Let Nothing Hold You Back

Deuteronomy 20
Moses is about to die and is addressing the Israelites before they cross the Jordan river and begin the assault on the people of Canaan to posses the land God had promised them.  He's talking about a whole bunch of important issues and how they are to be handled by people who follow the One True God.  He's talked of their Holy Days and how they are to worship.  And in the previous chapter he reminded them about the Cities of Refuge.  Now he deals with the subject of war.
The Nation of Israel was constantly at war.  Everything from full-out call all the troops, to little skirmishes that only took a division.  Somebody was always messing with them.  That somebody was Satan.  Satan owned the people in the neighboring cities and he is always looking to take out some of God's people.  There were periods of less peace and more peace or less war and more war, but it never completely came to an end.  Satan doesn't give up that easily.
So why do I fuss about the battles in my own life?  Satan never left the Israelites alone, why should he leave me alone?  I feel like I am constantly at war, even today, during a fast that is supposed to draw me closer to God I find that Satan is constantly trying to distract me.  He uses things that make me angry to get me angry.  He uses things that make me frustrated to frustrate me.  He uses this pretty severe hunger pain as a way to tell me, you're too weak, you can't do it and God doesn't care anyway.  I find myself wondering and asking, "God, where are You?  I'm struggling here where are you?"
Take a look at what the priests - God's spokesmen - are supposed to announce to the entire army of Israel as they line up and prepare for battle.

"Attention, Israel.
In a few minutes you are going to do battle with your enemies.
Don't waver in resolve.
Don't fear.
Don't hesitate.
Don't panic.
God, your God, is right there with you, fighting with you against your enemies.
Fighting to win."

When Satan comes after me he often tries to get me to weasel out of whatever I've told God I would do.  Like this fast, I really want to eat but I've resolved to finish out the day and break this three day fast at dinner tonight.  But a whole bunch of times I have almost had something to eat and thrown in the towel.
He also says the craziest stuff to us about what "might" happen.  He plays on our fears constantly especially the fear of the unknown.  What happens if I can't make my car payment or rent this month I'll get kicked out of my house and then what will I do?  Where will my next meal come from?  What if, what if, what if... all fears that Satan throws at us to try and get us to conclude that the risk is just to much greater than the reward.
And because he is so good at what he does we often hesitate and you know what happens then... yep.  It's all over.  So often I tell myself, get up now cause if you hesitate you won't do it.  When we hesitate it gives us the opportunity to quite and lets the enemy advance against us unchecked.
And finally he wants us to panic.  I've panicked before.  You freeze.  Unable to move.  You can't think straight and you become a very easy target.

The priest of God would cover it all - all the tricks of Satan, every angle that he uses to get us to withdraw and hide and freeze and fear and wait.  But God wants you to know something.

He's right there with you.  Fighting against the same enemy you are!  And He's not fighting a loosing battle, no he fights to win!  If God is for us, who can be against us?  No weapon that is fashioned against us shall stand!  Put on the full armor of God so that you can "take your stand" against the Devil's schemes.  I will not be afraid because YOU are with me, Your rod and staff they comfort me.

Jesus said, I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.  Let's stop standing on the battle lines and get in the fight, God is on our side, whom shall we fear?!

A Giant Slayers Manifesto

When David was a young man, before he was king of Israel, maybe 16 or so, he killed the giant Goliath with a stone and a sling.  Goliath was supposed to be unbeatable at least that is the way it appeared as he faced the entire Israelite army - men trained for battle - and not one stepped up.  Goliath was surely a great warrior, his size alone made the enemy run.  Countless times the Philistines had marched him out to face their enemies and countless times Goliath was victorious.  Goliath made that famous wrestler, Andre the giant, look like an elementary school bully.  But David didn't fear the outcome of his battle with Goliath.  He knew God would come to his rescue, not because he was such a righteous young man, but because he believed God would not stand for this godless Philistine mocking His Great Name or the people God had chosen as His own.  And he was right.
Years later, Saul is dead along with his sons.  David has been made king of Israel and once again the Philistines want to start something with God's people.  This time though David doesn't have to do the fighting, three of his mighty men (one his own brother Jonathan) defeated three giants themselves.  One was the brother of Goliath whom David had killed.  The one Jonathan faced was a "hulking giant" who had "24 fingers and toes - six on each hand and foot."
The Philistines continued with their same old tricks; Find the biggest baddest dude you can to fight for you.  It had apparently worked well for them because they kept doing it.  But what would have happened if David had not fought Goliath all those years ago?  David had already been promised the kingdom so he would surely have still been king.  But I wonder if David or his men would have been so eager to fight the giants had David not gained that victory years before.  David may have been king but the Philistines would have no-doubt remained the big kid on the block.
What giants are facing in your life today that your children or grand-children may have to face years from now? Satan is kind of like a one-trick pony.  He sticks with what works or has worked.  Perhaps your giant is addiction - in whatever form that takes, drugs, drink, food, television, porn, games.  Maybe it's abuse, having been passed down to you by the generations before you.  Perhaps your giant is anger or jealousy or hatred or bigotry.  Whatever name your giant has, he's been kicking you around long enough.  David didn't fight Goliath in his own strength or wisdom he fought Goliath knowing that God would fight with him.  Maybe your faith is small - use it.  Maybe you only have one person who will help you - tell them.  Your will may be weak, your struggle long, but with God's help your giant can come crashing down and when you cut it's head off it will not mock you again.
And years from now when Satan tries to bring another giant to control and belittle and make slaves of your children they will stand and fight because if you could beat him they can too.

