If I Have Not Love...

     I have been marinating on this thought quite a bit lately.  The thought is the concept of love.  Some would say it is February the month for love it would be natural to think about the concept of love.  There are some that will put this aside as just the musing of an individual for the month of February with Valentine's Day.  Yet you have to understand it is not the month of February that has sparked this for it has been upon my mind for some time.  It is merely a coincidence that I am choosing to put thoughts down a week prior to Valentine's Day for this is not about that romantic love, it is about love in general.  It has simply come to a point that I feel compelled to place my thoughts down.

     I believe that in the world today both with Christians and with non-Christians we have lost the concept and the understanding of what it means to love.  The word in itself has become a tired over used word in the English language.  For some they think they are communicating love and what they are actually doing is communicating hate.   

     I love the english language but it has its limitations unlike other languages that utilize various words to communicate various concepts that when translated into English we have but one word.  In the Greek we see three words for love that when translated we have a single word.  Yet even that one word can communicate so much.  It can and should communicate love yet sometimes in the process what is communicated is hate.

     We as Christians in dealing with the sin in the world have forgotten to consider 1 Corinthians 13 what is commonly none as the love chapter.  Do not get me wrong there is a time, and a place, to confront sin strongly.  Yet too often the world is shutting us out and not listening to us because we are seeming to be the angry, ugly Christians.  We use terms loosely of love the sinner but hate the sin.  What is more often communicated then not is hating the sinner.

     We have much to share to the world but we seemingly are violating the first verse of 1 Corinthians which says, "I may speak in the languages of humans and of angels.  But if I don't have love, I am a loud gong or a clashing cymbal." (GWT)  What we say lacks care and compassion at times.  What the world then hears is just a loud racket.  Social media provides us a platform and sometimes in the passion of what we believe do not communicate in such a way that those who see it hear what we are saying because it just feels like hate.

    I think we can stand for Biblical principals and still communicate it in such away that they hear what we say and accept it because they feel the love that goes with it.  Verse 2 speaks of this spirituality and the challenge that even having the greatest amount of faith yet not having the love to go with that we are than nothing.  Verse 3 speaks to the fact that we can be the greatest Christians in the world following scripture and willing to lay down our life for our faith but if we lack love it all is for not.

    Verse 4 - 7 is the long list of what love is and is not and often recited by many.  Let's look specifically at some select areas in this verse.  "Love is not rude.  It doesn't think about itself.  It isn't irritable."(GWT)  I like verse 6, "It isn't happy when injustice is done, but it is happy with the truth."(GWT)  What a contrasting verse.  One of my favorite is at the end of verse 7, "Love...never gives up."(GWT)  I cannot tell you the number of times I have seen parents and others give up on children or people.

     I think that people will be drawn to you.  They will allow you to speak truth into their lives when they know they are receiving it with your love.  This does not mean that you have to skirt around difficult topics are situations.  There are times you may have to speak with tough love.  What must be communicated is love.

     Having love and communicating love does not mean that you have to compromise your beliefs or Biblical standards.  Consider how Jesus handled the woman caught in adultery.  He dealt with her sin and yet communicated love to her at the same time.

     Take an honest look inside and be willing to ask yourself if you are holding to God's standards which includes communicating love to those around you.  You may just find that if they feel love they are more likely to be willing to listen to you that much more.  If we look like the world and sound like the world it does not help our cause.  If the world communicates love greater than we do that is not a good thing.  Deal with sin.  Deal with those around you but do it with a great amount of love.  In doing so you may find yourself that much more effective.

     So I encourage you to engage in conversations with others in person and in social media.  Deal with the issues that impact our world.  Be passionate about what you believe.  I also encourage you that when your buttons are being pushed pause a moment before you respond.  Ensure what you are about to say communicates the love that Christ showed.  There are those that are simply wanting to entice you to say something out of anger and will bait you in conversations.  They are looking to trap you.  Pause consider what you are about to say and communicate love.

What Is Holding You Back

     Have you ever set out to do something that was seemingly impossible?  Have you been criticized, and looked down upon because you took a challenging step and yet seemingly failed while others stayed safely within their comfort zone?  A story in the Christian scriptures speaks of someone who did just this.  The man that I speak of was Peter.  He took a risk and a chance and it seemingly ended in failure.  Though there was not any criticism of Peter at the time, I have heard much criticism of Peter since.

