During the beginning of this year, I was asked to share the vision of Network of Hope with one of our churches that is beginning an NOH Site. I felt as though I needed to share more than the NOH mission, vision and results. I wanted to share some of the foundational philosophy behind our organization. Isaiah 58 has become one of my favorite chapters of the Bible and the one I continually read as we move forward here at NOH. As I studied the passage though, I realized that Isaiah 58 is really about God's view of true righteousness and what He promises to those who live accordingly. Below is a synopsis of this chapter. I hope that it will inspire you to see your faith through God's eyes and not through the lense of religion.
Outward Evidences of Genuine Righteousness
· Loose the chains of injustice and untie the cord of the yoke (vs. 6)
· Set the oppressed free and break every yoke (6)
· Share your food with the hunger (7)
· Provide Shelter to the poor wanderer (7)
· Clothe the naked when you see them (7)
· Turn not away from your own flesh and blood (7)
· Do away with the pointing finger and malicious talk (9)
· Keep from breaking the Sabbath and doing what you please on that day (13)
· Call the Lord’s Day a delight and do not speak idle words (13)
God’s Promises to the Righteous
· Your light will break forth like the dawn (8)
· Your healing will quickly appear (8)
· Your righteousness will go before you(8)
· The Glory of the Lord will be your rear guard(8)
· You will call & the Lord will answer (9)
· You will cry for help and He will say “Here am I” (9)
· The Lord will guide you always (11)
· He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land (11)
· He will strengthen your frame (11)
· You will be like a well watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail (11)
· You will find your joy in the Lord (14)
· He will cause you to ride on the heights of the Land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.(14)
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Isaiah 58
Friday, January 19, 2007
Counting Luggage
I think that it was on one of our family vacations where I first noticed it.... as we are traveling, I was continually counting people and bags. Actually it was brought to my attention rather pointedly and mockingly by my wife and 3 daughters.
I don't just give a cursory glance... I do a complete count at everything even resembling a stop. This has also been confirmed by anyone who has traveled with me on a mission trip to Africa. I have also observed that once I actually arrive at my destination, I can absolutely relax and not experience the slightest concern. Some would call it obsessive, others endearing.... but it is part of how I am "hard wired".
I was also recently watching a docudrama, "Band of Brothers" about one of the most highly honored fighting units in WW II. There was a poignant scene in which a highly respected lieutenant is seriously wounded in the leg and is unable to walk, just as the enemy is about to overtake their position. The Lt. is ordering his men to leave him behind in order to not put themselves in any further jeopardy. His men defy his orders, dismantle a door from a nearby farm house, and use the door as a litter to drag him to safety while all the while bullets are flying all around them.
"No one was left behind!"It wasn't the men who carried the lieutenant out of danger, but love and commitment.
I really believe that this accurately represents Jesus' attitude in leaving His exalted position in order to pursue every man. He is no respecter of person, position, or title. Love brought Him to Earth, love sent Him to the Cross, and love raised Him from the dead. All this so that it was possible for "no man to be left behind".
But Jesus' mission did not end at His ascension 2000 years ago. Rather the mission was extended to his team... His "Band of Brothers (and Sisters)". His mission is now our mission... that no one is left behind. You and I are part of God's great mission to see that no one gets left behind.
It's a lot more beneficial than counting luggage..... though come next trip, I am certain that I will again be counting.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
What needs to change?
Psalm 136 is a strange looking psalm at first glance. Every one of its 26 verses ends with the phrase, "For His lovingkindness is everlasting." According to one Bible commentary, this song of thanksgiving had a prominent place in Jewish worsip. The repeated phrase was probably sung by the entire congretation, while the leader of the congregation or the choir sang the beginning phrase of the verse.
As we read it in English, though, it may seem clumsy or tedious. But think for a moment - we all have used the method of repetition throughout our lives as an aid to memorize things. Remember learning the times tables in grade school? Or have you ever repeated in your mind someone's name you just met so you won't forget it 2 minutes later? How about saying over and over again, "Don't forget to stop at the store for milk"? It doesn't take a great leap to suggest that the psalmist intentionally repeats this phrase because he knows how important it is to remember this truth - "For His lovingkindness is everlasting." And that's something that doesn't change!
