Coming Judgment

Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the alarm on my holy hill.
Let all who live in the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming.
It is close at hand—

a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness.
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was in ancient times
nor ever will be in ages to come.

Before them fire devours,
behind them a flame blazes.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,
behind them, a desert waste—
nothing escapes them.

They have the appearance of horses;
they gallop along like cavalry.

With a noise like that of chariots
they leap over the mountaintops,
like a crackling fire consuming stubble,
like a mighty army drawn up for battle.

At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;
every face turns pale.

The words of Joel 2:1-6 NIV. Words of coming judgment. Words of warning terror.

Can you imagine such a sight? The sound? The foreboding? The devastation to follow? Locust plagues still occur today. One locust, commonly known as a grasshopper, is small thing. An inch or two long. Millions of locusts, however, are a devasting force. For acres and miles.

God loved His people, Judah. Yet His people, enjoying the prosperity of His blessing, had grown away from Him. Worship had become ritual. Life had become selfish.

In His everlasting, covenant love, God needed to capture the attention of His people. By His sovereign power, God brought a locust plague to do it. Inspired by God, Joel prophesied of a greater judgment coming, the Day of the Lord, with the plague of locust as his terrible, unavoidable illustration.

God’s judgment would be swift, thorough, and absolute. Every person—eldest to youngest, richest to poorest, positioned to humbled—would be effected (2:15-17). Every person should return to God (2:12-13). Every person should humble themselves before God in broken confession and genuine repentance. 

Then, in response to the genuine return of His people, God would relent of the judgment Joel warned of (2:18). Then, because of His grace, God would pout out His Spirit on people and everyone who calls on Him will be saved (2:28-32).

The Book of Joel is of uncertain date. With no kings or major events to tie it to. And Joel himself is a bit of a mystery. A common name with little other than his father’s name to describe him by. At three chapters and just 73 verse you can read it in about 10 minutes. Yet Joel still has a message of warning for us today.

When was the last time you endured some calamity, even tragedy, in your life? 

Did you turn your attention to having a right relationship with God in the midst of it?

God loves you enough that He will either allow or cause negative circumstances in order to turn you back toward Him. He is gracious and compassionate (2:13) and He will save (2:32). Return to him. Before judgment comes. 

This post, based on the Old Testament Book of Joel, is the second in a twelve-week survey series, Major Stuff from the Minor Prophets. To receive future posts automatically, please subscribe to the site via RSS or FeedBurner.

Muzzled

Sticks & stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

Not true.

Your words can hurt others. Your words can hurt you.

You might need a muzzle. 

I use words. Lots of words. I have conversations. Long conversations. I tell stories. Long stories. I preach sermons. Long... you get the picture. About the only thing I do with words that is short is tweet. 140 characters or less. There’s some economy for you.

So, the other day, reading in the midst of my Bible in a year plan a verse jumped off the page and smacked me on the mouth. Psalm 39:1 HCSB says: 

I said, "I will guard my ways so that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle as long as the wicked are in my presence."

One proverb. Two statements. A couplet. It’s Hebrew parallelism. This type is progressive parallelism. Makes one statement, then the second statement of the couplet progresses beyond the first.

What do we learn from this proverb?

Guard our tongues lest we sin. Gotcha. It’s a needed aphorism. Many of us are good at getting ourselves into trouble by what we say.

Then the second half—the progressive part that moves beyond the first—tells us not only to guard our prone-to-sin-mouths, but to muzzle ourselves. When? When wicked folks are near.

What’s the point?

Our words can be sinful. They can hurt others. They can hurt us. And our own sinful words can be as fearsome as the bite of a vicious dog when uttered in the earshot of the wicked. The wicked take sin and make it worse. Scary worse. Call the pound worse. Put that animal down worse.

Watch your mouth, Friends.

Muzzle as needed.

Bacon Sundae

Last Monday on the way to Children’s Camp we invaded a poor, unsuspecting Burger King. 22 kids, 2 teens, 3 adults.

