I am currently following a regimen of Bible reading that if I stay with it every day, I will have read the entire Bible by December 31. The way this is set up I end up reading a section from the Old Testament, a section from the New Testament as well as a section from the Psalms as well as the Proverbs each day. I am really enjoying this configuration and so far, I am up to date on my reading.
I am currently reading about how God is leading His people under the direction of Moses into the long-promised land. I refer to it as “long-promised” because it seems like this subject has been on God’s mind since at least the sections back in Genesis where He interacts and calls Abram, later known as Abraham to be the father of many nations. It’s difficult for my mind to understand how God could be so singular in His dealings with this forming people, the descendants of Abraham, that those people could be so untrusting. For example, Moses has appointed one representative from each of the twelve tribes of people to investigate or spy on the new land God had told them He was going to give into their possession. The twelve went in and investigated and ten of them came back with a negative report. The land was unbelievable in terms of beauty and productivity but because peoples of strength and prominence already were in possession of the land, the people of God were wishing they could go back to Egypt or in other words, slavery. Two of the spies brought back a great report, Joshua and Caleb, and they were the only 2 of that entire living group of adults who would get to experience for themselves the land God would give His people. What happened to the 10 so called Bad Spies? They were destroyed by God that very day!
How could people be so dense? These were people who were being visited by God in the wilderness by a cloud during the day and fire at night. They had seen first-hand demonstrations of God’s provision in Egypt as well as while they were making their way to the promised land. How could they be so doubting and clueless?
Coincidently, my daily reading also included the section in the New Testament where Jesus’ disciple, Peter denies Jesus 3 times when just a few moments before had told Him he would be willing to die for Him. How could Peter do that, especially since He had been warned by Jesus that he would?
And then, I began to think about my track record of responses to very clear teachings of Jesus and promises God has given. It’s a very spotty record. Why is it so easy to spot the failings of someone else and yet consistently miss seeing it in my own life? I have really been giving this question a lot of thought. I really would like to know because it really frustrates me when I see this type of failure coming out of me. My reflection on this question has led me to 3 conclusions:
First, I often underestimate how I really was before coming to Christ. Paul says, we were dead in our trespasses. Not just bad or mistaken but dead! Dead! We have been rescued and new life has been given to us. That leads me to the second point. We are new creation! This means that something has happened to us that now makes it possible to live and respond to life and God in ways we couldn’t before. One particularly important dimension of our “newness” is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This leads me to my final conclusion. God has given each of those He has redeemed this beautiful guide to live within us and help us navigate the complexities of living life as His new creation in a world that still hasn’t come to final consummation. The Bible describes us a foreigner now as we seek to live as Christ-followers. The Holy Spirit is a dimension of my life that needs more information, more development and more submission. Sadly, I don’t think this person of the Godhead has been given the proper attention in the Church as a whole. To that end, I hope to make Him more a priority in my preaching, thinking, living.
The truth is, I don’t want people looking at the way I am living my life and question my trust or belief in God. I don’t want my faith in Christ to be that of lip-service only. I want to follow the path He has for me and when facing some uncertain territory, confidently more forward because God, the Holy Spirit is leading me.
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