What does obedience look like?

But God’s Spirit teaches us

Ezekiel 36:26-27 [A message from the Sovereign Lord] “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.”

John 14:15-17, 26 [Jesus told his disciples at the last supper] “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. … He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”

While waiting in stillness for a worship service to begin, my heart and hands open to what the Lord would offer me that day, God’s Spirit told me clearly, “It’s time to let this go.”

Shutterstock: Wanan Wanan

For years, I had struggled with my relationship with a member of this church. This person had moved away, yet every time I walked into the building, I still automatically steeled myself, still reacted to memories of difficult encounters with that person in this place. In word and intent, I had forgiven her, yet my soul had not released her.

“How do I let this go?” I asked Spirit.

“Give her to me.”

I did, and just like that, the anguish of years lifted and has not returned.

Why did it take so long? Had my deep sense of injury dulled me to Spirit’s prior attempts to free me from this burden? Likely. I don’t know. Perhaps I was just ready to hear and obey Spirit’s prompting to release a root of bitterness in my heart.

We all obey.

The question is who, or what, holds authority over us. Our lives reflect whoever, or whatever, we bow to: our own inclinations and desires and perceived injustices, the influences and pressures of our culture and society, the temptations fashioned to match our individual vulnerabilities by the enemy of our souls, the urge to conform to our peer group …

Or, the King of Love, our Shepherd, creator, redeemer, advocate, and teacher, who wants us to live in freedom and joy.

The King of Love My Shepherd Is, John Rutter (Scroll down for the lyrics of this beautiful Irish hymn.)

Peace like a river

But God’s Spirit tells us what matters to the Father

Isaiah 48:16-18, 22 And now the Sovereign Lord and his Spirit have sent me with this message. “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow. Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.

The wonderful song “I’ve got peace like a river” has a prerequisite: obedience to the Lord.

Shutterstock: Elena_Alex_Ferns

This idea isn’t always popular. But even Jesus had to practice obedience to his Father (Hebrews 3:2, 5:8).

I just read through the book of Hebrews. Here are a few of the statements and instructions that stood out to me, that I need to embrace and obey:

Jesus’s throne endures forever. He rules with a scepter of justice (1:8). No human authority can take his place in our hearts.
Today, when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts (3:7). Keep my heart soft and receptive to the Lord (3:10). Deal with any bitterness or anger (12:15).
For the Word of God is alive and powerful … he is the one to whom we are accountable(4:12-13). When Scripture teaches something different from what others are saying, I must obey Scripture.
Solid food [of God’s Word] is for the mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong (5:14). Lord, keep growing me and teaching me.
Keep on loving others as long as life lasts(6:11). Don’t give in to the hate, slander, rude speech, and categorizing of others as “evil” so prominent in public discourse today. Give others honor and respect. Don’t speak disparagingly about others. Don’t assume that I know their hearts.
I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins … the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds (8:12, 9:14). Don’t keep grudges or hold on to hurts, even against myself.
Christ said [to his Father], “Look, I have come to do your will” (10:9). If even Jesus was obedient to the Father, how much more I must be.
We can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus … let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him(10:19-22; 4:16). Several times the author of Hebrews reminds us of our welcome in the very presence of God, because Jesus opened the way for us. This is faith: trusting God’s judgment over my own.
Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works (10:24). Not to acts of harm or violence.
Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us (10:29). When I see people behaving badly, even those claiming to do so in God’s holy name, I should feel compassion, because their judgment is coming. As God gives me mercy, I must extend mercy to others.
They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth … looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. … God has prepared a city for them (11:13-16). Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” So I should not let myself get tangled up in earthly affairs to the point of failing to invest in the world that will last forever (12:2, 13:14; 2 Cor 5:1, Col 3:2, 2 Tim 2:3-4).
Think of all the hostility Jesus endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up (12:3). This encouragement not to give up is a word I need to hear every day.
Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life … Look after each other(12:14-15). No matter what is going on around me. “Everyone” is inclusive!
Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking to us from heaven. … Let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe (12:25-28). Tender, thankful heart.
Keep on loving each other … brothers and sisters, strangers, those in prison, those being mistreated (13:1-3). Those whom our society is treating as if they are sub-human, without the rights we insist on for ourselves.