Two other phrases stick out in this Psalm. Verse 14 says that God "made Israel pass through the midst of it," meaning the midst of the Red Sea. We think of the parting of the Red Sea as a wonderful miracle, which is was. But think of the Israelites whom God "made" to walk on either side of those huge walls of water. Those walls were just being held there by...what??!?!? Don't you think they may have been just a tad nervous? Don't you think they were scared to death that the situation could change and that those walls of water could come crashing down on them at any second?
Then, only two verses later, we are told to give thanks "to Him who led His people through the wilderness." I don't know about you, but a wilderness is not exactly a place I would want to be led into - even if God is doing the leading. "Lions and tigers and bears, O MY" comes to mind. I would probably have to be led kicking and screaming!
But God did make Israel pass through the midst of the Red Sea, and He did lead His people through the wilderness. And the Israelites were called upon in this psalm to thank Him for it - more precisely, to thank Him "for His lovingkindness is everlasting." I don't know about you, but I don't immediately associate walking through the Red Sea and then the wilderness with God's everlasting lovingkindness.
What about you? Are you feeling like the walls are about to crash down on you? Are you in the wilderness? Are you crying out, "God, something needs to change!"? Right now, you may not see it, you may not believe it, but "His lovingkindness is everlasting." That means that His love for you doesn't change! He loves you in the middle of the sea, and in the middle of the wilderness. Do you want to believe that? Then try repeating it as a sacrifice of praise, just like the psalmist encouraged his listeners to do. Repeat it in your mind over and over until it becomes a part of you. You may find that the sea and the wilderness don't immediately change... but you attitude toward them might. Your situation may not change...but your thinking might. Your focus may not change...but your state of mind might. And those changes are the ones that most concerns God - your thinking, your attitude, your heart. That's the lasting change in which He is most interested.
Let Him change your thinking, your attitude, your heart. Then watch to see how the situaton will change!
As we read it in English, though, it may seem clumsy or tedious. But think for a moment - we all have used the method of repetition throughout our lives as an aid to memorize things. Remember learning the times tables in grade school? Or have you ever repeated in your mind someone's name you just met so you won't forget it 2 minutes later? How about saying over and over again, "Don't forget to stop at the store for milk"? It doesn't take a great leap to suggest that the psalmist intentionally repeats this phrase because he knows how important it is to remember this truth - "For His lovingkindness is everlasting." And that's something that doesn't change!
Two other phrases stick out in this Psalm. Verse 14 says that God "made Israel pass through the midst of it," meaning the midst of the Red Sea. We think of the parting of the Red Sea as a wonderful miracle, which is was. But think of the Israelites whom God "made" to walk on either side of those huge walls of water. Those walls were just being held there by...what??!?!? Don't you think they may have been just a tad nervous? Don't you think they were scared to death that the situation could change and that those walls of water could come crashing down on them at any second?
Then, only two verses later, we are told to give thanks "to Him who led His people through the wilderness." I don't know about you, but a wilderness is not exactly a place I would want to be led into - even if God is doing the leading. "Lions and tigers and bears, O MY" comes to mind. I would probably have to be led kicking and screaming!
But God did make Israel pass through the midst of the Red Sea, and He did lead His people through the wilderness. And the Israelites were called upon in this psalm to thank Him for it - more precisely, to thank Him "for His lovingkindness is everlasting." I don't know about you, but I don't immediately associate walking through the Red Sea and then the wilderness with God's everlasting lovingkindness.
What about you? Are you feeling like the walls are about to crash down on you? Are you in the wilderness? Are you crying out, "God, something needs to change!"? Right now, you may not see it, you may not believe it, but "His lovingkindness is everlasting." That means that His love for you doesn't change! He loves you in the middle of the sea, and in the middle of the wilderness. Do you want to believe that? Then try repeating it as a sacrifice of praise, just like the psalmist encouraged his listeners to do. Repeat it in your mind over and over until it becomes a part of you. You may find that the sea and the wilderness don't immediately change... but you attitude toward them might. Your situation may not change...but your thinking might. Your focus may not change...but your state of mind might. And those changes are the ones that most concerns God - your thinking, your attitude, your heart. That's the lasting change in which He is most interested.
Let Him change your thinking, your attitude, your heart. Then watch to see how the situaton will change!
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