Distressed, In Debt, Discontent, Oh My!

Posted on April 28, 2020 by Pete

He was the man who would be king but, for now, was a fugitive. The man who had been promised the throne, but who now set up court in a cave. And from there he would build his army.

We know David is a type, a picture, of the Son of David, Jesus the Christ. We know that the promise made to David, of a forever throne to be forever inhabited (2Sam. 7), points to Him born of the line of David who, one day, will be confessed by all to be King of kings and Lord of lords. But what was hard to grasp for all those who awaited the promise of a kingdom come, was that before the throne there must be a cave. Before the glory, humility. Before ruling in sovereignty, experiencing suffering. Before wearing the crown, enduring the way of the cross.

And what grabs me this morning is the army that David built. The material out of which he would form his “mighty men” (2Sam. 23:8).

David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men.

(1Samuel 22:1-2 ESV)

Those in distress. Those in debt. Those bitter in soul, or as the other translations render it, discontent. Those were the ones who gathered to David.

In distress. In dire straits. Trapped in a narrow place. Oppressed with no seeming way of escape. In bondage with no hope of breaking loose of their chains on their own. Desperate, they flee to the cave and to the man who would be king.

In debt. Owing a price they could never pay. Their creditors ready to extract usury at an exorbitant rate. Extortioners who effectively demand their lives in order to service their debt. Without means, they flee to the cave.

Discontent. Bitter in soul. Exasperated under the tyranny of an unjust ruler. Trapped in a no-win situation. Waking every morning to inner turmoil, turning out the lights at night with no hope in sight. Looking for rest, they flee to the cave.

Distressed, in debt, discontent. Oh my!

Those where the types of people who found solace in a cave under the leadership of a man who would be king, but who looked anything but a king.

And he became commander over them.

So, if David is a type of Jesus, then are those who fled to David reflective of those who flee to Jesus? I’m thinking.

I am the distressed, in debt, and discontent who goes to Jesus “outside the camp” to “bear the reproach He endured” (Heb. 13:12-13).

Distressed. In dire straits, cornered by sin. Desiring to do what is right but without the power to carry it out (Romans 7:18).

In debt. Unable to atone for the guilt. Unable to service the usury of shame demanded. No way of redemption in myself. Needing another to deal with the wages of my sin.

Discontent. A soul designed to bear the image of its Creator but without the ability to do so. Eternity wired into my heart but powerless to procure it. Always off balance. A thirst beyond satisfying with anything on earth.

But when I found the cave . . .

When, by God’s grace, I believed in the One who would be King and found refuge in the shadow of His cross . . .

Then, like that rag tag bunch of David’s day, this member of the distressed, in debt, and discontented was received into the ranks of a glorious band, to be made into a great army, known forever as His mighty men and women.

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

(1John 5:4-5 ESV)

Praise God for the King who invites us to Himself in the cave.

By His grace. For His glory.

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God’s Dealing with Us

Posted on April 27, 2020 by Pete

Hovering over Psalm 103 this morning. A familiar friend. A welcome reminder. A catalyst for worship.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.

(Psalm 103:1-2 ESV)

Who the LORD is (His holy name), and how He has dealt with with us (all His benefits), are inextricably linked and, when pondered, prime the pump of praise. The living water of the Spirit deep within pours forth from the heart as a river of humble appreciation, adoration, and acclamation (Jn. 7:38-39).

For, while He is the God whose throne is established in the heavens and whose kingdom rules forever over all (v. 19), and while we are but dust whose days are as fleeting as a flower which flourishes but for a short time (v. 14-16), the steadfast love of the LORD in heaven is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear Him (v.17). So, how do you love forever those which are fleeting? By providing a way for them to live forever too! Bless the LORD, O my soul!

Thus, the LORD who works righteousness and is compelled by justice (v. 6), not only makes a way for the unrighteous to justly stand before Him, but also to eternally, and effectively thrive through Him. He forgives all our sin, heals all our heart-born disease, redeems our lives from the pit, crowns us with unfailing love and mercy, and satisfies us with His own goodness so that daily we are renewed with supernatural renewal (v. 3-5).

And how is all this possible?

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.

