To Have and To Hold

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Pete

Had dinner with a friend at a restaurant last night — a small, family-business sort of restaurant. Asked our waitress, “So, how are you doing?” She knew what I was asking, how’s the pandemic affected business? Though I only saw her eyes, you could read the rest of her facial expression. With heaviness, she said it has been tough. Whereas once they had a number of staff working, now it was just her serving customers and the owner in the kitchen. “This has been life-changing,” she said. I can imagine the multiple ways it’s been life-changing — most of those ways characterized by some form of loss.

Reminded this morning that the recipients of the letter to the Hebrews had also suffered loss. Having believed Jesus to be the Messiah, and having chosen to walk in the Way, they were forced to leave behind certain things. Things like gathering with their old community in the synagogue. No longer participating in the rites, rituals, and practices of the temple. Removed from the covering of the ministry of the Levitical priesthood. Expelled from the fellowship of those who refused Christ to remain in the way of Moses. The loss of family, friends, and familiarity.

And sometimes, when there’s loss, we’re prone to lose site of what remains. The focus on what was but is no longer blocking out what is. And that’s why Hebrews was written.

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a High Priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a Minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.

(Hebrews 8:1-2 ESV)

There it is! That’s the thesis of the letter. Everything up to this point has set it up. Everything following expands on this High Priest and the implications of believing in Him and living for Him.

A ton of heavy theological lifting here. A High Priest unlike the priests they had known. Eternal not temporal. Serving in the heavenly tabernacle set up by God not an earthly one constructed by men. And then, how that plays into things concerning a better covenant, a better promise, a better Holy Place, a better sacrifice, and thus, a better redemption. Put on your thinking cap!

But this morning, it’s not the theological which grabs me, it is the intensely practical. And that, captured in two words: “We have.”

. . . we have such a High Priest

To be sure, these Hebrew believers had forfeited much in order to follow Christ. But this letter was written so that they might know that what they now possessed was better. Infinitely, and eternally better. They had given up but copies and shadows of heavenly things (8:5), and now held the heavenly thing itself. “We have such a High Priest,” the writer writes, “We have Jesus!”

We possess. We own. We have. We hold. Despite whatever loss we have experienced during these past 6 months, or over these past 6 years, we have Jesus. We hold fast to the Son of God. The Savior of our souls. The High Priest seated even now at the right hand of the throne in Majesty, ministering on our behalf in heavenly, holy places.

To be sure, we grieve the loss. No escaping that we endure the difficulty. Not surprising that we wonder about when, of even if, things might again be “normal.” But let it not distract us from what we have. We have Jesus.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine
O what a foretaste of glory divine!

Jesus. To have and to hold.

And all His grace. All for His glory.

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The Stability of Your Times

Posted on September 2, 2020 by Pete

Hovering over three verses from my reading in Isaiah this morning.

“Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, . . . He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and He will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure. . . . Your eyes will behold the King in His beauty . . . ”

(Isaiah 32:1a, Isaiah 33:5b-6, Isaiah 33:17a ESV)

Think about it, that last promise is huge — Your eyes will behold the King in His beauty.

Isaiah is writing during the decline of the Jewish monarchy. The throne will be destroyed when judgment comes upon Judah and Jerusalem, and a rebellious, adulterous people are sent into captivity for a 70 year timeout. And when they return, no king. So, when Isaiah speaks of beholding the King you know he’s prophesying of a future time.

Jesus is that king. A glimpse of Jerusalem’s “beholding” seen as He entered the city a week before He was nailed to a cross.

The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

(John 12:12-13 ESV)

They wanted to believe He was the one the prophet pointed to. But they knew that they weren’t really beholding Him “in His beauty.” After all, He was riding on a feeble, young donkey, not a battle-ready steed. They didn’t get the prophet’s other prediction concerning the promised Messiah, that during this visit to the city He would have “no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him” (Isa. 53:2).

So we know the promise of beholding the King in His beauty is yet to be fulfilled. Even so, Lord Jesus, come!

