A Tree of Life

Posted on August 12, 2025 by Pete

It’s a three-word phrase that’s caught my attention this morning. Not an obscure phrase, but one pretty well known. Doing a bit of e-concordance work and I find the phrase occurs only 11 times in my bible and pops up in just three areas of my bible — two of which I am pretty familiar with, the third a bit of a surprise.

The term? Tree of life.

You know, as in the tree of life found at the beginning of our bibles, the one located in the garden of Eden. The tree found alongside the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9). The tree that to eat of it is to live forever (Gen. 3:22). The tree guarded by an angel with a flaming sword after the first tenants of the garden are evicted for rebellion (Gen. 3:24).

It’s the tree you then read of at the end of your bible, in Eden restored, the promised paradise of God (Rev. 2:7). The tree that bears fruit along the river which runs through the holy city come down from heaven (Rev. 22:2). The tree where again, men and women are freely given access (Rev. 22:14). The tree which, to share in, is to have eternal life in the presence of God (Rev. 22:19) — just as it was in the beginning.

And the third section of my bible where the tree of life is found? It’s where it caught my attention this morning.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
       and whoever captures souls is wise.

(Proverbs 11:30 ESV)

It’s kind of a “binary world” in Proverbs. It talks of either “the righteous” or “the wicked”. You’re one or you’re the other. I shade in red the truths about “the righteous” ’cause that’s who the people of God are, that’s who I am.

Not that I am righteous in my worth or works, but that through faith in Christ, I’m counted as righteous (Php. 3:9). Because Jesus who knew no sin became sin for us, we now bear the righteousness of God in Him (2Cor. 5:21). And so this morning, because I’m wearing, as it were, a robe of righteousness, the garments of salvation (Isa. 61:10), I take note of things about “the righteous.”

In this case it’s that the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. I am not the tree of life, but I bear (or, at least should) its fruit. Okay, so who is that tree of life? Well that too is found in Proverbs.

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
       and the one who gets understanding,
for the gain from her is better than gain from silver
       and her profit better than gold.
She is more precious than jewels,
       and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Long life is in her right hand;
       in her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
       and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
       those who hold her fast are called blessed.

(Proverbs 3:13-18 ESV)

Wisdom . . . is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her. And I’ve come to believe that “wisdom” is code for Jesus in the book of Proverbs. So those who lay hold of wisdom, aka Jesus, bear fruit in kind. We are purveyors of eternal life. Messengers of paradise lost being restored. Ambassadors of an Eden to come where God again walks with His people in the cool of the day (Gen. 3:8). Abiding in Jesus, we bear the fruit of Jesus (Jn. 15:4-5).

Hmm . . . The tree of life, found only in three areas of the Bible, one of those Proverbs. Who knew?

Hmm, again . . . A tree of life, the fruit of the righteous . . . my fruit. Who knew, again?

By His grace. For His glory.

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With the Help of God

Posted on August 11, 2025 by Pete

I was at a retreat last week connecting with some missionary-pastors and their wives. I’m on the board of a ministry which sends these faithful saints to lesser-known (some of them WAY lesser-known) rural places in America. Many of these places are smaller than small towns — in a bygone era they were referred to frequently as “villages.” And for over 75 years, Village Missions has been sending these called shepherds to small, country churches. The Mission pays the salary where the church can’t afford a salary. It cares for these missionary-pastors and their families in these more remote places so they know they aren’t alone. All in all, it was a great week to hear their stories as they took a week to rest, renew, and re-energize. Know of someone who is being called into pastoral ministry and has a missionary bent? Point them in the direction of VM.

And as I hung with these fellow laborers and got to hear them share about their work, I was also reading in Nehemiah and was reminded of something concerning his work.

Opposition. The enemies of God. They have a way of showing up when God’s people, called to God’s work, start laying it down. Nehemiah’s case in point? A restoration project back in “the province Beyond the River” (Neh. 2:7).

Stirred by God, confirmed through prayer, Nehemiah, a Jewish cupbearer to the Persian King, asks his boss for a leave to return to his homeland, Israel, to attend to rebuilding the walls of its capital, Jerusalem. And because “the good hand of my God was upon me”, says Nehemiah, the king grants his request (Neh. 2:5-8).