(Psalm 103:10-12 ESV)

He does not deal with us according to our sins. That’s what I’m chewing on this morning. That’s what I’m thankful for this morning. Bless the LORD, O my soul!

Instead, He deals with us according to His steadfast love. His great and unfailing, unfaltering love. The love with which God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son (Jn 3:16). So grateful this morning for the cross. Bless the LORD, O my soul!

And what comes to mind is Paul’s desire that God’s people would be “rooted and grounded” in that great love. Able to comprehend the love of Christ which is incomprehensible. Being able to lay hold of its “breadth and length and height and depth” (Eph. 3:17-19). Seems Psalm 103 helps give some definition to those dimensions.

The steadfast love of the LORD is as high as His throne in the heavens above. It is as deep as the corrupted, frail flesh of every man, woman, and child on earth below. Its breadth from everlasting to everlasting. And its length as far as the east is from the west.

He does not deal us according to our sins because of the length to which His love has removed our sins from us — as far as the east is from the west. And, unlike heading north will eventually become heading south, the east never meets up with west. Our sins, having been forgiven through the finished work of cross; our transgressions, having been atoned for by the shed blood of the Lamb; are put away. All of them — past, present, and future — put away forever. Bless the LORD, O my soul!

Forget not all His benefits.

Because of grace. For His glory.

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The Way and The Walk

Posted on April 24, 2020 by Pete

Spurgeon sees it as the sort of song a “man after God’s own heart would compose when he was about to become king in Israel.” A psalm written in that time between his anointing for the throne and his ascension to the throne. So, in a sense, it’s a song sung in the green room before going on stage. A self-administered, melodic pep talk in the locker room before entering the big game. A prayer prayed in the back room before taking the pulpit.

The newly anointed king is ready. He’s lived under the failings of the old king. Seen what not to do. Experienced the bad decisions that come from a self-serving approach to governing. Witnessed the consequences of not obeying the voice of the Lord. And so, as much as lies in himself, David aspires to be different.

Ten times in these eight short verses the man who would be king declares, “I will.” Purposing to pursue that which is righteous and just, and to put down that which is unrighteous and wicked. And what catches my eye this morning, in particular, are two I will’s at the center of his holy determination.

I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will You come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house.

(Psalm 101:2 ESV)

While David waited for the kingdom, while we waited for God to come to him, he would give attention to the way and he would act accordingly from the heart. This morning I’m chewing on the connection between the way and the walk.

David, according to the ESV, pondered the way which, before God, would be blameless. Other translations say he paid attention to it (CSB); gave heed to it (NASB); behaved wisely concerning it (NKJV); lived carefully according to it (NIV).

While in the wings, sort of speak, David did his homework. Becoming increasingly familiar with the ways of His God, the One who had set him apart for the throne. Regularly feeding on the word of God. Intentionally seeking counsel as to the wisdom of God. Getting his head in the game. His focus on the prize. Pondering the way that is blameless.

And where there is laser focus on the way, there’s the opportunity for it to translate into a wholeheartedness when it comes to the walk.

David longed to walk with integrity of heart. And that would start “within his house.” His family witnessing it long before his subjects would. How he would behave in public would first be modeled in the confines of his home. Because he had focused on the way, his heart would be aligned to the way. And because his heart was aligned to the way, his walk, whether private or public, would reflect the way.

And so, because I can’t help but put almost everything I read through a quarantined filter, I wonder if we shouldn’t view this time in our homes as sort of being in our own locker rooms before we’re called back again into our own games. Our own green rooms before taking again the stage. A time and place where many distractions have been removed and we’ve got the time to ponder the way that is blameless. And confess how insufficient we are in our own strength concerning that way. But reminded afresh that Jesus died for our insufficiency and rose again so that we might know His power.

And having pondered the way, it’s going to impact the walk. A heart saturated with the way, is a heart that is going to direct the walk. Whether that walk is just me in the presence of my God, or me before my family, or me when I’m again rubbing shoulders with those who, for now, are socially distanced.

Integrity of heart. Isn’t that what we want fueling our motivations, setting our priorities, determining our actions? I”m thinking . . .

So, is it as simple as focusing on the way in order to impact our walk? Maybe. Maybe not. But you gotta think it’s a good start while we’re waiting to once again get in the game.

