Do you need a crisis of faith? “A crisis? No thanks!” we might be tempted to respond, lumping crisis in with root canal or bankruptcy. But in the life of a Christ-follower, a crisis can be a very good thing—in fact, an essential thing. As Christians, we often confuse the crisis with the process. Conversion to Christ happens in a crisis. In a certain place at a specific time, you heard the Good News about Jesus, by faith turned from sin, and received God’s forgiveness. At that pivotal turning point in your life, you became a true follower of Jesus. That’s the first faith crisis. Process is important, but process alone will not complete the work God began at your crisis of conversion. Just as you received the Lord (in a crisis), so walk in Him (returning to the point of crisis). As we grow in Christ, we aren’t supposed to leave the crises in the rearview mirror. We need regular intervals of turning and returning to the Lord, when the chords of commitment that bind our hearts to His are tightened again. While we are eternally forgiven the penalty of sin through faith in Christ, the power of that sin still looms large over our old nature. A poor choice, a weak moment, a willful wandering—and we need another crisis. Don’t just try harder; return to the Lord! Not because He has left you (He hasn’t!) but because you, like Jonah, have in some way at some level left Him. As you received him (a moment of turning), so walk in Him (a moment of returning). Come; a crisis awaits you.

Questions for further thought:
1. When was the last time you had a spiritual crisis in your life? Describe.
2. Do you need a crisis of faith?

Challenge: Pray this prayer aloud…Lord God, forgive me for trying to safely manage my faith, as if horizontal adjustments are what I need. I need a crisis of faith. I choose today to return to You, my Lord. I want to press on to know You. Weed out the sin in my life. Rekindle my love for Your Word. Soften my heart for the lost. Bind my heart to Yours more tightly. Reign over me, as I’ve never known before. All that I am and have is Yours. Just as I received Christ Jesus, teach me to walk in Him. In His name, amen.

God hears and hates our complaining. He hears our complaints about the weather, traffic, taxes, social decline, the price of gas, our age, and whatever else we grumble and murmur about. God knows every negative thought and word. But there is one particular brand of complaining that grates most on His ears. In the terrible tale of Numbers 11, the complaining of the children of Israel infuriated God, for “the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the LORD.” Did you catch that? The worst kind of complaining is complaining about adversity. It sounds like this: “Why me? Why must I endure this trouble when life goes smoothly for everyone else? I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. When will all this end?” How quickly we forget that we should expect adversity in this life—it’s as certain as death and taxes. Jesus reminded us, “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33, ESV), and the writer of Hebrews warned, “Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one He loves” (Hebrews 12:5–6). So why do we act surprised and indignant when troubles come? Instead of rejoicing in all the good things God has done in our lives, we complain about That One Thing, whatever it is. But it’s so hard! we might argue. True, it is hard to live with adversity, and it’s hard not to complain about it. But when we complain about our trials, we forfeit the grace that could be ours. Is it hard? Yes! This is not to belittle or make light of very real, very hard adversity. However, worse than adversity is a complaining response to it. God simply will not tolerate repeated complaints about the measured adversity in our lives.

Questions for further thought:
1. What is your measure of adversity—that one thing that’s hard to endure without complaining?
2. How have you been responding to the adversity in your life?

Challenge: Look seriously at the adversity you are facing. Ask for the Lord to show you His grace and mercy in this trying time. Ask for His strength to get you through the fire.

When the prophet Jonah didn’t like the sound of what God was instructing him to do—to go and preach to the Ninevites—the Bible says he “rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.” Then after finding a ship that was heading that direction—to the far reaches of the known world— “he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD” (Jonah 1:3). Two times the verse says it: “Away from the presence of the LORD.” No doubt Jonah had heard King David’s psalm read in public worship services. “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me” (Psalm 139:7–10). But when a person is intent on rebelling, their thinking can get all messed up. I mean, how messed up is it to think we can run away from God? Who in their right mind would ever feel like they could do that? Whenever you begin to harden your heart against the truth, you start believing you can do things you absolutely cannot do. You can grow deceived enough in your own twisted logic that you actually become convinced you can hide from God. But no place exists outside the presence of the Lord. Nowhere. And today’s a good day to be reminded of this simple truth, if it’s become less than obvious: Stop running. Stop hiding. And start realizing that the presence of the Lord is not something to escape but to embrace.