But the favor of the king, and the good hand of his God, were not to be confused with no opposition to the undertaking. From the get-go, there were those in power who were “displeased” at Nehemiah’s return and intent (Neh. 2:9). The enemies of God’s people “jeered” at Nehemiah & Co., and “despised” them as they made preparation to rebuild the wall. As the work got underway, and as progress was being made, “they were angry and greatly enraged” and continued to taunt the workers (Neh. 4:1). But the people had a mind to work, and the wall was being “joined to together” (Neh. 4:6).

And, as the height of the wall increased, so did the counteraction. The enemies of God “plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it” (Neh. 4:7). But when the walls-builders added swords and spears to their toolkits, when they by faith looked to the Lord, “who is great and awesome” and believed that “our God will fight for us”, their enemies backed down and the walls continued to raise up (Neh. 4:14-23).

But then, a change in tactic. Rather than brute force leveled at all God’s people, the enemy targets Nehemiah specifically. They wanted to “meet together” to talk things through. “But,” says Nehemiah, “they intended to me harm” (Neh. 6:2). They then start a smear campaign. They write letters to the king making false accusations that Nehemiah’s real intention in wanting to the rebuild Jerusalem was to rebel against the king. But Nehemiah stood fast amidst the dirty politics and fake news knowing that what they really wanted was to “frighten us, thinking, ‘Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done'” (Neh. 6:8-9). As a last resort, they then go after Nehemiah’s character, trying to trip him up in sin, “so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me” (Neh. 6:13).

The opposition was relentless.

Yet the work was accomplished.

So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

(Nehemiah 6:15-16 ESV)

This work had been accomplished with the help of our God . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

Fifty-two days. Two months. Doesn’t seem like a lot of time to rebuild the walls around a great city. But it wasn’t just two months of focused, hard labor, it was two months of persistent physical and mental assault by God’s enemies. While the people had a mind to work, their enemies had a mind to demoralize and derail. And yet, the work was accomplished.

How? With the help of our God.

Whether it’s rebuilding the wall of an ancient city or building the kingdom of heaven in small, rural communities, the work of God will certainly encounter opposition. But God’s work will prevail!

With the help of our God.

“I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” ~ Jesus

(Matthew 16:18 ESV)

By His grace. For His glory.

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The Way of Life

Posted on August 1, 2025 by Pete

“The way of life” — that’s the phrase that caught my attention this morning. Sounds kind of important. Sounds like something, though perhaps not the only thing, that’s foundational to thriving. While it may not be a heart or a brain, it sounds like, at the very least, it’s gonna be a major artery or a vital organ. That if having a full life is my goal, then being aware of this “way” is going to be pretty important.

For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
       and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.

(Proverbs 6:23 ESV)

First thing that hits me about this verse is its similarity to a song of David, a song by Amy, a song I’ve often sung.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
       and a light unto my path.

(Psalm 119:105 KJV)

So, while Solomon may be specifically exhorting his son to to keep his “father’s commandment” and to not forsake his “mother’s teaching” (Prov. 6:20), I’m feeling comfortable extending the application to my Father’s word. It too I’d do well to bind on my heart and tie around my neck, confident that it also will lead me as I walk, guard me while I sleep, and talk with with me when I awake (Prov. 6:21-23). Because His word truly is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

But what about its reproofs of discipline? Do I really think they are the way of life?

Do I value rebuke as I would a major artery? Do I long for the kindness of God calling out my sin (Rom. 2:4b) — whether by His voice directly through His word or indirectly through the “wounds” of a brother or a sister (Prov. 27:6a) — so that I’m lead to repent of my sin and confess my sin and receive the free flow of the blood of Jesus to wash away my sin (1Jn. 1:9)? I know I’m not perfect, but when’s the last time the reproofs of discipline actually specifically called out some imperfection?

If I’m honest, I don’t much like reproof. Don’t much care for rebuke. Just as soon avoid correction. Happy to keep relationships — whether with my God or with my brothers and sisters in Christ — at an arms length and at a surface level so that I don’t have to receive “the gift” of honest input.

But what if the reproofs of discipline really are the way of life? Then wouldn’t I want to be firing on all cylinders? Wouldn’t I embrace a lamp that actually shines a light which exposes the darkness? Wouldn’t I want this vital organ for Christian living welcomely and gratefully and fully functioning? I’m thinkin’ . . .

So, why would I bristle at reproof? Or, when I do accept reproof and concede to rebuke, I often do so begrudgingly? I’m thinking, at the least, it’s a combo of too much pride and too little gospel. Of thinking too much of self, and of not depending enough on the Savior. Of putting my confidence in my grit and not casting myself on His grace. So that, when I do get caught up in sin, my “go to” is to try and cover up my sin.

