The Final Goal: How To Stand Out
Read: Acts 5:26-33
Peter and the apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than any human authority.” – Acts 5:29
Cameroon ran into trouble when they planned to wear sleeveless shirts at the 2002 World Cup. Immediately the kit was ruled illegal. Team officials quickly added black sleeves so that Cameroon could still take part in the competition.
Cameroon made a wise decision to conform to the established rules, but the early church refused to conform. They understood their own dependency on God and the need for everyone to trust in Jesus. When faced with this message, the authorities reacted in a similar way as the governing bodies did to Cameroon—they put restrictions against them. They went so far as to threaten and imprison them so as to stop the church from speaking the good news of Jesus. However the church stood firm. Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority” (Acts 5:29).
Similarly, we are called to obey God before all others. Naturally that will make us stand out in the world. We need to stand out, like the early church, so people will see that we love Jesus and that we are living the life we were made for. Through the Bible, we will be guided by God to obey Him first, and when the pressure to conform hits, we can keep our eternal relationship with Him as our first priority. —Chris Wale
In a world that tries to squeeze us into its mold,
following Christ is the ultimate nonconformity.
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Loading ...ODJ: overcoming spiritual failure
Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the Lord. A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the Lord was very angry with the Israelites (v.1).
READ: Joshua 7:1-19
One of the dangers of past successes is that it can lead to complacency. Positive outcomes are exciting, but they can make us feel overconfident, overly optimistic, and in control. Soon we’re humbled and brought back to reality when we experience failure.
This seems to be what Joshua and Israel felt when they went to take Ai (Joshua 7:2-3). God had given them overwhelming victory and success in their previous battle at Jericho. So they must have thought that taking Ai would be a piece of cake, especially since there were so few of them. They were, however, routed and embarrassed (vv.4-5).
What went wrong? They were crushed because a guy named Achan had clandestinely breached the covenant by coveting and taking the devoted things (things dedicated for destruction, v.1). As a result, the Lord’s anger burned against the whole community of Israel.
Though it was the act of one man, God’s wrath was experienced by all, for the whole nation was in covenant with Him (vv.11-12). God pointed out to Joshua that Israel had violated His covenant, and He instructed him to deal severely with the perpetrator who brought trouble on the entire community. Joshua obeyed God. Achan confessed his spiritual failure, and he and his entire family were severely punished.
Achan’s sad story teaches us: (1) Sin will weaken God’s people and rob the community of holiness before God. (2) There are always consequences to our sins. (3) When we fail, we need to refocus our lives on God and his glory. (4) We should confess our sins to God and others when they are revealed to us. (5) When we deal with sin, we must eradicate it. (6) Spiritual failure should teach us not to make the same mistake twice (Joshua 8:1). By, God’s grace, we can move on. —Marvin Williams
How have your sins weakened your fellowship with God? What sins do you need to confess to God today?
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July 10, 2010
READ: 2 Cor. 11:22-33
. . . besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.—2 Corinthians 11:28
While making his landmark documentary about World War II, filmmaker Ken Burns and his colleagues watched thousands of hours of military footage. Scenes of the devastating Battle of Peleliu often invaded their dreams at night. Burns told Sacramento Bee reporter Rick Kushman, “You’re listening to the ghosts and echoes from an almost inexpressible past. If you do that, you put yourself into the emotional maelstrom.”
There’s a price to becoming involved in the struggles of others, whether artistically or spiritually. Paul experienced this in his work of sharing the gospel: “Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?” (2 Cor. 11:28-29 nasb).
Oswald Chambers said we enter this spiritual struggle as we “deliberately identify ourselves with God’s interests in other people” and “find to our amazement that we have power to keep wonderfully poised in the center of it all.”
Paul realized that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). Jesus paid the greatest price to be involved in our world, and He strengthens us as we share His love with others. —David McCasland
If we obey God’s calling, He will provide the needed strength.
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