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Necessary Adjustments and the Soil of Your Heart

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Ezra 1:1-2 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia [almost seventy years after the first Jewish captives were taken to Babylon], that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might begin to be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and put it also in writing: 2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.

Imagine a cataclysmic event occurring in the United States in which every citizen is forced to relocate to Russia and live for seventy years. Then, following this time period, picture the prime minister of Russia proclaiming that their country would pay for every American citizen to return. All expenses paid. What would you do? What changes would have taken place in a persons life in those seventy years? One way to make this more pertinent is to visualize turning back the clock in our nations’ history seventy years. This would place us in the year 1955. I was born in 1963. Since that time I have graduated from High School, College, and Seminary. I’ve been married for 40 years, and have two married adult children, and three grandsons. All of my life would have been lived in Russia. English would not be my heart language – Russian would be. My parents were born in 1944 and 1945. That means my Dad would have been eleven years old when he was forced to move to Russia. My parents’ parents would have been in their early thirties. Their parents would have been in their sixties. That’s six generations of family members impacted by the move.

Now imagine the prime minister of Russia asking you to go rebuild a church back in America. What would you do? From the book of Ezra we can see that only three tribes responded in faith to the invitation. Out of twelve tribes only three chose to return: Ezra 1:5 Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites, with all those whose spirits God had stirred up, to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. One fourth of the people chose to act in faith. Only one fourth of the people understood God’s call on their lives. Only one fourth of the people were willing to uproot their way of living and return in faith to God’s Word; His Promises; and His Prophetic Declarations.

We often criticize and judge the unbelief of the Jewish people. It’s no coincidence that in Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, or the soils, only one fourth of the soil bore fruit. Is there a correlation between Israel and the Modern day church? John 14:23 states that we are building God’s House with Jesus and the Father. But how is the soil of our hearts receiving the seed of God’s Word? Are we so entrenched with our families, and our way of life, that when the King summons us to build we choose to remain where we are, and as we are? You cannot stay the way you are and go with God. You cannot stay where you are and go with God. You must make the necessary adjustments in order to join God in what He is doing.

Freedom From Religion

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The Prophet Ezekiel provides a stern warning for all who claim to be spiritual shepherds of God’s people prophesying: And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them, even to the [spiritual] shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the [spiritual] shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you kill the fatlings, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 The diseased and weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the hurt and crippled you have not bandaged, those gone astray you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought to find, but with force and hardhearted harshness you have ruled them. 5 And they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts of the field. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains and upon every high hill; yes, My sheep were scattered upon all the face of the earth and no one searched or sought for them. Ezekiel 34:1-6 AMPC

The Bill of Rights of these Untied States guarantees the free exercise of religion – but it does not guarantee the freedom from religion. Religion without a relationship with Jesus is what crucified Him in the first place (and still does). Religion is self-centered, and self-focused, on the self-effort of “do-it-yourself” adherents. Religion is rutted routines without Life or Substance. Religion puffs up its adherents with pride having knowledge void of experience. Religion generously measures its own performance while stingily judging the efforts of others considered inferior and lacking. Religion, according to Genesis 3:19, is plowing the fields for your own bread while eating it in the sweat of the curse of the knowledge of good….AND evil.

Christmas reminds us of the Good News declared to the first shepherds, and echoed in Ezekiels’ prophecy: Therefore will I rescue My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 And I will raise up over them one Shepherd and He shall feed them, even My Servant David; He shall feed them and He shall be their Shepherd. 24 And I the Lord will be their God and My Servant David a Prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. 25 And I will confirm with them a covenant of peace….Ezekiel 34:22-25

Tailgating

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For many fans of organized sports the term “tailgating” evokes images of stadium, or arena parking lots. Truck tailgates, or car trunks are dropped or popped open for the purpose of grilling, barbecuing, and consuming favorite foods and beverages. Family, friends, and die hard fans usually don their favorite teams’ jerseys, while proudly displaying accompanying colors as expressions of loyalty. What’s really interesting is that the term and practice of “tailgating” can be traced all the way back to the Civil War. Believe it or not people would bring picnic lunches to watch blue and gray uniformed soldiers kill and maim each other – for entertainment. Coincidentally the term has also been borrowed to describe another “war” which is not so civil that occurs on streets, roads and highways throughout the United States. Obviously, this alternative usage describes the practice of not leaving sufficient stopping distance between a driver and a car being followed. This creates the possibility of a collision if the followed vehicle stops suddenly. Often the offending drivers vehicle is used as a weapon to bully, or punish the slower driver into surrendering a coveted lane. (Remember the archaic, “regulatory” signs: PASSING LANE ONLY?) Ultimately the polite message was and still is, MOVE IT or LOSE IT! The not so polite message is usually accompanied by hand waving, vulgar gesturing, and, or blaring horns.

Last night while driving home I experienced this “pastime” firsthand. (No, I didn’t drop the tailgate of my truck and grill some brats and burgers). As I sat at a red light a driver – who needed corrective lenses, or a sobriety test slowed his vehicle within inches of the rear bumper of my truck. Once the light turned green I accelerated to the posted speed limit (suggested limit?) – generously exceeding it by five miles – discovering my actions were not sufficient. The bullying continued, while not so civil images danced through my mind like a barrage of cannon balls and firing muskets. Somewhere in the midst of my fantasy civil war reenactment a still, small, GENTLE Voice spoke: But one thing I do – forgetting what is behind…Which reminded me of another passage, Psalm 119:165 Great peace have they who love Your Law and NOTHING shall offend them. Ouch! My Commanding Officer was reminding me to let go of what offended me – from behind – and to cease and desist from watching life go by in the rear view mirror turning my attention and focus to what really mattered: His Presence, Peace, and Kingdom. Do you love His Law, His teaching and instruction? Do you have His Peace or is your offense looming larger than His Presence?