But if I’m picking up what the Spirit, through Solomon, is laying down, I need to believe the reproofs of discipline really are the way of life and embrace them as the goodness of God. The goodness of the One who has given me life and wants me to have it abundantly (Jn. 10:10).

Reproof. The way of life. Sounds kind of important.

Only by His grace. Welcomed for His glory.

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The Wisdom of God in Our Hand

Posted on July 31, 2025 by Pete

It’s a favorite line from Aladdin. It’s also a phrase that comes to mind, from time to time, as I read Scripture. And it comes to mind again this morning as I read in Ezra 7. Like the “genie gig”, the word of God, in a sense, is “phenomenal cosmic powers, itty-bitty living space.”

Love Ezra. One my heroes of faith. Inspiring because he was a man of the word. “A scribe skilled in the Law of Moses” (Ezra 7:6). A guy who had “set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach His statutes and rules in Israel” (Ezra 7:10). Though not a temple builder, per se, integral to revitalizing temple worship in Jerusalem as he “opened the book” for God’s people (Neh. 8).

But here’s my observation this morning, not about Ezra but about the book. The Spirit identifies it in a number of ways. It is the “the Law of Moses” which God had given (Ez. 7:6). It is the “the Law of the LORD” which Ezra purposed to study (Ez. 7:10). And the Spirit moves a pagan king to recognize something transcendent about the book, as well, referring to it as “the Law of the God of heaven” (Ez. 7:12), that which is “decreed by the God of heaven” (Ez. 7:23). But here’s the identifier for God’s revelation that’s pushed the button on the old awe-o-meter this morning . . .

“And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. And those who do not know them, you shall teach.”

(Ezra 7:27 ESV)

The wisdom of your God that is in your hand . . .

A couple of days ago I read that by wisdom the LORD founded the earth (Prov. 3:19) — sounds like phenomenal cosmic power to me. And today I read that Ezra had the same wisdom in his hand — talk about your itty-bitty living space. Kind of jaw-dropping, huh?

And that wisdom is open in front me this morning on my desk, a pretty small book on a not much bigger desktop. It’s the living and active word of God, “sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). Communicating thoughts not my thoughts and ways not my ways, thoughts and ways that, like the heavens, “are higher than the earth” (Isa. 55:8-9). God-breathed (2Tim. 3:16). Able to transform lives through the renewing of the mind, making known “what is the will of God” (Rom. 12:2). If that isn’t phenomenal cosmic power, I’m not sure what is.

The wisdom of God in your hand. Talk about an “at will” encounter of the divine kind!

Oh, that all God’s people would be like Ezra. That the wisdom of God in our hand would be sought, studied, obeyed, and taught.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Take a Seat . . . Down There

Posted on July 30, 2025 by Pete

Not the first time I’ve read this parable. Not the first I’ve paused to noodle on it. Not the first time I’ve been challenged to apply it. But I do think it’s the first time I’ve noticed that Jesus noticed.

Context: Jesus is dining at the “the house of a ruler of the Pharisees” and those Pharisees have their eyes on Jesus, “they were watching Him carefully” (Luke 14:1). Literally, they kept a “close eye” on Him. As Peterson puts it, they were “watching His every move” (MSG). But they weren’t the only ones in observation mode.

Now He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noticed how they chose the places of honor.

(Luke 14:7a ESV)

He noticed . . . those two words are giving me something to chew on this morning.

Jesus “held upon.” He paid attention to. He took note of. He saw, He marked, He retained.

And, while we know that the One who created all things knows all things, the Spirit focuses on this particular thing that Jesus notices. He catches sight of those making a beeline for the best seats. He does a double-take toward those who are elbowing their way to front-row, center. He spots those who are set on being as close as they can to the spotlight. Seems like kind of an insignificant thing for the One who sustains all things to be bothered with. Evidently not.

For not only does Jesus notice, Jesus thinks it important enough to comment.

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” ~ Jesus

(Luke 14:8-11 ESV)

“Be seated with Me in the heavenlies (Eph. 2:6)”, says Jesus, “but find a seat down there” — go and sit in the lowest place.

Literally, “take the last place.” Humble yourself, make yourself low, and go sit where no one really wants to sit. If anyone wants to be first, let him be last (Mk. 9:35). If anyone wants to be great, let her be the servant of all (Mk. 10:43-44). For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. That’s the way of the kingdom.

