The men believed the evidence they were shown, but they did not ask the Lord about it. – Joshua 9:14 (GWT)

Mistakes. We all make them. Hopefully, as Christians, we make fewer of them -and when we do, we find ways to use them to our good. However, whether we find ways to produce some positive outcome or not, we will have to deal with consequences. Those consequences can be minor and brief or major and lengthy — it depends on the mistake we have made.

In the story being told in Joshua 9, people came to him from a nearby land and deceptively posed as people from far away, hoping to make a pact with the Israelite people.  Evidence was there to show that they were not who they claimed to be, but the Israelite people did not recognize it, nor did they inquire of the Lord as to what they should do before swearing an oath. When I fail to consult the Lord before making a serious decision I am saying I know as much as God about it. Once I rely on my own ego and human intellect, I open myself up to the possibility of catastrophic failure with dire consequences. I suspect we’ve all been there.

The person who rushes into a marriage without first consulting the Lord and one day wakes up to realize they are stuck with the wrong partner has made a bond -and swore an oath before the lord that should be honored. The Bible says that God hates divorce. “For I hate divorce!” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.” – Malachi 2:16 (NLT). By the way, I’m not saying there are not legitimate biblical reasons for divorce — but just saying “oops! I made a mistake. Let’s undo this uncomfortable situation right now” is not a reason to violate the commitment you have made. Now you must live with it. Part of being a Christian is living with the consequences of our actions, secure in God’s grace for forgiveness of our sins, but responsible [nonetheless] for our actions to others and our commitments made before God. So what does a discussion of divorce have to do with the story told in Joshua 9? Read on.

As divorce is often the result of hasty decisions made between two people without first consulting the Lord, so was Joshua’s resulting dilemma the product of a decision made without consulting God -but involving Him by invoking His name in an oath. When the Israelites discovered they had been deceived, they were nonetheless bound by the vow they had made in the name of the Lord not to harm their enemies. The deception of their enemy did not invalidate the oath the Israelites had taken. Our commitments to others, made before God, are not to be taken lightly and are not disposable because we don’t like the consequences or think we have somehow been tricked. Often that trickery would have been exposed had we first consulted the Lord before entering into some agreement – be it a marriage or any other form of contract between people.

I shall leave this post here with [what some may consider] not the happiest of endings. There is, however, a light at the end of the tunnel, and it is Jesus. There is a power that comes to us that enables us to live with the consequences of our mistakes and [better still] stop making them! That power is the Holy Spirit. We’ll get into that more in future posts. In fact, my next posting [unless God leads me elsewhere] will be about creating positive outcomes from some of our mistakes. There are always ways to glorify God! Read on through the end of Joshua 9 and you will see how Joshua made some good out of  a poor decision. We’ll get into that next time. May God continue to bless you as you study His Word.

I wish to express my gratitude to the Tree of Life Ministries and credit Pastor Mike Dodson, Sr. for a recent broadcast where he preached on the subject of mistakes and their consequences and referred to the story in Joshua 9.

But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. – Romans 3:21-24 (MSG)

I know there are some people who don’t like “The Message” by Eugene H. Peterson, but I do. Perhaps not every passage as paraphrased is totally on the money, but he nails it on this one.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. – Matthew 5:9 (NASB)

Sometimes, sadly, I think Christians can be the greatest hindrance to evangelizing. We get too caught up in doctrinal differences (which are often petty) and forget it’s about spreading the gospel message provided through the life, death and resurrection of our Lord.

Recently I attended a church where they use the King James Version of the Bible and no other. In fact, to them, reading anything else is basically heresy, as they believe the King James to be the inerrant, inspired and infallible word of God. So those who read other versions are avoided, in terms of fellowship at least. How sad. Don’t get me wrong, I was brought up hearing verses from the King James Bible, told that memorizing scriptures from it is easiest and also it is the most accurate. So I was told by well-meaning, believing Christians such as my father. I love the King James and Bible and have several copies of it today: the Old Scofield Study Bible, the Master Study Bible and other assorted copies. I think it is the most beautiful and not as hard to understand (for the most part) as some would have you think. But I also read the New King James, English Standard Version, New Living Translation, New American Standard Bible, New International Version and even the Message from time to time. I like to get different perspectives and see how they word different verses. Some fundamentalists might accuse me of looking for wordings that fit my theology or somehow change basic biblical doctrine. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s just fun to look at things from different perspectives -and sometimes very enlightening. Besides, there are some occasions when what I think a word in English means is not what it meant when the text of the king James was penned over 400 years ago. However, aside from my difference of opinion with the preacher on the “KJV-only” issue, his preaching that night was right on. I would love to associate with him and his congregation more in the fellowship of the spirit and brotherhood of Christ, but that would mean adopting certain attitudes toward other Christians and beliefs that are contrary to what I feel in my heart is right and I refuse to do that. I have had enough ‘legalism’ for one lifetime. I don’t want to leave you with the wrong impression: there are lines I will not cross. There are versions of the Bible I will not read, such as the “New World Translation” widely used by Jehovah’s Witnesses. There are versions that I think go too far and I don’t recommend (but I won’t disassociate myself from a brother or sister who prefers it). However, there are beliefs I hold that are basic to my Christian faith, such as the doctrine of the Trinity, that I will not budge on. There is one path to God — through my Lord Jesus. His sacrifice is so great that there need be no other. I’m not a “universalist” who thinks there are several paths to salvation — I only know of one and it works for me. I don’t judge those of other faiths, I leave that to God. I believe His word and will tell people about it when the opportunity arises. I owe it to those who do not know Jesus to tell them how great He is and of God’s plan for them. There’s too much at stake to keep it secret!

