Getting to the Root of the Problem

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Genesis 37

Joseph's ten brothers had a problem with him. They hated him so much that their words only consisted of unkindness.  Their actions and attitudes took this course because they had seen that their father had loved Joseph more than any of them. Hearing of his dreams, these brothers began to mock Joseph, and then that led to a conspiracy to get rid of him altogether.  His claim to rule over them had been their final straw.  They wanted to murder him, but they 'washed' their hands of bloodshed by selling him into slavery instead.  The killing they saved for their father Jacob's emotions when they lied to him, weaving an evil story of how Joseph was dead as the result of an attack of a ferocious animal.  Jacob died on the inside . . . from a grief too great to bear.  All of these actions eventually accomplished their goal --  the ridding of themselves of their little brother for good . . . or so they thought.

The root of their sin was not their hatred, unkindness, mocking words, evil conspiracy, murder in their minds, or their lying.  The root of their problem is not that they sold their brother into slavery for their own gain.  No, the root of their problem could only be found much deeper than their outward actions.  The root was a sin that was grounded deeply in their hearts.  It was the sin that was the least recognizable to the world, a sin found in the inner man, but one that God could clearly see.  JEALOUSY was the sin that was found in the hearts of Joseph's brothers. Jealousy was their root sin, and ENVY was conjoined to their sin of jealousy.  The brothers were jealous and envious of the love their father had for Joseph.  They wanted to be the one, individually, who could claim to be loved the most.  But Joseph was 'the one', not any of them.

One root sin, not apprehended and destroyed when recognized, will always give growth to many more branches of sin.  Out of the root of jealousy grew the branches of sin that could be seen in Joseph's brothers: their hatred, unkindnesses, mocking, conspiracies, and lying.  Their jealousy also gave birth to a long-lived sorrow in their father's heart as their lie brought him emotional devastation.

What sinful things can be seen  by others as they observe our actions and words is rarely the root of our sin.  The root of our sinful 'branches' is what hides secretly away in the recesses of our sinful hearts.  Jealousy is just one such sin.

What is the real, but hidden, root of your obvious sins?  Chop out that root, and most of those actions and attitudes will also die as well.  Had the brothers properly handled their jealousy, this sad story of sin flowing from a evil root of envy and jealousy would not be found in our Bibles today.  With jealousy chopped out of their hearts, there is no hatred, unkindness, mocking, conspiracy, or lying.  They simply cannot grow if there is no root.

What is your hidden root?  Are you feeding it or killing it?  Your spiritual life must include dealing with the 'root of the problem' of your sin.  It is time to wield the axe!

God's Cup of Grace

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Genesis 19:26

Before I started my reading of the Word of God this morning, I was enjoying a mug of Holiday Tea in my new favorite cup.  I received it from my brother and his girlfriend for Christmas this year, and I loved it the moment I laid eyes on it!  Its simple elegance and beautiful symbol of a born again believer's transformed heart and life daily touches my soul.  I can easily relate to the butterfly, and it is my favorite Christian symbol, second only to the cross.  I have always loved butterflies and the color purple, so this was an absolutely perfect gift!

Today, however, through this cup and my Scripture reading, the Lord spoke loudly to my heart.  As I enjoyed my tea and pondered the beauty of God's grace in my my life, so active every moment, and the 'butterfly' state of my spiritual life, I was struck instantly by this convicting thought:

"I am free!  Truly free!  So why do I continually climb back into the confines of my old cocoon and live like a bound worm!?"

As I contemplated the new creation that I have been since the day I recognized my need for a Savior, and how very often I live in my old flesh life, I opened the Word to read Genesis 19.  It was today's reading on a 2-year Bible reading plan.  Once again, God lined up all the pieces of my early morning 'tea thoughts' as my eyes fell upon verse 26.

"But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt."

Conviction filled my heart as I realized how often I do exactly what Lot's wife did.  I look back (and even walk back) to the life from which I have been set free.  It is spiritually painful for me to see  my own actions and reactions in a woman that God turned to salt!

You see, when I have been extended great grace and have been given an opportunity to live a brand new life as a butterfly, and I choose to live even a moment of my life bound up in sin, the very cocoon of my life before Christ and His grace was showered upon me, I am just like Lot's wife.  She too was being saved from the life she had been living, having been given God's grace to for a new and pure life.  And neither of us deserved it.  Her old life called to her and she turned to look back one last time.  Sadly, it cost her her life.

