Preparing to See God's Face

We place a high value on seeing.

I am not thinking about sight itself, but being in the presence of someone or something. It is one thing to see high quality photos of the Grand Canyon or to see it on the big screen. It is quite another thing to see the Grand Canyon in person, to actually see it with your own eyes.

I once saw President Regan. (Well, actually I saw his motorcade as it passed through town. With tinted windows, no one really knew which car was his.) But I did see President George W. Bush in person! I was in the presence of the President of the United States, the most powerful man in the world.

We like to tell family and friends and new acquaintances about our sightings. For many of us our special sightings give us a sense of pride, perhaps even, a sense of identity.

There were no more than a hundred people in attendance when I saw President Bush. He came to our school district to announce the enactment of a new education bill. Only those with tickets were allowed a seat at this event.

I had only recently been hired by the school district to oversee the district’s student data system. Because of my job I was housed in the district’s central office. Along with the school board, those of us in central office were given a ticket, so also a number of city dignitaries and a few others.

We were all told how to dress, what to bring, what to leave behind, when to arrive, and where to sit. For security reasons we didn’t drive; we were transported. The press conference was held in a high school gymnasium, but it was all very formal. I felt very important. (In reality, I was just lucky enough to have an office in the right building in the district).

I guess you might say that that’s my claim to fame. The President never looked straight at me, but only in my direction as he scanned the crowd. Still, I saw the President, in person.

___________

When Moses approached the burning bush, God told him to remove his sandals because he was he was standing on holy ground. Even then, it was an angel of the Lord that appeared to him in the burning bush. (Exodus 3:1-5)

When the Israelites were camped at Mt. Sinai, God told Moses that He wanted to speak to the people. However, they had to be consecrated. That means that they had to be set apart to God before this meeting could take place. They were to wash their clothes before approaching the mountain where God would come down to speak to them. A boundary was set and a warning was issued: Neither the people nor their animals should cross the boundary when the Lord came near. Anyone crossing the boundary would die. The reason? God is holy. (See Exodus 19.)

The Psalmist once asked who could stand in the holy place of God, that is, in the presence of God. The answer:

The one who has innocent hands and a pure heart; the person who does not delight in what is false and does not swear an oath deceitfully. 

—Psalm 24:4

Jesus brought this psalm forward in a beatitude:

Blissful are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God.

—Matthew 5:8

In our day, those who are pure in heart and who avoid falsehood are rare.

Do you long to see God’s face?

Do you understand how to prepare your heart and your lips?

Mark Stinnett

January 30, 2022

How Difficult is Integrity?

As a kid, the idea of integrity mostly began and ended with honesty, but now I know there’s more to it. What else should we be thinking about? What does the Bible say about integrity?

Depending on the translation that you use, the word integrity is found in the Bible only 25-45 times, and then, predominantly in the Old Testament. There, the word integrity translated a family of Hebrew words focusing on the idea of uprightness. So…?

A person who is upright, or full of integrity, certainly is one who is honest. This person does not tell lies. Yet, integrity impacts more than our verbal expressions. Integrity calls for honesty in communication, but also in one’s work and in one’s relationships.

A man or woman of integrity always does the best job he/she can do. Work includes a job for pay, volunteer work, an assigned task at school or at home, and even a self-assigned task. Each task will be considered important and will be completed.

A person of integrity works with the same effort and quality whether working for himself or working for someone else; whether working by himself or with coworkers; whether the boss is present or not.

Integrity means that you will be responsible with respect to your work. You will follow through with a task you’ve agreed to. You will complete a task that you’ve begun, even if it costs extra time and money.

In addition, you will decline to do things that you already know that you cannot do or do not have the time to do.

Paul encouraged workers to work with a good attitude as if they were working for the Lord.

Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men. 

--Ephesians 6:5–7 (NASB95)

That is working with integrity.

Integrity also involves honesty in relationships.

In your relationship with God you keep His word. You value purity, morality, goodness, holiness and righteousness. In other words, you stay focused on the path of righteousness and avoid evil.

Do not turn to the right nor to the left; 

Turn your foot from evil.

--Proverbs 4:27 (NASB95)

If you make a promise to God, you keep your word. He considers it to be a vow and expects you to honor it.

Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few. For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words. When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands?
--Ecclesiastes 5:1–6 (NASB95)

A person of integrity abides by the law, but is also concerned with ethical behavior. It might be legal to take advantage of someone who is naïve or uninformed, but it is not ethical. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for being overly concerned with the letter of the law, yet neglecting “justice and the love of God.”

But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

--Luke 11:42 (NASB95)

A person of integrity is concerned about fairness whether it is beneficial for himself or not. He is concerned about the well-being of others, not just himself. This attitude translates into kindness and benevolence and generosity. (Remember Zacchaeus in Luke 19.)

A person of integrity looks at all people with value recognizing that he is really no different. He is not prejudicial, but treats everyone with respect. (Reflect on the Good Samaritan in Luke 10.)

Integrity describes a person who is righteous in all things, one who is complete in godly character, one who is of sound judgment. A person of integrity is honest, good, kind, responsible, dependable, fair, just and equitable. This person has a good reputation and values a good name.

Is integrity difficult? What do you think? It all depends on the things in life that you value.