All too often we separate ourselves from each other over petty differences that [I suspect] may matter more to us and they do to God. I wish we could focus more on the love of almighty God our Father as shown to us through Jesus and through the gift of the Holy Spirit that continues to empower our faith. I know how desperately I needed to find out about that grace — available to me simply by placing my trust in His love and accepting the wonderful gift of salvation available through the blood of Jesus as atonement for my sin.

If you’re reading this because you’re searching for something, I hope you give Jesus a chance and make Him the Lord of your life. If you have done so, I hope that I have given you things to pause and ponder in your daily walk with Him.

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, ” ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 22:36-40 (NASB)

1 Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God. 2 So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. 4 For government is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For government is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. 5 Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of your conscience. 6 And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s public servants, continually attending to these tasks. 7 Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor. -Romans 13: 1-7 (HCSB)

I found these verses to be especially fitting today, since it is President’s Day and also the day Karen and I went to see about getting our taxes done. Living in Connecticut, it is particularly fitting that I read these verses often! Happy President’s Day! God bless the United States of America!

O eternal and everlasting God, I presume to present myself this morning before thy Divine majesty, beseeching thee to accept of my humble and hearty thanks, that it hath pleased thy great goodness to keep and preserve me the night past from all the dangers poor mortals are subject to, and has given me sweet and pleasant sleep, whereby I find my body refreshed and comforted for performing the duties of this day, in which I beseech thee to defend me from all perils of body and soul . . ..

Increase my faith in the sweet promises of the gospel; give me repentance from dead works; pardon my wanderings, and direct my thoughts unto thyself, the God of my salvation; teach me how to live in thy fear, labor in thy service, and ever to run in the ways of thy commandments; make me always watchful over my heart, that neither the terrors of conscience, the loathing of holy duties, the love of sin, nor an unwillingness to depart this life, may cast me into a spiritual slumber, but daily frame me more and more into the likeness of thy son Jesus Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in thy appointed time attain the resurrection of the just unto eternal life bless my family, friends, and kindred.

The Lord is my protector;
he is my strong fortress.
My God is my protection,
and with him I am safe.
He protects me like a shield;
he defends me and keeps me safe.

-Psalm 18:2-3 (GNT)

What a comfort it is to know that the Lord is always there for me. Please don’t confuse this with the idea that God is going to shield me from adversity; it is through difficulties that I am proven and grow spiritually closer to God and in accordance with His will for me.

I recall a few years ago, when doing the “Purpose Driven life” course at Calvary, that a young woman who had been struggling with cancer remarked that she thanked God for it, because it brought her closer to Him by re-aligning her priorities (my words, not hers). So, no matter what happened to her as a result of her struggle with cancer, she knew she would always be safe in the arms of her loving Father God. Thankfully, Jesus made this all happen through His sacrifice for us. The peace of mind that is made available because of His blood is beyond description. Truly, God is my protection. No other is like Him.

Recently I purchased a “Liberty Edition” of the New International Version of the Bible. I was clueless of the fact that it had been through 2 revisions (TNIV & NIV 2011) that are both exceedingly controversial. In fact, the Southern Baptist Convention has recommended that it not be used in their churches and Zondervan stopped publishing the TNIV (Today’s New International Version) altogether because of backlash from many evangelicals. Apparently that backlash extends to their latest effort, the NIV 2011 version. A lot of the disapproval centers around the gender-neutral position the translation committee has taken in several verses.

I used the trusted NIV 1984 edition for many years and am not sure I’m ready to embrace the 2011 version. Has English really changed that much in 29 years? Is it more accurate than the 1984 edition? Perhaps. If so, maybe that’s reason enough to make the switch. I still read the KJV from time to time and have copies of several different translations in my library to look at from time to time.

I must confess that I still use the King James Version more than any other Bible because it was what my father used and many verses that I remember I memorized from the Authorized Version. But it is nice to have others to refer to. I am enjoying a parallel translation of the KJV/NKJV at present. When I get stumped by a verse of word’s meaning in the King James [not as often as one might think] I glance at the corresponding verse to the right and usually have my answer. Very convenient. Moreover, I like reading a Bible translated from manuscripts that don’t leave out verses or diminish them to a place of mere footnotes.

So, in regard to the NIV of 2011, the jury is out. I shall spend some time reading it. I completely agree that a word should be translated gender-neutral when that is the way it was intended to be in the first place. I’m not an anti-woman evangelical, by a long shot. I enjoy listening to Joyce Meyer and get a lot from her teaching -and also from Kay Arthur and other learned women of faith. Frankly, regardless of your choice in translations, I agree with Dr. Charles Stanley (a well-known NASB fan): whatever it takes. Just read it. Your thoughts?

Ever say to someone you love “you do that all the time” or something similar in anger? I do. I say I love these people (often it’s my wife and I know I love her) and yet I keep a record of their wrongs [bad things I think they have done to me or somehow adversely affect me]. If God were to do that to me as a Christian and I had no blood of Jesus to cover my sin, I would be in serious trouble. No way could I make up for the things I have done and have any hope of getting to heaven. God, whose grace is unbelievable and whose love knows no bounds, keeps no record. How do I know this? How dare I speak for God? I know because He has revealed this to us in His Word: Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (NLT).