Faith, Accusations and Truth - Mephibosheth

Yesterday during worship I felt led to read from 2 Samuel 16:1-4 NIV and the Lord started speaking to me about something I believe He wanted to address. Here are the verses:

[1] "When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine.

[2] The king asked Ziba, “Why have you brought these?”

Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king's household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

[3] The king then asked, “Where is your master's grandson?”

Ziba said to him, “He is staying in Jerusalem, because he thinks, 'Today the Israelites will restore to me my grandfather's kingdom.' ”

[4] Then the king said to Ziba, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.”

“I humbly bow,” Ziba said. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.”

My first thought in reading this was that Ziba was an honorable guy and here he was sacrificing to care for David (as David was fleeing Jerusalem because his son Absalom had usurped the throne). I was thinking that Mephibosheth was clearly taking advantage of the situation, and that after all the kindness that David had shown him (See 2 Sam 9).

Then a few moments later I thought, no I don't think that is right, so I continued to read. When David comes back to Jerusalem, we actually get the whole story, as follows:

2 Samuel 19:15-18,24-30 NIV:

[15] "Then the king returned and went as far as the Jordan. Now the men of Judah had come to Gilgal to go out and meet the king and bring him across the Jordan.

[16] "Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, hurried down with the men of Judah to meet King David. [17] With him were a thousand Benjamites, along with Ziba, the steward of Saul's household, and his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed to the Jordan, where the king was. [18] They crossed at the ford to take the king's household over and to do whatever he wished...."

[24] "Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, also went down to meet the king. He had not taken care of his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely.

[25] When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, “Why didn't you go with me, Mephibosheth?”

[26] He said, “My lord the king, since I your servant am lame, I said, 'I will have my donkey saddled and will ride on it, so I can go with the king.' But Ziba my servant betrayed me. [27] And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. My lord the king is like an angel of God; so do whatever you wish. [28] All my grandfather's descendants deserved nothing but death from my lord the king, but you gave your servant a place among those who eat at your table. So what right do I have to make any more appeals to the king?”

[29] The king said to him, “Why say more? I order you and Ziba to divide the land.”

[30] Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him take everything, now that my lord the king has returned home safely.”

What we find is that indeed Mephibosheth had been slandered to the King by Ziba. Ziba had even gone so far as to give David a large amount of gifts, and had clearly received David's favor. Ziba totally took advantage of a situation, knowing that David wouldn't be able to follow up on the truth of what he was saying. But in the end justice was done, and Ziba's lies were exposed.

I felt like the Lord said there are people I know who have been wrongfully accused in their lives and that He was moving to bring revelation and restore that which was lost.

Secondly, I felt like He said there are those of us that have believed the accusation against our brothers and sisters, and that we need to repent, and we need to give them the opportunity to speak on their own behalf.

Thirdly, I felt like He said there are those that have believe the accusations the enemy makes about their very selves. He is constantly working to make us believe that we have somehow disqualified ourselves; or that we have lost our way so bad that we will never get back to where we were; or that we have nothing to offer and have no value in the Body of Christ; or that we have missed out on our opportunity to minister as we should have done! I am sure there are several other accusations the enemy makes, these are just the ones he uses to beat on me.

Anyway, the Truth is fully known by God. He is making the truth known to others! If we stay focused on Him, it really doesn't matter if we are repaid or not, because intimacy with Him is restored and embraced! He is all we need and want!

Amen!

Faith and Favoritism

This morning I am continuing a reflection that I started last week, reflecting on some verses from James 2:1-5 NIV:

[1] "My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. [2] Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. [3] If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here's a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” [4] have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?"

[5] "Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?"

I was struck by verse 5, and the idea that God has chosen the poor to be rich in faith.  I was thinking about how this might be a bit challenging to many of the churches in America, who count themselves blessed to have wealthy congregants, that they might build beautiful buildings, and run extensive programs.  Many of these churches have outreaches to the poor, and do well with providing food and clothes, etc. which is laudable. 

However, as I read these verses today, I had a strong sense that we ought to be approaching the poor, as key members of the Body of Christ, for they have been gifted with Faith!  We need in the Body, more than anything, an increase of faith so that we might step into the purposes and plans that Jesus has for us all!  We need to raise the "water-level" of faith in the Body!

I am reminded of the many times Jesus encouraged the apostles and disciples to have more faith, to press in for more faith. Here are a few:

Matthew 17:20 NIV:  "He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

-and-

Matthew 21:21-22 NIV: "Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. [22] If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

I think it is safe to say Jesus wanted His followers to press in for more faith.  In several of the later writings of the Apostles, they too encouraged faith.  James had a whole section that spoke of the importance of faith in action (See James 2:14-26).  Paul wrote constantly about faith, as the key element to the Gospel of Grace.  The author of the letter to the Hebrews wrote a whole chapter on people of faith (See Heb. 11).  Both Peter and John also took up the topic of faith in their writings as well.  Suffice it to say faith is critical to the Body of Christ, and should be something we encourage and value.

