boldness

Genesis 32, Esther 8, Psalm 31

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Read Genesis 32, Esther 8, Psalm 31.

This devotional is about Psalm 31.

During the Gulf War (the one in the early 1990s), U.S. Army General Norman Schwarzkopf held a famous press conference that made him into a celebrity. In that press conference, he showed a video of a car in Iraq crossing a bridge. Shortly after the car crossed the bridge, the bridge exploded from a bomb that U.S. forces dropped on it. Schwarzkopf referred to the driver of this car as “The luckiest man in Iraq” because he narrowly escaped a death he had no idea was coming.

If luck were real, David would be one of the luckiest men who has ever lived. He escaped death time and again–both in general when he went to battle and specifically when he was targeted by Saul and others. Here in Psalm 31 (as in other Psalms), we see past the brave warrior into the heart of this king. The dangers he faced were as stressful to him as they would be to any one of us (vv. 9-10). He dealt with these stresses by turning to God in prayer, pouring his heart out honestly to the almighty about his fears and pleading with God to be his “rock of refuge” his “strong fortress” (v. 2) and to deliver him (v. 1).

Because of the covenant God had made with David, God did deliver him over and over again. Although he was a skilled, prepared warrior, David’s success in battle and his longevity in life were more a matter of God’s protection and God’s will than anything else. David knew this, too. When he asked for God’s help and protection “for the sake of your name” (v. 3b) he was referencing the promises God had made to Israel and to him personally for Israel.

Even as he called on God for help, David knew that his days were determined by the sovereign will of God. When he wrote, “My times are in your hands” (v. 15a), he was humbly submitting to what God had determined for him. If God were to let him die in battle, that is his right as Lord.

Yet David was not deterministic about it. Recognizing that God had already decreed when and how he would die did not prevent David from asking God to “… deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me” (v. 15b-c). He was bold in asking for God’s help and giving God reasons why he should help; yet he was humble and submitted to whatever the Lord had willed.

Until Christ returns, death is a reality for each of us. People we love will die and someday, so will we. Fearing death (and other things in life) is natural. Crying out to God and looking to him for help and deliverance honors him in those moments. So does recognizing that your time and mine will come when God wills. These are all expressions of faith. Faith is not the absence of fear. Faith asking God for help when we are afraid as well as trusting his will when the time comes for us to go. We don’t need luck to protect us. Faith in our God is a much better defense.

VIDEO: The Luckiest Man in Iraq: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AjCAuYkrgA

2 Chronicles 7, Proverbs 28

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Read 2 Chronicles 7 and Proverbs 28. This devotional is about Proverbs 28:1 & 13.

A number of years ago I read a newspaper story about a man who was arrested in Chicago for a crime he had committed in Boston. I don’t remember all the details—and I haven’t been able to find the article online again—but whatever crime he committed was serious and something like 10 or 20 years had passed between the crime and his arrest.

If my memory is correct, he said he was relieved when they finally arrested him. Though he had managed to build a new life for himself and live undetected for a long time, the witness of his conscience and his fear of being captured weighted on his heart during the entire time. This is what verse 1 of Proverbs 28 means when it says, “The wicked flee though no one pursues….” It is the fear of being caught and the witness of one’s conscience that makes us panic when we’ve done something wrong and “gotten away with it.”

The contrast in verse 1b is, “…but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” This boldness is boldness in daily living, it is the confidence that comes from a clean conscience.

As sinners, we all know how nerve-wracking it is to have sin that you’re trying to cover. So, while “the righteous are as bold as a lion,” we have many moments in our life when we lack that boldness.

What should we do to recover a clean conscience? Verse 13: “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” Only confession and true repentance can restore a clean conscience. It is incredibly hard to voluntarily confess your sins, especially if there are consequences—even criminal penalties—that may result from confessing. But, God is “rich in mercy” (Eph 2:4) and offers us forgiveness in Christ. Often people will be merciful, too, especially when someone voluntarily confesses without getting caught and demonstrates true repentance.

These verses remind us not only to repent of our sins; they give us good reasons to avoid sinning in the first place. There is moral power in living a righteous life and, by the grace of God, we can choose to do what is right and enjoy the freedom of a clear conscience.

2 Kings 20, Habakkuk 3, John 12

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Today read 2 Kings 20, Habakkuk 3, and John 12.

This devotional is about John 12.

There is a strong contrast between a disciple who loves Jesus and is unashamed of being his servant and those who believe in Jesus but want to follow him secretly.

