The Testings of our Faith--by Linden Malki

Abraham's faith was given one of the most dramatic and scary tests, and he passed.  God commanded him to take his son Isaac to a special mountain and offer him on an altar.  (Child sacrifice was common among their pagan neighbors at that time, and later.) As he was preparing to do this, God stopped him and showed him a ram in the bushes nearby.  The writer of Hebrews explains that Abraham's faith extended to the confidence that God could have raised Isaac up again, to keep the promise of descendants from Isaac. One thing it did was to challenge the tradition of human sacrifice among Abraham's descendants and served as a lesson.

Abraham's nephew Lot and his family were also given a challenge to faith when they were told to abandom Sodom, which was facing iminent destruction for its sins. There was, however, a touch of Satan in the story: the family was told to get out as fast as possible and not look back. We know what happened; Lot's wife couldn't turn her back on this city, even with the threats to their lives and the provision of an escape. I see her standing there rooted to the valley floor as the minerals from the eruptions rained down on her until she was covered with toxic salts. (There could have been other attempting escapees who were also caught in the toxic rain.) This was judgment; those cities have
never been rebuilt.

We see the interweaving of tests and discipline through the story of Jacob and his sons; in most cases you can see the disciplinary results of the various incidents--the rest of the sons had to face their father's grief in the loss of Joseph. Joseph himself had a series of disciplines--being sold as a slave, and then imprisoned for a false accusation (people don't change much, do they?) and then being restored not just to his former status but to a great position which enabled him to save his family from  famine.

We have been challenged to learn to understand the differences between testing and discipline, and between God's dealings with us and the Enemy's. We are constantly tested; we are either learning every day or falling backwards. As we weigh our choices, we need to recognize what will grow us into physical and spiritual health, and what will damage us. Our physical bodies are constantly changing, and we struggle to stay as healthy as possible, or allow unhealthy changes. I try every day to provide the best service I can to people who need their transportation up and running properly. We have to be aware if things that happen because evil is real and there are people and powers who do not have our best interests at heart. We need to call on God's strength and realize that He can deal with our lives better than we can, deliberately pray for deliverance from evil, and express our gratitude for how He works things out for us.

Works of Faith--by Linden Malki

One of the most familiar Bible passages is about the relationship between faith and works.  I think there is a little more to this than we realize. It isn't that we need to show that we have faith by doing random good works, but faith and works specifically power each other. David realized that he could take down Goliath not just because he "had faith" but because that faith was powered by what he could do--he had experience in dealing with big scary animals, and God used both David's faith and his physical abilities to take down Goliath.  Specific faith enables us to use specific abilities that we have developed. I recall a time that I was wrestling with a question of dealing with a problem in my life myself or not dealing with it and "letting God do it". The answer I got to my pesky prayers  was a very specific message: "I gave you a brain, use it!" I realized that I had the information and knowledge it would take to handle the situation.  God was telling me to use what I already had to deal with the situation, not just sit back and wait for Him to do something.  He gives us the responsibility to do things for each other, and to use what He has already enabled us to learn, not just sit back and expect Him to do what we want done.  St Patrick was a captured slave in Ireland when he had a vision of a ship in a harbor 200 miles away.  He knew he was supposed to be on this ship, but there was a tough crosscountry journey through rough countryside to get there.  He also knew that God had prepared him to live off the land  long enough to make the journey. When he found the ship, he was told that they didn't want  passengers.  But then they realized that his experience as a shepherd in wild country meant that he knew how to handle Irish wolfhounds, which were part of their cargo. God had prepared a win-win situation--Patrick had the expertise needed to deal with the dogs, so he was prepared to take advantage of the means of escape from slavery that Patrick wanted and needed.  God often sets us up to learn a skill that He needs us to use down the line! The faith that we need to do the job is backed up by how He has enabled us to be on the right spot at the right time with the right preparation. James was not talking about random "good works" that make us feel good about ourselves, but works that He has prepared for us and prepared us for.