Clearly faith is important, but equally so how we treat others.  I find it very interesting that in the last 4 days I have had two completely unsolicited conversations with good friends, both of which brought up the topic of favoritism in local churches.  In both cases, it was seen as something that called into question the heart of the pastors, who were running after and seemingly enamored with the wealthy and famous in their congregations, at the expense of those who were not wealthy or famous. 

Going back to verses following the ones I quoted above, James would have very clear guidance concerning this type of behavior, for he wrote, "But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers." ( James 2:9 NIV).  Now, we no longer live under the Covenant of the Law, but I think we can see his opinion concerning favoritism. 

As I reflect on this, I am reminded over and over of the intimate love that the Lord has for each one of us!  The Lord doesn't have favorites, or maybe we can say  we are all His favorites!  For He clearly shows favor and rains favor down upon us all, righteous and unrighteous alike (See Matt. 5:45).  He considers each of us, equally His sons and daughters!  There is no hierarchy of love and affection, or even honor in the Father's eyes.  We are all loved, treasured, valued, and cherished equally in God's eyes. 

As Jesus' representatives here on earth, as His Body, it is so important that we learn to reflect His heart!  We are called to love and honor, treasure and value evey other member of the Body of Christ.  It should not matter if they are yong or old, rich or poor, gifted or not, even unloveable!  Jesus was just as willing to have dinner at a Pharisee's house, as He was to have dinner with a tax-collector!  He embraced the sick and leprous, the young, the old, the poor, the demonized, the sinner.  He knew the value of each to His Father, for He was doing and saying all at His Father's direction (see John 14:9-10). 

I know that I need tons of work in this area, for I am so quick to judge, so fast to form an opinion.  I look at people and based on their clothing, the way they act, move or look, decide if I want to even engage them in conversation!  Oh Lord, forgive me! 

We are called, as the Body of Christ to be open to all, too extend the words of Life to all.  We must learn to walk in humility, learning to serve and honor all those we meet, regardless of their social standing!  We are called to be lights that shine bright in this dark generation (Matt 5:14-16).

Oh Lord, help us! 

Forgive Now, Faith Now!

This morning I felt led to read from Luke 17, and while there are several interesting stories to reflect upon in that chapter, I found myself drawn back to the first topic that Jesus was discussing, namely forgiveness.  Specifically, what I found interesting was the correlation between forgiveness and faith.  Here are the verses - Luke 17:3-6 NIV"

[3] "So watch yourselves.

 “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. [4] Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying 'I repent,' you must forgive them.”

[5] The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

[6] He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you."

Normally, I would not consider verse 6 as a part of the previous discussion, yet it clearly is connected by the request of the apostles, who recognized they needed more faith to forgive as Jesus commanded them.  It makes me wonder what issues they were dealing with as a fellowship that caused them to cry out, "Increase our faith!"

This story takes place late in Jesus' ministry, for he is on His way to Jerusalem for his final time (Luke 17:11).  The conversations about who was to sit on His right hand were behind them, the offer to call down fire on the town that didn't welcome them was as well. The apostles, still didn't understand that He was going to die (See Luke 18:34) and were likely trying to figure out how this all worked, this new thing that Jesus was clearly starting.

We don't know what the situation really was that caused Jesus to talk about forgiveness, but the language is clearly aimed at at their fellowship of followers - for Jesus spoke of the sin being done by "brother or sister".  The Greek word used here is adelphos, and it literally means "of the same womb".  The word is used to describe biological brothers and sisters, and later was used as well to describe those who are closely connected in fellowship.  Jesus did have biological brothers in His band of followers, and clearly they were also a group of close friends and followers for they went with Jesus everywhere.

So, it seems to me that Jesus is describing one who is in close relationship who sins.  I am not going to go into the definition of sin here, other than to say that the Greek word used is defined as having no share in,  missing the mark, or path. The sin could be large or small, He doesn't say, but what He does say is that its consistent and persistent.

Jesus defines the interaction as someone sins, you rebuke, that someone repents.  What I find very interesting is the Greek word that is translated rebuke, is the word epitimao.  It is defined as follows:

1) to show honour to, to honour
2) to raise the price of
3) to adjudge, award, in the sense of merited penalty
4) to tax with fault, rate, chide, rebuke, reprove, censure severely
     a) to admonish or charge sharply

The word itself is a conjunction of two Greek words, epi and timao.  Epi means upon, and timao means to set the value of something, to honor.   What is interesting is how a word so strongly having to do with honor, and value, has been translated multiple times as rebuke!  Could this be one of the times that translators put a little of their own theology into their translation?  I don't know, and can only question, for I am certainly not a Greek scholar.