By His grace. For His glory.

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For We Know

Posted on April 23, 2020 by Pete

For many of us, uncertainty adds points to the stress chart. Oh, we know that no day dawns with any guarantees, but we’re most comfortable when this dawn breaks with expectations that the day ahead of us will be much like the day past. A day that, Lord willing, our desired rhythms will repeat, our managed schedules will schedule, and our preferred plans will play out. We know we’re not in control, but we’re most at peace when God’s will syncs up with our ways.

In this current season, though today’s probably going to look at lot like yesterday, our patterns have been forced upon us and our plans are confined to a much narrower set of options. What’s more, we don’t know how long it will be before “normal patterns” will return. Even more what’s more, there looms the unknown of some form of economic tsunami ahead of us even after this current virus tsunami is past us. So, uncertainty about tomorrow becomes increasingly the certainty of today.

Kind of a powerful reminder that we really are not, and never have been, in control.

And so, the Scriptures bring much comfort and encouragement this morning as, in the midst of all this uncertainty, they remind me of what is certain.

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened — not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage.

(2Corinthians 5:1-6a ESV)

For we know . . .

That’s where I need to focus. Away from all that which is uncertain and towards that which is certain. Not stressing on what I don’t know but chewing on what I do know.

We know that right now we’re only tenting here on earth and that God has a house ready for us “eternal in the heavens.” That this is the journey not the destination. That we’re just passing through on our way to a promised place.

We know that while now we groan and are burdened with the effects of mortality, that one day “what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.” Think we were living the “good life” before COVID-19? We ain’t seen nothing yet! We know that Jesus came to give us life and life to the full. That whatever we might think is the good life here is but a small sampling of life in His presence.

And we know that God is preparing us today for a glorious tomorrow because of the “deposit” He has left us with. His guarantee for our future, the Spirit inside us. Chew on that in a time of such uncertainty. We have a guarantee! A down payment from One who is able to payout in full. A pledge from One whose promises never fail. Who doesn’t want a guarantee? Who doesn’t want something they can count on? Especially when everything else is so uncertain.

Uncertainty abounds, but this we know.

“So,” Paul writes, “we are always of good courage.”

Always confident in our future. Sure amidst the uncertainty. At peace not because our plans play out but because His promises are sure.

For we know . . .

By His grace. For His glory.

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Drinking Deep at an Oasis

Posted on April 22, 2020 by Pete

It occurs to me this morning that some portions of Scripture are like an oasis. When times are good, when there’s lots of rain in the land, it’s easy to pass right by them. Sure, you take notice of their beauty, thankful that there’s water there but, because things are going pretty well, at most you might just sip on them a bit. But come upon an oasis when you’ve been trekking through the desert, when it’s been pretty arid, when you’re parched and wonder how you can keep on keepin’ on, well then, the oasis is life-giving. You find yourself drinking deep of its water. And your eyes brighten, the load lightens, and you’re ready for another day.

2Corinthians 4 is such a passage for me. Whenever I come across it I’m always blessed by the reminder that I’m but a jar of clay so “that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (4:7). But when it’s encountered in a season that feels like the Sahara, and this jay of clay fears it’s starting to crack up, then I pause, go to the knee, and drink deep. Lapping up the reminder that my calling is by the mercy of God (4:1a). Gulping down refreshment for my soul which keeps me from losing heart (4:1b). Turning my face heavenward to receive healing rain and, with mouth wide open, taking in perspective which allows an “outer self” that feels like it’s wasting away, to know an “inner self” being renewed day by day (4:16).

If you’ve followed my posts for awhile, you know that sometimes I go into my archives to minister to myself with past meals. Did that this morning. Here’s some thoughts from when I visited this oasis a couple of years ago.

Honestly, do the math and it doesn’t seem to add up. Afflicted in every way + Perplexed + Persecuted + Struck down + Bodies so beat up they look more and more like Jesus’ when He died . . . add it all up and, says Paul, it equals “light momentary affliction.” No way! How’s that even possible?

I’m hovering over 2Corinthians chapter 4 this morning. Chewing again on what it means to be a “jar of clay” (4:7) carrying the treasure of “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (4:6).

