Your Herod vs. His Provision - Who Wins?

Let's set the scene. Just like a play, there are characters, a most notably, an antagonist  and protagonist. We begin with a prophet who makes a bold statement:

Matthew 1:23: "Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means 'God with us.'"

The setting is Bethlehem, which is Jesus' birthplace, which falls around the time of our antagonist, King Herod. While the protagonist (Jesus) and the antagonist have not met yet, King Herod is fuming with jealousy. Instead of initially making his hatred of the 'newborn king of the Jews' known, he disguises his desire to kill with these words:

Matthew 2:8: (to the wise men) "...when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!"

This statement coming from King Herod is the equivalent to an Apple employee heading over to Samsung only to "check out how amazing the iPhone X is." Sure, that's probably the only reason. Imagine how bad of a liar King Herod is. Here is a newborn baby, already considered a king of the Jews, and King Herod is disturbed (Matt. 2:3).

Within the first 12 verses of Matthew 2, we can infer Herod's intentions are not healthy. Verse three notes that Herod was "deeply disturbed" when he heard of Jesus' birth. He later tries to cover his hatred by commanding the wise men to find Jesus' whereabouts (v. 8), and we once again get the sense that Herod's intentions are not good when God warns the wise men to not return to Herod

Note: When God says not to return to someone, that person is probably unhealthy for you.

While Herod's track record only gets worse (see Matthew 2:16 and his annihilation of babies), the focus is not on who Herod is, but who God is in the midst of Herod. Pointing out Herod's absolute disgust with Jesus is important to note because his actions during this time would lead anyone to believe Jesus was good as dead. In addition, reading the story without God's intervention in mind would lead us to believe Jesus and his caretakers would never make it out alive with Herod hot on their tale.

Yet, God had other plans, and he would intervene at all costs. Check out all of the recorded times in Matthew 2 alone:
1. "When it came time to leave, [the Wise Men] returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod." (v. 12)
2. "After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. 'Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,' the angel said. 'Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.'" (v. 13)
3. "When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 'Get up!' the angel said. 'Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.'" (v. 19-20)
4. "But when [Joseph] learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee." (v. 22)

On four occasions, God prevents mighty King Herod's hand from impacting the life of Jesus. Remember, this is the same Herod who ordered all boys between newborn and two years old in and  around Bethlehem to be slaughtered, and it was done at his command. This is a powerful king, yet God demonstrates more power in the form of his provision.

Don't we all have our own "Herods" in life? It might be a big, ugly Herod that shows up in the most obvious ways. It might be an inability to pay off bills, a broken relationship, loneliness, depression, suicidal thoughts, abusive relationships, cancer, a struggling loved one, anxiety and doubt, or pornography; it could be a combination of those things. Our Herods come in many forms, some not even listed. These problems and burdens will do anything to destroy you. You sit, helplessly, watching the world around you crumble because of this Herod or these Herods in your life.

Ok, so we have Herods, and they're painful to think about. But we also have God, and his provision and guidance will defeat any and every foe, no matter how colossal, intrusive, and obtrusive they can be. God had a plan to send himself down to Earth as a man to save a dying world, but God also has a plan for you to be victorious, walk in freedom, and live out the glory of our Father.

We have our battles, but God has his provision, and he is scared to provide against our Herods. There is one thing we can do to secure daily victory in the midst of our Herods bearing down hard on us:

Jeremiah 29:13

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart."

Matthew 6:33

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

These verses do not promise storms will not happen, and Herods will cease to exist. But it promises two things: you will find God when you look for him and he will provide you with enough, every time. There are dark days when it doesn't feel like God is in your midst. You might wonder if you do have enough. Remember: these verses are promises, and God promises to you and I that he is in our midst and will give us all we need.

Don't fret, his provision is always stronger than our Herods. Nothing surprises him.

The Evidence of God's Love: From: Holy Spirit, To: You (Do Not Open Until...) - Pt. III

If you haven't experienced it yourself, you have probably seen someone go through it. The difference between many of the rooms we walk into are a result of the perpetual battle going on between flesh and Spirit, and that is why many of us experience either loneliness or a sense of true belonging. Do not get confused with the external, environmental sense of belonging or loneliness. You can never read the setting in a book to determine the outcome of the story. In the case of community, a sense of belonging, or loneliness, is found within, and when people find true, genuine community, they know it.
Why do they know it? Because deep down inside we are given with the innate desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. We feel connected when others around us genuinely enjoy our company. While this part of the Gospel, unity with fellow believers, is crucial in the development of the newborn Christian. there is another gift that far surpasses the connection we feel with the church body, and this connection is much, much bigger than ourselves.
2 Corinthians 3:17 says, "...where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." We gain true freedom from bondage when we dip into the blessing of the Holy Spirit, whether or not our fellow believers are encouraging our walk with Christ. Now that we are given the blessing of community, our mindset should be on connection with the Spirit, as well as a constant download of the wisdom the Holy Spirit provides.
When Paul preached and spread the Gospel, he warned those who heard him that "Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, [he] relied on the power of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 2:4). Why? So we would "trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God" (2:5). Paul understood that his freedom did not come from the people around him, as encouraging as they might have been. His hope was found in God the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is what took him deeper than he could go, and it gave him freedom from bondage.
Other than giving us freedom, why else would we want to be driven by the Spirit?