I can say that often our understanding of forgiveness and dealing with those who sin, can have a completely wrong perspective.  We normally think that this involves judgment, and guilt and punishment, and yet Jesus demonstrates over and over that forgiveness is about restoring relationship.  If my goal in going to a brother who sins against me is to restore relationship, which technique would have better results - rebuking or honoring them as someone of significant importance in my life??  I know which way I would like to be approached!

I think that at times we can read verses such as these and think they give us the right to "rebuke" and judge our brothers and sisters, multiple times a day, and that isn't the focus at all.  It is about forgiving and restoring relationship multiple times a day!

The word Jesus uses that is translated as forgive is aphiemi which means to send away and forget.  The word itself is rich in the definition, as there are many ways its used, but it always has a sense of finality to it.  This is what Jesus tells the apostles thy must do multiple times a day.

It is at this point the apostles cry out, "Increase our faith!"

It seems to me they are crying out, "We need faith, NOW!"

I believe they rightly understood that restoring relationship was of critical importance, and they needed help changing their hearts and minds.  So often we read this, thinking that Jesus was addressing the apostles as the ones that were doing rebuking and forgiving, not the ones who needed to be repenting!  What if Jesus actually meant they were the ones sinning every day, multiple times, and their cry of, "Increase our faith!" actually had to do with their need to repent and change the way they were thinking?!

Wow, that changes this whole story in a hurry!  The goal of Jesus' ministry was to reveal the Father and restore us to a place of relationship with Him.  He was working and ministering within the relationships He had with these followers, and I believe they understood what He was saying in that context.  I know when the Lord speaks to me, it is within the context of how I understand our relationship that He usually speaks, usually calling me deeper into relationship and challenging me to change the way I am thinking (repentance).

He encourages me to recognize my need to change, to ask forgiveness for those times that I choose wrongly, and to press forward deeper into Him.  I think this whole story is about us learning to do exactly that, with each other as well.  We are called to be joined to the Body of Christ through the bonds of deep relationship.  We are all human and all have issues and we must learn how to move past those things in us that cause issues for each other.  We are called to ascribe honor to one another, to see the importance of relationships, to ascribe the correct value to our relationships.  It is only the context of connection to the Body that we are truly able to fulfill our purpose and God's plan for us, thus forgiveness and repentance are critical to our walk.

We are right to cry out for more faith, more help from Holy Spirit!  We are right to extend forgiveness and ask forgiveness to and from one another!  No matter how many times a day, nor how deep the wounds are, we are called to relationship with Him and one another and we must learn to walk in intimacy, transparency and humility.

I know I need His help every day!  I need faith NOW!

Amen!

It's a New Day!

I was just sitting here, and the thought, "It's a New Day" passed through my mind.  Now that isn't my normal morning thought, more like "crap, another day of work..."  I decided to pay attention to this thought and let it resonate in my heart and mind, believing it is from the Lord, and He has purpose in speaking this to me today.

My first thought after hearing that phrase was from Lamentations 3:22-23 (NLT): "The faithful love of the Lord never ends!   His mercies never cease.²³ Great is his faithfulness;  his mercies begin afresh each morning."

It is a good thing to begin the day thinking about the faithfulness of the Lord!  His faithful love never ends, his mercies never cease, in fact they being anew every day, for eternity!!  His love never ends, never changes, and is always there, waiting to shower down upon me!  I can definitely look forward to a day of experiencing His faithful love, a day of new mercies! 

This helps me step away from anything that would try to cling to me, any residue of the days before.  Regardless of how good yesterday was, or how bad, today is a new day!  I can leave all that behind and press forward into that which the Lord is doing today!  I can press forward to experience His love anew, to experience His faithfulness, His new mercies. 

I am reminded of Paul's famous lines from his letter to the Philippians 3:12-14 NIV:  "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. [13] Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Lord, I thank You for this opportunity to reset my heart and mind this morning.  I don't know how the day will go, but I do know  that You are faithful, that You will express Your faithful Love for me, and that You will provide new mercies for me today!  

You do have a plan and purpose for me, and today I can press forward into them, for I certainly have not seen or experienced the fullness of either in my life yet!  Lord, thank You for all the past blessings, and provision, Your faithfulness in the face of the storms of life, your enduring Love, patience and forgiveness!

Thank You for this new day!

Jesus Has the Final Word Concerning Sin!

This morning I woke up from an interesting dream.  In my dream I was talking with an older gentleman that I was acquainted with, and he had been struggling with a serious sickness.  As I asked him how he was doing, he made mention that he was doing ok, but that this sickness was the result of the sins of one of his previous ancestors.  He then went on to quote from Exodus 34:7b NIV": ... "Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

My response was interesting, as I was immediately moved with compassion for the man!  He was sitting under condemnation due to incorrect understanding, and teaching, and my heart was moved to gently open the scripture to him, to help him free himself from the chains of condemnation.  That is where I woke up.

