Drawn to Duty

Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel…
I Samuel 13:19

Oh the tragedy and calamity that is found in such a small portion of scripture. Wrapped up into this one phrase is the possibility of Israel’s defeat and the reason for that possible defeat. As King Saul readies himself to make battle against the armies of the Philistines, he is given word by one of his assistants that there are no blacksmiths available for service. The coals of the blacksmiths had been extinguished. The ring of hammers against the anvils had since been silenced. No longer were there sparks of productivity coming from their tents. Why was such news detrimental to the morale of the Israelites? This halt in labor by the blacksmiths led to the armies of Israel having no swords or weapons to fight with in their battle against the Philistines. Whether or not the smiths compromised their trade to go the land of the Philistines or were forced out of their duty makes no difference because their failure to perform their job had far reaching consequences to the armies of Israel. Yes, their duty was menial, but it had great repercussions.

Oh how serious is this issue in our life. Is it not our failure to perform the small tasks on our spiritual journey that keeps us from succeeding? Are not the small foxes the ones that spoil the vine? The small failure on our part could lead to the grand failure to many in the army of God. How minuscule are the tasks of prayer and Bible meditation, yet we fail to consistently do them? These are the small foxes that ruin the life of the believer. Oh my friend let this be the day your heart is drawn to your duty. There are weapons to be made so that we can battle the spiritual powers of Satan. It is time we heat the coals of the Spirit of God and thrust the dull weapon of our life into His midst so that the process might begin by which we are made dangerous for the cause of Christ and wieldable by the Holy Ghost.

The Lamb of God

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John 1:29

Never has a declaration been made whereby the reader was convinced that the times had changed. Contained within this one statement written by the apostle John are three separate declarations which John the Baptist makes concerning the beloved Son of God. Contained within these three declarations is the wonderful fact that things will never be the same. So may the Lord help us a we gaze upon these truths.

The first declaration is seen in John’s words, “Behold the Lamb of God.” For century’s preceding John’s life, the prophets of old declared that the Messiah was coming. Moses declared that a Prophet would arise. David saw the Great Shepherd imminent. Ezekiel saw the wheel inside of the wheel turning about. Malachi declared that the Sun of Righteousness was about to rise with healing in His wings. And now John the Baptist declares from the shores of the Jordan River that the Lamb of God, which was prophesied to come, was now here.

The second truth proclaimed which indicated to mankind that life would never be the same is found in the statement “which taketh away.” From the Passover in Egypt, to the Sinai Peninsula, to the hills of Israel, the blood of lambs and bullocks drenched the sands of the land as it merely covered the sins of the people. The blood of those animals was insufficient to wash away the sins of the people because it lacked the power and purity of God. Oh, but now John declares that the Lamb of all lambs has come and His blood has the power to cleanse and wipe the record of their sins clean. Never again would the people have to select a lamb to slaughter because God himself had selected the perfect and premier Lamb, which was slain since the foundation of the world.

The third statement of truth is found in phrase, “of the world.” It is true that God loved the people of Israel. They were His people, called after set apart for His good pleasure. But, deep within the heart of God was a love for the entire world. Until John’s declaration, the world had been cut off from the commonwealth of Israel and alienated from their promise. But now through the Lamb of God, salvation was made available to the entire world. Bless the name of God for His precious Lamb that gave us the ability to cry with the angels, “Glory to God in the Highest.”

The Doubt of Nathanael

And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?
John 1:46

The statement here spoken by Nathanael renders to the reader the obvious opinion of the public in the day of Jesus towards the city of Nazareth. Evidently this city had become a place of wickedness, depravity, and foolishness. The city, whose name implied “the home of the guarded ones”, had become the home of the “guilty ones.” The reputation of the city was so pitiful that when Nathanael saw Jesus coming, he was immediately prejudiced against him, even though he had been informed of the goodness and glory of Jesus, because of the place which he lived. How sad it is when a place falls into sin and carries a reputation of wickedness and uselessness. But that is not the end of the story for the city of Nazareth. For what the world meant for evil, God turned for the good. When the world looked at the city of Nazareth and said nothing good can come out of it; God flipped the story upon its head. The world may say it was useless, but God knows nothing that was useless. He took Nazareth, a city that was viewed as good for nothing, and raised up the great Messiah from within its city limits.

