8/15/2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 2. 5-6)

“No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him.’” (John 3.13-15)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

If not for the pursuits of David by others, he would not have been able to relate “Even so, when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death there you are. Your rod and your staff allow me to settle into going where I need to go.” There is nothing more comforting (that is the better interpretation of “allowing me to settle into going where I need to go”) than to know where you are going, why you are going and how you are going to get there. Sheep are not dumb. Regardless of what some may say, sheep are very smart. Do they wander away and get lost? Some do because in their spirit they are looking for what they cannot see. Having foresight and clear vision is of tremendous advantage to each of us whether we are sheep or not. This is why, I believe, that David starts the description of this perfect defined, confined and bold relationship with God the Good Shepherd. For those who have not read all of my reflections on God’s word in this venue or in another, let me reiterate the spiritual meaning of the word “good.” Good signifies complete, purposeful and divinely blessed. We would do well to be careful when we say something or someone is good. We should evaluate the use of the word with the first question: Does it glorify God and honor Him with the purpose of our lives, words and actions? There are many who evaluate such things as commands for God’s obedience to us instead of our obedience to God. The truest blessing comes when we are obedient to God. It does not mean that there will not be rough patches in the road or difficult challenges facing us. God never promised that in the world it would all go well and to our liking. God did promise that beyond the various “valleys of the shadow of death,” we will find green pastures, still waters and the restoration of our spiritual reality without blemish. And in light of the previous description of the “strait gate and narrow way,” let me offer to you the truth which is given us that “there is a wideness in God’s mercy.”

Let’s not be confused as think that “latitude” and “wideness” are synonymous. We do have freewill and can choose to think, say and do what we want and please. Believing that something serves our agenda best does not mean it is “good.” It means “it is.” I would say at this point, God never said His Name was “It is.” No, He shared with Moses, a shepherd of God’s flock, that His personal name was “I AM.” He is not a response to our assertion. He is the cause of all being and promotes and illicits our response. Sometimes that response has proven to be “You Are?” To which He again replies, “I AM. I AM all that there is, was and will be.” And the wideness we experience in His presence is the discovery of the height, depth, breadth and reach of God’s existence. If we are to put a single word as describing who, what, when, where, why and how God is, I would suggest the word “love,” agapao in Greek. (ref. 1 John 4.7-11) Latitude also means “expanse,” but has come to mean “tolerance, allowance, enablement, license, entitlement and apathy.” We have fallen into such a latitudinal thought process in the modern world that anything goes and is called “good.” It is good not by God’s standards but by the world standard. The desire to be “one’s own person” enables others to do the same. The result is a community of ones and not a community as one. We suffer from such a loose confederation that sin is a glory and faith is a lie. Most people do not even know how to be faithful to themselves much less anyone else. It happens that way when we are not rooted in being faithful to God. This is something that we, as mighty ones of God, must get “strait.”

So, let’s considering straitening out our understanding of the verses used by John to introduce the summation of the gospel found in John 3.16, “For God so loved the world….” What comes before that awesome revelation of God’s desire for His people to live on earth as they will in Heaven is key and critical to our understanding of the purpose and place which Jesus of Nazareth, God’s Son, plays in the grand scheme of life itself. John remembers Jesus’ explanation “As the serpent was lifted by Moses in the wilderness, so too, must the Son of Man be lifted up.” Those who were familiar with the story of Moses having to lead the nation of Israel through one of those valleys of the shadow of death were immediately captured in thought. It was a perilous leg of the journey to the Promised Land. What the people wanted was this “straight line” passage from Egypt to Canaan. God could do it. He could level mountains into plains, cause seas and rivers to dry up and chasms to be filled to the brim. He could also simply eliminate all confronting foes before they were even confronted. He could have but for what “good” purpose? Soon the people would no longer depend on their own strength as God had given it to them. They would have taken their freedom for granted as if it were owed to them. They would soon declare their own worth and say “I am more than I AM.” That would indeed be a deep, dark valley of the shadow of death! So, when God directed their journey in the “strait” path, the people became upset. Temporary victories were not satisfactory. They wanted more which always seemed to be wanting less. In this instance as recorded in Numbers 9, the less that was more to them was to return to Egypt. God responded by making where they were akin to “living in Egypt” where they suffered the stings and venomous devouring of the “snakes of Pharaoh.” (Do you remember the serpentine showdown between Pharaoh’s magicians and Moses with his staff? It was the “serpent of the Lord who swallowed whole the snakes of Pharaoh!”) The people soon realized that such a way of life was foolish and that their current situation was the result of their faithlessness to God. Moses cried out for mercy and God directed him to have a fiery serpent fashioned from bronze and placed on the end of his shepherd’s staff. Holding it over the people all who looked upon it were immune to the serpents’ attacks and they moved straightway through that valley of the shadow of death.

Now Jesus draws the connection for His then modern-day audience. “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so too, must the Son of Man be lifted up so that everyone who believes in Him shall have eternal life.” In that moment, Jesus was speaking strictly as predicting His crucifixion. His resurrection, being lifted up from the grave, was in response to His going down into the grave (or the valley of the shadow of death, let’s say.) His going down into the grave was in response to Him being lifted up on the cross (His rod and His staff- the cross itself being formed). His being lifted up on the cross was in response to Him going down into the presence of the rulers of the land (Caiaphas and Pilate). His going down into their presence was in response to Him going up to Gethsemane where He was found by Judas to be arrested. I could go on and on tracing back to “He who came from Heaven.” So, if not strictly speaking of His crucifixion and resurrection, then what else might Jesus be alluding to? I offer for your consideration, His ascension into Heaven at Mount Tabor where He had previously been “glorified” by God in the presence of Moses and Elijah. It was on that mountaintop that we know “some doubted.” That was a reflection of when some of the disciples proved fruitless in healing a demon-possessed son who threw himself into the fire. That happened at the foot of the mountain where Jesus revealed Himself to Peter, James and John at the top of the mountain. Yes, now we can see that our true, strait and narrow, view of Jesus being lifted up into the clouds becomes the impetus to “walk by faith and not by sight.” We are called to live with a righteous heart, soul, mind and spirit regardless of the condition of our body and physical manifestation personally and corporately. This is why upon our profession of faith we enter into His Kingdom on earth and our eternal life is born by water and by spirit. This should inspire our confidence to the way and the means of living in this age the life which has been given to us. We can be bold because we maintain the course of the “strait gate and narrow way” which is Jesus the Christ. In Him we have green pastures, still waters and the restoration of our soul free from the burden of sin, guilt and despair. Can I get an AMEN?

TODAY’S PRAYER IN LIGHT OF GOD’S WORD:

Father, You have revealed Yourself to us best in Jesus the Christ. By Him and Him alone shall we gain the eternal life and our place in eternal rest, living for You always. Show us more and by Your Holy Spirit instruct us in the way we should go, the truth we should reveal and the life we shall live with you forever. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.