Accountability is good, but tough!

I struggle with questions asked of me in a situation/conversation where I could be in trouble, when someone is questioning a decision I have made or when I'm being confronted. Let's be honest, who likes to be confronted? No one! And if you do, you probably have other issues.

I hate being confronted because, at my core, I am a people-pleaser. I don't want to let anyone down; rather I want to quiet the rough waters and smooth the ruffled feathers. The good thing is that I know that I am a people-pleaser so I can, and currently am, working on that. I don't think it's inherently sinful to want to please people. But when that pleasing someone gets in the way of pleasing and serving God, then you have problems. So I have to constantly check myself and my motives. Why am I doing this? To please God? To please Man?

Galatians 1:10 is a life verse for me and it always rings loud and true. It says, "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." There's a battle ground for me...pleasing men or pleasing God.

While I was reading my Daily Walk Bible today I was challenged by Aaron's response to Moses in Exodus 32. Moses had been up on Mt. Sinai for close to six weeks and the people of Israel are wondering, "what's the deal? Where's Moses?" Naturally, but unfortunately, they take matters into their own hands and tell Aaron to solve the situation for them.

"Make us some gods who can lead us. We don't know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt" (Ex. 32:1). Aaron, wanting to please the people (problem #1), obliges..."take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters and bring them to me." Vs. 4 states that "Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf (problem #2, italics mine)." Wallah! Commandments #1& 2 are broken!

I was challenged by how little faith Aaron had in God, and in Moses, and that he so easily acquiesced to the whims and desires of the people. His response to Moses hit me even more. Later in Chapter 32 Moses came down the mountain and he was majorly ticked off! "What did these people do to you to make you bring such terrible sin upon them?"

And here's the kicker to Moses interrogation and call to accountability, Aaron said, "you yourself know how evil these people are (shifting blame, see Genesis 3:12) ... so I told them, 'whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.' When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire--and out came this calf (italics are mine)!"

Aaron, you terrible liar you!! One moment you were responsible for molding "it into the shape of a calf" and the next minute it magically happened on its own! It's the fire's fault, it created the calf, not me! Incredible!

And then the Holy Spirit convicted me, "Seth, you do this same thing too! Don't put yourself on a pedestal because when put under pressure by someone's questions you have been known to do the same thing." Yikes! It's a subtle sin, but it is a sin none the less!

So here is to standing up to the questions we face on a daily basis and to not pleasing man, but pleasing God, by giving truthful answers. By God's grace may I, may you, be able to do this!

Speaking and Teaching this past Sunday

This past Sunday both Cari and I had the privilege to share in our worship service. If you are interested in hearing her reflections on some of her devotional reading from our Daily Walk Bible you can go here and click on January 22nd. She speaks after the first song which is around 1:30.

We are preaching through the book of Philippians right now and this past Sunday was my turn to preach so I had the privilege of expositing Phil. 1:12-18. You can hear that by clicking here and then click on January 22nd and I start speaking at 27:35.

If you like Tim Tebow you will like my opening illustration!

Thanks for listening and I welcome any feedback, positive or constructive so please feel free. Thanks!

God is with us

I was doing some catch up reading this morning from my Daily Walk Bible, in Exodus 3-6, and I was struck by 3:7 which says, "Then the Lord told him (Moses), 'I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering.'"

What a comfort to read this..."I am aware of their suffering"! Now granted, the trials that I have faced this week could not be considered suffering by any means. For true suffering, and to stand with and pray for those who are really suffering, check out the Voice of the Martyrs website here.

So while I am not suffering by any means, it was still a great comfort to read that God is seeing the trials that I am going through. Just like how "the cry of the people of Israel has reached me" (Ex. 3:9) so our cries and prayers reach God. We are reminded in Psalm 121:2-4 that

² My help comes from the LORD,
   the Maker of heaven and earth.  ³ He will not let your foot slip—
   he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
   will neither slumber nor sleep.

As the story goes on, and as the slavery and cruel treatment continues for the Israelites, God was there! Moses and Aaron go back to Egypt and visit the elders of Israel and they tell them the message from God that was given to them, and they perform the miraculous signs, and the Israelites believe. "Then the people of Israel were convinced that the Lord had sent Moses and Aaron. When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped" (Ex. 4:31).

No matter what we face today as individuals, in our families, in our churches, or at our workplaces I pray we remember and take to heart the words Moses said "to all Israel" before his death in Dt 31:6. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

May we rest in knowing that God our Heavenly Father sees us and our trials; that the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is with us all (2 Cor. 13:14), and that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us (Mt. 1:23). AMEN!

Theological reflection on building with Legos

As Cari and I were praying together last night before going to bed I was thinking and praying and giving thanks for the fact that when we build something with Legos, or when kids build with Legos, we are really following in God's footsteps! We worship an incredible God who created ex nihilo...out of nothing. He formed all the atoms, all the pieces, all the layers of our world and put it together. Out of His grace, to this day, He sustains this creation, sovereignly caring for it and His children, us.

Obviously when we build with Legos we are not creating ex nihilo b/c the Lego parts are pre-existent matter that comes in those wonderful boxes. But we get to use our God-given creative juices to build from the ground up, to build layers, people, buildings, environments. What a teachable moment Legos provide!

Our Church is reading through the Bible using

 

http://www.newlivingtranslation.com/05discoverthenlt/dwb.asp

and so we are in Genesis right now and this verse hit me last night when we were praying.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground" (Gen. 1:27-28, NIV).

The Hebrew for the verbs "to rule" and "subdue" give a sense of being a caretaker, a steward, a protector. So what a fun gift it is to be able to begin to learn these lessons of caretaking and stewarding, as a kid (or as a 31 year adult!), while building and playing with Legos. Let the teachable moments continue!

And in case you were wondering ...



there is actually a person who has built most if not all the Old Testament stories with Legos. If any of you are looking for an early birthday gift for me ;) this is a great idea! How fun!

http://www.thebricktestament.com