Many times our lives are viewed much like the city of Nazareth. We are viewed as useless and good for nothing. Men look upon the shell of our lives and say, “Can any good thing come from them?” Maybe we are viewed that way because of where we were born or the family we were born into. It may be our social standing or even sinful decisions that cast the light of uselessness upon our lives. Living with this fortune is depressing and hopeless. But I stand thankful today because what the world sees as a problem, God sees as potential. There is no problem too great for our God. God can take our lives, which are full of defects, deviance, and deformities, and clean us up to make our lives a vessel worthy of His service. God answers the question, “Can any good come from that city?” with a resounding, “Yes!”

Spiritual Anorexia

I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word
Psalm 119:16


Entering the One Hundred and Nineteenth Psalm, we find the longest chapter in the holy, word of God. One would think that a psalm of this length would have many topics and stories; but they would be incorrect. The topic of this psalm is singular. It has one theme and melody; it has one purpose and goal and that purpose is to magnify the word of God. Looking at this psalm, we see more clearly than ever that the writings of the Bible are from the hand of God. How do we know? No mortal man would write a book that would condemn his lifestyle and lift up the word of a higher power. Man’s sinful pride would not judge his own heart and doom him. No, these truly are the words of God contained in the word of God.

As the psalmist writes, he casts a light upon the importance of God’s word in the life of the child of God. As I read the entire chapter, I cannot help but see the significance, yea the necessity for the believer to fill and encompass his heart, mind, and life with the scripture. Is it any wonder as to why the longest chapter in the Bible focuses on one topic, the word of God? It is no accident or coincidence. God spent valuable time exalting His word because He expects His child to spend valuable time examining the Word.

My humble question today is this, how much of your time is spent in the Holy Scripture? How much time to you take feeding at the table of God? How much of your day is spent nurturing your soul from the bread of Heaven? Can it be said of you that you are a student of the word of God? Or would it be more correct to say that you are a spiritual anorexic? Sadly, I believe many of our souls resemble the children of the African countryside we have seen on late night infomercials, bony, emaciated, and starving. We have depleted our souls to the point where we will eat anything the world feeds us. Whether it is filth or slop, we feast upon it as if it had been prepared in a gourmet kitchen. Dear friend, I beseech you as a fellow child of God to lay aside the slop of the world and go back to the table of God. Let today be the day you feast upon the riches of God’s word.

The Sights of That City

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21:2

I once heard the story of an old gentleman who fell asleep one night and had the most wonderful dream. As he opened his eyes he saw a majestic city spread as far as his eyes could see. The city was so bright and fair that no mortal man could have constructed it with his own hands. As he stepped closer to the city limits, he began to notice “Welcome” signs. As a well traveled man, he had seen sign saying, “Welcome to London”, “Welcome to Paris”, and “Welcome to New York.” There as he gazed upon the sign to this city, he immediately knew where he was. The sign said, “Oh, Weary Pilgrim, Welcome to The City of God.” Could this be the city he had long read about in the pages of God’s word? Was this the place his mother and father told him of when he was just a boy? Now his feet were drawn to the gates of the city like a child drawn to a shiny toy. This had to be it. This was the City of God. As drew near, the angel which stood watch at the gate said, “Welcome home, ye soldier of the cross. Enter into the joy of your Lord.” Oh, the sights of the city were memorizing. The precious stones decorated the city as the golden streets glistened off of the crystal sea.

As the gentleman walked along the streets of the city, it was not what he saw that was notable; it was what he did not see that caught his attention. He did not see streetlights, because the Lamb of God was the light of the city. He did not see any Kleenex or handkerchiefs because God had wiped away all tears from their eyes. He did not see any funeral homes or cemeteries because death had passed away. There were no bars or street corner sins because all things had been made new. He didn’t see any churches because the Lord Almighty was the Temple. He did not see any dead leaves littering the ground because the tree of life was always living. And he did not see any wedding planners because God the Father had been planning the wedding of the Lamb since the foundation of the world.