And I get, by the very nature of being a jar of clay, we’re going to pick up a chip or two along the way. That, if the jar is being used for its intended purpose to any degree, that it’s likely to develop a few cracks and breaks. And I also get that, in order for the light to shine out from inside the jar, the jar needs to be broken and split open a bit, that these cracks and fissures are needful to expose what’s inside. But call them “light momentary afflictions?” Really?

And I understand how important that perspective is if you’re doing what Paul’s doing, and going through what Paul’s going through in order to do what he’s doing. Hey, I even get how important it is if you’re not Paul and just trying to deal with the things life beats you up with normally. Who doesn’t want to declare with integrity and double conviction, “So, we do not lose heart?” (4:1, 16)

But again, do the math. How does it all add up to “light momentary affliction?” Where are the deposits coming from that offset those kind of withdrawals? What’s filling the tank that’s being drained so regularly that it allows Paul to honestly assert, “Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day?” (4:16).

It’s not found in doing the math. Instead, it comes from being reminded of the comparison.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

(2Corinthians 4:17-18 ESV)

Eternal Redemption vs. Transient Realities? No contest.

Things That Are Unseen vs. Things Seen? Not even in the same ballpark.

Eternal Weight of Glory vs. Being Afflicted, Perplexed, Persecuted, and Struck Down? Beyond all comparison, Paul says. And as such, makes those other things seem like a light momentary affliction.

Paul wasn’t fixated on doing the math, instead he was energized by considering the comparison. Rather than mull over the troubles around him, he set his gaze on what lay before him.

Whatever burden he was called to bear in the here and now, was light compared to the weight of glory that would be his to carry in the there and then. He anticipated the awe and it offset the angst. He set his mind on things above, and the Spirit put the things below into perspective.

So, we do not lose heart. We keep on keepin’ on. And more than just keepin’ it together, our inner man is being renewed day by day.

Oh, that we would so allow the Spirit to set our hearts on things above. That we would remember we’re not home yet. That we would, even now, sense something of that eternal weight of glory, so that whatever we are dealing with today might be considered but a light momentary affliction.

An eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

By His grace. For His glory.

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A Reminder

Posted on April 21, 2020 by Pete

We interrupt our regularly scheduled pandemic for this important reminder . . .

We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

(2Corinthians 3:18 ESV)

That’s what reading 2Corinthians 3 is for me this morning, a reminder.

A reminder at the beginning of a day that will seem, in many ways, like the many other days before it. More counts of cases reported. More counts of deaths in the last 24 hours. More counts of those unemployed. More speculation of when and what it will look like to re-open the economy. More tensions in anticipation of opening up the economy. More time alone. More of what’s become our regularly scheduled programming.

But then, the glory of God breaks through the monotony. The glory found in the gospel. And it’s manna for the soul.

We’ve been working our way through Exodus on Sunday mornings for the last couple of years, so the ministry of Moses is kind of fresh in my mind. And, as Paul says, it was a glorious ministry. Sure, it had its bumps along the way, but at its best, it was a mountain top ministry, literally. And from that mountain top came a covenant. A rock solid covenant. Again, literally. Written by the finger of God on tablets of stone. And when God’s messenger came down the hill “the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory” (3:7).

But it was a fading glory. It was a covenant that revealed the need for a better covenant. For the covenant at the center of Moses’ ministry was not only written in stone, it was as cold as stone — unable to bring life, unable to deal with unrighteousness.

Cue a new covenant. A better covenant. The good news covenant. The gospel of Jesus Christ.

Written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. Not on tablets of of stone but on tablets of human hearts (v.3).

A covenant more glorious than what Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai because it is a covenant founded on the Son of God who descended from heaven itself. The glory of the new covenant far exceeding the glory of the old.

The new covenant able to make known God’s multi-faceted glory, because it is founded not on the letter of the law which kills but on the Spirit of God which gives life (v.6). The gospel glorious because it unleashes the ministry of God’s life giving Spirit (v.8). Glorious for it is a ministry which has power to bring righteousness (v.9) to those who are unrighteous, “for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith'” (Rom. 1:17). Glorious, with an unfading glory, as it is a permanent ministry (v.11) — the work begun by God, accomplished through God, as promised of God (Php. 1:6).