And yet, while we wait for the King, we know the King has come. While we anticipate a day when He will reign on earth in righteousness, even now, in the kingdom He is building in the hearts of His people, He reigns in righteousness. Though a day is coming when He will fill this world with justice, abundance of salvation, and wisdom and knowledge, in this time of the kingdom’s “already but not yet” existence, we have a divinely implanted sense of these things, and a supernatural foretaste of what the abundance of salvation looks like.

And this is true, too, when it comes to the promise that the King will be the stability of your times.

There is coming a day when Jesus will calm the chaos. When He will shush the storm. When He will order order. When He will stand and bring stability. How we long for that day.

But even now, I’m reminded, He is the stability of our times.

Of these tumultuous times. Of these sometimes seemingly out of control times. Of these post-Christian, post-modern, post-truth, post-whatever times. Of these pandemic times. Of these protesting times. Of these extreme partisan times. Pick a way of describing the times, and still know that Jesus, the King, is the stability of these “already but not yet” times.

On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand!

He will be the stability of your times. Yes, He will. Yes, He is.

Hallejuah, what a Savior!

By His grace. For His glory.

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Blessed Are Those Who Wait For Him

Posted on September 1, 2020 by Pete

It’s a word written to an ancient people. But it’s an ancient word preserved for this present people. And, this morning, I’m thinking it’s worth chewing on.

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.

(Isaiah 30:18 ESV)

One verse, four applications of colored pencil. Underline in dark blue what I observe about God: He waits to be gracious to His people; He rises up to show mercy; He is a God of justice. Shade with brown what I notice about grace: grace has a season, a time when God determines is the right time (in this case coming after a time of weeping, see 30:19). Use the orange colored pencil to highlight a promise seen, a promise that those who wait on God will be blessed by God. Finally, shade with lime green what’s observed about faith: faith is marked by waiting on Him who waits to be gracious.

Hmmm . . . lot to chew on there.

Circumstances of the people who this was written to very different than the situations of those it has been preserved for. But, it seems to me, that within it there is a transcendent principle at play for the people of God. In due time, in His time, blessing will be known by those who know the person of their God, and believe in the promises of their God. Who know His nature. Who trust in his word.

My God waits to be gracious. Far from sitting back on His throne in heaven, with His arms crossed, His lips pursed, and His head shaking back and forth with divine disapproval, my God actually leans over heaven’s balcony waiting to be gracious. Longing to show unmerited favor. And in the fullness of time, far from being a passive player in earth’s history, He rises up to show mercy, as demonstrated when He sent forth His Son to redeem and adopt those unworthy in themselves of redemption and adoption (Gal. 4:4-5). And that’s just but an opening of the floodgates of divine mercy and abounding grace. Do I believe it? Really believe it?

My God is a God of justice. Wrongs will be made right. Scales will be balanced. Payment for what is owed will be required. The wages of sin will be tendered. God has shown that He cares about justice. Even entering our world to bring about what is just, starting with the cross (Rom. 3:23-26). Thus, divine forbearance is appropriate as He waits patiently for sinners to find their way to the cross where Jesus became the once forever atoning sacrifice for sin and transgression. But a day is coming when that which has not been covered by the blood will brought to light, an accounting required, justice prevailing. Do I believe that? Really believe that?

If I believe these things to be true about my God then, by His enabling, I can wait for Him. I can endure the weeping that lasts for night, confident that joy will come in the morning (Ps. 30:5). I can patiently wait out the season of sorrow, knowing that one day He really will provide “a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” (Isa. 61:3). By faith I can wait.

And blessed are those who wait for Him.

Blessed this day. Even as we wait and experience His abiding presence in our loneliness and His sustaining power in our weakness. Blessed in that day. When the LORD who waits to be gracious reveals the full extent of His grace. When the LORD who rises up to show mercy, makes Himself known to all the earth. Those who wait, and persevere by faith, are blessed. In this day and in the day to come.