So take your rock and your sling and run you're not just fighting this battle for yourself you're fighting for your legacy, for the strength of your children's children and in God's Name and with His help you will leave a legacy of faith and victory instead of defeat and slavery.  Let's be giant slayers who grow giant slayers.

Who's Fault Is It, Really?

1 Chronicles 9:1
Someone a lot older and wiser than I once pondered the dash (-) between two numbers chiseled into a headstone at the cemetery.  The thought was that there was a whole lot of life captured by one small, insignificant grammatical symbol that is used to connect one thing to another.
In this post I'd like to steal that dash and insert it into the passage referenced above and then look at what really lead from "this" - (to) "that".

"This is the complete family tree for all Israel, recorded in the Royal Annals of the Kings of Israel and Judah at the time they were exiled to Babylon" (-).

What we know right now is that the nation of Judah (after Israel split into the Norther tribes (Israel) and the Southern tribe of Judah) has been exiled to Babylon.  Which seems weird because these were God's people!  God's chosen Nation!  How could... how would God let them be destroyed and taken captive?!  This was the tribe from which Jesus would later come and they are nearly destroyed and the city and Temple left in ruins.  We might consider all the reasons for such devastating trouble... in fact, this is what I thought of (from experience with trouble of various kinds).
Reasons God would allow the people of Judah to be destroyed and exiled:

1. He didn't love them anymore.
2. He was just no match for the Babylonians and their gods.
3. He was busy taking care of some other pressing matters and just didn't have the time.
4. He was vengefully getting back at them for their sin ("I'll show them!").
5. He was tired of listening to them and thought they deserved a little butt-whooping.
6. He was angry for the way they treated Him, they hadn't called much and were too busy for Him.

Maybe this is not how you handle trouble.  But when it comes into my life but I'm pretty sure I've considered each of the above as viable reasons why God was letting me go through some painful experience.  And I usually combine several of these into one massive, "I told you so!"  

Maybe He just doesn't love me anymore because I looked at that picture on my computer too long?  

Perhaps He's angry because I haven't talked with Him in a while?  

Satan is really after me, maybe God's having a hard time defeating him in this area of my life?  

I'm sure I deserve this God - after all, I am the worst of all sinners.

But let's look at what we're told about who God is and why He does what He does.

God NEVER stops loving us, not matter what - 1 John 4:16, John 3:16, Psalm 136:1-26

God is not weak or powerless - Deu 3:24

God does not get back at us for some sin we've committed - Psalm 78:38-39 

God is never too busy or tired or sleepy - Psalm 121:3-5

God does not grow tired of us - Isaiah 40:28

That was the dash, here's the rest of the 1 Chronicles passage, "this happened, "because of THEIR unbelieving and disobedient lives" (emphasis and capitalization mine!)

Our problems come from two sources.

1. Our own desire for selfishness and sin.
2. The very real presence of Satan working in the world and in our lives.

Satan we will always have as long as the world turns he'll be working to steal, kill and destroy - that is what he does.  So deal with it.  Put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to take your stand against him.

But Romans 6 tells us that we are not longer slaves to our own desire for sin! 

So we need to stop blaming God for every bad thing that happens in our lives.  Truth is, God didn't do it, He doesn't want you to have trouble or pain or struggle (had sin not entered the world through man's selfishness we'd all be living in perfection just as God placed the first humans).  So, it's NOT God's fault that you and struggling it's Satan's and sins.  Now, if you are in Christ you must believe that the Holy Spirit working in you will lead you out of sin and into righteousness so that should be improving.  But Satan will always be there trying to work evil in your life.  But God even uses the naturally occurring consequences of sin (which Satan knows but doesn't understand, he thinks it's gonna work out every time) as DISCIPLINE so that we might be "taught not to sin" again.  This discipline helps us put to death the desire to sin and grow the desire to please God.

I need to stop blaming God for my problems and recognize that God is my rescue and my strength and Satan is my pusher.  Get behind me Satan so that I might be wholly and holy Gods.