Now may the God of peace …

equip you with all you need for doing his will.

May he produce in you through the power of Jesus Christ

every good thing that is pleasing to him.

(Hebrews 13:20-21)

Hungry

But God’s Spirit teaches us

Nehemiah 9:20 [In a prayer rehearsing God’s goodness to Israel after Ezra reads the Law of Moses to the people] You sent your good Spirit to instruct them. [Other versions say “teach.”)

John 14:26 [Jesus told his disciples] But when the Father sends the Advocate [paraclete: Comforter, Encourager, Counselor] as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything that I have told you.

1 John 2:27 For the Holy Spirit teaches you …

So far in this little survey of the Holy Spirit active in the Old Testament we’ve seen him as creator, supreme artisan, wise adviser/burden bearer, source of power, and communicator.

Since God doesn’t change, it’s not surprising to see the Spirit playing these same roles in the New Testament. Today’s topic is no exception. The Holy Spirit teaches us, as he taught the people of Israel in ancient times. Jesus, the master teacher, filled with the Spirit, told the disciples it was better for him to go away, because the Spirit can be present to each of us, as Jesus in his human body could not be.

Nehemiah 8 and 9 describe people hungry and thirsty to understand God’s instructions. They longed to live in keeping with God’s wisdom. In chapter 8, they stood for three hours listening closely (v. 3) as Ezra read the law of Moses to them. A month or so later, they again stood for three hours listening to the law, and then for another three hours confessing their sins—all the ways they had broken God’s law—and worshiping God.

Have you ever been as hungry and thirsty as that, not just for a Fourth of July barbecue, but longing to understand how to please God, in love with him and thrilled to honor his greatness? In chapter 8, the people celebrated “with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them” (v. 12).

Immediately after, Israel put into practice what they were learning. It led to a dramatic change of priorities and lifestyle, resulting in health and harmony among them.

I appreciate this prayer by Joseph Mercier, 1851-1926, noted for his strong resistance to German occupation of Belgium during World War I. Many around him were killed and buildings destroyed. It’s a fervent prayer in the throes of great trouble and stress. Today I think of the courageous people of Ukraine who persist in their work for God while missiles fall around them.

O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore you. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do; give me your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that you desire of me and to accept all that you permit to happen to me. Let me only know your will.

Better together

But God’s Spirit gives us power to do what he asks

Judges 6:34 Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power.

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.

1 Corinthians 4:20 For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.

2 Corinthians 12:9 God said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”

Gideon, self-identified as the least important member of the weakest family in Israel, hid at the bottom of a winepress to thresh wheat for fear of the cruel oppression of Midianites.

(Remember Jesus’s disciples hiding in a locked room for fear of the Jewish rulers?)

Out of all Israel, the angel of the Lord appeared to this frightened young man and greeted him with “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”

(Remember Jesus’s disciples hearing him say to them, “I am with you always, to the end of the age”?)

It must have felt to Gideon like a sarcastic joke. I picture him, startled, looking around the small space where he was hiding to see who this strange guy was talking to. It couldn’t be to him. Mighty hero??

Gideon responds with bitter questions, an overflow of anguish ending with, “The Lord has abandoned us.” How could this stranger possibly believe the Lord was with them?

(Remember that on the mountain in Galilee where God gave the disciples the Great Commission, Matthew makes a point of telling us that some of them doubted—even after walking so closely with Jesus for three years?)

And the angel, speaking for God, says, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!” Gideon replies, “But Lord, how can I …?” (Judges 6:14-15 and on). He didn’t realize that the strength he had was God’s strength, not his own.

(Remember Jesus saying to the disciples, “I have all authority … therefore, go”?)

The unlikely interchange between Gideon and the angel of the Lord reminds me of Moses at the burning bush. “Who, me? You want me to do what?? You’ve got to be kidding! Send someone else better qualified!”