     The story goes like this; Jesus sent his disciples across the sea and instructed them that he would catch up with them.  Though odd, because if they have the boat how is Jesus going to catch up to them, the disciples climbed in a boat and set sail for the other side of the sea.  A short way into their travels a storm hits and they are being tossed about in the boat.  Jesus comes along in the early morning walking on the water.  The disciples seeing him are scared that Jesus is a ghost.  Jesus identifies himself to which Peter responds if it is really you order me to come.  Jesus orders him to come and so Peter climbs out of the boat and starts walking on the water.  Peter begins to look around, becomes afraid, and starts to sink.  Jesus catches him and they walk back to the boat and climb in.  At this point Jesus calms the storm (Matthew 14:22 – 33).

     This is where Peter gets a bad reputation for Jesus asks why he doubted.  Often this is our focus in this story, the fact that Peter doubted and began to sink.  Here is another look at that same situation.  In that boat was at least twelve people, of those, twelve only Peter was willing to take the risk, climb out of the boat, and walk on the water towards Jesus.  Though Peter became overwhelmed by the things going on around him and lost sight of his goal and began to sink, he was at least willing to be obedient, to take a risk, and do something that seemed impossible.  The others chose to stay in the boat.  By staying in the safety of the boat, they missed an opportunity.

     For those who are like Peter and stepped out of their boat of comfort and entered into an experience of a lifetime congratulations for having such courage.  If you find that you are still walking on the water, in the midst of the storm and circumstances are causing you to begin to sink refocus on your goal.  Look around and see who is there to catch you so you do not become overwhelmed by the circumstances.

     If you are one of those still remaining in the boat of comfort, what is keeping you in the boat instead of taking that chance, that risk to have the experience of your life?  What fears are keeping you in your comfort zone instead of stretching yourself to greater things?

     I believe that we need to be more like Peter and be willing to take the calculated risk and step out of the boat.  Keep our eyes on the goal and not the circumstances.  Know that when we do become overwhelmed with our circumstances in the risk, that there is always someone out there to catch us and help us in our endeavors, whether that be your faith, a friend, a chaplain or any other form of help.  The first step can be the scariest but the risk is usually worth the first step.

Numbers 14 Continued

When we last looked at chapter 14 the Israelites had listened to the spies who said that they could not take the Promise Land.  For that God said they would not be allowed into the Promise Land and would wander until everyone 20 years old and older was dead.

Hearing this the Israelites decided to take it upon themselves to go into the Promise Land.  So they got up early to go into the Promise Land on their own.  The figured that beings they sinned they should make up for it and go against what God had said.  Trading one wrong for another wrong.  Moses warned them not to go.  That if they went they would be defeated because God was not with them.  They ignored him and went to the promise land.  We see at the end of the chapter they were soundly beaten back by the enemy.

Application

There are doors that are open that we must be willing to step through when they are open.  For many reasons we don’t act on what God has asked us to do, fear, refusal, etc.  When we do what the Israelites did we must realize that when God says no we must not force the door open.  We can’t correct our disobedience with more disobedience.  The consequences are going to be worse then had we accepted the consequences for our first disobedience.  Just as two wrongs will not make a right for us it will not make a right for God.

Numbers 13 and 14

Numbers 13 and 14 tells the story of the spies going into the land God had promised Israel and the results of the report that the spies brought back.  In this story we find the reason why the Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years.  In chapter 13 Moses sends out the spies.  They spent 40 days exploring the land.  The fact is it had been just over 2 years sense they left Egypt.  They had been in the desert longer then was intended already for their disobedience.  The Israelites were just outside the area that God had promised them. This is evident by the fact that they sent spies in.  Today in the Army we call them scouts.  They look at the terrain and the enemy and send information back to the command so the command can make a decision on how to assault.  Such was the purpose of these spies.

We see in Chapter 13 that the reports start off being pretty positive.  It is a land that flows with milk and honey and they even brought back some fruit to show.  It was exciting until some of the spies began to talk about the people.  They began to complain about the people that lived in the land.  Saying that they were too big and too strong for the Israelites to take on.  The only dissenters were Caleb and Joshua who told the people that in spite of the challenges they were more then capable to take the land.

The other spies began to spread lies and rumors among the people to cause them to turn against Moses, and not believe Caleb and Joshua.

Chapter 14 tells the results of the turmoil these spies caused as they spread their lies.  It got to a point that they wanted to stone Moses and Aaron.  God was ready to slaughter them all.  Moses once again steps in and tells God if he kills them, all that God did before will be seening as worthless among the people of the promise land and Egypt.  The Israelites would be dead several times over had Moses not continued to step in.  Prayer does make a difference.

