All posts by Luella Campbell

HABAKKUK’S SECOND DILEMMA-3

Bible Study, ,

Habakkuk 1:12-15 NLT
[12] “O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal— surely you do not plan to wipe us out? O Lord, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us, to punish us for our many sins. [13] But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil. Will you wink at their treachery? Should you be silent while the wicked swallow up people more righteous than they? [14] Are we only fish to be caught and killed? Are we only sea creatures that have no leader? [15] Must we be strung up on their hooks and caught in their nets while they rejoice and celebrate?”

Poor Habakkuk! He just couldn’t keep up with God. First, he had to process God’s incomprehensible plan to raise up and permit a godless nation to overrun his people. Now he has to come to terms with a contradiction in the very nature of God. If God is holy, how can He use ungodly idolators to fulfill His purposes?

Since God patiently responded to Habakkuk’s questions, it seems that He didn’t consider Habakkuk’s questions arrogant or impertinent. He had something important to teach His distressed prophet about the wisdom of His ways. He responded to Habakkuk’s honesty by taking him step by step through His actions to a place of understanding and personal faith.

Let’s consider Habakkuk’s second question. How can a holy God use ungodly instruments for His purposes? God’s answer, which we will see in our next meditation, opens up a new perspective on God’s sovereignty.

For the moment, we must consider God’s relationship with evil. Evil people with their evil deeds impact our lives every day. Some of us live with them; we work with them; we bump into them in the course of our day; they are around us everywhere. They govern our nation and are bent on inflicting their ungodly decisions on all the people. Where is God in all this?

The story of Job will help us gain a true perspective of God’s use of evil. First, God never tolerates the evil in people. He has no part in it. He is holy, utterly separated from evil people’s thoughts, actions and behaviour. God never tempts us to do wrong.

James 1:13-15 NLT
[13] “And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. [14] Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. [15] These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”

Our sinful behaviour comes out of our sinful nature…our desires, our choices, our actions but…

Evil has inescapable consequences and evil people will reap them…and the consequences we suffer are not God’s fault.

However, God uses what evil people do, either to us or by us, to corall us into thinking and learning differently about sin. In His wisdom, God works, IN ALL THINGS, for our good.

What an astonishing revelation! How riveting to realise that not even our sin, heinous as it might be, is wasted in our lives. We learn more from what we have done wrong than what we have done right. God weaves our sinful behaviour and its consequences into the tapestry of our lives, the dark threads forming a contrast and revealing the magnitude of His mercy and grace.

Can you see the difference between God causing sin and God using sin in the lives of people? Since He is holy…utterly separate from sin, and demands holiness on us if we are ever to approach Him and be acceptable to Him, He took action to ensure that unholy humans would be transformed by His grace from sinners to saints.

No, Habakkuk, God’s action by raising up and using the ruthless Babylonian army was never a denial of His stance against sin but rather the evidence of His sovereign mercy. Without His drastic intervention to turn His people from their idolatrous ways, the Jews would have perished in their sin. He was preparing them for the moment when He Himself would break into history in the form of a tiny human baby to deal with sin though never part of it.

God’s reassurances regarding the mystery of His ways would lead Habakkuk, step by step, into a new perspective and a new way of handling life’s seemingly insoluble dilemmas.

To be continued…

HABAKKUK – GOD’S FIRST DISCLOSURE – 2

Bible Study, ,

Habakkuk 1:5-6 NLT
[5] “The Lord replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it. [6] I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and violent people. They will march across the world and conquer other lands.”

Well now, God, how is that for a solution!

“If you think things are bad now,” God said, “they are going to get a whole lot worse!” God’s answer to Habakkuk’s accusation was as startling as it was terrifying. An army well trained, relentless, and ruthless, was on its way to decimate the nations including Judah, the little, non-descript remainder of what was once David’s mighty Israel.

