Good Enough

     Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Ask the Lord to remove the frogs from me and my people. I will let the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
     Moses said to Pharaoh, “I will pray for you, your people, and your officials. Then the frogs will leave you and your houses. They will remain only in the river. When do you want the frogs to go away?”
     Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow.”
     Moses said, “It will happen as you say. In this way you will know that there is no god like the Lord our God. The frogs will leave you, your house, your officials, and your people. They will remain only in the river.”
     Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh. Moses prayed to the Lord about the frogs he had sent against Pharaoh. And the Lord did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the yards, and in the fields. They began to rot, and the whole country began to stink. But when Pharaoh saw that they were free of the frogs, he again became stubborn. Pharaoh did not do what Moses and Aaron had asked him to do.

Exodus 8:8-15b

As we read through Exodus, the plagues give me the willies - especially the frogs. The LORD God tells Pharaoh vs 3-4, "The Nile River will be filled with frogs. They will come from the river and enter your houses. They will be in your bedrooms and in your beds. They will be in the houses of your officials and in your ovens and in your jars of water. The frogs will be all over you, your people, and your officials.” Can you picture that? Makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. "All over you..."  

What do you think bothered him more - the frogs or all the screaming and squealing because of them? It didn't take long. Verse 8 tells us, "Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, 'Ask the Lord to remove the frogs from me and my people. I will let the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.' ” So the frogs died, and the citizens gathered them into heaps and they stank. But when Pharaoh got a break from the frogs, no more crawling all over him or his people - Good Enough - he went right back to his old ways.

Have you ever done that? Begged God for His best, promise whatever He wants - maybe give up that habit / addictive behavior - but as soon as we get a little break. One we can live with, it's good enough. Or is it?  

We have to ask ourselves - for whom is it good enough? For us or for God?

Prayer:

Father, 

          Please forgive us for measures we deem Good Enough. Our ways in no way measure up to Yours. You told us that clearly through Your prophet, Isaiah. We will seek You, LORD, while we can find You. We will call on You now while You are near. We choose to change our ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. We turn to You, Father, seeking Your mercy. You promise that as we do turn back to You, You will forgive generously. You are so much more than good enough! Through Christ our LORD, we pray. Amen

Good Enough

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.
Galatian 6:9 NLT

Sometimes, we get tired of the day-in-day-out of things when we cannot readily see the long-term effect of it. When introducing a new skill or concept, it isn't often grasped the first time around. It can be frustrating to have to repeat something again and again. And then to build the endurance for it.

For me, I immediately refer to raising children, but it's also very true in the business world and in academics. We don't want to teach the same thing daily about making right choices, about doing your best in every task, about studying to make the grade or reach the goal. In and of ourselves, we'd most likely take the path of least resistance - the one that is less difficult. And we do it every time we do something and say, "Good enough." Oh, we could have done better, but that's good enough.

God didn't give us good enough. He gave His best - Jesus. And Jesus didn't give us good enough; He gave us His all. And They've been waiting a long time to reap the harvest of blessing wrought by the constant of Their doing what is good. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

Prayer:

Father,
            Forgive us for every time we have slacked off. Give us the strength to continue to do what is good and to not settle for good enough. Give us wisdom to be able to encourage others to not lose sight of the harvest of blessing that will come at just the right time if we don't give up. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* Two Out of Three

So why do you call me 'Lord' when you won't obey me? But all those who come and listen and obey me are like a man who builds a house on a strong foundation and upon the underlying rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against the house, it stands firm, for it is strongly built. But those who listen and don't obey are like a man who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it crumbles into a heap of ruins.
Luke 6:46-49 The Living Bible

We don't like to lose. How many times have you said, "Okay, best two outta three?" When we do, about 1% of the time, we're showing mercy on the opponent who lost the first time (usually a child), but 99% of the time, it's because WE lost the first time and we don't like to lose.

As a nation, we think two out of three is good enough. Tennis matches are comprised of three sets. Two out of three wins. Any competition where more than one game is played, it's often the best two out of three. Elections, government ordinances, proposals are all won or lost by a two-thirds vote. Two-thirds is considered a majority - enough to win. And as a general rule of thumb, we think doing enough is good.

What's my point?

Two out of three is NOT enough in God's government. I'm not into numerology or anything like it, but understand what I'm about to say. Three represents completion in the Word of God. On the third day... Father, Son and Holy Spirit, these three are one... just a couple of examples. There are many others you will find when you study it out.

In God's kingdom, we don't win with two out of three. Our Scripture today clearly defines three - all those who (1) come and (2) listen and (3) obey... We want to come and listen, but we don't know about that obey thing. It's not convenient. That takes commitment and usually affects our finances or cuts into our leisure time. 

Isn't it enough that I come to church and listen?
No, it's not.

Jesus said, So why do you call me 'Lord' when you won't obey me? We don't have the right to call Him Lord if we don't obey. So... best two outta three? You're going down...

It's all or nothing. Ask Jesus.

Prayer:

Father,
In a day and age when enough is considered good, please redirect our values. Birth and mature in us Your Kingdom principles. We know You gave all for us and we praise You for it and give You honor and glory. We want to give You all. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.