The gospel having a greater glory because it is transfixing and transforming.

Transfixing us, setting our gaze continually upon the glory of the Lord. The glory come down. The Word becoming flesh, dwelling among us — “and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14). For He is the radiance of the glory of God (Heb. 1:3). And, as Paul says this morning, we all, with unveiled face, behold the glory of the Lord.

Transforming us, re-wiring us from the inside out to be, ourselves, reflectors of the glory of the Lord. The life giving Spirit conforming us more and more “into the same image” of the Son “from one degree of glory to another.”

And, it seems to me, this greater glory, whether it be transfixing us or transforming us, is realized, at least in part, through our regularly scheduled programming. This day, as much as it might be like yesterday, a new day to behold Jesus and to be made like Jesus. This continuing crisis a continuing opportunity to be further crafted in His image. This pressure a crucible for our purification. Today’s uncertainty a catalyst to fix our minds on tomorrow’s hope.

We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

A reminder by His grace. A reminder of His glory.

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Aroma Ministry

Posted on April 20, 2020 by Pete

I honestly don’t know much about it, other than, that for some, it’s a thing. I’m aware of aromatherapy but I couldn’t describe or explain aromatherapy. I’ve heard the term “essential oils” but I couldn’t tell you what makes an oil essential. I’ve been in places where there’s a diffuser, but never really understood exactly what it’s diffusing or why.

But while I may not get aromatherapy, this morning I’m reminded afresh of aroma ministry.

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

(2Corinthians 2:14-16 ESV)

I know the specific context here is Paul’s perspective on not walking through “the door that was opened” for Him by the Lord to preach the gospel in Troas, but instead feeling the need to head to Macedonia (2:12-13). I see that the “us” he’s talking about is him and his traveling companions. And that, despite walking away from such an opportunity, they could still give thanks to God knowing that, wherever they went, they were going as trophies of God’s grace.

Paul imagined themselves being paraded about, wherever they went, as captives of the risen King in “triumphal procession.” They were the spoils of the battle won through the cross. The purpose not to draw attention to themselves, but to evidence the glory of the One who had forever conquered sin and death. And, as such, through them God would diffuse an aroma everywhere, the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Himself. The Spirit the “essential oil” that would make the Father known through the Son.

So, while I get Paul is talking about himself, I can’t help but think there’s application to ourselves. That each of us has a similar aroma ministry.

Last night in small group we rejoiced that one of our guys, laid off because of the COVID-19 impact, is heading back to work this week — kind of counter trend these days. And he asked for prayer. That he would know what he’s doing there. Not that he doesn’t know what job he’s doing but that, in a kingdom of heaven context, he would know his purpose there.

As we’ve said here before, pandemics and quarantines have a way of causing one to evaluate their lives. They are a real opportunity to re-focus and gain clarity. I think that’s what this brother was asking prayer for — focus and clarity.

And if I had read this yesterday afternoon, I might have encouraged the brother with, “We’ll pray for you bro’, but know that, at the least, you are going to work to smell up the place. You’re a follower of King Jesus in His victory parade even as you march into your plant this week. And through you God wants to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ everywhere. Through your competency and your character, whether by your words or just your ways, you’re going to be a diffuser of a sweet-smelling aroma. And the substance you’ll be subtly spreading around will be Christ in you through the Holy Spirit.”

Isn’t that true for any of us, in any place, in any situation? That, at the very least, we’ll be exercising an aroma ministry?

And who is sufficient for these things? Certainly not the guy sitting at this keyboard. Not in his own power.

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us . . .

Let’s go put on some “airs” today. Not as the world so often does, making much of ourselves. But as citizens of heaven, making much of Him.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Paraklesis

Posted on April 17, 2020 by Pete

Hovering over the “God of all comfort” in the opening verses of 2Corinthians this morning. Ten times the word “comfort” appears in the first seven verses. How does that not register on your radar in times like these? To rephrase an old, old song, “What the world needs now, is comfort, sweet comfort.”

