Are You On The Lord’s Side?
Good Morning Friends,
With all the recent devotionals on parables I probably should have used more illustrations. So here is one from our Civil War.
“We trust the Lord is on our side, Mr. Lincoln,” said the speaker of a delegation of Christian people to that good man, during one of the darkest days of the American Civil War. “I do not regard that as so essential as something else,” replied Mr. Lincoln. The worthy visitors looked horror-struck, until the President added: “I am most concerned to know that we are on the Lord’s side.” The right side is not my side or your side. The Lord’s side is the place to which every one of us should rally. His banner has right, truth, love, and holiness written on it. Be sure you stand up for God’s banner, even if you stand alone. Are You On The Lord’s Side?
Scripture: Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain, carrying the two tablets of the covenant in his hands, tablets that were written on both sides, written on the front and on the back. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved upon the tablets. When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” But he said, “It is not the sound made by victors, or the sound made by losers; it is the sound of revelers that I hear.” As soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets from his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made, burned it with fire, ground it to powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.
Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?” And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn hot; you know the people, that they are bent on evil. They said to me, ‘Make us gods, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off’; so they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” When Moses saw that the people were running wild (for Aaron had let them run wild, to the derision of their enemies), then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.
On the next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, blot me out of the book that you have written.” But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; see, my angel shall go in front of you. Nevertheless, when the day comes for punishment, I will punish them for their sin.”
Exodus 32:15-26, 30-34 (NRSV)
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Matthew 12:30 (NRSV)
Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.
I Peter 1:22 (NRSV)
Message: One of the greatest questions in the Bible is found in Exodus 32. It is asked by Moses when he came down from the mountain with the ten commandments only to find the Hebrews worshipping a Golden Calf and behaving immorally. He was angry. Even Aaron was caught up in the action. Years later Jesus would warn that not everyone would be true and that if you were not with him you were really against him. It makes one wonder who is really on the Lord’s side these days. Many religious people claim they are but I am not sure it would stand up in a heavenly court. In the end, what we say, feel and think is not so nearly important as what we do.
Pray we are not so easy to compromise our faith. Pray too that we not be so quick to judge by appearances and to blame others but be real leaders reflecting the truth in us. Pray we admit when we are wrong. Pray we not be afraid to tell others around us of Jesus, the way, truth and the life. Pray we stand up for truth when others are going astray. Pray we are doers of the word, not just hearers. Pray we realize that we are saved by the truth of Christ. Pray we are satisfied with the truth of Christ. Pray we are honest. Pray we follow through with our commitments.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 