I can rest in knowing who My God is. I can trust in knowing what my God has promised.

By His grace. For His glory.

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An Anchor Behind the Curtain

Posted on August 31, 2020 by Pete

We have an anchor of the soul. That’s what’s resonating this morning as I read the last half of Hebrews 6. And who doesn’t need an anchor these days? Something that is sure? Something which can hold fast? But what grabs me this morning is less about what the nature of our anchor is and more about where our anchor is planted. We have an anchor behind the curtain.

So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of His purpose, He guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

(Hebrews 6:17-20 ESV)

These ancient Hebrews weren’t dealing with pandemics, protests, and politics, but whatever it was that was creating the pressure cooker they were living in, for some it was causing them to waver in their faith. To question “the ask” of God’s call on their lives. To second guess whether following Christ was really going to be worth it all. To forsake the assembling of themselves together. To consider going back to an easier way, a way more in line with the world they used to know.

So the message to the Hebrews was, “Keep on keepin’ on!” Because Christ is better (Heb. 1:4, 2:17-18, 3:3). Because the promises are better (Heb. 7:22, 8:6). Because, when all will be said and done, the way of faith is better (Heb. 11:6). Therefore, the race to be run, though it requires great endurance, is also better (Heb. 12:1-3). And this results in a hope which is better. A hope set before us. A hope we have as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.

But lest we think it is our ability to hope which provides our steadfast security, the Spirit emphasizes that the strength of the anchor lies not in us but in where the anchor is planted — the inner place behind the curtain.

No matter how heavy an anchor is, if it doesn’t become firmly planted in the ocean bed, if it doesn’t catch onto something immovable, it can hang off the boat all day long but will provide little stability in the storm. Yes, our hope is an anchor for the soul, but only because it is tethered steadfastly behind the curtain.

Behind the curtain, where the glory dwells and God is present. Behind the curtain, where our great High Priest, having made a once for all atonement, ever lives to make perpetual intercession. That’s where the anchor of our soul is fastened. Not in our ability to muster up enough hope, but in the presence, in the power, and in the promises of the One who has given us such a sure hope.

The substance of our hope is faith (Heb. 11:1 NKJV). And we all know how our faith can waver at times. Therefore our hope can waver. Our anchor, at times, less characterized by weighty iron and more like flimsy aluminum. But, praise God, it is less about the weight of our hope and all about the ground into which our hope is anchored. Holy ground. Solid ground. Ground which is behind the curtain.

Thank God we have an anchor for the soul. An anchor formed by things better than this world could ever offer. An anchor securely attached to ground more holy than we could ever imagine. A steadfast anchor of the soul. An anchor behind the curtain.

By His grace. For His glory.

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The One Who Serves

Posted on August 28, 2020 by Pete

I’ll take lesser known names of Christ for 500, Alex.

Ok. The answer is: The title Jesus took for Himself as a means of contrasting greatness in His kingdom vs. greatness in the kingdoms of the world.

Um . . . What is Deacon or, in the original, Diakoneo?

Correct!

A dispute also arose among [the disciples], as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And [Jesus] said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the One Who Serves.

(Luke 22:24-27 ESV)

“But I am among you as the One who serves.” Literally, as the Diakoneo. Chewing on that this morning. Evokes awe and conviction.

Evokes awe because this is the Christ we’re talking about, the Word. The Word who was in the beginning. Who was with God and was God. Who made all things, “and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (Jn. 1:1-3).

So call Him El Shaddai, God Almighty. Declare Him to be El Elyon, the Most High God. Bow before Him as El Olam, the Everlasting God. But El Diakoneo? The Servant God?

A catalyst for wonder because this is the Son of God we’re talking about. The radiance of God’s glory. The exact imprint of God’s nature. The One who upholds the universe by the word of His power. The One through whom, in these last days, God has made His appeal to all people. (Heb. 1:1-3)

So speak of Him as Jehovah Jireh, The Lord Will Provide. Point to Him as Jehovah Shalom, The Lord Is Peace. Gather to Him as Jehovah Nissi, The Lord My Banner. Stand fast in Him as Jehovah Tsidkenu, The Lord Our Righteousness. Follow Him as Jehovah Raah, The Lord My Shepherd. But model Him as Jehovah Diakoneo, the Lord Our Servant? Hmmm . . . did I mention awe AND conviction?