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. 

— Micah 6:8 (NASB95)

Mark Stinnett

November 14, 2021

Three Beautiful Injustices

We (humans) sure are concerned about justice, and it is not just in the present day. Justice has been a concern since the first capital crime. When God banished Cain after murdering his brother Abel, Cain cried to God, “My punishment is too great to bear!” (i.e. It’s not fair.) In reality, he was still alive, and that was not fair.

However, my attention is not on Cain, but three extreme occasions in which it was not fair, yet God did not step in. He allowed the injustice.

Esau and Jacob:
We are more accustomed to thinking Jacob before Esau, yet Esau was the first of the twin brothers. We say Jacob and Esau because the prophecy was fulfilled that said, “The older shall serve the younger.” But it was not fair.

When Isaac, the father of Jacob and Esau, was old and near death, he asked Esau to prepare him his favorite meal. He then planned to bless him. In the blessing the promises that God had first given Abraham (land, descendants, and a great future blessing) would be passed forward.

However, at his mother’s bidding, Jacob disguised himself as Esau and tricked his aging father into giving him the blessing. When Esau returned with the meal for his father, they were both alarmed at what had happened. Yet, acknowledging Jacob’s deceit, Isaac told Esau, “He (Jacob) shall be blessed.”

Why didn’t Isaac say, “Hey, that was deceitful on Jacob’s part; it didn’t count”? Why didn’t God step in and bring justice!?

Isaac’s word stood, just as he had spoken. In that day, you just didn’t break your word. Ever!

Job:
Job was a man who was devoted to God. When you read the descriptions of Job that are peppered throughout the book, you come away with one thought: Job was a good man. Yet, he suffered greatly, and God allowed it.

You might remember that the accuser had accused God of going easy on Job. That was his explanation for Job’s faithfulness to God. So, the accuser proposed that if God had not blessed him so richly, Job would curse God.

God allowed the accuser to bring terrible hardship into Job’s life. And that was NOT fair!

Of course, Job did not curse God, though he really didn’t understand what was going on. So, why didn’t God step in and stop the suffering?

Sometimes God allows our faith to be tested. The testing of our faith produces endurance and maturity—and that’s a good thing. (James 1)

Jesus:
Considering how much I benefit from the sacrifice of Jesus, I don’t often think about the injustice of the cross. I know that all the things that happened to Jesus leading up to His death were a terrible injustice. Yet, I really don’t want to ask why God didn’t step in and stop the cruelty. I depend on this injustice because of my sin!

And yet, I must ask, “Why? Why did God allow the awful injustice of the crucifixion of Jesus?”

The answer: Love and Life!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

The injustice Esau suffered reminds me to always be a man of my word. The injustice Job suffered encourages me to endure hardship. The injustice Jesus suffered—is LIFE!

Maybe I should take a different view toward the light injustices that I suffer in this life.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

--2 Corinthians 4:16–18 (NLT)

Mark Stinnett

January 31, 2021

A Shady Deal

   Ill-gotten gains do not profit, 
   But righteousness delivers from death.
   --Proverbs 10:2

Some translations read, “Treasures gained by wickedness,” or something similar. So, what exactly is Solomon talking about?

The term ‘gains’ or ‘treasures’ is not referring to a hidden treasure or a gold mine. It is literally, ‘that which you store up.’ So, you might think about your savings account, your retirement account, your Swiss bank account. (You get the point.) Your ‘gains’ might also be material possessions that you have collected and stored up.

The Hebrew term for ‘ill-gotten’ is rooted in the idea of ‘wickedness.’ So, the idea is that of possessing money or things which you have accumulated through dishonest means. Perhaps it was a white lie, fudging some numbers on your income taxes, taking supplies from your workplace, withholding information on the sale of a house or car (a shady deal); perhaps something more serious.

On the surface it would appear that you beat the system. You may have even eased your conscience by rationalizing that you were not caught; or it was so small it really did not matter; or other people do it all the time, or ________ (fill in the blank with your favorite rationalization).

It would appear that you have benefited from your gain, but consider the contrast found in the proverb: Profit is set in contrast with . . . death.

The brutal reality is that while there ‘appears’ to be a profit (benefit), there is death.

In stark contrast: Righteousness (doing what is right in God’s eyes) delivers from death.

We know the opposites: life and death. We would never choose death over life. However, Solomon sets things in a more practical language:
There is life and there is wealth gained through dishonesty.

Be wise.
Choose life.
Do right.

Writing a Resume

Who would have thought that Solomon had anything to say about writing a resume?

I do not know how employers in general view resumes. I’ve heard some advise folks to ‘beef up’ their resume since employers naturally expect prospective candidates to exaggerate their qualifications.

Wait a minute!
Is this a game of poker? Do I write my resume with the idea of out-thinking or out-maneuvering my prospective boss?

I understand that there are different ways to express oneself. However, there is no need for false humility, and no room for empty arrogance. Simple honesty is the right way. Consider...

   Like clouds and wind without rain
   Is a man who boasts of his gifts falsely.
   --Proverbs 25:14

What if you 'beef up' your resume so that it is selling ‘rain,’ then you get the job, but all you’ve really got to offer is 'clouds and wind'!?

Be wise; be honest.