11.21.24 ~ The Magnitude of Sarah's Faith
Good morning!
We live in a fast-paced world and our lives are filled with every type of distraction imaginable. Years ago, there was an acronym that became popular: YOLO (You Only Live Once). This philosophy of the last day's generation, which has been very 'self-driven', has a true counterpart throughout Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, as well as each of our Lekh Lekha journeys.
Much of the time they (as well as too many of us) live the YOLO philosophy "It's all about me and teamwork and togetherness, for a common goal, is only significant if it benefits my personal agenda. The Apostle Paul was right when he said in the last days perilous times would come. Men would be proud, boasters, arrogant, truce breakers, incontinent, fierce, lovers of self more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the power...stay away from these types of people. (2 Tim. 3:1-5) Kind of scary how accurate he was.
Yeshua gave us the antidote to this negative reality when He said,
If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)
Have you ever asked yourself, what does it really mean to deny yourself? Is it like the Roman Catholic practice of giving up something desirable for lent? Should I refuse myself food, pleasure or gain to look and feel more spiritual (Col. 2:20-23)? Or does Yeshua mean that I must reject the ploy of immoral behavior? Is this about refusing to lie, cheat or steal – or any other morally suspect act? Enquiring minds want to know!
We, speaking of me, myself, and I, would like to have a list of do's and don'ts, wouldn’t we? Then we could check off the “I did that or I didn’t do that” box for each action; and consider ourselves denied. Of course, that isn’t what Yeshua means. But when we ask exactly what He does mean, we get confused. Maybe a return to the Garden of Eden will help.
To deny oneself/arnesastho heauton (7 syllables... not bad for early morning LOL :-) This exact action, in the Greek translation of the TaNaKh (AKA Old Testament), not to lie/kachash is mirrored in Genesis 18:15. The example is Sarah’s statement, “I did not laugh." Huh? What does denying oneself and not telling a lie have in common? Ahh, the enquiring minds are about to be satisfied (Matt. 5:6).
Sarah denied the truth. So, how does this help us see what Yeshua means? Let’s think once more about the Garden.
In the Garden, the serpent asks the woman, eventually named Eve/chavah, to act upon something that is not true, namely, her personal assessment of what is “good.” In other words, the serpent agrees that God prohibits eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, but he suggests that she has the “right” to decide for herself. She should be the one who determines what is good and what is evil. In that moment, we are introduced to a second step in ethical evaluation. The issue is no longer what God says. The issue becomes what I decide about what God says. Kachash is to reject God’s truth and replace it with my truth.
Therefore, to deny myself is to reverse what happened in the Garden. To deny myself is to acknowledge my own propensity to pursue self-satisfying evaluation and to discount how I see things. It is to opt for God’s view regardless of my evaluation. To deny myself is to listen to Him rather than me (Jn. 10:27,28).
Now we have a guideline that works in any situation and we can avoid our “checklist” ethics. We simply ask, “Have I discontinued my own assessment? Have I squared my behavior with what He says regardless of my personal evaluation?” To deny myself is to stop listening to me – and to pay attention only to Him. Again, let's look at Luke 9:23...
Then He said to them all, If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily ...and don't forget about Luke 14:26,27, or Matthew 10:38, 39, or Matthew 16:22-25, or Mark 8:34-38, or John 12:25,26, or Romans 8:13, or Colossians 3:5 or Titus 2:12, or ...I think you get the picture :-) Now, for your morning assignment...look up each Scripture, make a list of the actions associated with denying yourself and make it your diligent goal to add into your faith today (2 Pet. 1:5-12).
Obviously, It's easier said than done. But once you've done it, it's really easy :-) Unfortunately, too many times, I've listened to the 'serpent speak' into my life, but I'm learning that the end result is much better when I deny myself, take up my cross and follow Him.
Are you living in denial? Sarah was, but she quickly adjusted her course and finished amazingly strong...now, I just laugh at the magnitude of her faith (Gen. 23:1,2).
Shalom!
Much of the time they (as well as too many of us) live the YOLO philosophy "It's all about me and teamwork and togetherness, for a common goal, is only significant if it benefits my personal agenda. The Apostle Paul was right when he said in the last days perilous times would come. Men would be proud, boasters, arrogant, truce breakers, incontinent, fierce, lovers of self more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the power...stay away from these types of people. (2 Tim. 3:1-5) Kind of scary how accurate he was.
Yeshua gave us the antidote to this negative reality when He said,
If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)
Have you ever asked yourself, what does it really mean to deny yourself? Is it like the Roman Catholic practice of giving up something desirable for lent? Should I refuse myself food, pleasure or gain to look and feel more spiritual (Col. 2:20-23)? Or does Yeshua mean that I must reject the ploy of immoral behavior? Is this about refusing to lie, cheat or steal – or any other morally suspect act? Enquiring minds want to know!
We, speaking of me, myself, and I, would like to have a list of do's and don'ts, wouldn’t we? Then we could check off the “I did that or I didn’t do that” box for each action; and consider ourselves denied. Of course, that isn’t what Yeshua means. But when we ask exactly what He does mean, we get confused. Maybe a return to the Garden of Eden will help.
To deny oneself/arnesastho heauton (7 syllables... not bad for early morning LOL :-) This exact action, in the Greek translation of the TaNaKh (AKA Old Testament), not to lie/kachash is mirrored in Genesis 18:15. The example is Sarah’s statement, “I did not laugh." Huh? What does denying oneself and not telling a lie have in common? Ahh, the enquiring minds are about to be satisfied (Matt. 5:6).
Sarah denied the truth. So, how does this help us see what Yeshua means? Let’s think once more about the Garden.
In the Garden, the serpent asks the woman, eventually named Eve/chavah, to act upon something that is not true, namely, her personal assessment of what is “good.” In other words, the serpent agrees that God prohibits eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, but he suggests that she has the “right” to decide for herself. She should be the one who determines what is good and what is evil. In that moment, we are introduced to a second step in ethical evaluation. The issue is no longer what God says. The issue becomes what I decide about what God says. Kachash is to reject God’s truth and replace it with my truth.
Therefore, to deny myself is to reverse what happened in the Garden. To deny myself is to acknowledge my own propensity to pursue self-satisfying evaluation and to discount how I see things. It is to opt for God’s view regardless of my evaluation. To deny myself is to listen to Him rather than me (Jn. 10:27,28).
Now we have a guideline that works in any situation and we can avoid our “checklist” ethics. We simply ask, “Have I discontinued my own assessment? Have I squared my behavior with what He says regardless of my personal evaluation?” To deny myself is to stop listening to me – and to pay attention only to Him. Again, let's look at Luke 9:23...
Then He said to them all, If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily ...and don't forget about Luke 14:26,27, or Matthew 10:38, 39, or Matthew 16:22-25, or Mark 8:34-38, or John 12:25,26, or Romans 8:13, or Colossians 3:5 or Titus 2:12, or ...I think you get the picture :-) Now, for your morning assignment...look up each Scripture, make a list of the actions associated with denying yourself and make it your diligent goal to add into your faith today (2 Pet. 1:5-12).
Obviously, It's easier said than done. But once you've done it, it's really easy :-) Unfortunately, too many times, I've listened to the 'serpent speak' into my life, but I'm learning that the end result is much better when I deny myself, take up my cross and follow Him.
Are you living in denial? Sarah was, but she quickly adjusted her course and finished amazingly strong...now, I just laugh at the magnitude of her faith (Gen. 23:1,2).
Shalom!
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