“But I am among you as the One Who Serves.” Yes He is.

Not only did He come 2,000 years ago “not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45), even now He is the great Diakoneo, the One Who Serves, though He is always the One Who Reigns.

Even now, through His Spirit, He is the One Who Serves in us. Enabling, empowering, engaging in our struggles against the flesh and our propensity to be drawn by the temptations of the world. For “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

Even now He is the One Who Serves at the right hand of the Father where He lives always to intercede for us (Heb. 7:25). His desire? To save to the uttermost. To save to the fullest extent. Having saved us from the penalty of sin, He continues to serve us in order to save us from the power of sin and, eventually, from the presence of sin.

And to the end — to the saving from the presence of sin — He is the One Who Serves as He prepares a place for us. Working now in anticipation of that day when He will come again and take us to be with Himself, “that where I am you may be also” (Jn. 14:1-3).

Jesus is the One Who Serves!

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Might I reflect Him more as one who is content to serve.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Drawing Near for Mercy. Finding Grace.

Posted on August 27, 2020 by Pete

Have you ever played peek-a-boo with a baby? They can’t walk, they can’t talk, but they can smile and giggle. And, for some reason, the surprise of seeing your face pop out from behind your hands primes the pump, and the sustains the flow, of what seems like perpetual joy. And though you do it over and over and over and over again, it never seems to get old. If your experience has been like mine, you’ll usually tap out before they’re done being delighted.

That’s the dynamic that comes to mind this morning as I chew on drawing near for mercy, and then finding grace.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

(Hebrews 4:16 ESV)

Receive mercy. Find grace. That’s the confidence we’re to have every time we choose to deal with our time of need by drawing near to the throne of grace.

And what kind of need are we talking about? Though I’m confident it can apply to all types of need, I think specifically it’s the need to somehow deal with our sin.

I think the “then” of let us then looks back to a living and active word which splays the human heart and soul and discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart (4:12). That its context is the fresh realization that nothing is hidden from God’s sight, “but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (4:13). And that’s problematic. Everything laid bare before the One to whom we must give account.

But then, there’s Jesus. A great High Priest who has passed through the heavens. One able to sympathize with the weakness of our flesh and our repeated failure to do the good we want to do, and frustrating propensity to keep on doing the evil we don’t want to do (Rom. 7:18-19). One who knows what it is, in every respect, to be tempted as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:14-15).

In light of this then: in light of being exposed; in light of the weakness of our flesh and the repeated failure of our will; in light of a great High Priest; in light of it all, draw near to His throne, the throne of grace. Draw near to receive mercy. And when you do, find grace.

Our only plea for sin is mercy — and if we think we have no sin, we deceive ourselves (1Jn. 1:8). All we can seek is God’s kindness in not giving us what our sin deserves. Our confidence to do so founded in the once for all sacrifice for sin, when Jesus our great High Priest offered Himself as the spotless Lamb of God to atone for all our transgressions. I draw near to receive mercy.

But when I draw near to receive mercy what else do I find? I find grace. Not only do I not get what I deserve, but I find that I also get what I don’t deserve. God’s kindness but the key which unlocks the floodgates of God’s grace. Finding myself not only forgiven through the finished work of the cross, but also loved with an everlasting love. Not only deemed holy because Jesus is holy, but delighted in as a son or daughter because we have received the Spirit of adoption.

We come to the throne, again and again, over and over and over, confessing our sin and repenting of our flesh-fueled actions — the way to the throne a well-worn path to the cross.

