Drift, Part 1: Spiritual Workout – Hebrews 2:1-3

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boat-adrift“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it… how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (‭Hebrews‬ ‭2‬:‭1,3; NASB).

The greatest affliction of the Christian life, in my opinion, is drift! Drift occurs when we neglect our Christianity, our relationship with Christ, our salvation!

The reason I know this is because I, too, suffer from drift. I don’t always apply to my life what I’ve been taught in church since I was a child. I don’t always read and study my Bible regularly. I get busy and neglect my prayer life. And consequently, I neglect my salvation. Then I start to drift.

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Belonging – Isaiah 44:3-5

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Hand-PropertyOfJesus“I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants; and they will spring up among the grass like poplars by streams of water. This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’; and that one will call on the name of Jacob; and another will write on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’ and will name Israel’s name with honor” (Isaiah 44:3-5, NASB).

Have you ever written a phone number, address, or other short note on the palm of your hand? Perhaps you needed to remember some important information that you would need to reference later.

When God gives us His Spirit to dwell in us, it is like He puts a divine notation on us that we belong to Him, that we are His people and thereby eligible for all the benefits and blessings inherited by His children.

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A Beautiful Mind – Isaiah 55:8-9

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“beautifulmindFor my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9, NASB).

The Creator’s knowledge is infinitely greater than His finite creatures. God’s plans and purposes are far beyond the ability of human beings to describe or fully comprehend. Although we may truly know Him, such knowledge is always partial and imperfect.

God’s consciousness is as high above human consciousness as the heavens are above the earth. Divine thinking greatly exceeds the formulations of human cognition.

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Wait Training, Part 2: The Inscrutability of God – Isaiah 40:28-29

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Waiting_For_God“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power” (Isaiah 40:28-29, NASB).

When we wait upon the Lord, our faith is actually strengthened because the act of waiting develops God’s perspective in us. In other words, it’s Wait Training!

“Waiting upon the Lord” causes you to rise above your present circumstances to get a higher view, a more objective view, a God-view of them. From that vantage point, you can gain perspective about what it is that you are hoping and trusting God to do and thereby develop a better understanding of God’s plans and purposes for you.

When you follow the advice to “wait upon the Lord” (vs. 31), it’s easy to see why you must wait on God to act and to perform His will when you consider it within the context of the previous verses. God is the Everlasting Creator of the universe. Time and space exist only within His Infinite realm (vs. 28). So, He proceeds about the business of performing His will at the perfect pace!

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How Not to Accomplish God’s Will – I Samuel 4:1-16

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arkofcovenant“The man said to Eli, ‘I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today.’ And he said, How did things go, my son?” Then the one who brought the news replied, ‘Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken'” (1 Samuel 4:16-19, NASB).

When the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant from the Israelites, it was the direct result of the presumption of the Israelites that God was on their side no matter what they did or didn’t do.

The ark of the covenant was the visible sign of the presence and power of God. Until this time the ark had been housed in the tabernacle (tent sanctuary) at Shiloh, where it resided since the Israelites entered the promised land (Joshua 18:1). Now, Israel was disastrously defeated by the Philistines and the elders of Israel realized that the defeat was the work of the Lord.

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Your Brother’s Keeper – 1 Corinthians 8

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Brotherkeeper“If food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble” (1 Corinthians 8:13, NASB).

In Genesis 4, Cain killed his brother, Abel, out of jealousy. When God asked Cain where his brother was, Cain answered with that ageless question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?: (Genesis 4:9).

In 1 Corinthians 8 the Apostle Paul addressed a moral dilemma confronting the Corinthian Christians, that of eating meat that was offered as a sacrifice to an idol in a pagan temple. While this issue is not one to which we relate today, the resolution to the dilemma that Paul presents here has relevance for any moral dilemma of any age and culture.

Because these pagan temples offered parts of animals in sacrifice to idols, they also often functioned as butcher shops and banquet halls. Public and private dinner parties were held in temple dining rooms and meat from the temple was sold to the public in the marketplace.

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Waiting for Grace – Isaiah 30:18

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alone-with-god“Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him” (Isaiah 30:18, NASB).

Notice the amazing logic of grace that is explained in this verse:

  1. God’s people have forsaken Him for a false salvation (vs. 1–17).
  2. God is gracious to them, but He waits for just the right time to extend His grace.
  3. Because He is the God of justice, He knows the perfect way to achieve his purpose and  the perfect time to take action.
  4. Then, those who wait on God to extend His grace and mercy will certainly receive it and be restored.

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Your Heavenly Assignment – 1 Corinthians 7:17

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Divine_Providence“Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him” (1 Corinthians 7:17, ESV).

This admonition is given in the context of believer/unbeliever marriage. The Apostle Paul explains that if one marriage partner gets saved and the other doesn’t, the Christian should remain married to his or her unbelieving spouse because the marriage vow is a sacred one, even between unbelievers, and because the believing husband or wife can be a witness to the unbelieving one.

So, following Jesus isn’t an excuse to escape your marriage commitment, even if your spouse remains an unbeliever.

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The Gideon Leadership Strategy – Judges 6

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Gideon_Sword“Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord gave them into the hands of Midian seven years” (Judges 6::1, NASB).

After the time of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites, each of the tribes settled in the land allocated to them. Since, the Israelites had not completely conquered or subdued all the various Canaanite people-groups as a nation, it was left to the tribes to fight against the Canaanites still remaining in the land they occupied.

The Israelite tribes often formed regional alliances among themselves to fight against the Canaanites. And the Canaanites often formed coalitions with one another and with people groups surrounding the land of Canaan to fight against the Israelites.

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A Test of Love – Judges 2:11-23

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lovetest“So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He said, ‘Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice, I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it as their fathers did, or not.’ So the Lord allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua” (Judges 2:20-23, NASB).

Because of Israel’s continual disobedience to God’s covenant with them, God allowed other Canaanite people-groups whom the Israelites were supposed to destroy completely to remain in the promised land. Although God left these enemies in the land to test the Israelites (3:1-4), it was Israel who failed to drive them out as God had commanded.

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