If I Had Only Known

When King Solomon dedicated the new temple, he prayed the benediction to open the festivities. As I read through that prayer, I realized it was a kind of prophecy, in part addressing the coming captivity.

(Leanna Paraphrase) "When the people sin and are carried into captivity by their enemies, if they truly repent, please forgive them and help them in that place." from 1 Kings 8:46-48

It was, in a way, a surprising prayer. Since they left Egypt, the people had known great prosperity and military victory, with very little defeat, but Solomon was right. Sin would come and, along with it, consequences.

The most remarkable thing about his prayer is that Solomon, in a way, started the journey to captivity. He did the thing he prayed against.

He married many pagans wives and followed them into idolatry. He set up high places and shrines to the idols. He sacrificed to them there. He worshipped Molech, the idol to whom child sacrifices were made. 

Israel never recovered from it. Idolatry became widespread in the nation. Idols were a problem until, 250 years later, they were taken into captivity by Assyria. Just as Solomon had prayed.

As I read his prayer, I wondered what he would have done differently if he had known what his sin would cost him. What it would cost the nation. 

Would he have believed it?

I look back on my own life and see how the sins of earlier years have brought consequences and results years later. If I had known what those sins would cost me, would I have done them? Maybe not.

And yet, we do know. The law made it clear that sin has consequences. It made it clear what those consequences would be. Deuteronomy 28 is filled with the specific results of ongoing sin. If they persisted in their sin, and refused to repent after all God's disciplines, He would scatter them and send them back to slavery. (Deut. 28:64-68)

Solomon did know. Yet he sinned anyway.

And we do the same.

We know sin has a price, but we don't believe it will happen to us. Even when we're told ahead of time. I do it, and you probably do, too, but it's not wise.

We can, however, make a different choice. A better choice. 

"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants." Deuteronomy 30:19 nasb

We can have blessings if we want them, but we have to choose them with our lifestyle. 

Since we know better, let's do better. Let's take a step closer to Christ and follow Him. Let's love God first, with every fiber of our being, and love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. 

It's not just the right thing to do. It's the best way to leave a legacy of blessing for our children and grandchildren.
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In case you missed it, here's the link for yesterday's post: The Crummy Soil and the Traveling Plants (http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-crummy-soil-and-traveling-plants.html)

For those doing the Hosea study, the Chapter Four lesson is now live and here's the link: Chapter Four 
(http://lessonsindiscipleship.blogspot.com/2016/05/hosea-chapter-four.html)
  
Here's a link to another blog post about choosing blessings or curses: Blessings or curses: We can choose
(http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2016/03/blessing-or-curse-we-can-choose.html)

Mamie Tries Looking Back and Going Forward

Heading out this morning, I called out, "Who wants to go to the greenhouse?" Wonder Dogs love GO, so of course both dogs were up for the walk. Mamie was following my every step, so she was first in line. Maggie was in the kitchen eating breakfast. Mamie, Apprentice Wonder Puppy, is only ten months old. She is excited about everything!! She is also crazy about her adopted big sister Maggie the Wonder Dog. This created a big dilemma for little Mamie. She wanted to go, but wanted to be sure Maggie was coming. 

What happened next was the craziest. I have never seen this happen to a dog in my entire life. Mamie probably wishes I would keep it to myself. It was that ... I don't know what to call it. Pitiful? Sad? Funny? Mamie decided to run for the door because she wanted to be first out the door. She always runs. She also wanted to be sure about Maggie and see what she was doing, so Mamie made a not-very-smart decision. This is why she is still an Apprentice Wonder Puppy and not a Wonder dog yet. Mamie decided to run as fast as she could, while at the same time she was looking backward at Maggie. You can probably guess what happened. WHAM!!  Mamie ran, wide open and looking backward, into the door frame. There was a terrible thud and the impact stopped her in her tracks. She was shocked! It was not entirely clear why I got blamed for what Mamie had done all by herself, but she shook her head a little, sat down, and gave me a withering look. Needless to say, that door frame encounter  stopped her looking back for a little while. 

(Lest you worry about little Mamie, get distracted, and miss the point of the story) let me assure you that she is fine and still running wide open.)

As soon as Mamie whammed into the door frame, I thought, "Its really hard to move forward when you are looking back." (I see every event, interaction, and conversation in terms of a story and a lesson, and have for decades. It's a little strange but makes writing much easier). Back to the thoughts. It really is hard to go forward when you are looking back, as anyone with regret can confirm. I don't know about you, but I can always think of something I should have said in a better way, some better action I could have taken, a better decision I could have made. I could easily be overwhelmed with the "what it's" and the "I should have's" and second-guess myself forever. Maybe you know something about second-guessing. It can plague you relentlessly. 

It turns out that the Apostle Paul knew about regret, too, having been an awful terrorist. He wrote about it in a letter to the Philippian church. "Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14 NASB) In other words, quit looking back and focus your attention on doing what God has called you to do! That's good advice for those with regrets and for those who second guess themselves. Stop. Just stop and refocus. 

It sounds easy, and it is. How? There's a clue in that verse above. Paul could not look back because he had his attention and his eyes focused on the call of God. He was looking to Jesus, and when you have Jesus in your sights, He is all that matters. 

Are you struggling? Has your looking back, like little Mamie, caused you to run right into a roadblock that has not only stopped you but caused you pain? Take your eyes off the past. Take your eyes off yourself. Fix them on Jesus and leave them there as you pursue that to which He has called you. Stop looking at the pain of the past and start looking toward eternity. One day, all those regrets will not matter a bit. Why not let them go now? 

Press on, and don't look back.