And, again and again, over and over and over, we are surprised by grace. His unmerited favor unexpected. Overwhelmed with the fresh reminder of being blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places (Eph. 1:3). Overcome, knowing again that, despite ourselves, we have been raised up with Him, and seated with Him in heavenly places “so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6-7). Experiencing, as if for the first time all over again, His abundant love and unfathomable acceptance washing away our guilt and shame.

We seek mercy, again and again, over and over and over. Confident not in ourselves but in the blood of Jesus. Shed once, applied forever.

But, while we come to receive mercy, again and again, we find, in addition, grace, over and over and over. And we don’t know whether to laugh with unexpected joy or cry with heartfelt appreciation. Often we do both.

Drawing near for mercy. Finding grace.

To God be the glory.

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The LORD of Hosts Has Purposed

Posted on August 26, 2020 by Pete

Before we take on another book of the Bible in September, we’re doing a mini-series at church, “Lessons Learned During Shelter in Place.” We’re two weeks into considering four lessons learned: Change is Hard; The Flesh is Real; Unity is Work; and, God is Sovereign.

Pandemics have a way of forcing one out of one’s normal routine. Of learning new skills one never thought they needed to learn. Of adopting practices that are uncomfortable, and dropping habits that for so long have defined stability. Change is Hard. But, as the Scriptures remind us, hard is used of God to train us “that we may share His holiness” (Heb. 12:10b). And, while it may be painful for the moment, hard has the potential to yield “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Heb. 12:11b).

But the process of purification brought about by hard, first reveals the dross, the impurities, the stuff we’d just as soon stayed hidden. These past several months have revealed that enduring, stubborn reality of the flesh — the sin nature still resident which wars against the Spirit. Put people in a pressure cooker and stuff starts coming to the surface. And I don’t need to look beyond myself in order to see the stuff and realize why sanctification is a thing. A very necessary thing. A sometimes slow, work-in-progress thing.

And when I’m dealing with my stuff and you’re dealing with your stuff and we see stuff differently, then we realize afresh that we really do need to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit” (Eph. 4:3a NIV). With our world turned upside down, and with very different views of how to deal with such a world and walk in such a world, we no longer have the luxury of relying on superficial, non-confrontational relationship as a facade for unity. Can’t just talk about sports when we “fellowship” — because, for a long time, there was no sports. Instead, we’re being forced to interact on other simple, straight forward things (not), like assessing appropriate COVID responses, determining how to deal with degrees of systemic injustice, and how to think about such things as peaceful protest which, so often, isn’t. Those topics of discussion will spark some animation around the dining room table.

It’s in light of those three lessons learned, those three operative realities, that the fourth lesson learned becomes so imperative. God is Sovereign. Reminded of that this morning in Isaiah.

The LORD of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand . . . ” For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?

(Isaiah 14:24, 27 ESV)

Isn’t so much of the stress of this season related to areas where we feel powerless and out of control? I’m thinkin’. Things that we once did without a second thought are now almost impossible (small example . . . think crossing the border into Canada without an acceptable plan on how to quarantine for 14 days . . . been there, done that), and that can be frustrating. And we have no idea how long we’ll have to surrender control over these no-brainers. That adds a couple of points to the stress chart. And that’s just one small example. We all have enough of those kind of things adding up points on our stress charts.

But I’m reminded this morning as a I read in Isaiah (and it primes the pump of thinking through our mini-series in lessons learned), that our loss of control really is an opportunity for faith. That our piles of plans dumped on the trash heap can point us to the One whose plans never fail. That dealing daily with a lack of normalcy, is another day to thank God that what He has purposed will stand, and that nothing stands unless He has purposed it.

“For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it?”

It’s the bottom line for coping, isn’t it? The bottom line for hoping. The bottom line that keeps us trusting. The fuel that keeps us going. God is Sovereign.

For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!
God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.

(Psalm 47:7-8 ESV)

Our God reigns!