You know these stories, right? If not, read Judges 6 and 7 and Exodus 3. If you’re like me, you’ll find a LOT to identify with in Gideon’s and Moses’s protests.

I am with you. With God’s call comes the power to accomplish what God asks of us. And because we know our own inadequacies, we know it’s only the Lord who can fulfill through us his purposes. All glory goes to him.

The Lord walked closely with both Gideon and Moses, patiently encouraging them and giving them specific instructions along the way. In each case, they started from a place of acknowledged, painful loss and defeat and failure. Their relationship with God was transparent from the beginning, with no pretense of being worthy of God using them. They learned to recognize and rely on the Lord’s voice. They depended absolutely on him.

In both cases, later, after God successfully accomplished his initial call to them, Gideon and Moses tried to go forward on their own and got into trouble. King Saul is another biblical example of the way self-confidence can become self-defeating (1 Samuel 15). The author of 1 Chronicles summarizes Saul’s life in this terse statement, “Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. He failed to obey the Lord’s command” (10:13).

We don’t ever outgrow our need to depend on the Lord and submit ourselves to him. We are always beginners in this walk of obedience and faith; forever, the rest of our lives, learning and growing.

And on the flip side, in our desperate dependency, we can feel the delight of watching God do through us what we could never do in our own strength. I experience this every time I hear someone say that the Karis book has encouraged or challenged them in some way. I wrote that book with so much fear and trembling, so keenly aware of my own inadequacy.

Like Gideon and Moses, I tried to get out of doing it, asking God to choose someone else, a better writer, someone with a platform and experience in the publishing industry. Someone not so closely tied to Karis. I feared being accused of bias and lack of objectivity; that what I wrote couldn’t be relied on because I am her mother. I feared not being capable of summarizing her thirty years of life in a way that would do justice both to her faith and the Lord’s faithfulness to her. I fussed and protested for months.

And in the end, holding this little book in my hand three years later, I experienced the truth God’s Spirit expressed to Paul, which became Karis’s life verse: “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”

How is the Lord stretching you? What is he asking of you that seems impossible?

Can you hear him saying, as he did to Gideon, “I am with you”?

Are you willing for the Spirit to clothe you with power to do what he is asking you to do?

Clearing a path

But God doesn’t want what we have. He wants us. July 8, 2024

2 Corinthians 12:14-15, 19 I don’t want what you have—I want you. After all, children don’t provide for their parents. Rather, parents provide for their children. … I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you. Everything we do is to strengthen you.

1 John 3:1, 16; 5:3, 21 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children. … We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. … Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.

My young grandchildren often give me things. A drawing (rainbows predominate these days). A dandelion, carefully tucked in a buttonhole or behind my ear. A bite of a cookie. A song.

These offerings are sweet because of the love that infuses them. At the same time, I need to remind them from time to time, what really shows me that you love me is your obedience. What I ask of you is not for myself—it’s for you, to help make your lives orderly and peaceful and happy. And the same is true for your mommy and daddy. You often tell me that you love them. Don’t just say it; show it—by obeying them, by doing cheerfully the simple things they ask of you.

Love and generosity are meant to be a two-way street. But that’s not what everyone experiences, and it’s hard—and not safe—to give our hearts and our obedience to those who aren’t trustworthy. In REVER (the restoration ministry Dave started in Brazil in the ‘90s), we talk about a “father wound” and a “mother wound.” So many people resonate with these concepts. They were hurt, rather than loved appropriately by their fathers and/or their mothers. This wounding made them profoundly vulnerable to abuse by other people. Often, they struggled with loving God, their parents, and other people, because in their formative years, they did not feel generously loved and cared for by the most important people in their lives.

Our heavenly Father, out of his profound, pure, self-giving love, can and longs to heal these soul wounds. Jesus said, “Let the little ones come to me.” I think that’s each one of us. His heart breaks when he sees abuse carried out in his name, throwing up barriers to him rather than a helping hand.

I’m reminded to be careful of my own heart, words, and actions. I want to open a way to the Father, not clutter it with pitfalls or align God’s pure name with harmful words and behavior.