Worth noticing? I’m thinkin’ . . . Jesus does.

Oh, to be willing to go and sit in the lowest place. To take a seat . . . down there.

By His grace. For His glory.

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

(Mark 10:45 ESV)

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Scorn

Posted on July 29, 2025 by Pete

It’s a “lesser sin to consider” that hits my radar this morning. A more “acceptable” transgression that’s giving me something to chew on.

Scorn. Kind of a funny word. Not really a word that I think is used much these days. But oh, how I think it is a word which is very much in play within our polarized, angry cultural moment.

Merriam-Webster defines it as “open dislike”, as “disrespect” manifesting itself in “mockery often mixed with indignation.” More than just disagreement, scorn is shown through disdain. More than trying to correct those we believe in the wrong, the bad fruit of scorn is showing contempt.

My Greek lexicon says that the ancient word used for scorn is literally “make mouths at”, to talk arrogantly towards. Boastful mockery is in the sense. Inflated derision.

And, as with all sin, even the sins we might scorn, God’s not a fan of scorners.

Toward the scorners He is scornful,
       but to the humble He gives favor.

(Proverbs 3:34 ESV)

Now to be fair, the context for this out of context verse is “a man of violence” (3:31), a “devious person”(3:32), one who inhabits “the house of the wicked” (3:33). It’s sinful behavior characterizing those who are not interested in having a heart that keeps His commandments (3:1-2) nor a heart ready to trust in the LORD and lean not to their own understanding (3:5-6). The scorner here is not all that interested in finding wisdom (3:13-18).

Yet, you don’t have to be a scorner to be drawn into the sin of scorn. Like all sin — like the “forbidden woman” Solomon’s already warned his son about, the “adulteress with her smooth words” — scorn seduces down a path of evil and “perverted speech”, enticing those without “discretion” to “walk in the ways of darkness” (2:9-19).

Boastful, arrogant disdain for others isn’t just reserved for the unsaved scorner. Our old man, our flesh, is more than able — and all too often ready and willing — to engage in scorn.

But where is God’s favor found? Where does grace abound? With the humble.

Not with the wishy-washy. Not with those who tolerate apart from truth. But with those who are humble. With the lowly. With the meek. With the poor. As in, poor in spirit (Mt. 5:3)? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Sure, God’s people are to be truth-tellers. But if in telling that truth we do so with open dislike or disrespect, if we do so by “making mouths at” and talking arrogantly and with inflated derision, then I’m thinking we need to take heed the truth which tells us that towards the scorners He is scornful.

And just to make sure we’re picking up what’s being laid down, the Spirit brings “the charge” against the scorner “on the evidence of three witnesses” (Deut. 19:15) — Solomon, Peter, and James (1Peter 5:5, James 4:6).

Father, forgive us saints for being tripped up by the sin of scorn.

By Your grace. For Your glory.

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Let Wisdom Reign!

Posted on July 28, 2025 by Pete

If the first couple of chapters of Proverbs are any indicator, then evidently Solomon was not an “under promise, over deliver” sort of guy. As he seeks to convince his son to hear instruction and not forsake teaching (1:8); as he tries to “sell” him on the value of calling out for “insight”, raising his voice for “understanding”, seeking for it like “silver”, and searching for it as for “hidden treasure”, he does so promising some pretty big “quids” for his son’s “pro quo”; some pretty significant payouts for his investment. Check this out:

You will understand the fear of the LORD
       and find the knowledge of God.

You will understand righteousness and justice
       and equity, every good path;

Discretion will watch over you,
       understanding will guard you,

So you will walk in the way of the good
       and keep to the paths of the righteous.

(Proverbs 2:5, 9, 11, 20 ESV)

Acquainted with the fear of the LORD, able to comprehend something of an incomprehensible God. Clarity on what is right, insight as to what is just. Able to recognize what is straight, confident in the ability to discern good paths from not so good paths. Possessing a prudence that preserves and a reasoning that renders safe. So much so, that there is a confidence that you will always travel down ways that are ultimately worth it and find your footing on roads which are always marked out by righteousness.

How’s them apples for some promises to claim? No under-promising there. Who wouldn’t want that?