The Lord of hosts has purposed. And it shall stand. And we can rest.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Careworn but Confident

Posted on August 25, 2020 by Pete

I don’t know about you, but these days I awake most mornings with a certain level of burden. Sometimes I can identify specific issues and situations which contribute to the weight on my chest I feel even before I’ve gotten out of bed, but in this COVID season, the season itself seems to be enough to maintain a low-level oppression. Oppression, not depression. (At least I don’t think it’s depression).

I was asking myself this morning, “Self, how would you describe the feeling?” To which I answered, “It’s the opposite of being carefree.” So I looked up antonyms for carefree. Found anxious. Yeah . . . don’t like that one, it sounds too disobedient (Php. 4:6). But then I read careworn. Hmmm . . . didn’t know that was even a word. Careworn. Yeah, that describes it. This COVID blanket over everything brings with it a whole new set of cares and concerns. And, eventually, it wears on you. Or, at least it wears on me. Careworn.

Wondering if that’s why the following verse seemed to grab me this morning.

“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life . . .” ~ Jesus

(Luke 21:34a ESV)

Jesus says, “Watch yourselves.” Don’t let your heart get weighed down (sounds like how I woke up). And then an unlikely trio of weights are called out together: dissipation (think hangover); drunkenness (think the cause of a hangover); and cares of this life (think anxiety . . . or, if you prefer, think careworn). One of those things doesn’t seem like the other two. But they all can have the same effect. A weighing down of the heart. A dulling of the mind. A way to take you out of the game.

The context for Jesus’s warning is being ready for “the Day.” Watch yourselves, He says, for being over-burdened with cares can be just as debilitating as over-indulging with strong wine. Unchecked anxiety can lead to unclear thinking. The cares of this life can have a way of distracting us from our confidence concerning the life to come.

Cue some verses from my next reading . . .

. . . but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a Son. And we are His house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. . . . Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

(Hebrews 3:6, 12-14 ESV)

The writer to the Hebrews is contending for those thinking about cashing in the faith. Following Christ has cost more than they perhaps thought it would. Has been harder than perhaps they expected it should. They’re careworn as well, it seems. So much so, it’s trying their faith. And so they are encouraged to hold fast to their confidence, to grab onto it with a two-handed, vice-like grip. And to hold firm to the end.

Not to be overly simplistic, but I’m thinking that the remedy for being careworn lies, at least in part, in holding fast to our confidence.

I need to recognize that the cares of this life, while inevitable, can also lead to the sin of unbelief. That an unchecked, weighed-down heart can become a hardened heart. That legitimate concerns can lead to a slippery slope. So, I need to “take care.” But I also need my family in my corner, my brothers and sisters in Christ. We’re to “exhort one another every day.” Every day? Really? Yeah, really! Especially when everyday you wake up careworn.

How much do I need to diligently focus on my confidence, on my hope? Pretty diligently. Daily in His word. Reminded of His presence, His promises, and His unfailing power.

How important is staying connected to gospel community? Pretty important. Needing to hear my brothers and sisters urging me to keep on keepin’ on, if not every day, well, at least on Sunday. We were never intended to run the race alone, or to fight the good fight solo. We hold fast our confidence to the end when we do it together.

. . . for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.

(2Timothy 1:12 ESV)

And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

(Philippians 1:6 ESV)

Careworn? Somewhat. Confident. To the end!

By His grace. For His glory.

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Straighten Up and Raise Our Heads

Posted on August 24, 2020 by Pete

However one might think it plays out, I’m thinking that most believers see hard times as being a sign of the end times. That’s why more than one person has asked me over the past several months, “Do you think we’re in the end times.” What they mean, of course, is, with a 100+ year event like the pandemic, the seeming implosion of civil society, the upside down-ness of what was once recognized morality, and global tensions rising, could Jesus be coming soon? Simple answer, yes. But maybe not as we understand “soon.” After all, in “heaven years” soon could be a pretty long ways away (2Pet. 3:8).

But the purpose of discerning the signs of the times isn’t to pick a date, but to be ready today (Matt. 24:44). It isn’t to hunker down, stock up, and hold our position until the King comes in the clouds. But, as I’m reminded this morning in my reading, it’s to straighten up and raise our heads.