1. In order to comprehend the mysteries and secrets of God, we must tap into the Spirit:
"...so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us." (1 Corinthians 2:12)

2. When people lived under the Old Covenant, the glory was to remain sacred and untouched and unseen. Moses actually had to intercede on behalf of the people of Israel. Under today's Covenant, we can see and hear within our hearts the wonderful blessing of transformation into his likeness (Romans 12:1-2).
"..the veil is taken away...all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord...makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image." (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

3. The Holy Spirit gives us confidence and boldness to live out our true calling - this genuine confidence cannot come from believers, but can merely be encouraged by them (Philippians 2:1-4). Paul calls us to be one in spirit together, encouraging one another to live out love, being "one in spirit and of one mind." However, we receive that confidence and boldness through the promise of the Holy Spirit.
"...as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. So we are confident.."(2 Corinthians 5:5-6).
"Since this new way (the New Covenant talked about in part I) gives us such confidence, we can be very bold" (2 Corinthians 3:12).

4. The power of the Holy Spirit gives us peace and hope that transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7).
"...by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" (Romans 15:13)

5. We receive conviction to live out a healthy lifestyle with our body, including what we see, hear, touch, and think about.
"...don't you know your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

6. You are chosen by God to be imitators of him, and in doing so we receive conviction when living in the Holy Spirit.
"...because our Gospel came to you not only in Word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction" (1 Thessalonians 1:5)

7. We have access to his thoughts! Isn't this amazing? We can access his thoughts about us, the world, and how we can be stewards of it.
"No one can know a person's thoughts except that person's own spirit, and no one can know God's thoughts except God's own Spirit" (1 Corinthians 2:11)
*Remember, we have been given the Holy Spirit, which is "God's own Spirit." = "...but we understand [the Lord's thoughts] because we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:15-16).

These seven reasons we should invest in the Spirit on a daily basis is only touching the surface. Paul goes much deeper than this, and he encourages us as a body of believers to dive into the secrets of the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, we have the mind of Christ, We understand and comprehend the vast knowledge of God when we are devoted to the part of us that is so much greater than our ordinary self (1 Corinthians 2:16). In fact, the Holy Spirit is the very part of us that makes us extraordinary.

As a challenge, begin looking to the Holy Spirit within you for guidance. "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4). One way to "delight yourself in the Lord" is to seek the Holy Spirit. As you do that, you will begin to understand what your hear truly desires.

Go deeper with the Holy Spirit, because with it you will discover things much bigger than yourself.

The Evidence of God's Love: From Bull to Grace - Part II

Remember Peter? Peter the disciple? Remember how he told Jesus, "Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you, and even to die with you" (Luke 22:33 NLT)? Also, do you remember when Peter not only denied knowing Jesus once, but denied him 3 times (Mark 14:66-72)? Did you also know that there was not just one account of Peter betraying his beliefs, but another specific one found in Scripture?

Many of us, when asked if we know the verse, "I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me," would say we are familiar with it. Even if this verse has not been memorized, you have an idea of what it means. Well, what people might not know is the context and story that came before it. In fact, it is quite incredible that many don't make mention of it, but it is still important.

In this scene, which is found before the "I have been crucified" verse (found in Galatians 2:20), we get a pretty accurate depiction of what Paul considers a priority during his ministry. Back in Galatians 1:18, Paul references going "up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days (NIV)." Wait, Cephas? Yes, Peter and Cephas are the same person, as footnotes even declare this by saying, "That is, Peter." Ok, so Paul gets acquainted with Peter for 15 days, and commentary suggests that Paul was not looking to be mentored, but to inquire about how a disciple of Jesus would spread the Gospel that saved Paul (remember, this is the same Paul who persecuted Christians, but was saved through a vision). Further, Paul considers Peter an "esteemed pillar" (Gal, 2:9); meaning, a defender and principal supporter of the Gospel. Paul, at this point in his ministry, knows full well that Peter share a desire to communicate the Good News to circumcised and uncircumcised alike, Jew and Gentile alike. The mindset Paul has is to share the Gospel that connects everyone to one purpose. Galatians 3:26, 28 is evidence of this: "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith...neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (NIV). He repeats himself in the second part of Galatians 5:6: "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

Paul doesn't know much about Peter, but he does know that Peter has a mission similar to his own - to rid the old covenant and remind everyone the High Priest has brought grace and unity to all. Peter witnessed this mission through walking with Jesus, and Paul saw it through a confrontation  that changed the course of his life (Acts 9:1-19). 