As the man awoke from his dream, he realized it was not just a dream that would fade away, but one day, his faith would become sight. For God himself is preparing a city for His people, and soon we shall rise to be with Him.

The Looking Lord

And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
Luke 22:61-62

Here we see a dramatic end to an emotional day for the apostle Peter. He has gone from the glory of the upper room fellowship to the grief of his rejection of the Christ. Peter would have never guessed that morning that by the end of the day he would have denied the Lord and stooped down into sin’s dread sway. Now the night has come and Peter finds himself warming by the world’s fire instead of walking by the Lord’s side. This fellowship with the world leads him to do something he never thought possible. As he watches Jesus being carried through the crowds, someone looks at Peter and says, “This man was also with him [Jesus].” The apostle, fearing for his own life adamantly denies knowing Christ. Three times in the matter of a few minutes Peter does something he had never done before. His fall was swift and it was severe.

As I read the story of Peter, I am reminded of my own life and the years of my youth. How foolish I was and how tragic the end of the story could have been. How true it is that sin can take you farther than you care to go and deeper that you care to be. The most treacherous part of sin is that it can happen so fast. I recall in my own life how quickly my slide began. It started, as I was spiritually warming by the world’s fire instead of walking by the Lord’s side. I fell in a spiritual sense. It was severe and it was sudden.

If the story had ended there for Peter or myself, it would have been a catastrophe. Oh, but thanks be the God, the scripture records after the third denial of Peter, the Lord looks at him, which leads to Peter weeping and ultimately his repentance. The Lord would have been justified to destroy Peter right there on the spot, but he didn’t. Instead, Jesus looked at him with a look of compassion and heartbreak, which led to Peter’s repentance. Oh, how I am reminded of the day the Lord gave me that look of compassion and heartbreak. The day he saw me warming by the world’s fires. Much to my surprise, he just looked at me instead of destroying me. He would have been justified to kill me, but instead he loved me. And it was that look that brought me back into His arms.

What about you my friend? Have you felt His eyes peering through you like a beam of light? He is standing at the doorstep of your soul just looking. He sees you and His heart is breaking. Will you respond to His looking?

The Scars of Job

So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal…
Job 2:7-8

If men and women in our day could have looked upon the being of Job as the boils oozed with infection all over body, I’m sure our stomachs would have turned. The shear pain and agony Job went through was enough to make even the strongest man bend over in torment. Sadly, the physical pain of the boils was not all Job dealt with; he dealt with the appearance of the boils for many days. Every man that walked by Job saw his deplorable state and distasteful form. I believe it’s fair to say, Job had his share of suffering. But, thanks be unto God that the story doesn’t end there. The end of the book of Job tells of his deliverance from the very hand of God. Every thing that had been taken from Job was returned two-fold. He had twice the cattle, twice the houses, and ten more children. God also restored unto him his health. Job’s restoration was a story of God’s deliverance and grace.

There is one area of Job’s restoration that the Bible is silent about and I believe it is a purposeful silence. This silence deals with the issue of Job’s physical appearance. We remember that his entire body was covered with boils that racked him with pain. The pain and pressure from the boils was so severe that he took a broken piece of pottery and scraped over the boils in order to gain some relief. If you have ever had a boil, you can imagine some of the pain he was in. Surely after he raked over his sores, they scabbed over and most definitely left scars from the top of his head to the soles of his feet from which I do not believe God regenerated. Till the day he died, those scars bore the story of his downfall, suffering, and his deliverance. Everywhere he went, his scars told the story of God’s grace.

My friend, we all have scars. Some scars are emotional while others are physical, yet all tell a story. Yes brothers and sisters, God did permit the trial to come into your life even though He knew it would tear and scratch your body and soul. But God was not being cruel or harsh, for God knew with the tearing and cutting would come the scars. And the scars on you would tell the world the story of God’s grace and deliverance. May we praise God for the trials and storms of life, even though they leave scars. For with our scars we tell the world God’s narrative of grace, mercy, and restoration.