You’d have thought we’d never eaten out before. Or that we might be stuffing ourselves in preparation for a week of meager camp food.

The pre-camp vibe was in the air. Nervous excitement. So BK might as well be in our tummies. Healthfulness unimportant.

On the menu this fine summer day: An enticing concoction. The Bacon Sundae.

Who doesn't love bacon? Greasy. Crispy. Salty. Tasty.

Who doesn't love sundaes? Creamy. Caramely. Fudgey. Tasty.

Who'd have thought to put the two together? BK did.

My son wanted to try one. Sure. It’s camp. Let’s be fun. And don’t miss the shirt he happened to be wearing: I Heart Bacon. 

He loved it.

Everyone else who tried it. Not so much.

They gathered around. As if watching a science experiment that might blow up. They gagged in mock disgust. They carried on like a bunch of... well, like a bunch of silly kids fueled by nerves and near worthless calories.

For kids. With sundaes. That is funny. 

For kids. Or teens. Or adults. With weightier matters of judgment. Not so much.

Take care what you judge. 

Take care how you judge.

Not everyone is you. And they are probably just fine with that. Even if you aren’t. 

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:12-13, NIV

Written on the Ground

"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in the act of adultery," John 8:3 records.

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees wanted to trap Jesus. Asking him to judge a case that needed no appeal. If he said she should not be stoned, then he was breaking the Law of Moses. If he said she should be stoned, then he could be guilty of inciting the Jews and breaking the Law of Rome.

On the horns of a dilemma.

What does Jesus do?

He stoops down and writes on the ground.

What did Jesus write?

Did he merely draw a doodle in embarrassment? Hardly likely. Did he list the sins of the accusers? Could be. Did he write the names of woman who the accusers had adulterous relations with or thoughts of? Possibly. Did he first write the charge before reading it in the custom of Roman judges? The condemning, "If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her," of John 8:7? He may have. Did he write Exodus 23:1&7 about being a malicious witness or bringing false charges? That would confront them. Did he write Jeremiah 17:13, "Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust," as a condemnation of their sinfulness? We do not know.

Whatever he wrote convicted them of their sinfulness. All of us have sinned. A fact.

Whatever he wrote exposed their hypocrisy. The sin of pretending you have no sin.

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees were guilty. Hypocrites. They stood in judgment. They stood with stones. They stood as sinners. With no room to judge. They dropped their stones. And they walked away. One by one.

When Jesus confronts you with your stone in hand, what is written on the ground before him?

What is your sin? Where is your hypocrisy?

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99 44/100%

Ninety nine and forty four one hundredths pure.

Purity.

We like the idea.

Clean. Fresh. Real. Simple. Virtuous. Upright. Good.

Sinless.

Ninety nine and forty four one hundredths pure? Not me. Not on my own.

I need purity imputed, righteousness received.

But how?

How does a person who is sinful and impure by nature become pure?

Authority. I am not God. You're not either. We can not conquer sin alone. We need power beyond our performance and authority beyond our ability. Purity starts with submission to God's authority.

Humility. Submission is an act of humility. Without which when continually striving on our own we will continually fall. Into sin. Purity grows where pride is pruned by humility.

Accountability. You can not do it on your own. Humility knows even with Holy Spirit empowerment, you still need external, flesh and blood accountability. Purity flourishes through shared accountability.

Need purity? Struggling with a secret sin? Debt? Pornography? Gluttony? Gambling? Jealousy? Judgmentalism? Anger? Worry? Adultery? Gossip? Fill-in-the-blank-thing-you-want-to-keep-hidden?

Be bold enough to submit to God's authority.

Be vulnerable enough to exercise humility.

Be courageous enough to engage in accountability.

Your purity is supernatural. It's a gift from God. Stop giving in to temptation. Forget the Deceiver's lies. Confess. Repent. And receive your gift of purity. 

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

Thanks for reading, Friends. Please share a comment, share this post, or subscribe. And, if you are struggling with a secret sin and need some accountability, then use my confidential contact page. You'll get no judgment, just guidance.