And so, as I start this year’s journey through Proverbs over the next couple of months, I’m in. Ready to do some calling out for insight as I hear afresh Wisdom’s cry, ready to let her pour out her spirit on me and make her words known to me (1:20-23). Anticipating a refresher in the fear of the Lord and the ways of insight and understanding. Claiming the promises of building some muscle with a divine dynamic that has some pretty significant impact on daily decision making. Wanting to pick up as much as I can of what that the Lord is laying down.

For the LORD gives wisdom;
       from His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
       He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice
       and watching over the way of His saints.

(Proverbs 2:6-8 ESV)

Let Wisdom reign!

By His grace. For His glory.

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A Triune God, A Twofold Prayer

Posted on July 23, 2025 by Pete

The verse pops first because I think it’s a Trinitarian verse. But as I chew on it, it’s the twofold prayer that feeds my soul.

The church at Thessalonica really was a remarkable church. Paul had only “three Sabbath days” to “reason with them from the Scriptures” about Christ’s needful sufferings and His inevitable resurrection before Paul was run out of town by Jews who were “jealous” (Acts 17:1-5).

Planted amidst opposition, the small fellowship quickly put down deep roots and thrived amidst opposition (1Thess. 1:13-14). And the founding Jews of that church along with the grafted in Gentiles quickly became a body of believers that were known and celebrated throughout the Christian world (1Thess. 1:6-10). This was a church that knew how to keep on keeping on.

But keeping on can wear you down. Keeping on only invites more opposition. Keeping on keeps you on the evil one’s radar. And so, as Paul wraps up his second letter to this faithful body of believers, it’s a prayer Paul prays for them that resonates as a prayer prayed for me.

May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

(2Thessalonains 3:5 ESV)

First thing that hits me? Looks to me to be a Trinitarian prayer as the Lord who is directing hearts would seem to be the Spirit. The Spirit guiding the believer to the Father and the Son. The Spirit removing barriers and making straight the discernings of the heart towards the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ. And where’s that Triune action happening? Inside the believer.

Stop right there. Look down at your chest. And ask yourself, “Is that what’s happening inside me right now?”

Imagine — though you really can’t — the Spirit in you stirring in you an awareness of God’s steadfast love and Christ’s “for the joy set before Him” endurance (Heb. 12:2). The Helper helping you to know afresh the goodness of the Father and the power of the Son. What!?!? Really!?!? Kinda crazy, if you think about it. Talk about your encounter of the divine kind!

And then . . . like you really can get past the “then” . . . after considering that triune dynamic, chew on the twofold directive. Hearts directed to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

What Paul prayed for them, I imagine Jesus interceding for me (Heb. 7:25). That this day, through the Spirit, my being would be secured in the Father’s love which surrounds me and that my way would be settled through the Son’s steadfastness which strengthens me.

I am not heading into this day alone. I’m enveloped in the presence of a Triune God, energized by hearing the promises of a twofold prayer.

By His grace. For His glory.

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To Me Be the Glory

Posted on July 22, 2025 by Pete

Okay . . . I guess there’s glory, and then, there’s glory. Glory we give and, according to Paul this morning, glory we get. I know, sounds weird to even think about “to me be the glory”, but get used to it, it’s gonna happen.

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this He called you through our gospel . . .

(2Thessalonians 2:13-14a ESV)

If you’re a brother in Christ, if you’re a sister, then know that God chose you to be saved. And, after being declared holy, you then become a work-in-progress being made holy through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. God’s choosing made effectual as He called you through our gospel. That’s the dynamic of salvation.

And for what purpose?

Brace yourself . . . Hold on to your hats . . . Get ready to pick your jaw up off the floor. . .

. . . so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(2Thessalonians 2:14b ESV)

What!?!? To me be the glory? Yup, to me be the glory.

As Peterson puts it, we “get in on the glory of our Master, Jesus Christ” (MSG). That’s the prize.

Not glory as in obtaining Jesus’ praise, but glory as in experiencing Jesus’ presence. We get to share in the majesty, splendor, and honor of the One who now is seated at the right hand of the Father because — soon and very soon — we will be with the One who is now seated at the right hand of the Father, face to face (1Cor. 13:12a).

That was the Son’s ask on the night He was betrayed: “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory” (Jn. 17:24).

That is the Spirit’s assignment each day we awake, that even as we now by faith are “beholding the glory of the Lord”, we are also being “transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2Cor. 3:18).

