Deuteronomy 22:4; NASB
You shall not see your countryman’s donkey or his ox fallen down on the road, and avoid them; you shall certainly help him raise them up. In 1968 Louis Armstrong recorded an enduring song that has touched the lives of many over generations: “What A Wonderful World.” (If you’re like me, you hear Louis singing it in his raspy, one of a kind voice…. “I see trees of green, red roses too, I see them bloom for me and you, and I think to myself, ‘What a wonderful world.’”) Right. It’s such a great song. It whisks you away to some fairytale land where everything is perfect, people love one another, and you can eat whatever you want and not gain a single pound (ok, maybe that last part is just my fairytale land). I love the charge Moses gives to Israel before they enter the Promised Land. Remember all the laws, all the 10 commandments. Make sure you live in a way to honor God. If you do, all will go well with you. But, if you live like the people who were before you, whom God is kicking out of the land, then you too will suffer the same consequences. And in the midst of all that, we get this really cool glimpse into what it means to live in a way that pleases the Lord: If you see your countryman’s ox or donkey fallen down in the road, stop what you are doing, and help them get the animal up. In other words, whatever task you have, whatever you are doing, no matter how important it may seem, it becomes a distant second when you see your countryman in need. Wow!. I mean, wow! I can’t even imagine what that would be like, Maybe you are like me, where I have felt guilty driving by someone on the freeway that is broken down on the side of the road. “I’m going too fast, I wouldn’t be able to stop and help in time.” “What could I do, I’m not a mechanic! They are better off waiting for Triple A.” “Oh man, I just don’t have time right now, I have to get to such and such a place.” In a perfect world, in a wonderful world, we would stop in our tracks the minute we saw someone in need and we would do whatever we can to help them along their way. The other day I went on a hike in the mountains. I hadn’t hiked in two years, and the group leader chose a hike about 16 miles long. To be fair, and honest, I had no intention of going the distance on this hike. It had been too long and I hadn’t done the proper training. “But,” I thought, “I am going to try and go five miles up then turn around, so I will hike a total of 10 miles. That would be a victory for me.” So I set out. I’m going to be honest….it was rough. I was out of breath, my legs hurt, my ankle hurt, I had slightly strained my hamstring a couple days earlier….wah, wah, wah……complain, complain, complain. So I got to a point (ok, let’s be honest and reword that as “I struggled”) that was five miles. I sat down and pondered my life choices, and why I would ever choose something so crazy in my life (Hint: because my wife likes to push me to do better). As I sat down, catching my breath, three ladies came running down the trail. Yes, running. As in, they ran up the trail and now they are running down. Nothing like watching people run up and down a trail (and it doesn’t matter if they are men or women) that you struggle on. So the woman in front says “Good morning!” And I respond likewise. And then a couple more running steps she is looking intently at me, still running, but ready to stop as she asks, “Are you ok?” What a wonderful moment and world that was. She was ready to stop her exercise and run, to make sure I was ok and could make it down the mountain. In this instance, I apparently was the ox that fell over in the road that needed to be put back on its feet. I loved the heart of that woman and the whole group in that moment. Ready to stop on a moments notice to make sure an absolute stranger was ok. I don’t know anything about their faith in life, or whether they believe in God or not, but I can tell you this…they were living out Deuteronomy 22:4. And it was refreshing to see. It was a glimpse of what I think heaven would be like. Heaven truly is going to be a wonderful world. I can’t wait to get there and see Jesus and the place He has prepared for us. But until that time, He has given me….He has given us a mission: When you see your neighbor in need, stop what you are doing and help them out. That is our priority. That is showing the love of God. In a world that seems to be getting more and more filled with hate and anger and division, people need to see God’s love in action. They need to see a wonderful world. They need to see others love and care for them. The world is full of opportunities. What are you waiting for? It can truly be a wonderful world when we put God’s love into action. -Pastor Brian
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Deuteronomy 23:14; NASB
Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to save you and to defeat your enemies before you, your camp must be holy; so He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you. How do you feel about friends coming over to the house to visit? Or maybe when a family gathering is at your place? I have split emotions. Although I know I will enjoy the time I spend with the guests, I also know what it means that people are coming over: It’s time to clean the house. Right? You have to make it look clean, like you live in a spotless house all the time and keep it clean all the time. Oh, all the effort we put into making our houses look clean for guests, so they don’t realize how messy we really are. Yes, I know…some of you keep your house clean all the time….great for you; the rest of us might struggle with that a little bit. But what if we lived everyday as though people were coming over, and kept the house clean everyday. It’s an interesting passage in Deuteronomy 23. Moses is relaying God’s Word of how Israel needs to live. And how is that? Live in holiness, in righteousness. Why? Because the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp. Now think about that. Do you ever consider the Lord walking through the midst of your