Habakkuk 1:7-11 NLT
[7] They are notorious for their cruelty and do whatever they like. [8] Their horses are swifter than cheetahs and fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their charioteers charge from far away. Like eagles, they swoop down to devour their prey. [9] On they come, all bent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind, sweeping captives ahead of them like sand. [10] They scoff at kings and princes and scorn all their fortresses. They simply pile ramps of earth against their walls and capture them! [11] They sweep past like the wind and are gone”…

God takes pains to describe to Habakkuk the nature of this tool He is about to use to refashion His people. So powerful a military force was coming that nothing and no one would be able to resist them. They would sweep over the surrounding nations like locusts, devouring everything in their path.

Imagine Habakkuk’s horror at this disclosure. Was this God talking or some sadistic impersonation of the God he knew and served? Why would God resort to this means of confronting His people?

Let’s stop and examine the background to this extreme situation. Although God had claimed them as His own, from its inception as a nation Israel was bent on rebellion. They rejected God’s rule over them. They opted for idol worship to be like the surrounding nations. They chose human kings to rule over them in place of God despite the evil influence many of these kings had on them.

God had warned them of the consequences. Their own history bore witness to God’s anger at idolatry. Their ancestors were God’s tool to destroy the Canaanite idolators under Joshua so that they could possess the land, a bit of land they now precariously clung to after the Assyrians had conquered and overrun the northern kingdom of Israel.

Their stubborn rebellion against God was lodged deep in their hearts. God sent prophet after prophet to warn them but no amount of preaching, teaching, or warning shifted them from their chosen path.

A few of their God-fearing kings led the people of God back to a temporary semblance of obedience but, come another rebel king on the throne, they were soon back to their idolatrous ways.

God knew that it would take very drastic action to shift them from rebellion to obedience. The consequences He warned them about didn’t scare them until He did what He said He would do if they refused to repent and change their ways. He had to dispossess them of their beloved land, and send them into exile to live among the idolators they do loved to follow. This was the only way to change their minds about the God they had chosen to abandon.

You see, God never treats anyone as a puppet. He gave the whole human race the gift of self-determination and did not remove it when Adam fell. Adam chose to go it alone and God let him go, despite the consequences because he had made the choice.

Jesus honoured people’s right to choose in His dealings with them. If anyone chose against Him, He did not force His will on that person. He let the rich young ruler go when he chose his wealth over following Jesus.

God’s way of leading people to the right way is by allowing them to feel the pain of their disobedience so that they will repent and choose His way. They must change on the inside by their own choice.

God never forces His will on anyone. He wants people to love and serve Him by their own free will. He uses and guides through circumstances so that people will recognise and be convinced that His way is the right way.

He knew that the only solution was to apply pressure on His people so drastic that they would begin to loathe the rebellion that got them into the situation.

Within the disclosure of His plan to Habakkuk, God inserted an ominous warning concerning the perpetrators of Judah’s punishment,

“But they (the Babylonians) are deeply guilty, for their own strength is their god.”

The destructive power of the Babylonian army would be temporary because God would not tolerate their idolatry either. He would use them to achieve His purpose with the people of Judah and then discard them as worthless because they failed to honour Him.

God’s disclosure of His plan made Habakkuk’s head spin. God’s response was so puzzling that it aroused a new dilemma.

To be continued…

HABAKKUK’S FIRST DILEMMA-1

Bible Study, ,

Habakkuk 1:1-4 NLT
[1] “This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision. [2] How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save. [3] Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. [4] The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.”

This little, seemingly insignificant prophecy from the pen of an unknown prophet, has huge implications for God’s people. if we look into it carefully, we can draw lessons and principles that will guide us through the same dilemma we face in our world today.

The first few verses reveal a scenario that is eerily similar to the reports in our daily newspapers. Violence, evil, misery, destruction, conflict, lawlessness, failure of the courts, injustice…all so evident in our own society! The only difference is that Habukkuk almost lays the blame for the escalation of wickedness at God’s door. “Things have got so bad because you, God, are doing nothing!” he accused.

Now that’s a bold claim! God had every right to swat His angry prophet…but He didn’t. He was patient and kind in His explanation of the real situation. You see, God is painting on a different canvas from the one we think we see. We see the effects of the hearts of people, and God seems indifferent. Unrestrained wickedness, rebellion, lawless…it all began in the garden of Eden.

