November 20
Ezekiel 40-41
The command at the beginning of Ezekiel’s vision to pay attention to the details reveals God’s expectations. He is precise and He expects precision from those who manage His property (us, for instance). One cannot remain slack in their obedience and expect God’s blessings, and that is especially true for His shepherds.
If you’re one to cut corners, come to Jesus. The Holy Spirit will show you that every word of God has a precise meaning. You will see it and be glad that He is not vague.
James 4
Driving on a highway yesterday, I noticed two birds fighting in the middle of the road ahead. No more than a second later, just as I came upon them, the boxing birds veered into my lane and WHAM they both bounced off my windshield. I looked in the rearview mirror and saw one hit the asphalt awkwardly, leaving little doubt to his condition. The other one remains a mystery. I’d heard of “killing two birds with one stone,” but not with one windshield.
I wonder if they were locked in a great struggle over the political oppression of birds. Maybe one was forcing widowed birds from their nests with usurious interest rates. More likely, they were arguing over a stale bread crust, not realizing that the food trucks on one side and grassy fields on the other side of the highway offered an abundant buffet of scraps.
There are things that God tells us to fight for: free the innocent, for instance. We often get distracted by less important battles. How many times does a fight over something stupid get us into terminal trouble? You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask (4:2). Instead of getting what we want, we get the windshield.
Psalm 118 (cont.)
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone (v. 22). Pay close attention to this Psalm, it’s about Jesus. God appointed builders to carefully construct His Temple according to His plan. They performed flawlessly, and the Temple became a source of immense pride to Israel (all in a good way). But the Temple was only the beginning. He applied the same precision in calling other men to oversee His peoples’ instruction in the Law. Their job was always to build up the people of God by carefully explaining God’s way to live. The job of overseer, like any prominent position, comes with the temptation to turn overseer into overlord and think of oneself as better than those they manage. We see this today with many Pastors and Teachers who believe their teaching is more important than what the people learn.
As a result of their hubris, the teachers of the Law chose the wrong cornerstone. They chose obedience to the sacrificial system as the key measurement from which to build God’s people, but this is not what God said. He said, I desire mercy, not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6 and 1 Samuel 15:22). As a result, when the Messiah came, they rejected Him (Matthew 9:13).
Jesus is the foundational cornerstone–all measurements of righteousness go off Him. Any religious system that focuses more on activity than the heart that motivates the activity is open to false motivation. Such a system becomes burdensome and results in greater injustice than it prevents–it actually pushes people away from God.
God cares nothing for ritualistic religion! He wants you more than He wants what you can do for Him. Do you want Him more than His benefits? Are you hungry for God?
Proverbs 28:3-5
Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them. I don’t know about your church, but mine is full of fighters. People have grown tired of godless fools stealing from them, indoctrinating their children against God and parents, and elevating promiscuous sex as a moral value. Some of our people believe they must protest and complain, and who can blame them? Who can possibly think it’s wrong for us to demand our rights? Well, God does.
The battle is God’s; over one hundred Bible verses say so! I agree that not fighting seems wimpy, completely unreasonable, and impossible to follow. So what? It is God’s law that we love others as He loves us. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another (John 13:35). Rest your soul in the Holy Spirit, pray more than you complain, demonstrate more love than protest, deliver more gentle, open-ended questions than harsh rebukes. Set aside your indignation, anger, and fear for what might become of this generation. Trust God and sow the Gospel generously. The time may come when we’re left with no choice but to fight. That time is not yet and we’ll know when it is because the battle will come to us and it’ll be impossible to ignore (Revelation says so).
Those without God have no peace with God. Your peace is more attractive to them than a fighting spirit. Your peace carries the Spirit’s power. (I pray God fills me up enough to show you.)