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” ~ Jesus

(Luke 21:25-28 ESV)

“On the earth distress of nations in perplexity . . . foreboding . . . people fainting with fear.” Hmmm, sounds familiar.

So, how is the believer to respond when such is the prevailing reality? If we really believe that what we’re experiencing are hard times indicative of the end times (not saying definitively that they are, but if we really believe it), then what, according to Jesus, should it motivate us to do? Stand up and lift up. Straighten up and raise our heads.

Not a time for speculating or debating as to how it will all play out. Not a time for worrying or wondering how we’re gonna get through. Instead, it’s a time for standing up in anticipation of the fulfillment of our salvation. For raising up our heads in expectation of imminent triumph. Stand up. Lift up. Because your redemption is drawing near.

To be sure, hard times, by their very definition, are going to be hard to handle. Distressing times, stressful. Perplexing times, confusing. But — and not to be trite, but true — dark times are great times of opportunity because “the light shines in the darkness” (Jn. 1:5). Times when the hearts of many are open to those who can compassionately, empathetically, and articulately convey a reason for the hope within them (1Pet. 3:15), even when everything seems so hopeless.

I don’t know if these really are the “end times of the end times” or not. But I do know Jesus is coming, and that His coming could be at any time. Maybe these current “signs of the time” are the actual “signs of the time”, or maybe not. Maybe their intended as early birth pangs to wake up His people. To straighten up the body of believers, that the church might stand strong. To lift up the heads of His disciples, that they might have a laser-focus on things above and be less distracted by things below. To know renewal and revival as they consider afresh their redemption is drawing near and is closer now than when we first believed (Rom. 13:11).

A lot I don’t know. But this I do, I’m thinkin’ we’re called to straighten up and raise our heads.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Lest We Drift Away

Posted on August 21, 2020 by Pete

Last night I was talking with a friend. We talked about work, relationships, kids, and home projects. And then added the pressure of recognizing that God wired us for rest-cycles, and that we needed to figure out how to fit that in, as well. Didn’t take long, actually, until it went from feeling like a lot on the plate to becoming somewhat overwhelming. Oh, and then we added one more thing to pile. We didn’t call it this, but my reading in Hebrews this morning put it into words — we also talked about the need to be careful not to “neglect such a great salvation.”

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

(Hebrews 2:1-3a ESV)

Lest we drift away. That’s what I’m noodling on this morning.

How easy it is to let the truth of our redemption trickle away. To let the sure hope of eternity subtly escape us. To allow the promises to pass by. To let the wonder of our salvation slip away. And actually, it’s not the truth, or the hope, or the promises, or the great salvation that imperceptibly gets carried off. It’s us. Lest we drift away.

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard.

So my buddy and I talked also about the need to, along with everything else, keep tethered to the Word. Making the time, finding the slot in our margin-less schedules, to pay attention to what we have heard.

I know the context and circumstances for the Hebrews was very different than ours. But I’m thinking there’s a common concern, drifting away. Distracted by things below to the point where we no longer set our minds on things above. So concerned with how to do life that we fail to engage the Author of Life. Still believing, but not doing much beholding. Drifting away.

My time in the word is so much more than just a spiritual discipline. It’s an essential lifeline. Not just a good habit that helps my day go better, but a solid anchor that tethers me to the Rock in the midst of the storm. Not just another thing to check off my already too full to-do list, but a vital reminder that it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

I need to pay close attention to the things of my salvation, lest I drift away. Because “Out of sight, out of mind.” And, out of mind . . . eventually, out of gas.

Grateful this morning for the Bible on my desk. Keeps me from drifting away. Keeps me from neglecting my salvation — a salvation which has saved me from the penalty of sin; a salvation which is saving me from the power of sin; a salvation which, one day, will save me from the very presence of sin. A great salvation!

Don’t wanna drift away. Paying close attention, this morning.

By His grace. For His glory.

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