate, memorise and speak it out loud; use it to counsel ourselves and others who are struggling. Most of all, we must prove ourselves doers of the Word, not merely hearers who delude ourselves (Josh 1:8; James 1:22-25).

    In our times, there is an urgent need for Christians to affirm the Bible as our ultimate authority. This will require courage and strength as social and political pressures mount. Like Israel, we will be tempted to compromise with the enemy.

    1. Don’t compromise!

    But compromise led to catastrophe for God’s people. Joshua instructed the people to remain holy and distinct from the pagan nations around them, especially regarding intermarriage and worship of their gods:

     “…that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, 8 but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day….

    11 Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. 12 For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, 13 know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you (Josh 23:7-9; 11-13).

    Seeds of compromise were sown throughout the book of Joshua wherever Israel failed to fully dislodge the Canaanites, as God instructed. Out of fear, Israel chose to make peace with the surrounding pagan nations and blend into their detestable culture and religions (Josh 15:63; 16:10; 17:11-13; Josh 17:16). To borrow Paul’s language, God’s people became “unequally yoked with unbelievers” (2 Cor 6:14).

    Compromise led to the devastation that Joshua warned about. Tragically, Israel lost the good land and blessings that God had given them, including His favour, presence and protection. The book of Judges is a terrible record of what happened to future generations:

    “And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. 

    13 They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies (Josh 2:10-14).

    As the church of Christ, we are not called to evict or destroy anybody. But we are always called to be holy and to keep ourselves from being polluted by the world and its values (James 1:27). As Paul says, “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” (Eph 5:11)

    Charles Haddon Spurgeon echoed the warnings of Joshua when he spoke to Christians in the 19th century about the dangers of compromise. His words remain relevant to the church today.

    “I believe that one reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church.”

    Prayer

    Heavenly Father, may I not love the world or the things in the world. If I love the world, your love is not in me. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of you but of the world. Help me to see that the world and its lusts are passing away, but the one who does your will abides forever (1 John 2:15-17). Lord, give us courage to affirm and obey the true teachings of Scripture, even when it’s costly to us. And give us your grace to be holy and distinct from the world. In Jesus name, Amen.

    Join us next week for our final devotion in Joshua, “As for me and my household…”

    Listen to my favourite song by Keith Green (1977)