April 23
Judg 1:1-2:9 | PS 90:1-91:16 | Prov 13:24-25 | Luke 21:29-22:13
Things erode slowly, gradually, being almost imperceptible. If one looks at a cliff adjacent to the sea, you won't notice anything, but year after year, the cliff is being eroded ever so slowly until chunks will come off. Go to any old ruin representing a past civilization. Often it is nothing more than scattered stones. Again these once bustling cities eroded ever so slowly. So it is with us. Below the surface, one compromise after another, one sin allowed to linger longer than it should, barely noticeable to others, but make no mistake the erosion has begun. There will be moments of clarity. In fact, you may be called out and get emotional, even crying in desperation. But what happens after that person leaves or after a good night's sleep. Is it business as usual or will you get rid of those areas that don't belong in you. That is why confession and repentance are so different. You can acknowledge your sin. You can pay the price for your sin. You can make bold claims against that sin. But unless you repent, or change your mind, adopting God's standards rather than your own, there has been no real change. God’s standards are clear and unchanging. He knows what we need, we often are fooled into complacency.
We read in Joshua 2:1-4, "Then the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’ " So it was, when the Angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept." The Angel of the Lord is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus, Himself. The people were disobedient, and they were called out for it. They got emotional as they lifted up their voices and wept. But this is the beginning of the book of Judges, and we will see the continuous cycles of revival and blessing, followed by complacency, rebellion and oppression. They confessed multiple times. But they didn't repent, as the book of Judges concludes in 21:25, "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes."
Unless we are willing to make God our King. This must be done personally in our lives. Either God is king or we are. Either God's commandments reign supreme in our hearts and minds, or our own thoughts will reign. They cannot co-exist. Repentance is essential. Emotions are deceptive. Acknowledge the King of the Universe for who He is. Realize that His standards have not wavered since they were first issued. He doesn't adapt to our changing times, it is us who must adapt to Him in the midst of our changing times. Like a lighthouse, He will give clarity in our storms if we only choose to look for Him.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: