Dave Edlers Ramblings

How many times can you rise up in self righteousness and get away with it? How do you know if you are right? I don’t know about you but I think I’m right all the time. That old joke that “I thought I was wrong once but wasn’t” is kind of the way I think. I may find out later I was way off but while I’m in the middle of my “right” thinking it is hard to convince me.
In our journal reading today, in Numbers the people are rising up against Moses and by doing so God, and he keeps telling Moses to get out of the way so I can destroy them. Moses keeps pleading on behalf of this sinful people and God steps back. Finally though he opens the ground to swallow up some of the most vocal of the self righteous.
In the chapter from Mark they are accusing Jesus of being from Satan. He simply asks, “How can Satan cast our Satan?” How could he do all these good things if he were empowered by Satan? Because he is after all casting demons out of afflicted people.
The Old Testament cast of characters thought they were right. The New Testament cast of characters thought they were right. Yet in both places they were firmly positioned against the purposes of God. In both places these were people who were Godly, priests and teachers of the law.
Here is what I have to ask myself. If they could be that far off, what makes me think I’m not far off the mark too? Today I would simply say, the reading of the day has humbled me. And convinced me, that if not for God there I would go also. I need… need… to be still…a know He is God. I need to tune my life to that still small voice. Because on my own I’m in trouble.

Ever been hurt and not know it? Have somebody walk up to you and say, “what happened to you?” “Nothing why?” Is usually the way we answer and then start looking at ourselves to see what they see. They may even direct us to a mirror at which time we see what has alarmed them. And if they are accurate realize we are hurt.
So many of us carry hurt around and have no idea it is there. I see that in how many people are signing up for our classes that help us deal with past hurt. The people who sign up have realized that something is not quite right and want to get to the mirror that is God’s Word. The Psalmist just today said, “Let Your work appear to Your servants and Your majesty to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us;”
Our youth were just on retreat and Nic our youth pastor talked today to me about the change in countenance he sees in the faces of some of those kids. “The work of the Lord” is upon them. God is moving.
Today I’m also drawn to the many who live and work in this community I love and are doing things, involved in things, acting out in ways that make me ask; What happened to you? Only hurt and pain would cause you to live your life in that way. That is why I pray. That is why I stand in the gap. That is why I give myself away in this community I love.

I went to another “chick flick” this week. “Young Victoria” was name of the flick and it was about Queen Victoria and her early years. I have to admit I really liked it and do recommend it. I was one of two men in the place and complained to the other guy on the way out that my wife had already asked me to start calling her Queen Susie. There is a great scene in the movie where she is newly married to Prince Albert and they are having their first big fight. She is putting him in his place and he is having nothing of it and starts to leave the room. As she tries to stop him she declares that she is the queen and he has to do what she says. Invoking her name. He just walks out and she follows screaming “Albert”! Invoking her name got her no where.
As God is leading Israel out of Egypt and preparing them for the promised land he sets everything for worship in place. As he’s closing down this section of Numbers God instructs Moses to “Speak to Aaron and to his sons saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make his face shine on you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up his countenance on you, and give you peace.’
Then God concludes to Moses, “So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I ‘then’ will bless them.”
“Invoke My Name”. One of the early truths that I was taught as I embraced this new found faith in Christ was to always ‘pray in the name of Jesus’. Invoke that name. That if we pray or declare the name of Jesus over ourselves, our things, our lives, we will be blessed. Simple but powerful principle that God taught his people as he set them apart. It will get you somewhere!

We have a fun thing going on in our house. People come here and relax. They come a spend the night and sleep like babies. It is a cool thing. This last weekend we had a friends teenager come and spend the night while they went on a anniversary over night. She had not been sleeping well and that night at our house slept great. Our grandkids come over and take naps, they sleep all afternoon. Our home is a refuge. A quite place. A place to shutdown.
Psalm 26 declares, “O Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where your glory dwells.” Years ago as we moved into this house, and every house we have ever been in, we walked the house and prayed over it and anointed it with oil. Oil is a symbol of the Spirit of God. Just a silly little act of obedience to us. A silly act to others. But the truth for us is that people come here and feel peace. They may struggle to sleep in other places but sleep like babies here. I love the habitation of the Lord, the place His glory dwells. (By the way, I have been praying for years that the same glory would dwell in my entire valley)

The Super Bowl was a great game this year. My team won. The Saints beat a better team and did it in dramatic fashion. The on side kick was a gut-sie call. What a great game. But what about that half time show? The Who. Man are those guys just a shadow of who they used to be. The light show was incredible but the singing in particular was not that good. And that is saying it nicely.
A shadow of who they used to be, a shadow of who we are supposed to be. That could be the theme today. It comes from the story in Acts of the “seven sons of Sceva”. They are casting out demons and doing it in the name of “Jesus who Paul preaches”. A demon makes the statement, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” (see the tie in, The Who’s song ‘Who Are You’) Here is what I believe is for us, they know about Jesus but are not “in Christ Jesus”, which Paul writes later to Philippi about himself and Timothy. They are “in” Christ Jesus and the demons are fleeing. These “sons of Sceva” just know about him and the demon beats the you know “who” out of them. They are just a shadow of who they could be and who we should be.

In Young Life we used to do a play every year at camp called “Broken Heart”. It followed the life of a young man or woman depending on who played the part through their life to the place where Christ was revealed to them and they received him. It was powerful because most of the kids and adults could relate to what had happened and the decisions made by the main character. One of that characters biggest hang ups was the rod of blame. The devil character would give her this “toy” he called it called the rod of blame. She could blame everything that was wrong in her life on someone else. It was “their fault.”
Today in the life journal we read of the Old Testament sacrifice of the scapegoat. Our sin placed on the head of a goat. Actually there are two goats, one is sacrificed and the other taken to the edge of the wilderness and released to take our sins out into the wilderness. Did you catch that “our sins”. The scapegoat is taking “our sins”. Our blame is placed on another.
We play the blame game. It’s not our fault, someone else is to blame for what has happened to us. If they had, or he had, or she had, and we go on and on. Freedom comes when you stop the blame game and confess your sin, putting it firmly on the head of the one who came to take it away. Jesus.

My grandson can get himself pretty wound up. Something will not be going his way and he’ll start to object and in a very short time he’s jumping up and down and crying pretty hard. Most of the time it is not that big a deal and a simple calming word will slow him down and he will “come to his senses”. Then things get better.
In the parable of the prodigal son that is what happens to the first son, he “comes to his senses”. Sees he’s living far from what he should be living (because of a choice he made), and decides to repent. The description in the parable is that he practiced a speech that he intended to give to his father. “I have sinned against heaven and against you” is how his speech goes. Heaven and you. Heaven first. I have sinned against heaven. My sin is against you God.
In our life journal as we walk through Leviticus in chapter 7 it starts, “Now this is the law of the guilt offering; it is most holy.” The guilt offering. The confession. Come to your senses. It is most holy. Recognizing and confessing sin is most holy. Living a life of confession is living in holy communion with the Father. We must live life this way. A life of confession.

Brooks Robinson is a Hall of Fame third baseman who played in the era right before me for the Baltimore Orioles. He has a quote that is very true about Big League Baseball. “The hard part is not getting to the Big Leagues it is staying in the Big Leagues.” I feel that, lived that, and in hind sight wish I had stayed as focused once I got to the Big Leagues as I was on getting there. One of the things that happens to players at that level of baseball is that other teams begin to search for your faults. When they find them they begin to work to take advantage of them.
The enemy of our souls is much the same. Today in our life journal as the Psalmist is declaring the wonder of God he declares, “Who can discern my errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.” One of the more difficult parts of my journey with Christ has been his continuing exposure of my brokenness. His taking me to the mirror to see those things in me that I have hidden or just not seen that keep me from being what he wants me to be. As difficult as it has been at times I rejoice that he loves me enough to expose those things to me. I have found that when I deal with them with him they don’t effect my life in ways that keep me out of the Big Leagues. That he really is taking me to the Hall of Fame.

Like many I was not always the first one picked. Small for my age there were girls in my neighborhood that could out run me. (I still enjoyed chasing them) As I grew older I also got bigger and stronger and became one of the first ones picked. That was fun. Often I actually was one of the captains, the one that did the picking. I loved to pick the least of the choices just to watch them light up. As we all know it feels good to be wanted.
In Acts today in our Life Journal Cornelius is the first of the outsiders picked to come into the family of God. The description of him is interesting, “a devout man who feared God”. In announcing his being picked to be on the team God said to him, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God.” Cornelius feared God, prayed, and gave alms. His faithfulness was noticed by God and caused God to place him first on the list. Cornelius and his whole family by the end of the chapter are born again, baptized in the Holy Spirit, and their looking for water for a baptism in water. Devout means he did this consistently. He prayed and he gave. My life has shown me you can’t out give God. “Give and it will given unto you” is one of the verses that often flows through my head. We can see the result of a life like that in the amazing things Cornelius experienced.

Ever sit with someone and have trouble concentrating on the conversation because of all the activity around you. I have the attention span of a third grader so this can be really hard for me. I’ve found that if I concentrate on looking them in the eyes I do a better job of being “present”. It would seem that face to face, eyeball to eyeball is the secret to having a truly intimate conversation with someone. The kind of conversation where they feel like they’ve been heard and you feel like you’ve truly gotten to know them better.
Today in our Life Journal we read where while in the wilderness and in the midst of dealing with the people of Israel as their leader, Moses, and their God, God. Moses and God got together for a face to face meeting in the tent of meeting. The description of that meeting was that God and Moses met face to face like friends would meet. Would that be something. To have that kind of meeting with God. Face to face.
I was asked today how I make decisions about my life. If I lay out a fleece or just walk through the door. I confessed that I have done both. But I also shared that at the really big times I fast and pray and usually go somewhere that I can really get away. A place to get into his presence. When I do that. When I’ve done that. My hope is that we will meet face to face.