When we are mocked

Hear the insulting words of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, to Hezekiah, king of Judah:

¹⁰ "Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, 'Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.' ¹¹ Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered?" (Boldface mine).

As the self-confident king of Assyria boasted and bragged of his conquests, I wonder how Hezekiah felt: probably downcast, discouraged, and yes, intimidated. Sennacherib's might was known to all. And tiny Judah was no match.

What Hezekiah did next, is worth emulating: He marched to God, spreading out the insulting letter from Sennacherib before Him, saying: "Look, God, this is what Your (and my) enemy says: Are you going to stand for it?" (My paraphrase).

But for my readers who desire greater accuracy, let's go back to the bible, which quotes Hezekiah saying:

¹⁶ "O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁷ Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.

¹⁸ "It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. ¹⁹ They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. ²⁰Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God."

If there's one prayer that God answers, it's impassioned, heartfelt, honest prayer. I can't imagine Hezekiah going up to Him in some kind of groveling manner. Instead, I see Hezekiah going up to God, angry, shaking Assyria's threatening letter before Him, and pointing out that it's not only insulting to Hezekiah, but also to God. And ending with an impassioned plea for God to deliver Judah from the hands of insolent Assyria.

And, of course, God answers.

When we are real with Him, He answers.

Be content

I became a leader quite young in the faith. A year after I received Christ, I started a prayer group which in hindsight, taught me spiritual warfare. Extremely inexperienced as a leader, yet aware of the dramatic entrance of the Lord and His Holy Spirit into my life, the gifts of the Spirit were very much in action (See 1 Cor 14).

An episode stands clearly in my mind. In my group, as there are in many groups, was a control freak. He sought to take control whenever I was leading, and yet, when asked to lead, he would decline. In one of those tussles, a vision flashed across my mind.

Instead of the chairs that we were sitting on (we were seated in a circle), we were seated on thrones. We were all seated in the heavenlies, on thrones. And the rebellious one, had vacated his throne to bait me to leave mine, so that he could take my place -- while his own seat remained empty, vacant, powerless.

Such is the power of discontent. God had given him his place of ministry, where he could minister in the gifts given to him, and where he could excel. But he sought my place of leadership, thinking it was better than his.

In a flash, I knew what to do -- to stand my ground (as in Ephesians 6). I remained calm, seated in the heavenlies, in the place God had given me.

He, on the other hand, had episode after episode of mental and spiritual torment. Such is the power of discontent.

The group eventually dissolved and we went our separate ways. Prompted by the Lord, he wrote me a letter asking for my forgiveness some years later. Of course, I forgave him. We were all immature, anyway. But the group was invaluable in teaching me lessons of spiritual warfare which I would later apply when the Lord called me into full-time minstry.

I'm not sure why I'm writing this. Perhaps someone needs to read it.

Blessings, all.

Be strong, be alert

"With this in mind, be alert" Ephesians 6:18

We are a country that's always on the alert. Our train stations repeatedly play gory scenes of the Mumbai train bombing, to warn our commuters that there are people who mean evil to us, not good. We have police officers patrolling in groups of four, questioning lone men of their intentions. We are always updated on the latest terrorist captured, or killed.

In the natural, so in the spiritual. Are we on the alert, or are we asleep?

Are we aware that our struggle isn't so much in the natural, but in the spiritual?

Most important, are we strong in the Lord? Paul knows what being strong in the Lord is all about, and he enumerates seven points (Eph 6: 10-18):

1. Are we walking in truth? We can't be strong if we're living a lie, if our walk doesn't match our talk. If we're living a lie -- a life that lacks integrity -- that's a pretty big hole in the armour.

2. Are we walking in His righteousness, or self-righteousness? As the saying goes, Pride comes before a Fall. It's hard to define what walking in His righteousness is all about, but part of it is knowing that we aren't right all the time, and being open to correction. It's trusting Him to come through for us, when we are being attacked. Or gently stating our point of view when challenged, not taking things personally. Else, we may win the battle yet lose the war. Self-righteousness does that.

3. Do we have peace in our hearts? Are we at peace with God, with others, with ourselves? Are we willing to make peace with all parties, including ourselves?

4. Do we trust God? Do we trust Him to guide us to work things out, or do we strive to handle things ourselves because we doubt He's ever going to come through for us?

I have found that the more I strive to work things out, the worse things become. So I'm learning to let go and allow Him to guide.

5. Are we assured of our salvation? In other words, are we assured that we belong to Him? If you aren't, ask Him to come through for you in this area.

6. Do we know the Word of God? Have we read through the whole bible in context, from cover to cover? If you haven't, that's another big hole in the armour. You will be defenseless against the lies that come your way.

7. Do you have a prayerful heart? Do you lift up in prayer everything, big and small, to the Lord? Or do you believe He's too busy to be bothered with your prayers? That's another lie from the pit.

May all of us who know Him be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

Tithe to avoid the curse?

"Everything is cursed!" declared this controversial preacher. "From Gen 3, we know that the ground is cursed! Trees grow from the ground, from which we make paper, and money comes in paper form! So, your money is cursed! Your salary is cursed!"

(However, his illustration doesn't quite fit, as our money is now plastic. Nevertheless, I shall continue his illustration).

"The only way to turn the curse into a blessing is to tithe! If you give your 10 per cent to the Lord, the 90 per cent of your salary will be blessed!" he finished dramatically.

After hearing all that, I decided to use Bible Gateway to look up passages on the tithe.

The first instruction on the tithe comes form Lev 27:30:

A tithe of everything from the land...belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.

That's pretty clear. Ten per cent of what we earn belongs to Him. No argument about that.

But God doesn't need the tithe -- He owns everything! What's the tithe for?

In Deuteronomy, we learn more: The Israelites are instructed to bring the tithe "to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name", and

There, in the presence of the LORD your God,
you and your families shall eat (the tithe)
and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to,
because the LORD your God has blessed you. (Dt 12:7)

First, the tithe is a reminder that God is the source of all our material blessings. We are to rejoice that He has blessed and provided for us. We are to have an attitude of gratitude.

Second, it's a reminder to learn to "revere the Lord your God always" Dt 14:23.

Third, the Israelites are to share their tithe with their family, their servants "and the Levites from your towns, who have no allotment or inheritance of their own".

Our present-day Levites would be those who have given up secular employment to serve Him in the church and in the mission field. This includes the church secretary, the administrator, the pastor preaching from the pulpit, and the missionary way out there.

Dt 14:28 expands the list of beneficiaries of the tithe to include the aliens, the fatherless and the widows -- all those who are marginalised in society.

We are to provide for them, "so that they may come and eat and be satisfied," so that the LORD "your God may bless you in all the work of your hands".

It's pretty clear. If you use your ten per cent to bless the Church as well as those who are marginalised in society, God Himself will bless you.

So, don't tithe out of fear, an emotion which the controversial preacher seems to be inspiring. Tithe out of love and obedience to God.