God forgives but the consequence for the peoples actions is that they will not take possession of the promised land.  God tells Moses to turn around and head back into the desert.  Anyone 20 or older would not live to see the land.  The exception to this is Joshua and Caleb.  God says in verse 28 that he will do to the Israelites what they said would happen to them.  The children of these adults would be the ones to take over the land.

The men sent to explore the land died instantly because they had made the whole community complain, only Joshua and Caleb survived.

Application

The odds may seem overwhelming in your flesh but when God has said he will give you something he will give it to you.  If he has called you to a place he will take you through to the finish.  When we look at the circumstances instead of the blessings.  When we allow the bad to blind us to what God promises we lose out.  It is okay to have doubts we all do but if you trust God and head in the direction he has asked he will take care of the giants in the land.

We also need to be careful what we ask for.  We may just get it.  When you get what you have asked for you have no right to complain.  God does not give us junk.  If you lack confidence and lack trust in God doing what he siad he would do you may find yourself doing what an old song says, “Take another lap around mount Zion, until you learn  your lesson."  Do not take another lap around the desert.  Trust that God will lead  you in to the promise land and will take care of the giants of the land.

Numbers 12 "Leadership"

There was a time in my career that I had a leader that was not considered the best leader that the unit had ever had.  I found myself joining in the complaints of others concerning this individual instead of simply being a sounding board and encouraging prayers for them.  Not unlike what was taking place in this chapter.  God convicted me and I went to the individual and sought forgiveness even though they were not aware of what I was doing.

We see that Moses, unlike some of the leaders we have today, is a great example of a great leader in this chapter.  We also have an example in this chapter of poor leadership.

The chapter opens with Miriam and Aaron (Aaron is the chief priest) complaining about Moses.  Their complaint had to do with who Moses was married to and they were being insubordinate towards his leadership.  Essentially they were saying, "What makes him so special hasn’t God spoken through us also."

Their complaints got God’s attention.  What we don’t know is if they were just talking between themselves or if they were complaining in the company of others.  What we do know is that they were complaining.  God spoke to Moses, Miriam and Aaron and told them to come to the tent of meeting.  It was there that God scolded Aaron and Miriam for their complaints.  Look at verses 6 and following.  God distinguishes the way he talks to prophets and the way the way the talks to Moses.  Moses gets the personal treatment.  God is so angry at Aaron and Miriam that he has to leave.  Can you imagine what he would have done if he stayed.  What he did do is infect Miriam with a skin disease.

Why Miriam and not Aaron.  The answer to that I cannot tell you.  I can assume that Miriam felt that her husband was slighted and deserve a greater position and Aaron bought into what she was saying and said hey yea what about me.

What is more important than this was Moses’ response.  You see Aaron being repentant.  Moses could have walked away and say sucks to be you.  You should have not complained about me.  I am out of here.  Instead he responds with compassion and asked God to heal her.  God heals her but she still has to go outside the camp for 7 days.  They don’t break camp until she is considered clean.

What an amazing show of leadership by Moses.

Application

The first thing is to remember that scripture says that no one is in leadership but that God has placed them there.  We don’t have to agree with them or buy into all that they say and do.  Their purpose may not even be holy but God has placed them in leadership.  In some cases it is to usher in his return.  This does not mean we should not be active against those things that are against scripture but it also means that we should pray for the leaders appointed over us.

If you are a leader take a lessons from Moses.  Notice he was not vindictive.  He did not seek revenge he sought compassion.  How you handle someone who challenges your leadership says much about what type of leader you are.  Are being a leader like Moses?

Numbers 11

In This chapter we find the mention of manna again but what it deals with mainly is the people’s desire for meat.  Within this story there are several things going on.  The chapter starts out with the people complaining and God sending fire raining down.  We then see Moses prayed and the fire died down.

What makes this fact so interesting it is that we see a few sentences latter Moses is saying he can’t handle the people and just wants for God to kill him.  For those who have heard of suicide by cop this seems that Moses was seeking suicide by God.  God does not kill him but tells him to bring 70 leaders and gives a part of the spirit that he poured out on Moses to these 70 leaders.  In doing this it divides the power so that Moses is not dealing with all the people himself. 