house? As you cook in the kitchen, he is walking through smelling the great aromas (or the burnt ones). As you sit down to watch TV, he is walking through the living room watching that show with you. As you yell out that curse word as something heavy drops on your foot….well, you get the idea, right? How might our houses and home lives look different if we lived out the idea that God is walking in the midst of our house? What changes would you want to make? What would you want to hide (heads up: you can’t hide anything from God)? Understand, when we choose to follow God, we choose not just salvation and eternal life (yay), but we also choose to surrender our lives to Him and follow His ways with all our hearts. That’s what the “your camp must be holy” means. We are called to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:16). We are called to leave behind sin and live for righteousness (Romans 6:1-2; Colossians 1:10, 2:6; 1 Thessalonians 2:12). Our camp, our home, needs to be holy because the Lord God walks in the midst of it. That’s a huge task and a big ask. And it takes time to change old habits. That’s ok. Be patient, but be intentional to press on towards the things God is calling you to. And He will guide and strengthen you for every step. But I want you to notice the “why” in this passage. Not just why keep the camp holy. The bigger question we should be asking, why is God walking in the midst of our camps and homes? To save you and defeat your enemies. Let that sink in for a minute. To save you. Deliver you. Rescue you. Give you a solid place to plant your feet. And to defeat your enemies. God. Fighting for you. That’s pretty awesome if you ask me. So the question is, if God is doing that much for us, why wouldn’t we have our homes in a state of cleanliness and righteousness? Why wouldn’t we find the greatest joy in having the God who saves us and fights for us walking in the midst of our homes? The devil is really good at making distractions and sin look really good and satisfying. But none of it is worth missing out on God in the midst of our homes. So take a quick look. Come up with a list. Where do you need to start in getting your home, your life cleaned up? Certainly there are changes we all can make to make our homes more God appropriate. And probably some BIG changes. My advice, start with prayer. And then, start with the small things. Gain some victories. See little piles get cleaned up and then the big things won’t seem so unchangeable. Maybe it all starts with a simple, daily prayer: “Lord, thank you for walking in the midst of my life and my home; help me to find the greatest joy and contentment in Your presence over anything else.” Blessings to you and your family as you make your camp, your home, holy as the Lord walks in the midst of you, saving you and defeating your enemies. -Pastor Brian Romans 13:8; NASB
Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Law. I don’t know about you, but I hate being in debt. I hate the feeling of thinking I owe somebody something. Even amongst my friends, this principle exists. If we go out to eat, one might say, “I’ve got this” and pay for the bill. But the next time we go out, I jump in, “You paid last time, let me get it this time.” And back and forth and back and forth and on it goes. It’s not that anyone is keeping track (but we are), but in our minds we are making sure that no one pays more than the other. Not that anyone would hold it over the other’s head, but the thought is there that we want to keep things “Even Stevens.” So it is interesting that Paul writes to the church in Rome, and to us today, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another.” I like how the NIV writes it, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.” The continuing debt to love one another. The ongoing debt. The never ending debt. The, “I can never love you too much” debt. Whew….that’s all a little….wow…..overwhelming, right? I mean, that sounds like a lot. That sounds like a big deal. It sounds like there is no end in sight to loving one another. Good. Then you and I are starting to get it. The call to love God with all our heart, soul and mind, is a call to love our neighbors unending. What if our neighbors don’t deserve it? What if they are mean or rude to your family? What if they don’t believe the same things you do? What if they are annoying and play loud music late at night or shoot fireworks off that make your dogs scared and bark? (Asking for a friend) Well, the good thing is God never asks us to do anything He is unwilling to do Himself. “We love,” the Bible says, “because God first loved us.” That love is ultimately seen in the life and death of God’s own Son Jesus. It’s there that God “proves” His love. He demonstrates His love. And His love for us never stops. It never has stopped. It won’t stop. It is, for lack of a better word, unending. The thing is, God doesn’t have to love us. He wants to love us. It’s not an obligation, it’s an opportunity for Him. And likewise, it is not an obligation to “owe” others love. What a great opportunity we have to not only receive God’s love, but to share it with others around you. Maybe it’s a prayer. Maybe it’s sharing a meal or having a cup of coffee together. Maybe it’s being there for them in a difficult time, or celebrating with them. Maybe it is helping them out financially. It’s listening to the way God calls you to love your neighbor as yourself. We’ll never run out of those opportunities. They will always be there. Which is a good thing because we are called to never owe anyone anything except to love them. So go out in that great big world and be love. Don’t talk about love…be love. Demonstrate your love the same way God demonstrated His love to us. Never stop loving. Whether it is your neighbor, family member, co-worker, or friend…keep on loving. Maybe, like my friends and I with meals, you make sure no one shares more love than the other. Because after all, you owe it to them. -Pastor Brian |
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