By grace God has saved me and made me a new creation.  Daily I must fly like a butterfly and not return to my worm-like spiritual state.  I have to choose to no longer live in the bondage of my chrysalis of sin.  By grace I have been saved and set free from sin and death.  By grace my sin need no longer bind me or entangle me in its evil web.  

Today I choose to live in the freedom from sin that Christ attained for me on the cross.  Will you?

Another cup of God's grace for me, please . . . 

You Have the Authority . . . Now Stand!

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Genesis 14:20

"Blessed be the God Most High who has delivered your enemies into your hand."

In my morning reading of the Word of God, I was struck by this verse.  It was originally spoken to Abram, after he and his men defeated a powerful and strong king (Chedorlaomer), by another king and priest, the one who was a type of Christ in the Old Testament, King Melchizedek.  But today when I read them they resonated in my heart, causing me to contemplate this verse's meaning to me and other believers.

As I am aiming at overthrowing every god and idol in my life, and the sins that follow when I worship the wrong things, these words remind me of the AUTHORITY that you and  I have been given and now possess to overcome and overthrow them all.  This authority is ours by and through the shed blood of Christ and His victory over the grave!  You see, it is by His crucifixion, His death, His resurrection, His ascension to His rightful throne, and His glorification that He has delivered MY enemies (and yours) into MY hand (and yours)!

We have this authority to win our daily battles over our sin.  And yet I personally continue to fall so short of using that authority to stand firm against my enemy, being mostly oblivious to the power to overcome that lies in me.  Christ paid the greatest cost for me to have this authority, and yet I am comfortable continuing in sin.  This comfortable Christianity is an abomination to the work of Jesus Christ.  Are you guilty of the same thing?  If so, you might want to pray this prayer.  It was mine this morning.

Jesus, help me remember that today and everyday, until all the 'kings' of my life are defeated,  I have the authority to stand up to temptation and sin.  As You remind me of this critical spiritual truth in my walk with You, help me to choose to stand firm against the very enemies that You have already delivered into my hands.

The Fruit of Repentance

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Matthew 3: 1-8

How the people longed for Messiah to come!  They came eagerly and willingly to the Jordan to be baptized by John.  This would be the first time that they had owned up to their individual sins, taking personal responsibility for them.  This was so different from the annual Day of Atonement that they were so familiar with, a day of confession that was more of an event than a change of heart.  It was their yearly spiritual 'bath' that made them feel better for a year.  It was not heart change, for how often had they returned to their sins only to come to next year's Day of Atonement?  Yes, this confession and baptism in the Jordan was a brand new thing, and as they came up out of the water, what zeal and great desire to LIVE RIGHT came up out of the water with them!

The Pharisees and  Sadducees came to the Jordan as well, but with a completely different mindset and attitude.  They too longed for the coming of Messiah, but for them, it was all about how they appeared.  They neither came repenting, nor confessing their  sins, nor desiring true heart and life change.  You see, they believed they were already 'good to go.'

John's charge to them has a bit of a sting to it.  "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance!"  The sting is this:  the command implies that they currently were not bearing the correct fruit  So what is it that they were missing?  Just what was the right fruit?

The fruit of repentance is always obvious, especially to others.  It is the ACTION of turning around, turning away from the sin of which you are repenting.  The fruit of repentance is the cessation of the sin!  It is no repentance at all if you confess a sin to God and even others and then continue to walk in it.  The fruit of repentance is living life without the sin.  This is the fruit we are to be bearing!

Lord, I lay my heart bare before Your holiness, knowing  the multitude of sin that resides within it.  I confess that my sin is offensive to you, and that I am going the wrong way in so many areas of my life.  But I don't want to stop at this confession of my sins, believing that is all I have to do. Confession and repentance go hand in hand.  Speak to me and reveal the sin You wish for me to turn away from this month, as I begin the long process of rooting out all sin in my life.  Reveal to me another one next month, so that at the end of this new year, I will be able to look back and see the mighty work You have accomplished in me.  Holy Spirit, take my hand and guide me as I turn away and walk in a new direction.  I surrender to You and the process of repentance, knowing I will never bear the right fruit of repentance unless You produce it in me.  I am Yours; come do Your work in me.  I desire to live a holy life before You.

