Category: Bible (Page 41 of 423)

It pays to take God at his word.

When the exiles left Israel for Babylon, they hoped for a short stint in the land of their conquerors. God let them know, however, that they would be in Babylon for 70 years, no less. With that in mind he told them:

Build houses and make yourselves at home. Put in gardens and eat what grows in that country. Marry and have children. Encourage your children to marry and have children so that you’ll thrive in that country and not waste away. Make yourselves at home there and work for the country’s welfare. Pray for Babylon’s well-being. If things go well for Babylon, things will go well for you.

Then God made a promise:

For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

It’s a rather long paragraph, but notice what the Lord says toward the end, I will restore your fortunes. Fast forward 70 years, when a group of exiles, with the full support of King Cyrus of Babylon, return to Jerusalem. When they arrive the families gave money and resources to help rebuild the temple:

When they arrived at the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings toward the rebuilding of the house of God on its site. According to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver and 100 priestly garments.

In modern day equivalents, 61,000 darics of gold is valued at $70 million dollars, and 5,000 minas of silver is valued at $6.6 million dollars. $76.6 million dollars freely given—fortunes restored. The grandparents and parents of these people left their homeland with nothing. They traipsed to Babylon with only the clothes on their back. But what did they do in their new home? The took the Lord at this word, sought him with all their hearts, and prospered.

Do the math. You want to flourish in life? Take the Lord at his word. You may get wealthy or you may not—flourishing comes in all manner of appearances. Regardless, call on the Lord and seek Him with all your heart, because things will go well for you.

Ezra 2:69; Jeremiah 29

Photo by Willfried Wende

My response when hearing something that sounds too good to be true is hmm…doubtful. I’ll admit, I’m a doubter. When we were kids my brother and I enjoyed our Cheerios. We learned on TV how Cheerios fortified us with “Go Power,” so he tested his power by walking into the street in order to stop the next car that went by. As he settled into his stance, I climbed a nearby tree and waited, doubtful but curious. Does he have the power? Sensing things were too quiet, our mom looked out the door and loudly called the experiment off. True power rests in a mother’s intuition.

Thomas remains the most famous doubter in history. After the resurrection, the other disciples told him they’d seen Jesus in the flesh. He responded, Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.

Jesus graciously appeared to the disciples once again, this time with Thomas present. As he presented his scars, Thomas broke down and exclaimed My Lord and my God!

Thomas had to see for himself and Jesus indulged him. As a doubter, I’m always encouraged that Jesus met Thomas in the midst of the doubts. Doubts don’t bother the Lord, in fact I think he expects them. As he told Thomas, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. The scars of Jesus mark the end of sin’s dominion over the world. Though we cannot see them or touch them, their efficacy remains.

It’s OK to question. The Lord works with our uncertainties and helps us either overcome them or set them aside. Some fade while others may remain for a lifetime. We want to believe, but need help in our unbelief. All such wrestling is a normal, healthy aspect of faith. While you and I cannot put our hand into the side of Jesus, we can believe, even when our belief dances in a roomful of doubts. Keep in mind that it only takes a sliver of faith—in Jesus—to open ourselves up to the magnificent blessings of God.

John 20:24-29

Photo by Jon Tyson

Isn’t it strange to wake up after a weird dream? It feels disconcerting to find myself in bed when an instant before I was searching unsuccessfully for a toilet in a foreign land. Thankfully, I tamp down that particular nightmare in my own bathroom.

King Nebuchadnezzar awoke in the midst of a confusing dream. He called his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldeans (astrologers who read the stars for guidance) to explain the meaning to him, but with one catch—he refused to tell them the actual dream.

They freaked out, especially after the king laid out these terms: If you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb. These advisors knew Nebuchadnezzar to be a man of his word, and they begged for more information. But the king refused.

The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.”

Nebuchadnezzar may have puzzled over his strange dream and its meaning, but he certainly understood that his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldeans were full of hooey. His test was meant to clear them out. As king of a vast empire he needed honorable advisors who spoke truth, not a gaggle of self-aggrandized wizards mouthing falsehoods and foolishness.

Daniel, of course, saved the day. Thanks to the Lord, he interpreted the dream. In doing so he found himself promoted above all other leaders in the kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar finally found a man he could trust.

As a side benefit, Daniel bailed out the magical advisors. You’d think they’d be grateful, but later they turned on Daniel anyway. They never got over their shame-faced humbling before the king. Jealousy is unbecoming, but not uncommon in a Chaldean.

Daniel 2

Photo by Javardh

A regular feature at professional sporting events used to be the “oblivious cam.” The camera focused on a fan in the stands who did not know they were being shown on the arena’s big screen. A timer would start and run until the fan noticed and waved. Usually a friend or the crowd around the person woke them up to the gag. But occasionally the clock would run for close to a minute before the oblivious fan finally caught on.

As a follower of Jesus I fear that I’m oblivious to one of the most wonderful gifts in my possession. When speaking of the days after his death and resurrection, Jesus told his disciples about a helper soon to arrive: When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. The Spirit of truth—the Holy Spirit—indwells the lives of those who follow Jesus. We are followers of Jesus and carriers of the Holy Spirit. But if this is the case, why am I so unaware?

For one, a “spirit of truth” sounds unreal to my Western-trained scientific brain. A phantom guiding me feels like magic to my analytical nature. More to the root of my disbelief is that in the past I’ve asked the Spirit for wisdom, but heard nothing. The silence tamped down my initial experiment in seeking truth. But a few discouraging attempts should not keep me from going back.

If the Holy Spirit indeed dwells within me, and serves at the conduit to all truth, then I can ask him anything I want. I might appeal in matters of faith, but also in family concerns, business opportunities, financial decisions, dealing with neighbors, how I vote, and what book to read next. A constant stream of questions could mark my day.

But the catch is actually hearing what the Holy Spirit says. The voice comes generally in a whisper. I believe there’s an art in listening to the Spirit, a spiritual type of discipline. We hone our ability over time, and get better at it by responding to the Spirit’s lead. The Spirit often speaks through passages from the Bible. If I ignore clear messaging from the Holy Scriptures, then I shut my ears to the whispers of the Holy Spirit. The two go hand in hand.

You might think of the Holy Spirit as divine AI. God knows everything—past, present and future. I don’t want to waste this gift. Rather, I talk to the Spirit all day long, a running conversation, listening as much as speaking. It does sound mysterious, supernatural even. But if one cannot appreciate the supernatural, why bother being a Christian?

John 16:13

Photo by Casey Horner