Where I grew up, this was a common way to clear a path. Shutterstock: n_defender

If someone asks you about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way … Let them see the good life you live because you belong to Christ. … who died to bring us safely home to God (1 Peter 3:15-16, 18).

A new heaven and new earth

But God says, “Make every effort”

2 Peter 3:13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth God has promised, a world filled with his righteousness. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.

The most memorable statement in the sermon about Jesus’ ascension yesterday, I think, was “Jesus decided to work from home.”

One day, we’ll share his Home (Revelation 21). Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit, first poured out to the believers on the day we celebrate next Sunday, Pentecost, joins us in the trenches as we stay the course, faithfully pursuing “long obedience in the same direction,” as Eugene Peterson so famously put it.

Like perennials, Jesus will come back!

Jesus warned us there would be bumps and bruises along the way. “Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows” (John 16:33). Why are we surprised and resentful when this proves to be true? Could it be that we’re seduced by the idea that this is all there is, that life ends with death?

I had the interesting experience Saturday of attending a memorial service immediately followed by a birthday party. Funerals, of course, always make me think of Karis. Perhaps that’s why I found myself telling someone at the birthday party that Karis longed to go Home. In her last year of journaling, she wrote repeatedly, “Father, I can’t do this anymore. Please take me Home. Please.”

So in our sorrow and missing her, we know Karis is exactly where she wanted to be, living her best life. Glimpsing ahead of time the “new heavens” promised to us.

The writer of Hebrews tells us the heroes of faith “agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. … they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland” (11:13, 16).

I think the promise of a new heaven and new earth, where there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain (Revelation 21:4) gives us perspective on our trials and motivation to make the most of our time here, doing with the energy the Spirit gives us whatever God has asked us to do. Peter and other New Testament writers liked the phrase “make every effort,” or “work hard” as some versions translate the phrase:

Make every effort to respond to God’s promises (2 Peter 1:5—see also 1:10, 1:15).

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone (Hebrews 12:14).

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3).

Make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification (Romans 14:19). … Never pay back evil with more evil … If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:17-18).

Some versions use the word “harmony” instead of peace. Peace, of course, begins in our own hearts. Worth thinking about, for as long as we’re on this side of the story.

This World Is Not My Home, by Albert Brumley, sung by Jim Reeves.

Like a gentle river

But God longs to give us his peace

Isaiah 48:12-13, 17-18 “Listen to me … I alone am God, the First and the Last. It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth, my right hand that spread out the heavens above. When I call out the stars, they all appear in order. … I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow. Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves of the sea.”

Jeremiah 9:24 “Those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Matthew 5:43-45 [Jesus said] You have heard the law that says, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say, love your enemies! … In that way you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.

Peace flowing like a gentle river reminds me of the delightful days our family spent on a boat on the Rio Negro (a branch of the Amazon) in 1998, our son’s choice for his “family senior trip” before he graduated from high school and moved from Brazil to the U.S. for college. We discovered there weren’t even mosquitos to trouble us in the middle of that wide, peaceful river! (It averages 8,040 feet wide!) For more adventure, we had to venture into one of the more turbulent tributaries.

Remember the 2005 Jars of Clay song, “They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love”? Isaiah links soul-peace, shalom, to following God’s commands. And Jesus clarified for us that the most important commands are to love God and love each other.

Like me, I’m sure you flinch when you hear people link hateful, UN-loving language and actions to the name of our precious Lord Jesus.

And, like me, you then say, “Lord, please show me any ways my own un-loving attitudes and choices bring dishonor to your name.”

Because when I empty myself of anger, hurt, bitterness, hatred, shame, and resentment by naming them and asking the Holy Spirit to cleanse and heal me, I create space for him to grow in me his multi-faceted fruit of love (Galatians 5:22-23). And his peace flows through my soul. I’ve had to practice this a lot, and it’s worth it, because that’s the way I want to live.

Our longing for the Spirit’s shalom, his holistic wellbeing, permeating all aspects of our lives, reflects God’s deep desire for each of us. The Lord told Jeremiah to tell us that he delights in these things. Harmony with him results in the kind of peace that bubbles with the creative energy of goodness, energy for building others up rather than tearing them down. For healing rather than harming.

