EVERLASTING ARMS

I was a young Bible College instructor and church planter. I had very little pastoral experience because we'd planted the church just three years before and almost everyone in our church was under the age of 40. Add to that the fact that I'd taken no pastoral courses while in seminary and had never been mentored as to the role of a pastor.
I'd been asked to candidate for the role of Senior Pastor at a church that was much larger than I could handle. (Thankfully they chose someone much older and much better equipped than me.) While I was there an experienced older pastor was hosting me and took me with him on a pastoral visit to an elderly person. While we visited, as he gave words of comfort, this pastor quoted a verse unfamiliar to me. It seemed wonderfully appropriate for the elderly person. It made a great impression on me because of the setting. Since then I've often quoted it to others as a wonderful, ancient word of comfort.
It is found at the end of Deuteronomy, as Moses is speaking words of blessing and encouragement to the twelve tribes of Israel, just before his death.
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:27
The idea of God as our refuge is quite common in the OT. However the second word picture is much less common: "underneath are the everlasting arms."
Maybe this made a special impression on me because it was spoken that day by an older pastor to an elderly frail Christian. Or maybe it impressed me because at the time we had 3 pre-school children whom I often carried in my arms. I knew my children felt absolutely secure when they were in my arms. They had absolute trust in their father's arms.
No matter why it impressed me: I trust that this verse today, encourages you. I hope when you are weary, or discouraged this ancient word picture can encourage you. For it is true, God promises to carry us through difficulty. You can rest in your Father's arms. That is a truth for believers of all centuries, no matter how old or how young.

HARD YET SENSITIVE

Many of the OT laws and regulations can seem very harsh to those of us living in 21st century, developed countries that have a foundation of Christian heritage. However, on the other hand, God clearly instructs his ancient people to be sensitive to the poor, the defenceless and those without "citizenship". God's concern for the poor and vulnerable comes through in many passages. One chapter that I read this morning, Deuteronomy 24 provides these specific instructions. Here are several partial quotes that encouraged Israelites to care for those in need:

Do not take a pair of millstones—not even the upper one—as security for a debt, because that would be taking a person’s livelihood as security. vs. 6

If the neighbor is poor, do not go to sleep with their pledge in your possession. Return their cloak by sunset so that your neighbor may sleep in it. Then they will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the Lord your God. vs. 12, 13

Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it. Otherwise they may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.vs. 14, 15

Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. vs. 17
When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this. vs. 19- 22

There was no government operated welfare system in ancient Israel. Yet if they obeyed God's words, every Israelite would remain sensitive to those for whom God expressed special concern.
We can be grateful for government welfare programs that provide a safety net for those who need it. We should pray and give toward those in nations that provide no social safety net at all. And may we followers of Christ have at least as much concern for those who cannot protect themselves as was impressed upon ancient Israel. 

TREES ARE NOT ENEMIES

I am glad that people in many parts of the developed world have become much more concerned about the environment. I confess to not being very "green" myself, although I am much more aware and do a lot better than I did 25 years ago.
I realize some evangelicals have gone to the extreme in ranking environmental issues almost more important than salvation from sin. Of course we will always have extremists on both sides of most issues. The majority often profits from extremists who through their passion pull many us into a more balanced centered biblical position on any issue.
I read today the following passage over which you could skim without any thought. This direction was given by God back when the world was "under populated" and had an abundance of forests (I assume).
"When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees people, that you should besiege them?" Deuteronomy 20:19, 20
God was concerned that humans, who had been given management responsibilities for the earth, should treat the trees with respect. They were to be used but not abused. They are our friends not our enemies (see translation of this passage in several versions). Interesting, thought provoking passage, don't you think?
I just printed nine pages on our home printer in preparation for tomorrow's sermon - but printed on both sides; so saved at lease a couple of pieces of paper. Not much I know, but as I said above, I am a little more sensitive to preserving what God has given us than I used to be.
"Thank you God for the beauty of the world you've given us. Please help us, all seven billion of us, to take better care of this great gift. Amen."