So why should we be surprised? The same things have been going on since Adam’s decision to go it alone. When people kick God out of their lives, the rest is history…and history tells the story.

Habakkuk’s problem wasn’t so much what was happening but that God was letting it happen. After all, wasn’t God in charge? Isn’t He still in charge? Then why has He allowed things to become so bad, so unrestrained and out of hand? Has he lost His grip on humanity? Is He going anywhere with this mess? Can He turn things around, pull us out of it? Can He, will He put us back on even keel? Is He even interested or concerned about what’s happening to us? Will He eventually shut things down by obliterating the whole planet? After all, He owes us nothing!

In our world, history is repeating itself every day. God’s people are appalled at the level of wickedness and rebellion in the world around us. How and why have things got so bad?

To be continued…

COMPASSION JESUS’ WAY – 4

Christian Life, ,

Mark 6:34 NLT
[34] “Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.”

How do these thoughts on compassion Jesus’ way impact those of us who function as shepherds of God’s flock? Many of us, though not pastors or leaders in the local church, have a shepherding role in the lives of others…parents of children, teachers in schools…bosses in businesses, and so on.

We need to think beyond just telling them what to do. As children of God, we are all called to follow Jesus, to imitate Him, and to be an example to others.

We are examples of Jesus to others in one of two ways, bad or good.

God had this to say about some shepherds who used their shepherding function to their own advantage…

Ezekiel 34:2-4 NLT
[2] “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? [3] You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. [4] You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty.”

Jesys called these shepherds “hirelings”.

John 10:12-13 NLT
[12] “A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. [13] The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.”

There are many “hired hands” masquerading as shepherds in churches all over the world today, growing fat on the wealth they extract from the sheep, and feeding them on lies and deception. They are the ones who “steal, kill, and destroy”.

Ezekiel 34:5-6 NLT
[5] “So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal. [6] They have wandered through all the mountains and all the hills, across the face of the earth, yet no one has gone to search for them.”

There are serious consequences for these hireling shepherds.

Ezekiel 34:10 NLT
[10]” This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I now consider these shepherds my enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, and I will stop them from feeding themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey.”

How many of these false shepherds are being exposed for what they are…big names in the Christian world but falling like bowling pins when God shows them up for what they are.

So, God sent His own Good Shepherd to find and care for His sheep.

John 10:14-15, 27-30 NLT
[14] “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, [15] just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep….
[27] My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, [29] for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. [30] The Father and I are one.”

Every human on earth is essentially a “sheep”. Throughout Scripture, people are likened to sheep. Like sheep, we are made to follow. We either stubbornly go our own way blindly following one another, or we mindlessly follow false shepherds who lead us astray. We are rebellious at heart. We have no inclination to seek after and follow the true shepherd unless, by God’s grace, our bent to go astray is changed.

Isaiah 53:6 NLT
[6] “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.”

God Himself took the role of the true shepherd by coming to earth to rescue His sheep. He died to pay for their sin. He lives to care for, protect, and provide for His sheep, calling and leading them to the best pastures and the purest water.

Ezekiel 34:11-16 NLT
[11] “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep. [12] I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. [13] I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and in all the places where people live. [14] Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills. [15] I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord. [16] I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will feed them, yes—feed them justice!”

Just as God, historically, gave Israel a safe homeland, restoring the land of Israel to them and calling them home to their own pastures and quiet waters, so He calls all who belong to Jesus by faith into the safety of His kingdom and under His care.

Now, since Jesus is no longer with us as a human, He has entrusted to us, His under-shepherds, the role and task of caring for His sheep. He restored Peter to his shepherding role after Peter’s denial and betrayal of his trust in Him.

John 21:15-17 NLT
[15]”After breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. [16] Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. [17] A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”

Jesus called Peter to be a shepherd in His church, a role which Peter passed on to his fellow shepherds, giving them the rule of thumb to guide them in their function and attitude towards the sheep.

