Faith By Works

The manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate some of the yield of the land of Canaan during that year. (Joshua 5:12 NASB).

When Israel entered the Promised Land they no longer saw the miraculous provision of food.  They ate of the crops of the land.  God does not do for us what we can do for ourselves.  Obviously, I am not talking about salvation. This we cannot do for ourselves, but there is a working out of our salvation that comes by faith and effort.

Israel could plant and harvest for themselves.  They no longer needed the manna.  Miracles are a product of necessity.  This meant one thing for God’s people, hard work.  We are told in James 2:18 (NASB) to show our faith by our works. Works don’t save us but saved people do works.  In some circles it appears that seeking miracles has become somewhat of a spectator sport.  Yes, Jesus used miracles to confirm the Word, but even then the need was either unavailable or impossible to obtain in the natural realm.  Miracles are often a combination of the natural and the supernatural, such as the feeding of the five thousand in Matthew 14: 15-21 (NASB).  If we don’t exercise faith and do the possible we may never see the impossible.

The times that miracles seem to be eluding us, maybe we should ask ourselves if we are refusing to do what we can do, or trying to do only what God  can do.  Maybe the avenue to the miraculous is through that little four-letter word that some people consider dirty, work!  Do the possible and expect God to do the impossible.

Image use with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes, the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs:  http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

             http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

Beware In Times of Blessing

“But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.

(Deuteronomy 8:11 NASB).

Blessing can be a curse.  In times of prosperity we may be most susceptible to disobedience and paths away from God.  Our greatest tests may not be in our trials but in times of plenty.

Most people have a common problem. We tend to forget.  Very imperceptibly, pride slips in the back door and we start to forget all that God has done and how He has rescued us helpless in our sin (v. 14). Yes, we remember the acts of God, but we start to believe in our minds and hearts that it is because as individuals or groups we are special.  Remember, Israel was not chosen because they were special; they were special because they were chosen.  It was God’s love for them and not their goodness, strength, or power.  Moses reminded Israel in Deuteronomy 9: 4-5 that He was not giving them their inheritance because their righteousness or integrity. He was fulfilling an oath he had made to their ancestors.

Trials have their own built in mechanism that keep us on our knees. Prosperity can lead us to forget our desperate need for God. Prayerlessness is the avenue that allows pride to get its tentacles around our heart and lead us down the path of self-sufficiency.  The next time you feel blessed, think back prior to your redemption and remember how hopeless and despairing you were in your sin. Then maybe we will recognize that all we have is because of the unmerited favor of God.

The God of the Ordinary

Used with permission by Microsoft

It is the hum-drum and routine events of life that we see God most at work.  Yes, God works in the supernatural (miracles, healing, etc.) where He supersedes natural laws and does His thing.  And thank God for those.  But for every one of those, there are untold numbers of seemingly natural occurrences that God orchestrates.  The supernatural most often works in conjunction with the natural.  They may not be as spectacular, but they are no less supernatural. 

This ought to be an encouragement to most of us of us, as most of us if we are honest, live ordinary or routine lives.  Some one once said that the problem with Christianity is that is everyday.  Many believe that being ordinary is a pre-cursor to uselessness.  This is why we often go in search of the unusual and spectacular.  The truth of the matter is that we need not be unusual or spectacular because God is unusual and spectacular enough. 

It is often in the ordinary situations and places---not extraordinary one---that God teaches us lessons with eternal consequence.

Adapted from Ken Barnes, The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places: The Joy of Serving God in the Ordinary (Seattle: YWAM Publishing, 2011), 24–27.

A Lost Generation

“Then all of you approached me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may search out the land for us ..... The thing pleased me and I took twelve of your men, one man for each tribe.” (Deuteronomy 1:22 NASB).

The giants were this big!

The Lord had just spoken to Israel to go in and take their inheritance.  Unfortunately, we see no direction by the Lord to send spies into the land.  When we add to the words or the plans of the Lord the results are never good.

It appears in Numbers 13: 1-2 that God did tell Moses to send out the spies, but in our above mentioned scriptural reference it is clear the suggestion first came from the people and not God.  The Lord often allows us to follow our own ways.  Moses gave them the God’s word (Duet 1:21-22) but the people wanted just a little more than God gave them.  They thought they would make their own plans because they didn’t trust God’s.  It is never wise to try and out-think God.  Before we put all the blame on the people we should take note of telling little excerpt from Moses in v. 23, “The thing pleased me.”  As a leader, it is generally good to be inclusive of those you lead in making leadership decisions, but never when the Lord has already spoken.  Moses did not follow his own instructions.

And we know the rest of the story.  The intelligence gathered by the spies led to unbelief and disobedience.  The ensuing result was that all Israel save two men never had their feet touch the good soil of Canaan.   The choices of man do make a difference.  They never negate the redemptive plan of the Lord, but they do usher in a new set of characters to enact the story. We should take note of the warning in the Book of Revelation, neither add to nor take away from His Word.

Image used with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes, the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs:  http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

             http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

Incomplete Obedience

They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword (Numbers 31:8 NASB).

Balaam was a complicated man.  We see in him strokes of righteousness and prophetic insight mixed with self-centeredness and greed.  Weeds left among flowers most often take over the garden.

Midian is thought to have been in the vicinity of Moab. The Lord told Balaam explicitly that he was not to get involved with Balak the Moabite King (Numbers 22:12 NASB).  Balaam continues to seek permission to go.  Continuing to ask the same question after the Lord clearly answered it, revealed a telling sign about Balaam's character. His craving for wealth surpassed his willingness to do listen to God.  Instead of agreeing with God, Balaam tried to get the Lord to agree with him.  His avarice was enticing to believe that he knew better than God. Incomplete obedience is always disobedience, which brings disastrous results.

We are not told why Balaam was among the Midianites or what he was doing, but good character can be corrupted by the bad company we keep.  It is not always about being strong enough to resist sin but being amenable to God's directions to keep us out of temptation.  Compromise places us in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Unfortunately, for Balaam incomplete obedience led to his untimely destruction.  Almost obeying God can have dreadful outcomes.

Image used with permission by Microsoft

Ken Barnes, the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs:  http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

             http://gleanings757.blogspot.com