Faithless

Psalm 3:2 Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.

I call this devotional faithless because this verse is the worse example of faith I could imagine. It screams of faithlessness. We are taught that all things are possible with God, but here we deny God’s ability to help a soul. That doesn’t say much for our faith in God if we believe that anyone can be beyond redemption.

Secondly it screams of judgment. We are told not to judge. We are warned sternly not to judge, but this accusation against both man and God screams of judgment. Yet we look to the evil done in the world and our first reaction to the horrors seen is, “He doesn’t deserve forgiveness.”

Numbers 35:31a Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death:

Then there is the issue of satisfaction. We think that justice will give us satisfaction, but it should not and if we truly are in Christ, it does not. If you look at recent history the cries for satisfaction have led to nothing but more pain and misery. This is nothing new. God warned us of the dangers thousands of years ago. So long ago many have failed to hear and heed the warnings.

Are we faithless if we do not teach this present generation the warnings God has sent that expose our tendencies and the curses that follow our unfaithful judgments? We may not be blamed for their not heeding the warning, but if they never heard it, then who is at fault?

Joshua 24:15a…c And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; … but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Celebrity

Mark 9:15 And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.

The idea of celebrity is ancient. We tend to think of dynasties ruled over by mad tyrants and history being written by the victors but people have always admired and celebrated things that amaze them. While celebrity is thought of as relating to a person, it does not have to be a person to amaze.

The sequoias of California amaze me. I take photos and share with my friends. I do not run to salute them. The bison of Yellowstone National Park amaze me, I talk about how impressive they were to everyone I know. I do not run to salute them. Rocky Mountain National Park and the view from Mt. Evans in Colorado are amazing. Yet I do not run to salute them.

The nature of things is the essence of humility. They are because they are and give no thought to the fact they are. Jesus was like that but it is the people who flocked to Him that gave Him celebrity. In all that Jesus was and did, all He ever wanted was to be, His most humble of truths, I AM.

His Father said unto Moses I AM THAT I AM. Those simple words of humility became so celebrated that no one dared utter them aloud for generations. Anyone caught uttering I AM was stoned. Yet when the great I AM came He did not glorify Himself, He glorified the Father. It was the people who gave Him celebrity that pushed Him and begged Him to say it.

John 18:6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.

An thus began being slain in the spirit, those moments when the true nature of Christ is revealed and man’s celebrity takes a back seat to the true humility of the Glory of God. The great I AM became flesh and dwelled among men.