1 Peter 5:2-4 NLT
[2]”Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. [3] Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. [4] And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.”

The sheep belong to Jesus, not to the under-shepherds who are accountable to Him. He appoints those whom He can trust to care for His sheep. He gives them authority to pass on His teachings, unchanged and intact, so that the sheep are fed the truth that will set and keep them free from those who would feed them unauthorised “junk food”.

Love for Jesus, our true response to His love for us, will keep us from becoming the mercenary hirelings who use the sheep to satisfy their own fleshly greed. If Jesus’ compassion for the sheep led Him to teach them “many things”, so with His appointed shepherds now, wherever we have sheep under our care, it’s up to us to be faithful to our calling. Teaching them the life and words of Jesus, the Bread of life, will heal their wounds, nourish their souls, and protect them from the toxic influence of the hirelings who have prostitued a sacred trust for their own gain.

COMPASSION JESUS’S WAY – 3

Christian Life, ,

Pulling the thorn of rejection.

Mark 6:34 NLT
[34] “Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.”

To feed and care for the sheep, Jesus taught them many things. He knew that knowledge and understanding leading to appropriate action are the best way to overcome the wounds others inflict on His sheep by what they say and do.

Hebrews 12:14-15 NLT
[14] “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. [15] Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.”

Today, we’ll examine another issue that harms and disturbs the peace we crave in our hearts and in our relationships with one another… one person’s habit of controlling another.

Why are some people “control freaks”?

We encounter, or even live with someone who constantly dominates, interrupts, and takes over our conversation, telling us what to do, or even criticising, condemning, or controlling our every move. Some wives, for example, are prisoners of their husband’s controlling behaviour, and children are harmed by a father who blocks and interferes with all their movements, creating resentment and fear.

What triggers this kind of behaviour?

Apparently, insecurity is the core reason for a person’s controlling behaviour. Why is a person insecure? Why does he/she need to dominate and control others?

For convenience let’s call the person “she”.

At some point in her life when she was young and incapable of processing thoughtless words that some significant person in her life spoke, words like…
“You can do better!”
“You’ll never amount to anything.”
“Why can’t you be like your brother/ sister?”
“When are you going to learn?”

…which made her feel worthless, useless, hopeless, and rejected. These are “thorns” that lodge deep in her soul and begin to fester.

An insecure person uses control to express the need to be “somebody”. They try to obliterate the feelings of uselessness and rejection by claiming the limelight.

In the way other people try to control us, they are conveying an unspoken message that causes us deep harm. “I am bigger, better, know more, can do more… than you!” Such a person is, saying, in effect, “You are nothing. I reject you.”

People who feel rejected react in different ways. Some cover their hurt with outbursts of violent anger. Some creep into their shells and become shy, weak, and over-complaint nobodies. Others resort to being dominating and controlling “know-it-alls” in an effort to feel significant. They have are so traumatised that they resort to controlling others to cover up their own nothingness.

Unfortunately, we either behave in one of these ways or we become victims of these kinds of behaviour, all expressions of rejection, without understanding the reasons behind them. Do we ever ask the question, for example, “Why do I feel so angry?” or “Why am I afraid of people?” or “Why do I have to be in the limelight all the time?”… or “Why does so-and-so make me feel so useless?”

These abnormal ways of behaving are expressions of insecurity. We don’t know who we really are. We are uncomfortable inside our own skin. We react to these feelings by covering up and burying them under unacceptable behaviour.

I believe that there is not a person on earth who has not felt rejected at some time in life. We have a society full of people bumping into each other to cover up our feelings of inadequacy.

Let’s look at rejection. What is rejection? Why is rejection so damaging?

My thoughts turned to Jesus. Suffering was the Father’s way of qualifying Him to be our Saviour.

Hebrews 2:10 NLT
[10] “God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.”

What was the nature of Jesus’ suffering? Was it the physical suffering He endured when He was crucified? Was it the indignities He suffered as a human? Isaiah and John give us the clue.

