The Sacrificial Life / The Servant-Leader - Day 74 Through the Bible

Mt. Pisgah off the Blue Ridge Parkway between Mt. Celo Church and Waynesville, NC

The Sacrificial Life / The Servant-Leader - Numbers 27 and 28, Mark 14 - Today's readings give us 2 of the more memorable lives in Biblical history, of these saints' devotion to God - one from the OT and one from the NT.  Moses has been told by the LORD that he will soon die - this is the great Exodus leader of the people of Israel, the one who stood in the gap for them so many times to prevent the LORD from consuming them in His wrath for their idolatry and unbelief.  The LORD will take Moses to the top of Mt. Pisgah to see the Promised Land, but Moses will not be allowed to enter.  The reason:  Moses let his anger and frustration at the people get the best of him at Meribah when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it and failed to give glory to God for the miracle (See Post for Day 70).  But God loved Moses and, above all else, Moses loved God and wanted to see His glory.  Moses' request after God has told him he will die:  "Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be like sheep which have no shepherd" (27:16-17.)  A concern not for himself, but for God's glory and God's chosen people - a servant-leader.  The LORD's response:  the naming of the new leader and the importance of sacrifices to Him - a sweet aroma to Him of their love and devotion.  This also is a prayer/request that looks back at prophecy and forward to the First Coming of Christ - the Shepherd to bring us in - to God's eternal kingdom.

Now The Shepherd has been sent to lead God's sheep in Mark 14 - to be the means of the Passover of God's people from death to life eternal.  As with Moses, the people have rejected this Servant-Leader also.  At the same time the Jewish leaders prepare to kill the passover lambs for the Passover celebration, they also prepare, plot, and scheme to kill The True Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ.  Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus who sat at Jesus' feet to learn from His teaching, (Luke 10:38-42 and the John 12 account), out of love and devotion to the LORD, breaks an alabaster flask of costly perfume and anoints Jesus in preparation for His burial.  It is an act that arouses the anger of all the disciples - especially Judas Iscariot.  They see her devotion as a waste.  Money takes center stage for them, under the guise of helping the poor.  They seem to still not understand that Christ will be killed for them - for us - but Mary understands and gives her most costly possession - her sacrifice - for the Christ, a sweet aroma to Him of her love and devotion.  Jesus' response:  "Let her alone...She has done a good thing for me...She has done what she could...She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial...Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her..."  A concern not for Himself, but for His people - the pattern for the Servant-Leader.

My Lesson/Application: Am I willing to be a servant for others in His name?  When called to lead, do I follow this pattern of the Servant-Leader?

The New Covenant / The Lord's Supper / Broken and Spilled Out - 'And as they were eating, Jesus took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, 'Take eat; this is My body."  Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them and they all drank from it.  And He said to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.  Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."' (emphases mine.)

My Lesson/Application: I am called to follow the pattern of my Master - to live a life that is broken and spilled out for Him, for His people, a sweet aroma to Him.   Or, as Thomas Chalmers (19th C. Scottish Theologian) said, a life that exemplifies"...the expulsive power of a new affection."

Steve Green sings "Broken and Spilled Out.

Outward Working of an Inward Reality - Day 37 Through the Bible

Pisgah Sunrise - Blue Ridge Parkway - "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork. (Psalm 19:1)

Inward Reality vs. Outward Pretense  Our lives do give testimony to our faith - either in hypocrisy or in faithfulness.  God's commands to the nation Israel in the Genesis 21-22 account and Jesus' dealings with the Pharisees and scribes in Matthew 23:23-39 speak of this outward working of the inward reality of belief in God (or lack thereof).  Note the warnings in Genesis to separate ourselves from evil people and deeds: "Do not put your hand with the wicked...or turn aside after many to pervert justice..to be an unrighteous witness...to show partiality in a dispute...take no bribe (it blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous!)..do not oppress a stranger"...and then the important relationship with God...feasts...sacrifices...caring of the land and poor - the promise of blessings for keeping these relationships with God and man in accordance with His Word.  Then in Matthew, note that it is the established religious group (Pharisees and scribes) coming under Jesus's wrath.  He does not mince words.  So much for "doormat Christianity"... you hypocrites... whitewashed tombs, brood of vipers..serpents...blind...full of extortion and self-indulgence...making show of unimportant rituals but neglecting what is truly important - justice, mercy and faith.  You appear outwardly righteous to man but inside you are are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
My Lesson and Application  This is the most likely reason the church has lost so much effectiveness in the present generation.  If you have spoken with any agnostics or atheists- even many believers - this hypocrisy (professing vs. possessing faith -Spurgeon) is what has turned most people away from Christianity and the church - scandals with church leaders, religion for monetary gain or power, political exploitation of Biblical principles - hypocritical lives using the Word of God for worldly gain.  The opposite of this may be just as true - Christians are perceived as weak, impotent, easily controlled - bringing to mind the infamous quote of Karl Marx, "Christianity is the opiate of the masses."  Am I listless, sedated, allowing all injustices, allowing suffering, waiting for heaven to right all -"pie in the sky by and by" thinking?  Jesus was not like this.  Am I?  Do I stand against what is Biblically evil. Am I "mistaken not knowing the Scripture nor the power of God?" (Jesus speaking to the Pharisees in Matt 22:29)  I must KNOW Scripture, apply it and live in God's power - not according to the philosophy of this world.  Am I concerned with what man sees or thinks or with what God says and with His glory?  Am I mistaking free grace for cheap grace?

It is the unseen and the spiritual in people that determines the outward and the actual.  (Oswald Chambers)