OF COURSE

"Of course God has blessed me. After all, look how good I have been. Look at the wonderful Christian family from which I come. Look at how I've served God. God blesses and prospers those who believe and are righteous. We are better than all of those other people."
Whew, that was hard for me to write. You would never say something like that, would you? But Christians do need to be careful. Too often we can begin to unconsciously believe that we are Christians because we were good enough and responsive enough to turn to God. Therefore we must be better than those unbelievers. And now that we are maturing in Christ, we are a lot better than those "other people".
Israel was in danger of thinking like that. After all they were God's chosen nation; His special people. God was leading them to Palestine, the land promised to their forefather Abraham. He was going to help them conquer all of those living there, and help them take over that fruitful land as their own. Of course He was doing this because they were people of integrity, so much better, so righteous.
Wrong! God says, "Don't fool yourselves; don't for a moment think that I've given you this Promised Land because you deserve it. This is not a reward for being so righteous." Note that twice God repeats, "it is not because of your righteousness".
'After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself,“The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that theLord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people." Deuteronomy 9:4 - 6

In fact in these several chapters of Deuteronomy we find nothing like you hear today on popular talk shows or read in popular self help books. There is nothing about finding the goodness within you or getting in touch with the wonderful true you. Rather God through Moses reminds them of their very spotty track record and the danger of them falling into the exact sinful patterns and idolatry of those who they are about to replace in Palestine. God is definitely a realist when it comes to humans.
We are all just so naturally prone to pride. We can so easily consider ourselves superior. We Christians can too readily think that God chose us because - - well, because we deserved it.
Nope. Chosen by God's grace alone. Unmerited, undeserved, a gift. If I am blessed with salvation, with health, or wealth, or whatever, it is not because of my goodness. It is God's grace. There is no room for pride in a Christian. Nothing to boast about - except in our weakness and in the Lord. (II Corinthians 12:9 and I Corinthians 1:31)

DON'T FORGET

The theme of remembering/not forgetting runs through many biblical passages. As Israel approached the end of its 40 years of desert wandering, Moses knew he was prevented from entering the Promised Land with the people he had led to this point. He had asked God for permission and had received a firm "No" from God.
So he does his best to prepare Israel for what lies ahead. With Joshua as their new leader, they will soon enter the Promised Land and life will drastically change for them. The people to whom he is speaking have not had a house or home for the past 40 years. They have not owned property on which they could plant a garden; no fields on which they could raise crops; no vineyard; no pasture for their animals. They have depended on God to lead them, to protect them and to directly provide their daily food in the form of manna. They have had to actively trust God for each day; for their "daily bread."

Now things would change. They would settle in the cities they conquered. They would gain houses and land they could call their own. With this would come a degree of prosperity and comfort they had never known: not during 40 years in the desert nor during 400 years of captivity in Egypt. And with comfort and prosperity would come a danger they'd never faced before. So Moses, inspired by God, warns them:

"When the Lordyour God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." Deuteronomy 6:10 - 12

Moses tells them they are about to gain comfort and prosperity which is not theirs - yet. But when by God's power, these things are theirs, they must be careful. With prosperity and comfort comes the strong tendency to feel independent and self sufficient. When great need disappears, then feelings of great dependence on God can easily disappear as well.
This is a warning for the ages. Always relevant to all people. Relevant for nations and for individuals. Applicable for all believers; for you and for me.
Read through chapter six and then on through the next several chapters to see how strongly their elderly leader is warning the Israelites. He repeats his warning not to forget; he warns them that they will easily become proud as God gives them victories and wealth; he tells them to remember that it is God who gives them the ability to produce wealth.
We know the rest of the story as it unfolds over the next decades and centuries. Israel often forgot and suffered the sad consequences. Thankfully we have both their example and these written, inspired words to act as warnings to us. Beware the danger that comes from success, comfort and prosperity. Stay focused on God, consciously dependent on Him, and live with eternal values.

ANCIENT FIESTY WOMEN

I was reading at the end of Numbers today. For the second time the daughters of Zelophehad came into the picture. I had to stop and consider what strong women they must have been. Have you ever considered these ladies among the many strong women of the Bible? I don't think I'd given them enough consideration in the past.
Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah appear first in Numbers 27:1 - 4.