On the surface it seems like a simple complaint concerning food.  Why shouldn’t they complain that all they had to eat was manna.  Now I understand a bit about this for when I was in Iraq every 21 days we had the same meal.  So I knew what I was going to have to eat the next day by what I had to eat the day before.  I can only imagine what they felt like to have manna all the time.  So they were tired of manna so they asked for meat.  Now remember they had many animals they had brought with them.  It was not like they did not have meat.  They had plenty of meat.  So what was the complaint about?  Why did God say to Moses that he will give them meat to eat so much until they were sick of it and it was coming out of their ears?  Why did he then make some sick at the end of the chapter.

To understand this we need to look at what their real complaint was.  The complaint was not so much about what they were eating but about the fact that they were not where they had been.  It is interesting how quickly we forget how bad things were before.  They were questioning God they were saying things were better in Egypt. They were in love with the things of the world. Here God was right there with them yet they wanted more they wanted what they wanted.  God doesn’t just listen to what we say he looks upon our hearts.  They were complaining about where they were and seemed to forget the oppresiveness that they had been under in Egypt and their desire to leave there.

Application

So what can we learn from this chapter?  God understands that sometimes we need help and when we ask as Moses did he will provide that help.  The second thing is realize that God wants to hear your struggles and the things that you are going through, but what is the motivation of your heart.  Are you telling him that you know what is best for you.  Has your desire for other things become greater than your desire for God?  Do you have what you need but complaining because it is not filet mignon, or a Mercedes Benz? 

We need to at times check our attitudes and make sure we are seeking God first then he will add the rest.  Sometimes we need to be careful what we ask for because God may just give it to us.  It is like when kids keep asking and asking and you say no but they ask one more time and you finally give in knowing that it is not the best for them.  Then the kids are shocked when something bad happens and you tell them I tried to warn you.  God treats us the same so be cautious because that thing you are asking for and God has said no, well you may just get it.  Don’t expect him to be surprised when you come crawling back to him for forgiveness.

The good old days are not always as we remember them.  We must keep our eyes forward and no that God has our best in mind.

Chapter 10 seems to be a chapter for the musician and the one that is interested in military history.

This chapter is chocked full of music for the musician and military history.  You see military precision in this chapter.  The first half of the chapter God has Moses make some silver trumpets.  How many musicians would not love a 100% silver trumpet.  The trumpet here was intended for the same purpose it is used for today in the Army.

We see that God instructs Moses about the different type of sounds to play from the trumpet.  As I read this chapter I reflected on the number of formations that I have been a part of where the trumpet is used to signal the various movements from the sound for the adjutant to the movement of troops.  Each note, each fanfare, each sound has meaning.  So it was for the trumpets that Moses used to assemble the people.

The rest of the chapter deals with the movement.  The trumpet we see signaled the time to move and who moved when.  The only way to move such a large group of people was by military precision.  The organization of who moved and what order provided scouts, protection, and the ability to have the Tent of Meeting set up prior to the arrival of the instruments for that tent.  Take a moment and think about the size of this tent and how long it would have taken to set up.  Now think of the distance back the rest of the things had to be in order to arrive just in time to move them into the tent.  We are talking a lot of people and distance separated the tent from the other parts.

For the military historians besides the trumpet take a look and see the guidons or probably better known today as battalion colors or brigade colors.  The bottom line is each family had a flag that went before them when they moved similar to what we see in the modern military.

At the end of the chapter as little to do for the musician or the historian but it has a lot to do with what many of us do on a daily bases, or at least whenever we go on a long trip.  It is the prayer covering for the travel.  It is in some way similar to many prayers that I have said before we travel.  Moses says a prayer for the travel of the Israelites and follows that upon arrival with another prayer.

Application

So how do we apply this?  The first thing to remember is that no matter where you go if you are following God he will go before you.  The other thing to remember is that God has things organized so that things will arrive in the proper time.  Remember it is not your time but his.  One of the most important things to learn from this chapter is to listen to God’s leading.  You have to become familiar with his voice and his direction.  Remember in the chapter there was a different sound for movement then it was for assembly.  As you draw closer to God you will get to know his guidance to you and you will be able to tell the difference between a call to assemble and a call to move.  Most people I talk to have not gotten in tune with God enough to distinguish what is being asked of them.  This leads to much confusion between what God is saying.  Read the first part of this chapter again.  You will see that God gave distinguished sounds for each thing he wanted done.   Seek after and learn God’s voice so you can be confident in what he is asking.