Author: Steve Nickel

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20:20 Verses in 2020

Judges 20:20, “The Israelites went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah.”

The account in the preceding and succeeding verses in Judges 20 reveals a Family Feud to the max. The wrongful death of one resulted in the death of 65,300 fighting men from the Israelites and Benjamites. Think of how many wives became widows and how many children lost their fathers because of PRIDE!

Let me set the stage. A Levite and his concubine were staying overnight in Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. Men came knocking at the door where they were staying. The men ended up raping, abusing, and eventually killing the concubine. The Levite cut up her body and sent parts to the tribes of Israel. Judges 19:30 states, “Everyone who saw it was saying to one another, ‘Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Just imagine! We must do something! So speak up!’”

The tribes of Israel came together to discuss the matter and “sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, ‘What about this awful crime that was committed among you? Now turn those wicked men of Gibeah over to us so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel.’ But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites.” (Judges 20:12-13).

The Benjamites would not listen because of their pride. The result was exponential loss on both sides. Pride is known as the chief deadly sin. It is at the core of our flesh; the belief that we know what is best for us rather than obeying what God says. Pride and its consequences are woven throughout the Bible.

Adam and Eve’s struggle with pride led to the breaking fellowship of their with God and to the resulting fall of humanity when they gave into the devil’s promise that the forbidden fruit would give them the same ability to discern good from evil as God. King Uzziah felt he was worthy of priestly duties and was cursed with leprosy. Nebuchadnezzar was driven from his kingdom for taking credit for building Babylon. Herod was struck dead and eaten by worms because he assumed the status of a god rather than praising the One True God.

Here are a couple of verses from God’s Word about pride. “To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, even behavior and perverse speech” (Proverbs 8:13). Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. The Holy Spirit warns us in 1 Corinthians 10:12, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”

A quote by St. Augustine succinctly gives a great comparison of the effects of pride and humility. “It was Pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” The account in Judges 20 confirms the former. It is common sense to choose the latter as James reminds us, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (James 4:6).

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Missing Piece

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,…”                                                 Romans 5:1

A jigsaw puzzle is never complete without all the pieces being in their right places. A puzzle can be quite challenging, especially when it has 1000 or more pieces. Is there anything worse then not locating the one final piece to complete the puzzle? There is only one piece that can fill that empty space. If it was never found and placed, the puzzle would never be complete. Life for many today is like a jigsaw puzzle with a piece missing.

All of us are born with the same birth defect. “Something’s missing and I don’t know what it is. Something’s missing and I don’t know how to fix it.” I have labeled it a “hole in the soul”; an inner unrest and uneasiness that comes from knowing there is something more than I am possessing or experiencing.

It is “the missing PEACE” that compels people to search for the “the missing PIECE.” In their search they try to fill the hole with money, pleasure, possessions, power, knowledge, achievements, etc. However, none of these pieces fit and the hole remains. The void in life cannot be filled by the things in this world. The missing PEACE remains.

What we cannot find in this world, God provides for us. Jesus is the missing PIECE that gives us the PEACE we are missing! “We can have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” When I repent and put my trust in Jesus as my Savior and Lord,…

  • Jesus replaces my guilt and shame with forgiveness and a “not guilty” verdict.
  • I am accepted into the kingdom of God and adopted into His family.
  • God’s love for me casts out all fear.
  • I have no more confusion because I now have a single purpose in life.
  • The “hole in my soul” is filled.
  • Because I have peace with God, I can also have the peace of God in my life.

If this is your first time realizing this truth, I encourage you to RECEIVE Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord. If this is a review for you, I encourage to RECOMMIT your life to Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord. There is nothing better than to find the missing piece – for a puzzle or for your life!

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Devotion Doer or Passionate Pursuer?

Maralyn Mathias, a friend and a missionary, wrote the following in her blog just a couple of days before going to be with Jesus due to ALS. “The only thing that makes me sad is realizing that this intimate friendship with him has been available to me all throughout my life, and I never chose it until now. I missed it … big-time! I guess I was always so busy with my lists, projects, plans and events that I was too occupied to be open to such an idea. Oh, I did my devotions, but so often because I knew I ‘should.’”