Isaiah 53:3 NLT
[3]”He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.”

John 1:10-11 NLT
[10] “He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. [11] He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.”

Contempt! Rejection! The very core of Jesus’ suffering. Rejection was the worst that humans could inflict on their God.

The Hebrew word for rejection means “vacant”.

I asked Meta (an AI service on WhatsApp that provides information on anything you want to know), for the meaning of “vacant” and what an insightful reply I received! Here is the summary. “In general, vacant implies a sense of emptiness, lack, or unoccupation.”

The Bible says that Jesus purposefully emptied Himself until He became nothing. In the eyes of His enemies He was rejected because they considered Him to be “vacant”! Even His family thought He was crazy!

When someone rejects you through derogatory words or actions, they treat you as, and leave you feeling “vacant”. There can be no attitude towards you more damaging than this. When you believe the words that make you feel empty, useless, unwanted, you eventually become what you believe. If you take these words to heart, you will be emotionally crippled by their poison. These words become a thorn that is driven deep into the core of who you are.

The Apostle Paul was also called to the same suffering, rejection by his own people and by the Gentiles to whom he was sent. Like Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles wanted to kill him, and eventually they did.

Acts of the Apostles 9:15-16 NLT
[15] “But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. [16] And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

How does one deal with rejection? You cannot undo the words that produced the feeling of rejection but you can pull out the” thorn” that caused the festering wound.

God gave Paul the answer to his “thorn”.

2 Corinthians 12:7 NLT
[7], …”So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.”

“A thorn in my flesh” is a particularly meaningful expression to Paul on his description. The insinuation that he was vacant, rejected, aroused violent reactions from his old, fleshly, sinful nature. Was Paul saying that the rejection he faced from both Jews and Gentiles caused his flesh to rise up in rebellion, defence? Did he react with anger, resentment, bitterness, thoughts of revenge? However…

First, Paul recognised, on hindsight, that his “thorn”, though initiated by the devil, had a purpose, to remind him of who he really was, a frail human utterly reliant on the Lord. He had no power in himself to overcome his fleshly reactions.

Second, Paul had to, “pull the thorn” by dealing with his anger and resentment against those who rejected him. When God revealed his thorn’s purpose, Paul understood its value, to teach him reliance on God’s grace, to stop being angry with his persecutors and to trust God in his circumstances. Anger and resentment caused the “thorn” to fester in his heart. He pulled it out by admitting he was wrong, forgiving those who rejected him, and replacing sinful reactions with a new perspective.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NLT
[9] Each time he (God) said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. [10] That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Meta added this amazing perspective on rejection…

“Rejection can be tough but shifting our perspective can help. Seeing rejection as a “vacant” space that’s available for something new and better to come in can be really liberating.”

Wow, that’s exactly how Paul responded to his thorn, once he had pulled it out. Gratitude to the Lord for the opportunity to receive His “enough” grace replaced his prayer to get rid of the thorn. God didn’t pull it out. Paul pulled the thorn out and allowed the wound to heal by changing his perspective and his attitude.

Once the thorn is out, we still need to deal with the infection, the dead cells and purulence that remain in the wound. The infection is caused by “bacteria” introduced by the thorn, the lies we believed that festered and caused the emotional
pain.

The medicine we use to counter the lies is the truth of God’s Word. We receive healing by “being transformed by the renewing of our minds.” By reading and believing what God says about us, we replace lies with truth.

Isaiah 53:5 NIV
[5] “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are HEALED.”

Healing of the wound and cleaning out the infection caused by the thorn happen by replacing the lies of the devil with the truth of God’s Word.

Jesus’ death in our place forgave all our sin, reconciled us to the Father and made us fully acceptable to Him. We are His beloved sins and daughters. What could be better than that?

Jesus said,

John 6:37 NLT
[37]”Those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.”

So, we can also shake off rejection as Paul shook off the poisonous snake and have no after effects. Through knowledge and understanding, Jesus has set us free from our pain and provided us with the food and water of the “green pastures and quiet waters”.

To be concluded…