It’s hard not to miss the constant complaints Israel had with God in “the land between” found in the books of Exodus and Numbers. For years now I have been blessed to read through the Bible at least once a year – blessed definitely! I always find great encouragement, nourishment, and yes, reproof and challenge. The historical books go from scene to scene and I usually try to read an entire scene in one sitting if possible.

The book of Numbers has some incredible scenes often meant to teach us and show us how not to proceed as followers of Yahweh – Israel’s God. It covers their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land in which God miraculously led and provided for the massive group of former Egyptian slaves. Most obvious is the story of 12 spies sent to check out the Promised Land. (chapters 13-14) Ten of them fail to believe in God for Israel’s triumph over the land. Except for Joshua and Caleb, they all fell into disbelief and despair bringing the rest of Israel along. Of course, God responded with the consequential lessons of loss –

• loss of entrance into the promised land
• loss of life in a fruitful land
• hardship for their children for 40 years in the wilderness.

• who we now are in Christ
• why we should now live as his sons and daughters
• how we should now live in God's eternal kingdom.

Is America Good?

It was the French statesman, historian, and philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville who is often attributed with saying, “America is great because America is good.” But what makes America good? What makes anyone good? While a measure of goodness is possible without God, true goodness is only possible through regenerated people. And those people are found in the Church. This is why, as believers in Christ, our passion must first be for the Church (American Christians) to experience revival. If America is ceasing to be good, might it be because the Church is not reflecting or producing godly goodness?

What would America look like if the majority of churches were beacons of righteousness and love? How transformational would this be for our nation—and not just ours, but any nation?

Political change should rate far below our burden for revival in the Church. The greater burden we should carry as Christians in America is for the Church to experience and live out its call to be salt and light. Alexis de Tocqueville saw this almost 200 years ago, and it remains true today. So, if we pray, let it be first for the Church of Christ to experience repentance, healing, and transformation. God wants His people to be His people, wherever they are and under any circumstances. The world is complicated, as are the issues we face as a nation, but surely the most basic solution is for the Church to be all that Jesus called us to be, whatever the cost. It begins with prayer (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house."

“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” 1Cor13:11

It’s not hard to look at our culture and see that many of us have not yet made the transition Paul speaks of here in his chapter on love. Having been a believer and follower of Christ for many years, I still have to ask myself, “Have I given up childish ways?”
The more we look into the gospel of Christ and His plan for each of us, the more it becomes clear that Jesus isn’t just interested in saving us for heaven. Upon receiving Him as our Savior, he begins a work of grace in each of us to bring us to maturity – to bring us from babyhood, through childhood, to maturity in Him. And while our physical bodies transition from infancy to adulthood relatively easily and with little effort, the journey of our souls is quite different. Maturity on the emotional, relational, and spiritual levels requires our will and a lot more. It doesn’t just happen. When adults act as children there is disharmony and chaos which will lead to death. (Romans 3:23)
I love to write about spiritual authenticity and maturity because it helps me process truth and grow. But I also see this as the primary issue facing believers in our world today. 

Immaturity in believers will do nothing to move our world out of darkness into the light of Christ! 

As we fail to model/value Christ-likeness (maturity) we can expect childish speech, childish thoughts, childish reasoning, and ways to continue to characterize our relationships, our churches, and our culture. With the vacuum of maturity, our families, friends, and neighbors are not compelled to grow up.
We shouldn’t be surprised to see childish ways among those who don’t know Him. Sadly, we see it being celebrated and applauded in our culture today perhaps more than ever. But as Christians, we must ask, “Am I pursuing maturity today?” “Am I worshiping/cooperating with God?” “Am I giving up childish ways?”
It’s no mistake that the apostle put these thoughts in the middle of his treatise on love. And love is what’s at stake in our families, our cities, and our world.  Join me in the pursuit of authentic (Christ-like) love. What's your next step to being a fully devoted worshiper of God?