"They came forward and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among Korah’s followers, who banded together against the Lord, but he died for his own sin and left no sons. Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”

The nation of Israel is young and unique. The laws and guidelines God has recently given them placed men in positions of leadership and responsibility. These laws, given to prepare for when Israel captured the Promised Land, gave men the right and responsibility for owning and inheriting land. Nothing was said about women and property rights.
However, what was to happen to property and to inheritance passed down from one generation to another, if a father should die without leaving any sons? This had happened in the case of these five strong women. So they approach Moses, not in a private quiet interview; not using an uncle or cousin as an intermediary. They approach themselves: Moses, Eleazar, the leaders and stand in front of the whole assembly of Jerusalem. Seems to me many of us - women or men - might have been rather hesitant to make this approach. But they did not hesitate. M., N, H, M, and Tirzah come with a direct logical question and request.
And Moses is stumped. He had never thought of such an issue. No one else had apparently considered this problem. So Moses goes to the Lord with this very good question. God responds and says these women are correct. You must give them their rightful property inherited from their father.
Very impressive, especially in that era, in that culture.  But there is more. We come to the last chapter of Numbers and these five, fiesty sisters are a concern for their tribe. What if they marry outside of the tribe? Then the land they are given will be lost to their tribe and belong to the tribe into which they marry.
So the the clan leaders ask Moses for a ruling. Notice they are not about to argue with the sisters (and God). No one is opposing their right to property, even in this very male dominated culture. Nope, they just are protecting the future land holdings of their tribe.
A ruling is made that in fairness to the tribe and to the sisters (and women who may be in a similar situation) they must marry within their own tribe and thus the land will stay within the tribe. But note how the text reads for these five women:

"This is what the Lord commands for Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they please as long as they marry within their father’s tribal clan." Numbers 36:6
Did you get that? Anyone they please! As long as they stay within the tribe. They get to choose their own husbands! I wonder if all the other Israelite women were jealous? I am not sure that other women were experiencing that same freedom at all. But these five did; each one married their cousins on their father's side. (I hope they made good choices. The text tells us nothing.)
Very interesting. Nothing too theological here; nothing too life applicable in the 21st century; but certainly another indication that the bible provides far more protection and liberation for women, even many centuries before Christ, than most critics ever realize.
So we salute those five women in ancient Israel 3,000 years ago. And we salute those who today, sometimes at the risk of their lives, are pressing for proper protection and equal rights for women in numerous countries around the globe.

WHY DO YOU GET IN?

We flew home to Vietnam from Malaysia last night. We had our three month visa letter in hand, our passports and, with the $45 fee we were certain that we would get into the country again. However since an earlier plane had unloaded a number of visa seeking people, we had to wait in line for about 20 minutes before receiving our processed passports, now containing the all important visa stamp.
We turned to move toward the immigration line when we bumped into two young women, obviously Western tourists. They explained that they had just arrived without a visa or visa letter, having been assured they did not need one. They had learned that if you stayed for less than 15 days, it was OK not to have a visa.
 I winced and told them I'd never heard of anyone getting into Vietnam without a visa. A tourist visa or visa letter is easily obtained over the internet, but you must obtain it in advance of arriving. I feared they were in real difficulty. I said I didn't know what they could do, but I offered to check for them. I asked an official, telling him that these young women were from Sweden but had no visa. However they were staying for less than 15 days. To my amazement and their delight, he nodded, "yes". They were allowed into the country.
Now I know that Canadians, for example, are allowed into the USA without a visa. But here in Vietnam, I know expats from over 25 countries; we often talk about visas - for how long is your visa, did you have any trouble getting it; do you have to leave the country to get it, etc. I assumed that all of us have to get visas, even to enter Vietnam for a day.
What I didn't know was that Sweden (and 13 other countries), unlike over 100 other countries, has a special relationship with Vietnam. If you are a Swede (and on a very short trip), you get in for free; no visa and no waiting!
Now just a minute: while these young women seemed nice, and were better looking than me (but not my wife), why should they be treated differently than a Canadian, American or others? What had they done to be treated differently? Nothing. They were treated differently last night, not because of who they are, how nice they are or what they have done; treated differently because of with whom they belong - Swedes; because of where they were born - Sweden.
Today in many churches we celebrate the monthly Communion Service (or perhaps your weekly Communion service). It is easy to take for granted that we are accepted by God because we've grown up in the church; were baptized as infants; or because of what we've done, who we are, etc. Remember again today, with great gratitude - we are accepted by our Holy, Righteous God because, and only because we are born again into the family of God through personal faith in Christ. In Christ alone is our righteousness. We get in!! Amazing grace! We are welcomed into God's forever family, into an eternal home with Him, because of the Cross of Christ. So celebrate the fact that you are "in" today - and every day, by His grace.
And pray with me today, that many more may enter into the worldwide family of faith.