Listen with me to Joni Eareckson Tada sing “When Peace Like a River.” Her passion and generosity to others with disabilities tell me no circumstances are incompatible with God’s peace—certainly not mine.

I liked what I did

First, an Update on Luciene: Surgery had to be postponed because Lu’s ankle, foot, and leg are still too swollen. Her provisional new date–with a different surgeon–is June 29. Please pray the swelling will go down, that God will give her daily grace to deal with the severe pain and the disappointment of being stuck in a recliner during this special visit to her children and grandchildren instead of doing all the fun things they had planned. And pray for financial provision. All this is costing much more than their travel insurance! If you want to give Lu an encouraging message, send me an email or write it in the comments.

But God says “Listen to me”

Isaiah 1:3-4, 10, 17, 29 My people don’t recognize my care for them … They have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. … Listen to the Lord … Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow.” … Be ashamed of your idol worship.

On Mother’s Day, one of my daughters wrote me a beautiful letter, listing some of the things she recognizes, now that she’s a mom, that I did for her when she was a child. Things she took for granted, as children do. Perhaps her own daughters won’t appreciate all she does for them until they too are parents.

Isn’t it hard, though, when our little ones turn their backs on us when we’re trying to serve and care for them? This too is a common experience, one that often requires some form of discipline.

A few weeks ago, I carried one of my three-year-old granddaughters—yelling “I don’t want to obey you!”—to her room to sit in a chair for three minutes because she refused to stop doing something destructive. While she sat sobbing in the chair, I rushed to repair the damage while I still could. As I worked, I heard her sobs lessen and stop.

When I returned to talk with her about what had happened, my granddaughter listened to me, then gave a big sigh and said, “Grammy, you might as well leave me here, because I liked what I did, and I want to do it again. I’m not sorry. I enjoyed it. I like the color. I think it should be everywhere.”

I told her, “I see. Well, when you’re ready to obey and not do it again, you can come out of your room and play.” Then I hurried downstairs to place all bottles of her mom’s nail polish where she couldn’t reach them.

What she had done was to “paint” the floor and the furniture within easy reach with, yes, deep pink nail polish.

By the time I had looked carefully to be sure there were no more traces of deep pink glommed onto the floor and furniture, she appeared, hugged me, and cheerfully began playing with one of her “stuffies.” Though I don’t know the exact mental process she engaged, I haven’t heard her reference nail polish since that day.

In Isaiah 1, God offers his people the same option. They’re under discipline, but they don’t have to stay there. They can repent, and receive forgiveness, and return to the rewards of obedience.

So can we. We too can learn to do good. We can learn to live in ways that please and honor the Lord. And one of the main things that pleases the Lord, as Isaiah observes, is our honor and care for one another.

Zion will be restored by justice; those who repent will be revived by righteousness (Isaiah 1:27).

Note: I’ve been asking the Lord where to focus during these months of “Ordinary Time,”—from Pentecost to Advent—and keep having my attention drawn to the Old Testament book written by the prophet Isaiah. I noticed that since starting this blog, I’ve referred to Isaiah 51 times; in some cases, because Isaiah was one of Karis’s favorites. But I haven’t gone through the book systematically, highlighting precious “pearls” left for us by this prophet.

A bit of orientation: Isaiah prophesied over a period of almost sixty years, through the reigns of four kings of Israel (Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and part of Hezekiah’s), from 792 to 686 BC. He lived through civil war between Israel and Judah and saw the destruction of Israel in 722 BC. Thus, the first half of his book includes warnings, judgment and tragedy, and we find more comfort in the second half. But there’s a lot in the first half that seems directly applicable to our own time, going on three millennia later! That’s one of the amazing things about Scripture, how timeless it is, reflecting the fact that God does not change—and apparently, neither does human nature.