And what hits me is that comfort is a dynamic. God comforts that we may be able to comfort. God supplies so we receive, but what we receive we’re to supply to others. It’s the old “we are to be a thoroughfare not a cul de sac” analogy.

If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.

(2Corinthians 1:6 ESV)

To be sure, Paul’s talking specifically about being afflicted for the gospel. Troubled, pressed hard upon, in distress for the sake of Christ. Sharing “abundantly in Christ’s sufferings” (1:5). But you gotta think there’s application for any season of suffering, especially one that encompasses the world around us. Not that all are suffering in the same way to the same degree, but all are feeling the pressure, to whatever degree, for the same reason at the same time. And so, to engage in this comfort dynamic, to seek comfort and then to comfort others, would seem to be a reasonable application for our current days.

And what seeds the dynamic? What sources it? What primes the pump of taking in the comfort of God so that we might comfort others? I think a clue is found in verse 9.

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

(2Corinthians 1:8-9 ESV)

Paul’s desperate situation forced him to rely on God. His resources were tapped out, his tank was empty. Thus, he had nowhere to look but up — and look way up — to the God who raises the dead. Not a bad place to focus when you’re feeling like you’ve “received the sentence of death.”

When our confidence shifts from our own resources and our own reserves to God’s promises and to His power, there’s comfort. Comfort sufficient for our struggles with some left over to pass on to others.

And as I chew some more on this comfort dynamic, I’m curious as to the original word behind the ten-time repeated English word, comfort. Paraklesis. Calling to one’s side. A summoning for help. Thus finding a consolation, a solace, a comfort.

But seeing paraklesis, I’m reminded of the Parakletos. And now, we’re talking a dynamic! And now I’m pulling out my old King James Version.

And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; . . . the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

(John 14:16, 26 KJV)

In the ESV He’s “the Helper.” But this morning, I’m ok reading it as “the Comforter.” The comfort with which I’m comforted is by the Comforter. The parklesis, with which I’m parakleo, is by God, the Parakletos. That’s the dynamic! That’s the living, powerful, able to raise the dead dynamic found in me and operative through me.

That’s why I can experience the comfort of God. That’s how I can pass on the comfort of God.

Not relying on my ability to gut it out and make it better, but with my confidence solely in the One who lives in me, the Comforter — God, the Holy Spirit.

Talk about abundant, overflowing, sufficient for the day grace.

To God be the glory.

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Consolations for Our Cares

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Pete

The songwriter of Psalm 94 knew that all things work together for good, but those “things” were still working themselves out, and it wasn’t going very “good” right then.

He knew that one day God’s vengeance would shine forth over the darkness (94:1), but right now it was the wicked who were rejoicing in triumph (94:3). He knew God heard everything and saw everything (94:9), but those who killed the widow and murdered the fatherless did so freely and God seemed unawares (94:6-7). He knew that God would never leave them nor forsake them (94;14), but right now, if present, God seemed to be standing aside as the enemy crushed His people and afflicted His heritage (94:5).

Lot going on in the songwriter’s world. More than just a few things adding points to his stress chart. Sometimes it felt like too many things. Too much to process. Waking in the morning, his mind running amok. Waiting for the sun to come up, the elephant of anxiety standing on his chest. More than enough to worry about. Cares beyond counting. So where would his help come from? Well, to quote lyrics from another song in the same hymnal,

My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

(Psalm 121:2)

From the LORD. From the Judge of the earth (94:2). From the Discpliner of His people (94:12). From the One the songwriter retreated to as his stronghold. The one he was determined to stand upon as the rock of his refuge (94:22). That’s where the songwriter would find consolations for his cares.

When the cares of my heart are many, Your consolations cheer my soul.

(Psalm 94:19 ESV)

Many cares, that’s what the songwriter was dealing with. And we’re not talking the type of cares that end up on a to-do list. No, these were the cares of the heart. “The multitude of my anxieties within me” (NKJV). An abundance of troubling thoughts which bombarded “the inner parts.” I imagine it as the sort of anxiety which takes the breath away.

But when the cares of his heart were many, the songwriter looked to the consolations of the Lord to cheer his soul. And that’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

His comforts for our concerns. His trustworthy supports for our troubled souls. His consolations for our cares.