Sharing similar visions for spreading the Gospel, Paul and Peter (Cephas) began working and now they found themselves in the same place, eating food. To put this story into perspective, we will use Galatians 2:11-20 as an analogy:

You meet someone at a church outing and find out you share the same radical Christian beliefs. You discuss deeply how important it is for our hurting and lost world to understand the Gospel and grace of Jesus Christ. You spend time with him, enough time to understand his passion for the Gospel, but not enough time to call him your bestie.

As you two are driving around town, you stop at the local Taco Bell to get a juicy Nacho Cheese Chalupa, beef of course. As you're sitting in the booth, the both of you see some buddies from the basketball tournament your new acquaintance was in months ago. They do not share similar beliefs, but you believe your friend is going to do some ministry.

Suddenly, the bell on top of the entrance rings. You glance over and see elders from the church you attend come in. You smile slightly until you notice your new friend turn around quickly, make eye contact with the elders, then look down at his food with great fear. "Oh no," he mutters, "I need to get away." He violently forces his chair back with his hind legs, takes his trey, and sits elsewhere. Meanwhile, some other church buddies see this and also take action. Your friend and several others abandon their post.

What do you do? You realize you don't really know your new friend that well, but you are most encouraged by the connection the two of you have about ministry. Naturally, you call him out. "Danny! Are you seriously abandoning a ministry opportunity? Here before you are a collection of people who are equally under the Gospel. The law has no grasp like the Gospel does. You, an inspirational leader, have hypocritically acted the opposite of what you preach. A careful follower of Jesus, who claimed to die by Jesus' side, abandon the redemption the Gospel brings! How dare you!

"Not only that," you continue in disbelief, "But you have sold others into the same belief that the law is greater than the grace our High Priest has given us, good for all time!"

Though this is simply a hypothetical illustration, it is almost exactly what occurred only verses before our famous, "I have been crucified" verse. Paul criticized Peter publicly because he acted against the Gospel publicly. Danny, our hypothetical Peter, betrayed what Jesus taught him: we are all united as believers through faith and have been gifted God's grace and infinite love, no matter who we are labeled as.

In the end, we are now given context as to why Paul would say, "I have been  crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." A verse before this (v. 19), Paul says, "For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God." The old covenant (the law) commanded that circumcision had some value, and that the uncircumcised were not under the same umbrella as the circumcised. Galatians 2:12 alludes to there being a difference between the Jews and Gentiles regarding circumcision because "when they arrived (the circumcised Jews), [Peter] began to separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group." Earlier, in Acts 15:7-8 (NIV) and later in Galatians 5:6 (NIV), we realize that the Pharisees believed circumcision mattered. Acts 15:7-8, when the Council at Jerusalem met about issues of acceptance, Peter reminds the Pharisees that "God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the Gospel and believe. (8) God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them..." This was a response to a Pharisee piping up, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses" (Acts 15:5)

Furthermore, Paul clarifies in Galatians 5:6 that "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value..." 

Wow. Number one, this entire story connects to this one simple truth: we are united through the Gospel. Proof? Here, read Galatians 3:28 again: "neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (NIV). Paul calls out Peter because he abandoned his post. At the dinner table, Peter scoots his chair back because "better people" have arrived. You're telling me the law makes these people better!? Peter! 

A large reason the Church (God's people) tends to fall a part is because of this Pharisaical mindset. He is better than him, she is better than they, but we are all broken. We all fall short of God's perfect glory, but we are also sanctified. His blood covered all of us. What would it say of God if he sent his son to only cover a few people's sins? Preposterous! God's perfect love shelters and covers all, but the question is whether we will accept the shelter he gives so freely (1 Corinthians 2:12). Let us love unrelenting and practice grace unlimited. We are all under the Gospel, and the Gospel is what unites us. 

Number two, props to Paul for calling out any leader who puts the strict, Pharisaical law above relationship and connection with God our Father. His desire to push the Gospel to the ends of the earth is a big reason we see the Gospel in the same way. It is a sacred gift that cannot be taken lightly.

As we connect with church and a body of believers, let us love them and pour out love and mercy as Christ does through the Gospel we are given.