A call to holy living

But God’s word remains forever

1 Peter 1:13-2:3 So think clearly and exercise self-control … For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy” [Leviticus 19:2]. Remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. … Show sincere love to each other. … “The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever” [Isaiah 40:8]. And that word is the Good News that was preached to you. So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

In the grocery store Tuesday with Caleb and Talita, I felt embarrassed when suddenly they broke away from me, chasing each other around the legs and grocery carts of other shoppers, yelling at the top of their lungs.

Why did I feel embarrassed? Because they represented me. Their behavior resulted in everyone nearby looking at me askance. They caused discomfort and could have caused harm to themselves and others. And they hindered my objective of getting out quickly so we would have more time to play, since we lost our place in line.

Thanks to Covid, Caleb and Talita have hardly ever been in grocery stores, I realized. They need to be taught proper behavior in that setting. I hadn’t explained to them what was appropriate. Once I did, they were contrite (at least, Caleb was).

*Best of 26: a recent attempt to get all three of our cherubs sitting still, looking at the camera and smiling all at the same time!*

We’re our Father’s “kids.” What we do and what comes out of our mouths reflects positively or badly on him just as surely as my beloved grandchildren’s behavior and speech impacted others at the store in their view of me. Fortunately, God does tell us what he expects of us.

True, holiness in speech and behavior—according to Peter, actions and words which show and promote love—is out of vogue in our society among adults who should know better. Damaging and deceitful actions and words are flung about publicly (and, I suspect, privately) as if adults believe they bear no responsibility for the harm they cause.

Peter says, NOOOO!!!! No more of this!! Don’t shame the name of God, claiming him as your Lord, yet “slipping back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires” (verse 14).

God has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him (verse 17) and love each other deeply, from the heart (verse 22).

Our Father paid an enormous price to save us from empty living: “And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God” (verse 19). When we hurt each other, we betray his sacrifice.

So how can we learn to speak and behave differently? Moses (1500 BC), Isaiah (700 BC), and Peter all remind us of the eternal, indestructible Word God has given to teach and guide us. Peter calls it spiritual milk, whose nourishment we babies need in order to thrive. “Cry out for it,” he tells us.

Lord, thank you that your word doesn’t pull any punches. Show me today my need to repent and be cleansed, so I can regard even my “enemies” with your kind of love. Make me hungry as a baby for your life-giving word, to strengthen me for holy, counter-cultural living and speaking that honors rather than shames you, and makes your heart happy.

But God says, Go

Acts 21:27-22:23 After Roman officers arrested Paul in Jerusalem to save him from a crowd beating him and calling for his death, Paul asked the commander to let him talk to the crowd. The people listened until he told them in 22:21, But the Lord said to me, “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.”

I heard my parents tell about arriving at the top of a mountain in Guatemala in 1953 and looking down on the Mayan village which would be their new home. They had already come through near-death experiences in Mexico (my mom had actually been pronounced dead), but they were convinced God had sent them to this village, to learn the Ixil language in order to translate the Scriptures for these particular people.

*A view of the Nebaj valley in 2008, when our extended family joined Dad for the dedication of the Ixil New Testament.*
*Nebaj is now a small city!*

As they gazed into the Nebaj valley, holding their three young children, God brought Joshua 1:9 to their minds: Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. On the strength of this encouragement, with no idea what awaited them, Mom, Dad and my older siblings continued their journey down the rough road into Nebaj, into both hardships and joys they couldn’t anticipate.

When Paul spoke to the angry crowd in Jerusalem in Acts 22, he recounted his experience of God saying “Go” after his conversion on the road to Damascus. But the larger context was his conviction that God had sent him to Jerusalem to be threatened and arrested (I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem … jail and suffering lie ahead, 20:22-23).

Through that arrest, God would now send him to Rome, to tell people there about Jesus. God reaffirmed this through a dream in 23:11, Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well. Paul will live under guard in Rome until he is executed.

How different all this is from the “health and wealth” version of the Gospel! Jesus never offered or modeled a life of comfort and prosperity. He stated flat out, Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows (John 16:33). What he does promise is to be with us, to walk with us through whatever we encounter along the way—the sorrows and the joys.

So whenever we hear God say “Go,” we can know he goes with us. And nothing can ever separate us from his love.