We can see the contrast right here in John 12. It opens with Mary anointing the feet of Jesus with “about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume” (v. 3a) which she poured on his feet then removed with her hair (v. 3b). Her appreciation for who Jesus is, her gratitude for what he had done, and her desire to glorify and worship him overcame any inhibitions she had. Giving this gift of anointing to Jesus was far more important to her than blessing the poor with it (vv. 5-6), not because the poor were unimportant, but because she was devoted to Jesus.

The opposite of her unique act of worship was exemplified by the “leaders” (v. 42a) who “believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue” (v. 42b). They wanted to follow Christ in secret. Why? Because “they loved human praise more than praise from God” (v. 43). Mary was unashamed because she was devoted to God and, therefore, worshipped his Son openly without shame. These men who were leaders feared God but they feared social ostracism more.

Most, if not all of us, go through phases in our lives where we want to hide our faith in Christ because we fear people. It is a common spiritual issue, one that even the great Simon Peter experienced when he denied our Lord three times. So if you’ve ever hidden your faith or been embarrassed to admit that you’re a Christian, that does not automatically mean that you are not sincerely saved.

Eventually, though, the time comes when we must confess Christ openly. We must do so to become part of the local church through baptism. We must confess him openly to tell others about salvation in him. And, some of us must confess him openly by giving up our lives to follow him. As Jesus said in verses 24-25, “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

Are you willing to die for Jesus? Then why are you afraid to talk about him in your workplace? Why are you unwilling to sacrifice financially for his work? May God use this chapter to pull us out of our protective shells, to teach us to fear Him more than we fear others and even to love him more than we desire the praise of men. Then we will show ourselves to be his true disciples.

Exodus 31, Ecclesiastes 7, Luke 11

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Read Exodus 31, Ecclesiastes 7, Luke 11.

This devotional is about Luke 11

Luke 11 begins with a request. The disciples asked Jesus for lessons on how to pray (v.1). Jesus responded with what is called, “The Lord’s Prayer.” But maybe it should be called, “The Lord’s Lesson on Prayer” because these verses don’t tell us what to pray but how to pray. In other words, this was not given as a prayer to be recited or repeated. Instead, it was an outline for how to pray (vv. 1-4). Pray about these things, Jesus is saying.

But that’s only the beginning of his lesson on prayer. After giving the lesson on how to pray, Christ told them a story to encourage them to pray. That story, in verses 5-8, could be called, The Parable of the Annoying Friend.

It goes like this: A man and his family are trying to sleep (v. 7). A friend of his comes knocking at midnight to ask for some bread to feed his unexpected (and nocturnal) visitors (vv. 5-6). Nobody wants to get up in the middle of the night if he can avoid it. That’s especially true if you live in a one room house, like most people in Christ’s lifetime did. You might wake your little children if you get up and they might not go back to sleep very easily. So the sleeping man refuses, at first, to do anything for his nighttime-knocking friend (v. 7).

However, the foodless friend will not take no for an answer. So, Christ said, the annoyed would-be-sleeper will finally get up and give up the bread “because of your shameless audacity…” (v. 8). In other words, if you can be annoying enough, you can get what you need from a friend who has better things to do. Your “friend” will do it just to make you go away, not because he values your friendship so much.

This, Christ argued, is how you and I should pray. We should pray with the kind of (annoying) persistence that the midnight knocker displayed. Christ applied this parable to prayer in verses 9-10: “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

There are two lessons about prayer in this parable. First, pray boldly. Ask God for what you want, not what you think is reasonable. Second, pray persistently. Don’t give up asking God for what you want even if he doesn’t give it to you right away.

Now, the lesson here is not that God is busy with other things, or too lazy to help. The lesson isn’t that God doesn’t really want to answer your prayer with yes, but you can badger him into giving you what you want if you’re annoying enough. In verses 11-13, Jesus said that God is a loving father. He waits with answers to prayer, sometimes, for your growth not because he’s unwilling.

So…, how’s your prayer life? Do you pray daily? Do you keep asking for things even when God doesn’t give them? How much will you pray for something before you give up? Are you praying for spiritual things? Jesus said that God wants to “give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (v. 13). This isn’t saying that you don’t have the Holy Spirit but that God gives spiritual things to those who ask through the power of the Spirit.

If you’re praying for a wayward child, don’t give up. Keep pounding on that door in prayer. If you’re praying for an unsaved spouse or parent, keep audaciously asking for the Lord’s attention on that. Whatever you do in prayer, don’t give up praying. That’s the lesson of Luke 11:5-13.