This is clearly not one of my normal dreams, so I thought it was worth diving into the topic that come up, as wrong teaching and understanding can be very harmful in our lives.  I was having breakfast with a friend yesterday and we were talking about similar topics, although more along the lines of the theology of healing and faith, and how we can be taught things by well-meaning pastors that are not consistent with the truth that is found and demonstrated in Christ Jesus.  In the past the Lord walked me through a progression, concerning sin, that can be seen in scripture, and that is very applicable to this dream today.

As I was thinking about this dream, I felt like the Lord even gave me the title, saying He has the final word concerning sin!  What  a great message of hope!

As I mentioned previously, in the past the Lord had laid out for me a progression that we can see in scripture of how sin was described and dealt with, and it is important that when we think about sin, we think correctly, and do not remain stuck with an Old Testament mindset like the man in my dream.  The verse from Exodus is clearly not the last thing God says about sin, and even generations affected by sin.

In Ezekiel we see God updating the peoples understanding concern sin.  Here are the verses - Ezekiel 18:19-23 NIV:

[19] “Yet you ask, 'Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?' Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. [20] The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.

[21] “But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. [22] None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live. [23] Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?"

We see here clearly that the former word of punishing sin to the third or fourth generation is no longer true.  He says clearly that He will NOT cause the guilt of the parent to be shared by the child.  In fact, it looks like He actually forgives the person for previous sins.  God is helping the Israelites progress in their understanding, concerning sin, and we can see in this progression a greater truth that will be revealed.  We see God providing a prophetic understanding of what He was planning in Jeremiah 31:31-34 NIV:

[31] “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. [32] It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, ” declares the Lord."

[33] “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. [34] No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Here we see God promising to forgive our sins and remember them no more! This is clearly pointing to what He did through Jesus, yet at that time, they only had the promise of the New Covenant, yet weren't living under it.  However, if God said He was going to forgive their sins and remember them no more, it would be impossible for Him to then punish a future generation for a sin He no longer remembered and had already forgiven.

We have here two of the important updates on the topic of sin, both found in the Old Testament, but they are not the final word yet, for that is only seen in Christ Jesus!  We know from Hebrews 1:3 that Jesus is the exact representation of the Father, and thus what is revealed by Him (Jesus) is exactly what the Father is like and doing and saying.  Much of the truth concerning Jesus' death and resurrection was only understood afterwards, but Jesus addressed the truth of God's plan multiple times.

Jesus alluded to God's plan to save us from our sin in John 3:16-17 NIV: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

Jesus spoke about the forgiveness of sins several times, even forgiving people of their sins, much to the consternation of the Pharisees.  Finally, Jesus on the the night of the Last Supper, initiated the New Covenant, as prophesies by Jeremiah some 700 years earlier, during the meal as recorded in Matthew 26:27-28 NIV: "Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. [28] This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

- and -

Luke 22:20 NIV: "In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews later was helping the Jews understand this all and wrote the following - Hebrews 9:15,22 NIV:

[5] "For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance---now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant."

[22] "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."

Since Jesus has shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins, why would God ever hold them against us, or against our children?  We have been set free from the requirements and punishments found in the Old Covenant, and we now live under the New Covenant, set in place through Jesus' own blood. We can no longer be condemned for our sins that are covered by Jesus blood!  Paul writes the following - Romans 8:1-2 NIV: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, [2] because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death."

We have been set free from all of that, and thus to think, like the man in my dream, that we can be punished for the sins of our earlier generations is clearly no longer relevant, or true.  The final words concerning all of this were spoken by Jesus, while he hung on the cross, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). One of the meanings of the word Jesus spoke is "paid".  He completed exactly what He was sent to do.

Peter wrote the following about Jesus, “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24 NIV)  Again, I ask, if Jesus bore our sins, and died for them, why would the Father punish us for them again??  Was Jesus' sacrifice insufficient or ineffective?  Is God such a wrathful God that He wants to make us pay over and over again for something that has already been paid for by His beloved Son?  Clearly the answer is NO.

Today, my encouragement is to fully embrace the truth of the New Covenant, that Jesus shed His blood to establish!  We are all set free from the requirements of the Old Testament Covenant of the Law, and all of its rule and regulations and punishments!  Thus no longer will a man's guilt be shared by his children, or his children's children.  Rather, if we receive the salvation offered to us in Jesus, all of our sins have been paid for, and are remembered no more!

As Paul writes in His letter to the Romans 8:31-34 NIV:

[31] "What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? [32] He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all---how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? [33] Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. [34] Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died---more than that, who was raised to life---is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."

-And-

Romans 8:38-39 NIV:

[38] "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, [39] neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

This includes sin!  Jesus clearly has the final word conerning our sin, because He paid for it all.

Amen and Amen!