Baptisms Galore!

“After his baptism, Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him” (Matthew 3:16,17 NLT).
Jesus set the example for us. His final instructions to the disciples included, “ . . . go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (28:19). This is what happened at my church one August Sunday. Twenty-two people, who had confessed that Jesus is their Lord and Saviour, wanted to be baptized in obedience of Christ’s command and as an public declaration of their faith. Here is a little of what happened . . .

A Gentle Command

Here is the basic premise that I follow, as much as I can, when seeking God’s will for my life no matter what the issue is:

“Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you” (Psalm 37:5 NLT).

That is what I have been doing this summer. When my ladies’ group stopped for the summer break last June, I, as facilitator, committed to the Lord the direction for our Fall Bible study and trusted Him to show me which material to select in time for our September start-up. At our last meeting, we agreed on the general topic of, ‘Jesus and how he related to women’. As the summer weeks went by, I visited the local Christian bookstores to thumb through the many excellent books and study guides available. I bought a couple of books in June and started reading them. But, neither seemed quite right. I kept praying:

“Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord; point out the right road for me to follow” (Psalm 25:4).

Meaning, in this case, please lead me to the right material for our group. I did not pray every day nor did I actually read from the books every day, although I was diligently making my way through them. The first two books did not seem quite right. It was the middle of the summer now, so I prayed again about the choice of study material.

A gentle command spoke into my mind: “Don’t lead this group.”
Me: “But God, I love these ladies. Through our interaction with each other and with the Holy Spirit, we have learned so much over the past three years. I said I would continue. I do not want to go back on my word.”

A gentle command: “Don’t lead it.”
Me: “Well, Lord, I am sure I can do all that you want AND keep leading this ladies’ group, too.”
The voice was silent.

I started reading another book on our topic, which was interesting, but I still did not get that reassuring feeling in my gut. Three weeks later, still contemplating what to do, I asked the Lord again to lead me to the right resources because I want to:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5,6).

A gentle command again: “Don’t lead it.”
Me: “OK, Lord. Even though it will make me sad and I will miss these ladies, I will obey. You know my schedule. You know the unexpected. You know my limits.”

I obeyed, and then I felt free. Despite my sadness about the loss of regular contact with these ladies, by God’s grace I was ready to end my ties with the group and be open to the new ministry God had in mind for me. That was Monday. On Tuesday, I called the pastor at that church and discussed the situation with her. Afterward, I contacted each member of the ladies’ group explaining the change and that the pastor would help them get going without me. Wednesday, I met with the pastor at my new church and received confirmation to start a new ladies’ group there. I am excited about the upcoming possibilities for ministry that the Lord will show me in the next few months.

Lord, thank you for your words that remind me to commit all my activities to your guidance; to trust you at the same time; and to then walk the path you show me. Thank you for your gentle, but persistent commands, which you speak in answer to my prayers. Please bless the ladies as they continue to grow closer to you. Thank you that I had the pleasure of seeing YOU in our midst, leading us gently, drawing us closer to your heart. Amen.

A Jealous God

“Then God said, “Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves . . . So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:26, 27 NLT

Normally, when I read, or remember, this verse, I am encouraged and know that I am special. I am pleased that I hold (or have the potential to hold) many of God’s characteristics such as the ability to love, forgive, show mercy, and offer grace. But, God the Father as well as Jesus are also shown in the Bible with not so pretty traits: anger, hate, and jealousy. Does this mean I have these traits, too? In particular, I think of the latter trait, jealousy, and an apparent contradiction seen in the Bible. Here is a sticky question that sometimes plagues me: Given that we are created in God’s image (as the above verse tells us), why does God get to be jealous in the second commandment but we cannot covet in the tenth commandment? In order to sort this out, let us start with two word studies, then investigate the context, and, finally, find the answer.

First, the tenth commandment: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else your neighbor owns” (Exodus 20:17).

Clarifying the meaning of covet is a good place to start. The word comes from the Hebrew, chamad, which means ‘to delight in, beauty, greatly beloved, covet, delectable thing, lust, and precious thing’. Notice, there is quite a range of “coveting” within this definition, from merely ‘delighting in’ to ‘lusting’ (which I would define as an uncontrollable desire). Further, the definition of covet from www.dictionary.reference.com is 'to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others, e.g. to covet another's property'. Envy is listed as a synonym. This definition leans toward a negative implication for covet. In addition, the Life Application Study Bible explains that coveting is to wish to have someone else’s belongings, not simply admiring them; that coveting includes envy, which is resenting the fact that others have what you do not. Finally, in checking other English versions of this verse, the word covet is used most frequently with envy and lusting used once each. So far, so good. Let us continue.

Next, the second commandment: “For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:5).

Frequently, in our English language, we interchange the use of jealous, envy, and covet so perhaps the Hebrew is the same. But, no, this word jealous is from the word qanna, meaning to be jealous or envious. In fact, this is an official name of God: Kanna, or Qanna, and is found in Exodus 20:5, 34:14; Deuteronomy 5:9; Isaiah 9:7; and Zechariah 1:14, 8:2. There is no denying it; our Lord is a jealous God. So, given that these two words, jealous and covet, seem to have similar meanings, and that God is a jealous God, why cannot we covet our neighbours’ possessions?

This answer comes when we take the verses in context with the setting and other verses next to them. The second commandment tells the Hebrews not to make or worship idols (false gods) and expands on the first commandment not to worship any other gods. All because God is a jealous God. As our creator, he wants all our affections, our attention, and our worship on him, the One True God, the Lord. My conclusion then, is that if we seriously desire/covet our neighbours’ belongings and focus our attention on getting those things, then we are putting our faith in these things, not God. By following the tenth commandment, we can obey the second commandment!

With that sorted out, I return to my original dilemma: since we are made in God’s image, how is it that we can be jealous, but not covet? Thankfully, I found a good answer in the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. Paul says, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy” (2 Cor 11:2). Again, I turned to the word study. The first jealous here is Greek for 'to desire, to be jealous over, to have zeal'. Jealousy in Greek is zelos meaning 'to have zeal, heated desire either favourable or unfavourable'. Again, it was still somewhat confusing until I looked at for what Paul is jealous. His was a godly jealousy – he is thinking like God – he wants the Corinthians to worship God alone, just what God wants! Paul does not want their possessions; he wants their whole attention to focus on the Lord God.

So, Lord, help me to not be jealous of, or envious of, or covetous of my neighbours’ belongings, but rather, help me to reflect your image by being jealous for others’ worship to go to you. Help me to focus my worship on you. Help me to remember that you provide for all my earthly needs and that you shower me with the blessings most appropriate for my circumstances. May my satisfaction and worship rest in you. Amen.