 As Moses was shepherding the Israelites toward the promised land, He was told not to take the  "short way" up along the coast because it was fortified by and against the people known as the  Philistines. They had invaded from the sea, possibly from Crete or that general area. Their first target was Egypt, who had pushed them north up the coastline. When the Israelites settled in the Promised Land, they stayed inland because of the Philistine fortified cities of Gaza,  Ashdod,  Ashkelon, Gath, Ekron, with whom Abraham had fought in his day.   A good part of the books of Judges and 1 Samuel involve stories of this continuing challenge.  The question comes up of why God allowed this to happen; the answer often involves lessons the Israelite tribes need to learn. One series of incidents involves Samson, a big, tough Israelite who won several battles with Philistines, but is captured with the connivance of a Philistine girlfriend, and winds up a slave--and God uses Samson's strength to destroy a Philistine temple full of people. (Judges 13-16).  Then we see the Philistines winning a battle that the Israelites were not properly prepared for, and capturing the Ark of the Covenant. In this case God does take care of His property: the Ark causes so much trouble in Philistine hands that they send it back. (I Samuel 4-6).  And we know about David, whose physical skills were used by God to take out Goliath. A showdown came when Saul went into battle when he had disobeyed direct instructions from God, brought by Samuel; and was killed. After David consolidated his position as King, he asked God if he should go after the Philistines, and was not only confirmed but given specific instructions as to how to defeat them. Once again, we see the combination of David's faith and his obedience to the instructions from God.  There were more battles between Judea's kings and the northern Kings of Israel with the Philistines, but when the Assyrians invaded in the 700BC's, all the northern Kingdom of Israel, part of the southern Kingdom of  Judah and the neighboring tribes including the Philistines, were scattered across the Assyrian empire and lost their national identity and the ability make war among themselves.  (When Judea was conquered and Jerusalem destroyed by the Romans in 70AD, the area was renamed "Palestine" by Rome, knowing that the Jews would hate it.  This was the common name used later by the Turks and British, and then appropriated by those who were not Israelis nor Jordanians after the establishment of Israel and the partition of  this territory between Israel and Jordan in 1948.) 

Faith for the World--by Linden Malki

"Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." ... "Noah was a righteous  man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. "   These are the first references the NIV has to "faith", and the other translations use the words  righteous, blameless,  just, fellowship,  to describe Enoch and Noah. They were unique in their day; we are told that Enoch was taken directly to God without dying, and Noah was given a project that would make him and his family the only survivors of the Flood. There is more to "faith" than merely believing in something; Enoch and Noah were described as living lives that were interacting with God.

The next major example of faith is Abraham, who also acted what he learned to believe-to the point of major relocation to a land he'd never known, but one that was a promise. His grandson Jacob also was called by God, and he and his family were relocated again, this time to Egypt. At first, it was their physical salvation, but it became an intolerable trap.  What had started with one man (Enoch), and then a man and his immediate family (Noah); a man and several generations down that were learning more about God (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and more), and then it came back around to one man and a nation of twelve tribes.  At this point, God arranged for them to leave Egypt and make their way back to the ancestral homeland that Abraham had been called to settle. And in addition to speaking to individuals, God spoke words that were intended for not only this group of people, but are the best guide to living a good life for all people. And they were given in a wilderness that was not a specific home, but applicable in all places and all time.

Jesus, who grew up in a society based on this law, was open to the needs of not only the Jews, but of anyone who came to him. This included Romans, Greeks, Phoenicians, Samaritans, that we know of, who had the original scriptures in Greek as well as Hebrew and Aramaic.  We have records of at least five Gentiles and Samaritans who were healed by Jesus, and several more who had interacted with John the Baptist or Jesus, and one who was the hero of one of Jesus most powerful parables--and all of Jesus' interactions with them showed His love for them--and for us.

The "chosen-ness" of the Jews was never intended to be an exclusive thing; they were the pilot project, charged with spreading the powerful words of God to the world. This message is an interplay of belief and behavior that changes lives and destinies. Faith in God changes how we think, and allows more and more of our lives to grow into His Word.

No Excuse!--by Linden Malki

We have been making excuses for our misdeeds since the beginning of time. The problem of making
excuses is that it doesn't solve anything; in fact, it usually causes more trouble.  In the context of the last few weeks' studies, it adds to our baggage, one more thing that pulls us down.

One of the most honest men we know about in Scripture is David. He made mistakes; some of them pretty serious. The reason we know about him not that he made mistakes, but he was willing to recognize his guilt, which is a real thing. This is his reaction: "When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me..."  But he didn't get stuck there. He goes on: "I acknowledged my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.' And you forgave the guilt of my sin." In the 500 years since Moses at Sinai, the Israelites had no excuse for not recogizing sin. Another thousand years later, they had the idea pretty well down, but it had turned into baggage full of law.