Because it’s been the Father’s agenda always, that those called through the gospel should obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Sharing in His exalted state . . . If we truly are in Christ and if Christ really does live in us — if our union with Christ is actually a union with Christ — then I guess it makes sense that what’s His is ours. True of His righteousness which justifies, true of His resplendence which glorifies.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.

(1John 3:2 ESV)

We shall be like Him . . .

That we may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ . . .

To me be the glory . . .

Chew on that for a bit.

By God’s overflowing grace.

For God’s worship evoking glory.

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A Little Play Acting Here, A Bit of Cover Up There

Posted on July 21, 2025 by Pete

A crowd had gathered to hear the Savior, but they pushed and shoved and treated each other with “insulting neglect” (Greek Lexicon). They were purportedly there to hear the truth but failed to see the incongruity of stepping on one another’s toes. Though they may have thought they were displaying a passion for Jesus’ words of life, as they treated each other “with rudeness and insult” (Greek Lexicon) they also trampled underfoot the gospel. And so, as many thousands gathered, Jesus determined to speak only to a few.

In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, [Jesus] began to say to His disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”

(Luke 12:1 ESV)

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees . . . Now, that’s for sure a command to obey.

If you’ve been around any bible teaching at all you know that leaven, or yeast, is often used as a symbol for sin. Because what’s true of yeast is true of sin, it spreads. Just as a “little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1Cor. 5:6), a little bit of sin in one area of life, when left unchecked and unremoved, eventually grows and spreads to infect every area of life, and even to lives beyond our own. So, it makes sense when Jesus says to those who are in Him, “Beware of the leaven . . . “

But what grabs me this morning is the specific leaven Jesus is referring to here. We’re not just talking generic sin; we’re talking something pretty particular. We’re talking the leaven of the Pharisees. And lest His followers weren’t quite sure of what that was, Jesus gets even more particular-er. Beware, says Jesus, of hypocrisy.

Beware of playing a part, as an actor would on stage. Give attention to the natural propensity to pretend, to simulate, to feign an outward righteousness you know doesn’t line up with an inward reality.

Hypocrisy, that’s the little leaven in a disciple’s life that can spread imperceptibly and leavens the whole lump. The faking it in one area of following Jesus which, if not dealt with, can become a prevailing facade over many areas of following Jesus.

And what are the beginning stages of hypocrisy? How might that little bit of leaven be detected in one’s life? What might be an indicator that would trigger us to beware of some acting going on in our lives? Well, how about the ancient practice of wearing a mask when on stage? How about covering up?

A lack of transparency. An absence of anyone in our lives with whom we are totally open. Totally open about everything. Not only sharing our successes but our failures. Not only presenting candidly our strengths but our weaknesses, too. Not only talking frequently about how well our followership is going but also confessing freely how much our flesh continues to get in the way.

Just like our first parents, our “go to”, so often, is to slap on a couple of fig leaves, cover up, and keep pretending that we’re walking in the cool of the day with the Lord as He’s told us to. To think that by hiding ourselves from the perception of men we can, like Adam and Eve, hide ourselves from the presence of God (Gen. 3:7-8). But Jesus tells those with ears to hear that it doesn’t work that way.

“Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.”

(Luke 12:2-3 ESV)

Remember, Jesus isn’t addressing the many thousands, He is talking to His closest circle, His disciples. And what’s He saying? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy, a little leaven that leavens the whole lump. The whole lump of my life, the whole lump of my local fellowship, the whole lump of the church’s witness within our culture. Can’t help but think that my complicity in the heart-breaking fall of so many of our famous and celebrated brothers over the past several years is this, the little leaven of play acting, the unseen yeast of cover up. The hidden sin of excusing sin, of failing to repent of sin, no matter how small that sin might be. If I’m covering that up, what’s it growing into — within my own life, within my own church, within the body as a whole? If I’m wearing a mask and play acting, how’s that spreading? If I’m unwilling to be transparent and authentic with anyone in my circle, how’s that seeping into other circles? What kind of ripple effect might it have?

A little bit of cover up here, a little bit of play acting there. It might just be seen as a little bit of leaven but beware of it, says Jesus.

Forgive me, Lord, for tolerating even a little of hypocrisy’s leaven. I confess my sin.

Thank You, Lord. That through the finished work of the cross, You purge from me the leaven of hypocrisy as You continue to be “faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn. 1:7-9) — even the unrighteousness of a little play acting here and a bit of cover up there.

Thank You, for Your abundant grace.

To You be all the glory.

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