Consequences with Grace

Often we are under the impression that church leaders—especially those of large congregations—are exempt from consequences. We’ve heard stories of preachers who’ve managed to get away with sin for a long time and wonder who else is hiding something.

The truth is, no one truly gets away with sin. Even Moses, as leader of Israel, and Aaron, as high priest, didn’t escape unscathed.

But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!”

Numbers 20:12 (NLT)

Aaron died before Israel made it to the Promised Land and it was Joshua, not Moses who was leading at that time.

But there is hope. There is grace.

Last summer one of the pastors I listened to on a regular basis was removed from his position by his own church. The church he started. The church he watched grow from nothing to thousands. He’d succumbed to alcohol addiction and it was affecting his ability to minister effectively. Rumours flew that he might be cheating on his wife or that old issues with pornography addiction had flared up. The world turned on him. I stopped listening to him.

Until another pastor that I have a great amount of respect for offered this “fallen man” his stage. Not just for a weekday service. Not just one weekend service. But for their anniversary service. My first reaction was shock. How could anyone let this man ever take the stage again?

I realised I had become judge and jury for this man. If another pastor whom I respect would give him room, why couldn’t I? So I listened to that sermon he preached from the stage that was not his own. And on  February 5, 2017, Perry Noble stood on the stage at Elevation Church and preached a message on grace and forgiveness from a place only a man who truly knew what it felt like could.

Even though Moses and Aaron failed to obey God, God never failed them. Though they had to suffer the consequences of their sin, God never let go of them.

We all fall. And we all have the opportunity to get back up again. I realised that, if I want a hand to reach out when I’m down, I can’t be the person to deny my hand to the one who is down.

There are consequences. But there is still grace.

Daily Bible reading: Numbers 18-20, Mark 7:1-13

Another night with the frogs

Your country is plagued with frogs. Frogs everywhere. Frogs in your house, your bed, your fridge. You can’t go anywhere without being harassed by the croaking beasts.

Someone comes up to you and says, “Name the day and time and I’ll rid you of these pests.” You think about it a moment.

“Tomorrow.”

Tomorrow?

I had a frog jump into my bed once. There was no way I was going anywhere near my bed again until that frog was back outside where it belonged. I can’t even sleep if I know there’s a frog outside my window (and there are—often).

But tomorrow is what Pharaoh said to Moses when Moses told him in Exodus 8:9 that he could be rid of the frogs. Pharaoh apparently wanted one more night with the frogs.

This passage reminds me of a message I heard recently. If you’re able to, listen to the message Christine Caine delivered at Elevation’s Code Orange this fall. In the word that she brought to the revival meetings, Christine Caine spoke about an old Nike ad campaign that used the slogan yesterday you said tomorrow.

How often have you told yourself that you’ll start or stop something tomorrow? I’ll start working out tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll eat better. I’ll do better tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow.

Why tomorrow? Why suffer through one more night with the frogs when your salvation can come today? Today is tomorrow. If you have the opportunity to bring about change right now, don’t wait. If you wait until tomorrow, you’ll say tomorrow again. And again.

Do you want your miracle now or do you want one more night with the frogs?

Daily Bible reading: Exodus 7-8, Matthew 17

Manna is off the Menu

And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

Joshua 5:12 (ESV)

Early this year, Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina preached a sermon titled He Took Manna of the Menu. One little chunk of scripture that usually gets passed over, got a lot of much needed attention.

We talk a lot about the provision the nation of Israel received on their journey from Egypt to Canaan, but we don’t talk a lot about what happened once they got to the Promised Land.

The manna stopped.

The food that had sustained an entire nation for forty years stopped the day after they arrived in the place God had promised to them.

Did the provision stop? Certainly not. The provision changed. They were now in a land that could (and would) sustain them for many years to come. They didn’t need the manna any longer.

How often do we look at our lives and see where good things have ended and complain about it? Look harder. Maybe there was provision disguised as work.

For Israel, food was no longer harvested from the ground like dew in the morning. Suddenly provision required work. They had fields, flocks and vineyards to tend do. Did God stop taking care of them? No. But the supply changed.

When kids start to grow up, parents give them more and more responsibility. They learn to do things on their own. A parent doesn’t stop doing things for their child out of spite or to take things away, but rather to teach them that they are able to do things on their own.

The next time you’re faced with what looks like lack, look again. Maybe the supply you’ve been given looks like work.

Daily Bible reading: Joshua 4-6, Luke 2:1-24