Consolations found in His word. How we need that anchor for the soul when the tempest is unrelenting. To be shown anew His promises. To be reminded afresh His power. To know in real-time — through the active agency of the Spirit of God illuminating the word of God — His presence.

Consolations found in worship. Don’t know what I’d do without music in my house. “Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” directing me towards “singing and making melody to the Lord” with my heart (Eph. 5:19). Singing with our heart has a way of displacing the cares of our heart. Not ignoring those cares, not pretending they’re not real, but putting them in the context of God’s never failing love. Hands lifted high (figuratively for us more conservative types) even with burdens that bend our backs low.

When I thought, “My foot slips,” Your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.

(Psalm 94:18 ESV)

Consolations found through His people. Connecting with those who want to share the sorrow, want to help bear the burden, even if all they can do is just listen and point us again to to the One who says, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).

These consolations not only keep us keepin’ on, they also “cheer the soul.” Bringing delight to the inner parts. God’s abiding presence a reason for thankfulness. God’s always available power a source of continuing awe. God’s unfailing promises priming the pump of hope and anticipation.

And though our minds might race, our hearts can be still. Though our anxieties can sometimes overwhelm, it can still be well with our soul.

Your consolations cheer my soul.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Blessed Be the Name

Posted on April 15, 2020 by Pete

You need the light of Ruth after the darkness of Judges. To be reminded that, even in those days when “there was no king” and “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Jud. 21:25), grace maintains a faithful remnant. A Moabite widow, though born outside the covenant, commits to God’s people as her people, and to Israel’s God as her God (Ruth 1:16). And grace foreshadows a ready, willing, and able redeemer. A man who owns the field, shows kindness to servants, and favor to this woman born outside the covenant.

No matter how you slice it, even with the bitterness that provides the backdrop for this story — a worn out woman who has lost both husband and sons and returns to the land of her fathers empty (Ruth 1:20) — this is a good news story. This is a pick me up when everything else is weighing you down. This is a story, it seems to me, for a pandemic.

For buried in it there is a phrase that, while true then, takes on a verity for today.

And [Ruth’s] mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.”

(Ruth 2:19-20 ESV)

Blessed be the man who took notice of you. I read that and whisper to myself, “Yes, blessed be the Man who takes notice of me.”

Boaz, a forefather of David the king (Matt. 1:5-6). Boaz, a foreshadow of the Son of David, our great Redeemer. Boaz, the man who took notice.

The lord of the land who had regard for a gleaner girl. The rich boss who took notice of a poor worker who cleaned up after his servants. A prominent citizen, a busy man, who was yet familiar with this girl’s story (2:11). A provider, though she had nothing with which to repay his generous provision (2:15-16). A protector, though she had no claim to his unmerited protection (2:9). No wonder she falls on her face before him and asks:

“Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”

(Ruth 2:10b ESV)

Blessed be the man who took notice.

The man who understood the sorrow in her story. The man acquainted with her grief. The man able to sympathize with her weakness. The man who himself had suffered and was thus able to help in her suffering –sufficient to help her bear her burden. A man of means. A man of mercy. Blessed be the man.

So yes, blessed be that man. But blessed be, even more, the Man who takes notice.

The Man who knows my story. The Man acquainted with my grief. The Man able to sympathize with my weakness, “one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).

The Man “made like His brothers [and sisters] in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people . . . able to help those who are being tempted” (Heb. 2:17-18).

The Man who created all things and for Whom all things exist (Col. 1:16). Yet, the Man who considered equality with God not something to be held onto but, compelled by mercy, “emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Php. 2:7-8). Blessed be the Man.

No matter what burdens we were bearing 4 weeks ago, no matter what sorrow we shared in, no matter what temptations we were battling, they’ve all been amplified in this season of coronavirus cautions, COVID-19 quarantines, and constant body counts of those infected and dying around us.

But know, my soul, the Man takes notice. He has regard. He is not distant, distracted, or disinterested. He understands. And He will provide — mercies new every morning, grace sufficient for the day. His provision commensurate for the need.

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 2:16 ESV)

Blessed be the Man who takes notice.

“Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me . . .”

Blessed be His name . . . for His overflowing grace . . . for His everlasting glory.

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