Peter and his associates knew the Law; and they had already met Jesus. They had heard Him speak in the synagogue, they had seen Him drive out demons. They had watched Him heal Peter's mother-in-law when she had been ill. They saw the crowds push against the lakefront, to where Jesus had asked Peter for the use of his fishing boat as a place to sit, as in  that culture, teachers and rabbis sat down while their audience stood. Then when Jesus had finished His teaching, He told Peter to push out and fish.

Peter. as usual, engaged mouth without brain, and said there were no fish biting that day.  He hadn't figured out yet that Jesus wasn't subject to the usual way things happened. What is interesting that Peter's reaction to the load of fish was to fall on his knees before Jesus,  become aware of the spiritual power of Jesus, and and the contrast with his own guilt. And Jesus didn't beg Peter to join Him, but knew that the four fisherman would follow Him and allow Him to change their lives.

In the past weeks, we've faced the realities of hangups that drag us down: time pressures, unhealthy relationships, anger, and guilt.  All of these, and more, are the result of not having our values and priorities in line.  Yes, we need to be aware of things that are holding us back, but we don't have the strength or wisdom to deal with them on our own. We need to face the fact that we can't do it, and realize that God is waiting for us to ask for help; to be willing to turn over our loaded-down lives to Him, and let Him deal with it. I've been amazed at things that He has done that I would never have expected but that were the right thing at the right time--that's what He made us for!

God can handle anger:Let Him have it!--by Linden Malki

I don't remember being around a lot of anger growing up. There were the usual squabbles with neigbor kids and school kids, but it was either yelling insults or beating each other up. (There was a girl 3 days older than me, a half-head shorter, that could get me down.) Then everybody would dust off their hands and forget all about it.  There was one incident I never figured out; there was a girl in our youth group at church that was my best friend for several years, and then somehow, she wasn't.  I have never known what her issue was, but she didn't speak to me; I heard odd gossip from other people, and then at one point she got into a race for a high school student office I had already filed to run for (she won), and the grapevine said it she did it to spite me. I heard nothing more about her until a high school reunion a few years ago. She had had a very successful career-and was somehow my good buddy again. Never found out why.

One person that could set me off was my mom.  When I was really little she'd use mild hand slaps if I got into stuff I shouldn't (she didn't childproof the house, she houseproofed me) just enough to get my attention.  Later, though, she would get on me for things like not coming straight home immediately after school (in those days, we all walked to school and back) , and would scold me and send me to my room. Forever, it seemed like. What really bugged me was that she wouldn't listen to anything I had to say, just called me an Alibi Ike. (Maybe they weren't much in  excuses,but I would like to have had a chance to answer.) And then I'd get frustrated enough to cry (I cry easily) and then she'd yell at me to stop crying. I could  NOT stop crying on command! I think it ended when she developed cancer and lost the energy to fuss with me. I was 17, a senior in high school, when she lost the fight.  (I never, ever, put my kids in time-outs; in my experience, it set off bad self-pity.)

My inlaws were a whole other thing;  Middle Eastern people are not taught that anger can, or should be,controlled.  If they get mad, either it's your fault for making them mad, or your fault for getting mad. When I first married John, we had been visiting his brother's family and somebody had said somthing that somebody didn't like. As we were leaving, John said something about not speaking to his brother. I said that we were NOT going to play that game, don't even go there, forget about it. We did manage to stay out of most of the grudges.

My breakthrough with anger was a time that I was totally, horribly angry (do not recall why), and I was putting the kids to bed, and grabbed on to the top rail of a crib and said, "God, you've got to handle this, I can't.."  and it was like someone pulled a drain plug--it all went away.   I have never been like that since that night.  I used to think that we needed to learn how to "control" anger; but this was nothing like that. It was simply GONE.  It sounds simple to say--Matt said in his message on anger that the key was to let God have it, and it is absolutely true.  A few other things I learned about dealing with angry family members: Don't argue, say what you need to say and shut up. Don't say anything else, walk away if necessary.  Realize that there is usually evil involved: Pray--silently, this is for you--for God to take away the evil forces that are involved in the situation. If you have to say anything, say it deliberately slowly and softly.  The relationship with the angriest brother-in-law healed and he passed from this life on better terms than I ever remember.