Coffee With The Lord

As Christians living under “grace” and the “New Covenant” we often struggle with how to respond to God’s law. Afraid of “legalism” we often see those who claim to be “followers of Christ” go the opposite extreme… “license” (almost anything goes under the rubric of “freedom” – very little difference can be observed in the lifestyle between the broader culture and “Christ’s followers”).

Today, as a part of my time of “coffee with the Lord” I read a wonderful insightful comment on this issue written by Dallas Willard in THE DIVINE CONSPIRACY…

He observed: “If people in our Christian fellowships today were to announce that they had decided to keep God’s law, we would probably be skeptical and alarmed. We probably would take them aside for counseling and possibly alert other responsible people in the group to keep an eye on them. We would be sure nothing good would come of it. We know that one is not SAVED by keeping the law and can think of no other reason why one should try to do it.

“This leaves us caught in a strange inversion of the work of the Judaizing teachers who dogged the footsteps of Apostle Paul in New Testament days… As they wanted to add obedience to ritual law to faith in Christ, we want to subtract moral law from faith in Christ. HOW TO COMBINE FAITH WITH OBEDIENCE IS SURELY THE ESSENTIAL TASK OF THE CHURCH AS IT ENTERS THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY.”

You know what? Looking around at contemporary Christian culture, I think Dallas Willard got absolutely right! May we hear clearly once again the words of Christ our Lord and Savior, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished! Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20)

Many years ago my dad and I were hunting in Montana in the Bitterroot area. We left camp early in the morning. When we had left camp that morning I decided to memorize the number of our trail… CC Trail 404 – I still remember to this day! About mid-morning an extremely heavy snow began to fall… So heavy, in fact, it was almost hard to see your hand in front of your face. So we decided to sit out the heavy squall. We found a sheltered area and parked on a log until the storm was over and had passed by. After the storm, to our dismay, everything looked different! No trail markers! In fact, clear demarking of any trail at all was gone. Even with a compass we really didn’t know where we were! We prayed and begin walking the right direction as best we could discern it… After awhile, to our great relief there it was… the trail! And the right one at that! It was a long hike, but we were able to find our way back to camp!

That experience came to mind this morning during “coffee with the Lord” as I read Deuteronomy 4 and some of the warnings God gave His people as they prepared to enter a new land – the “Promised Land”…

“And now, O Israel, listen to the statues and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you… Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children… The Lord spoke to you… You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. And He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and He wrote them on two tablets of stone… Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a cared image, the form of anything that the Lord our God has forbidden… I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over to possess… But if from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find Him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul! When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you, you will return to the Lord your God and obey His voice for the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that He swore to them!” (from Dueteronomy 4)

I’m on a journey, just as they were, to a “promised land!” There will be temptations… there will be trials… there will be storms… there may be some times when you or I like feel like we have failed and have lost our way! But it is in times like that we desperately need to recall His word and His promises! It is in times like that we need to seek Him with all our hearts! He will find us… He will lead us… He will help us… He will enable us find our way! He is a merciful God! What’s that trail number again?

Thinking today of kind and compassionate individuals… very special people who will step in, take action, and at great risk and personal sacrifice do something to help out or rescue another person… even people they don’t know personally. We sometimes call them “heroes” (although they usually shun the term and feel uncomfortable with it). Know anyone who fits that description?
Well, a fellow by the name of Ebedmelech, an Ethopian who served on Judean King Zedekiah’s personal staff was that kind of person! He heard that some evil, vindictive, cruel individuals had persuaded Zedekiah, the king, to allow them to throw Jeremiah, the prophet, into the cistern of Malchiah. This was a terrible, inhuman thing to do… There was no water in the cistern, only deep, putrid muck. Jeremiah sank deep into the mud, up to his armpits. These evil men left Jeremiah, God’s prophet, there to starve and die! Ebedmelech, heard about what they had done, went to the king at great personal risk, appealed to him, and got permission to rescue Jeremiah. He got thirty men, some rope, and some old clothes to put under Jeremiah’s arms, and they rescued him and pulled him out of the cistern.
After Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, because of God’s judgment on Judah’s sin, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, the prophet: “Go and say to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city [Jerusalem] for harm and not for good… BUT I will deliver you on that day declares the Lord! … I will surely save you and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in Me, declares the Lord!’”
God remembered and honored the kindness and compassion of Ebedmelech, an individual who was not of the nation of Israel, but someone who reverenced and trusted God and took action to help and rescue one of God’s prophets who was in need! Hebrews 6:10 says, “God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you show for His name in serving the saints.” Jesus Himself assured us, “The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you he will be no means lose his reward!” (Matthew 10:41-42) And one more… “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to EVERYONE, and ESPECIALLY TO THOSE WHO ARE OF THE HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH (i.e. fellow Christians)! (Galatians 6:10)
So what am I going to do? I’m going to look for opportunities to be an “Ebedmelech!” It’s the right thing to do! It’s honorable! It’s “Christ-like behavior”… AND it God honors it!