Generational

“My servant David will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd. They will obey my regulations and be careful to keep my decrees.  They will live in the land I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They and their children and their grandchildren after them will live there forever, generation after generation. And my servant David will be their prince forever.  And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers, and I will put my Temple among them forever.  Ezekiel 37:24-26 

Generational.  My love for jazz music goes back to when I was a child. I was surrounded by parents who both worked and sat back and unwind during the weekends listening to it.  Then when we went on long trips, that is almost all I heard.  So, when I got older I naturally gravitated to it.  I did not realize how that influenced me until one of my grandchildren was playing jazz in the room she was staying.  Keep in mind she is only seven years old.  She had been on trips with me just as I had been with my parents.  But my connection with my grandchildren did not end there.

The other day, one of my other grandchildren came downstairs, and wanted to talk with me.  This is the one simply known as ‘my BFF’ because that is what she called me at the bright young age of two.  She says, “Do you know God is everywhere?”  I said, “Yes, I do.  He’s all knowing, all present, and all powerful.”  She says yes.  And we go on to discuss about going to Heaven and Santa Claus.  It was then it hit me.  God was blessing me with the impact of my decision over fifteen years ago.  I had a choice to follow Him or not back then.  It was one choice, but its impact was exponential. 

Each decision we make to follow God closer has a similar exponential impact.  I was reading through the Book of Ezekiel where God showed His power to Ezekiel where he could bring people to life through God’s commands.  Then He spoke of merging Judah and Israel into one nation and making “a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant.” But note the completeness of God’s promise.  It was everlasting providing not only for them but generations afterward.  Ezekiel’s later prophecies much like today’s verses were ones of hope to the exiled people of Israel.  What can we gather from this?  One is that God’s promises are true as Israel would eventually be restored.  Second, we only need be faithful to Him to keep our end of the bargain.  Note that I said faithful.  Not perfect.  It’s like the fundamental truth of excellence by a legendary football coach (Vince Lombardi), who said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”  We need not be perfect in our pursuit of God, but if we excel in the process building on His wisdom and displaying a heart for Him, we will find Him.  As such, we will make better choices in our journey of faith.  This is where God’s impact becomes exponential.  It will continually grow in ways that affect not only us but also those around us. 

God’s love for us is never-ending.  He pursues us relentlessly, and it takes a great deal to ignore Him.  If we simply surrender to Him, the rewards go well beyond our current situation or circumstance.  This is what makes our spiritual journey truly impactful.  Let us be determined to see through a Godly lens and make choices that honor Him.  How can you focus on God when making decisions?  Do you consider God’s Kingdom as a factor in your choices?  My prayer is we are weighing all factors to know that our decision to follow Jesus Christ is in fact generational.  Amen. 

You Don't Want None Of This!

You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.  You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.  But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.  Exodus 20:4-6

How often have you heard the danger signs that told you not to do something?  Growing up, I loved and respected both of my parents.  With my mom, she was tough minded.  You never wanted to get on her bad side.  I spent a good portion of a summer in my teen years being reminded of that.  Despite all that, nothing compared to the fear I had of my Dad.  No, he neither abused me nor hurt me.  He loved me with all his heart, and I have nothing but fond memories of him.  But there were a couple of memories that reminded me this was no man to mess with.  Think of a prize fight, and as one fighter tries to hype themselves up, they say to their opponent, “You don’t want none of this!”  I felt like that opponent facing my Dad, but I REALLY didn’t want any of that!  Watching my oldest brother being dealt with once, that was more than enough for me.  Eventually, I did get some of that.  Thankfully, it was only that once!

While we know God is loving, we must always remember that He is the leader of our lives, and we face peril should we put other things ahead of Him.  As God was giving the Ten Commandments to Moses and His people, our focus today is on the 2^nd commandment.  While the tendency is to view idols as something physical, most of us are spiritually mature enough to understand that idols are not always something you can touch.  Very early in my walk of faith, I went to a church new member’s class the day of a big football game.  Of course, I was torn because I’ve been a football fan all my life, but I knew going to the class was the right choice.  It was a testament of my decision to follow Christ.  That was easy to give up as an idol, but what about that idol that you sometimes never see coming?  For me, it’s the man in the mirror.  At times, my own needs and wants will supersede God’s, and I will put them before God.  To fight this tendency, I try to remember to be humble.  My focus is on God being an abundant giver which I do not deserve His provisions.  It’s the main reason Paul talked about humility in such a glowing way saying:

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.  Philippians 2:3-4 (NKJV)

In viewing the words of Paul, we can feel the gravity of our own actions for as written in this commandment, the gravity of our placing things before God goes beyond just us.  It goes to our next generations.  This is not to condemn us for through Jesus Christ, we are indeed redeemed.  But it is a direct reminder of how our placing God first in our lives can have exponential rewards or devastating consequences.  If you question God’s seriousness, note that God later said to Moses, “Remember, you must not make any idols of silver or gold to rival me.” (Exodus 20:23) #settingthestage

While God’s love is unconditional, it does not mean our following Him is without expectations.  Jesus was perfect not because He took on our sins.  It was because He did what our Heavenly Father would ask of Him without fail or hesitation.  Thus, today’s verses are about following through on what God would ask of us.  Let us take up our crosses, and live for God as if our next generation depended on it.  Because it does.  How can we appreciate the gifts God has given us?  What idols may be blocking you from a closer relationship with God?  My prayer is that we follow Him less God have to tell us, “You don’t want none of this.”  Amen.