This Way!

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Matthew 2: 13-15, 19-23

Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, is a man that I know very little about.  Though an extremely important man in Jesus' life, not much is recorded about him.  But in these 2 short passages one character trait of Joseph can clearly be identified with all certainty:  

Joseph was an obedient man!

Not only did Joseph obey the angel of the Lord, but he obeyed with complete compliance, and he obeyed with a great sense of urgency!  Joseph didn't just hear the angel telling him what to do next, but he immediately jumped into action with a preciseness that calls my own obedience into account.

In the first passage, the angel of the Lord declares his message to Joseph using 4 verbs that can clearly direct Joseph's next moves: 

 "Rise, Take (the child and his mother), Flee (to Egypt), and Remain (there until I tell you)."  -- Matthew 2: 13

You only need to read to the next verse to see what Joseph's response would be.  His complete compliance and urgency show up in verse 14.  Without a second thought, Joseph began to respond, the very moment he awakened from his dream.  So just what did he do?  With laser precision, Joseph rose, and taking Jesus and Mary, by night, he departed quickly to Egypt, the place to which the angel had told him to flee. 

Did you notice that the obedient actions of Joseph mimic exactly the command of the angel? And if these actions were not enough to convince us of Joseph's quick and compliant disposition, then we are given another passage that proves it.  

In Matthew 2: 19-23, we are shown once again the heart of Joseph.  An angel appears again to Joseph in a dream, but this time Joseph is in Egypt.  The angel gave new directions to the father of Jesus, a second 'This-way'-kind-of-a-dream.'  Joseph's impeccable desire to obey God is shown to us another time as he "rose, took, and went," back to Bethlehem.  And listening  to yet a third warning, Joseph does not stay in Bethlehem, but takes his family to Nazareth in Galilee for the safety of Jesus.

Yes, we can tell by these 8 verses that Joseph lived to obey whatever God told him, quickly and completely!  Surely Joseph received a great reward for responding to God with obedience.

O Lord, tell me clearly, even as you did Joseph, what my 'way' is in 2014, in every part of my life.  I want to hear and respond to your directives with the same accuracy as Joseph . . . rapidly and completely!

The Bible, Our Eden -- Genesis 2: 15-17

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"The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'"

As we begin this new year, we all tend to look forward with a Utopian mentality.  We are looking for lives that will be peaceful and as perfect as possible.  A lack of conflict and affliction will make for that perfect kind of year.  Yet in our hearts we know that this is not possible, at least not here.

As I began reading through the Bible again this morning, I was struck by these 3 verses.  I have read them many times before, but today their words leapt off the page and caused me to sit with them for a few minutes and contemplate them.  

The only perfect place on this earth is in the Word of God.  The Bible is my garden of Eden.  I am to be in it (daily), work it (working out my salvation with fear and trembling),  and keep it (obeying all that it says to me, taking care to cultivate it in my heart in such a way as to bear fruit for God).  I am to eat of it every day for my spiritual sustenance and growth.

Interestingly, I am also suppose to NOT eat of a particular "tree" found in it -- the tree of the knowledge of good and evil -- for it represents the LAW of the first covenant God made with man.  Because I am living in a day when the Jesus has already come and made sacrifice for my life, having died for me, I have been free to believe faithfully in His sacrifice and to choose to enter into a personal relationship with Him.  I am now a partaker (eater) of the Tree of Life -- which represents GRACE.  Both trees are present in the garden, the Word, but only one of them is the tree I am to eat of.  It is the only way to a true relationship with God.  That doesn't mean I am to omit the Old Testament (LAW) from my understanding, but instead am to study it too and learn from it.  I am to LIVE BY the words in the New Testament (GRACE).

Since the world cannot offer what we truly desire,  and the Word of God is the only place where we can find the "perfect, peaceful, joy-filled, and abundant life," I am planning to spend a lot of time there this year.  Forget the "resolutions"!  Instead, why not simply purpose in your heart to to work, keep, and eat the Word of God in 2014!  Choose to live in the only perfect thing that can be found on this earth!