Every time I read these words, I am humbled and challenged. Maralyn had been a faithful “devotion doer” but it took a debilitating disease to help her become a “passionate pursuer” of God. This begs the question, “Are you a ‘devotion doer’ or a ‘passionate pursuer’?” At the beginning of 2020, when many make a fresh commitment to read through the Bible in a year, I want to encourage you to not just be a faithful “devotion doer” but to become an intentional “passionate pursuer”.

The Bible portrays Jesus as a Passionate Pursuer! Jesus’ passionate pursuit of deepening his relationship with his Heavenly Father was seen in his spiritual disciplines. He strengthened that relationship through studying the Scriptures, prayer and fasting, and public worship. His passion for his Heavenly Father is further seen in his commitment to pleasing Him in his life & ministry. “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).

God’s Word also reveals the truth that God is passionately pursuing you. He wants you to have a reconciled, personal, and close relationship with Him! He is not obligated to do so. However, because of His unconditional, everlasting love, He chooses to do. You are the “apple of His eye”; i.e. the center of His attention (Psalm 17:8).

A passionate pursuer says, “I want to know Jesus more and more!” The Psalmist gives us a great illustration of this in Psalm 42:1-2. “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Like a deer that pants for water, my thirst for Jesus deepens my daily discipline and increases my delight. Becoming a passionate pursuer means you integrate your head and your heart. J.I. Packer in Knowing God describes this when he writes, “How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? … It is that we turn each Truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God.”

Maralyn,, in her blog, concluded, “Here’s a piece of motherly advice: Don’t wait until you have a terminal illness to seek a true friendship with Jesus. It takes setting aside some less important things. It takes listening. It takes openness. But it’s so worth it! I hope you become literally thirsty for Jesus.” My prayer for you in 2020 is while you are faithful in doing your devotions you would also be intentional in seeking to know and become like Jesus with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength!

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Transformation

Today we are closing the door on 2019 and looking forward to 2020. A new year means a fresh start with many choosing to make resolutions to change for the better. The Holy Spirit communicates through the words of the Apostle Paul that I see as an appropriate new year’s and continuous resolution for every follower of Jesus.

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness..”                                        Ephesians 4:22-24

Being a follower of Jesus is not just an outer conformation. It is an inner transformation. When a person is born again, he or she receives a new nature with the potential and purpose of becoming like Jesus in character. This is a process that only happens through a willing partnership with the Holy Spirit. Each person must decide to participate in this transformational process. It is my observation that people change when they know enough they are able to, when they hurt enough to have to, or when they desire enough they want to.

People change when they know enough they are able to. Paul indicates transformation happens through a renewing of the mind. The psalmist wrote, “I have hidden you word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). It is through the word of God that the Holy Spirit reveals and applies the new way of living according to the principles of the kingdom of God. Jesus said when we know this truth it will set us free to live a changed life (John 8:32).

People change when they hurt enough the have to. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death” (2 Corinthians 7:10). A patient complained to his doctor, “Doc, it hurts when I do this.” The doctor replies, “Well, then don’t do that.” When the Holy Spirit produces a godly sorrow for the sinful actions and attitudes in our lives, it will lead us to having a change in our thinking and our living.

People change when they desire enough they want to. God has created us with a free will to choose. We can choose to serve ourselves or to serve God. Desire is the catalyst that tips the scales one way or the other. When my desire to please and live for God exceeds my desire to please and live for myself, I will change. The desire for choosing God’s way is developed only by investing in our daily relationship with Him.

If Jesus were to whisper in your heart one thing that He would like to change in you in 2020, what would it be? Then ask yourself, “Do I understand what He is asking? Am I tired of the lack of change in that area? Do I want to please Him in that area more than myself? If the answer is “yes”, you are already on your way to experiencing the best life in 2020!