Category: Daily Walk with Christ

Fear Not 365 –

February 8, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

Joshua and Judges are exciting books. I love the action and intrigue. In this passage from Joshua 10, Israel has just won a brutal war, rather God has won it for them. Some of their enemies surrendered and became allies. Those who did not surrender were completely defeated; leaving buy a few survivors. Those few went home telling of the Israelites mighty God, and as a result, many of Israel’s enemies were gravely frightened.

The story is a terrific one, with God sending hailstorms, and kings locked up in caves. The earth stops turning, allowing the Israelites to finish the battle, and in the end, when the battle is won, Joshua delivers God’s promise:

… “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.”

Not every promise found in the Old Testament applies to 21st century Christians. Three things can be taken from this passage, though. The first is that this really happened. God really did intervene on Israel’s behalf. The story of the sun standing still in the sky is found in the tribal memory of ancient cultures worldwide. He still intervenes on behalf of Israel. See the link at the end of this post to read one such story.

Secondly, God really did direct Joshua to kill the kings that he had taken captive. In the same way, He sometimes directed the armies of Israelto kill every man, woman, and child in the cities of their enemies. This today seems cruel and savage, but there is no denying that it happened. I could try to excuse these actions a dozen different ways, but the truth is our God is not only merciful but just. Mercy and justice go hand-in-hand. One without the other is meaningless. If He does not mete out justice to those who are beyond redemption then His mercy for those who seek Him would mean nothing. We can only begin to comprehend the slightest spark of the mind and actions of the holy God. We should never dare to pass judgment on Him or His people.

Finally, the Old Testament is full of illustrations that help us understand our relationship with the living, indwelling Lord of our lives. How can we apply this passage to our lives? Think of the Nation of Israel as the life of a Christian and her enemies as the sin with which we struggle. There is no way we – fallible beings that we are – can defeat sin: not on our own, without God’s help. There was no way Israel could have defeated her enemies had God not intervened. Only with God’s divine intervention can we be rescued from the bondage of sin. Deliver us He will, if we surrender to Him.

Surrender, though, is just the beginning. Good also demands discipline from His children. Don’t be surprised if God directs us deal the final blow (the death blow, one might say) to the sins from which He has delivered us. Don’t worry, though, for He never calls us to a task for which He has not empowered us.

Are you struggling with your deepest, darkest secret sins? Don’t fear. Don’t be discouraged. In the same way that God destroyed the enemies of Israel, He will defeat the sins that bind you.

Fear Not 365 – Only Believe (Mark 5:36)

January 10, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

One never knows when tragedy will strike; it usually arrives without warning. 20 years ago, I was at work on a slow, rainy day, staring out the window at a parade of first responder vehicles racing down the highway. Little did I know they were headed toward an auto accident six miles down the road, one in which my wife had been hit head-on.

Jairus had no warning when tragedy struck his house (Mark 5). He was a man of some importance, a ruler in the synagogue, which is more or less like the chief administrator at the church. Life had been good to him. He was prosperous. He had a family. What could go wrong?

For most people, though, something usually does go wrong. Jairus’s daughter fell ill, very ill. He was desperate. This girl was the love of his life, his reason to live, as any daughter is for any good father. She was obviously dying and there was nothing that any doctor could do for her.

Then, Jesus arrived on the shores of his town. He begged Jesus to heal her, and Jesus immediately headed to his house, followed by a throng of people. On the way there, though, Jesus stopped.

“Who touched me?” said Jesus.

Jairus panicked. His daughter was deathly ill. There was no time to waste. He must have thought Jesus crazy, for He was surrounded by hundreds of people, each vying for His attention, yet the Master had asked who touched Him?

In his mind, Jairus screams, “Come, hurry, Jesus. There’s no time for this…” Only the dignity of his position prevents him from grabbing the Master by the arm and dragging him to his daughter’s side.

No sooner does Jesus bless and heal the woman that had touched Him, than Jairus sees his servants rushing into the crowd. They need not speak. He could tell by their expressions that his daughter had passed.

When the servants did speak and confirm his deepest fears, he lost it. Tears welled in his eyes. His lips quivered. His hands shook. His heart sank. Death had called on his home, and taken his daughter. Oh, that he could take her place. If only the woman hadn’t distracted the Master. If only…

The Master, though, had heard the servants and took pity on Jairus. “Do not be afraid. Only believe.”

Jairus heard those words and looked into the eyes of the Master and saw not death, rather he saw eyes full of life, light and love. What he felt as he did so compelled him to believe. For when Jesus spoke, the ruler of the synagogue understood this: no one loved his daughter more than he, except the Master. And, at that very moment, Jairus knew that whatever he found when he arrived home, all would be well because his home was in the hands of the living God.

Oh, that I had understood the lessons of Mark 5 twenty years ago, when the sheriff called my office and asked me to meet him at the scene of my wife’s accident. I would have saved myself a world of grief had I trusted in God like Jairus.

So long as we listen to the words of Jesus, keep our eyes on Him, and invite Him into our home, all will be well. No matter what tragedy strikes, it is but a small bump in an eternal road; God will provide us the strength to endure whatever besets us. “Do not be afraid. Only believe.”

Father Knows Best?

December 6, 2016 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

Any fan of television can tell you that, from the 1950s through the early 1970s, Hollywood churned out some pretty unrealistic series where moms cleaned house wearing dresses and pearls, and dads smoked pipes and wore slippers and sweaters while both dispensed volumes of wisdom. My wife and I never resembled those TV characters. Like most real parents we resembled Dan and Rosanne Conner more than Mike and Carol Brady.

As fathers go I did not “know best.” I made lots of mistakes. I can look at each of my five grown children and see that, though they all very different people, they all have many of the same personality traits that my wife and I possess. This is not always a good thing. I see as many of my weakness in them as I do my strengths. If you ask my wife, though, she would tell you with a smile that our kids possess only her strengths and only my weaknesses.

Being a parent is an awesome thing. I love every one of my children dearly, yet it is, even to this day an awesomely frightful thing, as well. I wish I had known when they were little the things I know now. I would have been, I am certain, a much better parent.

I wish, too, that I had been a better example of a Christian to them. Paul, though not a parent, raised a great deal of “babes in Christ.” In other words, he discipled a lot of people. In closing his letter to the Philippians, he makes what seems like a casual statement that most of us just read right past. It is, though, not so casual. He says, “Do the things you’ve seen and heard me do.”

I know a great many parents who say, “Do as I say, not as I do.” A great many Christians offer up the same attitude about discipleship. “Here is what’s right. Here’s what I do.”

Are we good examples to “babes in Christ?” Are we good examples to our children and grandchildren?” Do we dare take up the challenge and ask others to look at us as an example of a good Christian?

Remember the only thing we can take with us to heaven is our loved ones.
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