Questions for further thought:
1. What are some of the first clues that indicate you’re not thinking clearly about how a certain action or habit is affecting your relationship with God?
2. What are some practical steps of accountability that could help prevent you from losing your spiritual senses?

Challenge: Start praying today for the Lord to show you ways to trust Him. Ask Him for the wisdom and courage to follow through on that trust.

After the golden calf was no more, God pulled out the 3D printer and re-created a new set of stone tablets. The Israelites were able to carry these around (with the necessary proper care) and have them as a reminder of how they were to conduct themselves. This was a “new covenant”. In the same way, Jesus’ resurrection is our New Covenant that shows how we can live (with the necessary proper care).

Questions for further thought:
1. What does it mean to you that you have a “new covenant” to live by?
2. What is the necessary proper care that is needed for the “new covenant”?

​Challenge: Praise God for the new covenant! Let the Holy Spirit guide you through how to provide necessary care for the new covenant!

Before Moses and the Israelites could move on, Moses needed to destroy the golden calf. He burned the calf until it melted and became a fine powder. Jesus’ burial took our sins to the grave hidden away in a cave where they could become like the dust of the earth. This burial allows us to move forward, just as the Israelites were able to move forward.

Questions for further thought:
1. What is your golden calf that you need to break down into a fine powder and bury?
2. How is it preventing you from moving forward?

​Challenge: Pray for God to assist you in breaking down your golden calf. If counseling is needed, do not be afraid to ask.

The Israelites grew impatient waiting for God to bring Moses back down Mount Sinai. So, they built an idol, the golden calf. Once Moses (finally) came back down, he was so mad that he broke the tablets (giving new meaning to breaking the law). Our sins also broke the body of Jesus, causing him to give His life so we would not lose ours.

Questions for further thought:
1. How does our impatience cause us to sin?
2. What is the significance of the “body broken for you?”

​Challenge: When we sin, it is never in isolation. It either hurts God (Commandments 1-4) or hurts others (Commandments 5-10). Consider what sin you are struggling with and how it hurts both God and others.

These are the two most prominent times when God is writing instead of speaking. Pastor Doug has mentioned in past sermons his opinion that Jesus is writing a list of sins in the sand. God was writing the list of sins, the Ten Commandments, with his fingers.

Questions for further thought:
1. What is the significance of putting the commandments in writing?
2. Does God writing the commandments Himself add more significance to the Ten Commandments?

​Challenge: Journaling is a way we can put our thoughts in writing to review later. If you are not journaling, consider starting a journal. If you are currently journaling, review a previous journal entry from at least a month ago, (further back is even better) and see where your relationship with God has grown.

​After Pastor Doug’s sermon yesterday about the Ten Commandments, I decided I wanted to write about the back story and compare it to the Gospel this week.

When Israelites arrived in the wilderness in Sinai, God told Moses he would reveal Himself on the third day. The Israelites were to prepare for the arrival, cleaning up and putting on their Sunday best. They must wait for the third day, but once the third day came, God made His declaration and the people where able to go to the base of Mount Sinai. When Jesus died on the cross, the people were separated from God. God’s declaration, the resurrection, allowed us to go to the base of the mountain and be near God. The second coming of Jesus will allow us to go up the mountain and be with God!

​In this passage of Judges, the Israelites who experienced God’s salvation and deliverance from Egypt have all died and now the new generation is not following God’s commands.  It is very important that parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and elders provide instruction to the next generation on how to live and follow God’s commands because if we do not, the world is going to teach them how to live.  It’s also important to share with them what God has done so they know what he can do and is doing in our lives.

Questions for further thought:
1. Who might benefit from your instruction?
2. What could you share with the next generation?

​Challenge: Take the time to share what you have learned about God and how God has worked in your life with at least one individual from the next generation.

I doubt any of us have run into talking donkeys, but I would bet God has used others or circumstances to provide us with direction or correction.  The choice is up to us to follow or to continue on the path we are heading.  One will lead to redemption; the other will continue to lead to heart break and destruction.  Where is God trying to lead you today?

Questions for further thought:
1. When did you feel prompted by God to change directions or take a different path?
2. What were the results?

​Challenge: Are you being prompted to change paths today?  Pray and then make a decision to follow the path God wants you to take.