What Can I Render?

Posted on May 17, 2019 by Pete

Chewing on a couple of different passages this morning, one from the psalms and one from Galatians. And the more I chew on these thoughts from Psalm 116 and Galatians 5, the more they blend together. The question asked and answered in the songwriter’s song taking on a fuller implication of meaning through the apostle’s plea.

What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.

(Psalm 116: 12-13 ESV)

The song starts, “I love the LORD!” And that, because the LORD had heard the songwriter’s voice, his pleas for mercy. Because God on high had inclined His ear. Because, when the psalmist was brought low, the LORD lifted him up and returned his soul to rest. Delivering the songwriter’s soul from death, his eyes dried of their tears, his feet kept from stumbling, his faith preserved though he was greatly afflicted.

And so, perhaps it’s not too surprising that the psalmist asks, “What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to me?” In fact, you might even expect there should be some sort of desire to respond to the mercy and goodness God had shown. Not necessarily a thought of paying God back, for his grace is beyond matching. But certainly a desire to worship. A longing to, in some manner, acknowledge His grace and mercy and divine intervention. What shall I render?

I will lift up the cup of salvation, he says. Perhaps a reference to lifting up a drink offering akin to Peterson’s paraphrase, “A toast to GOD!” That’s how I’ve read it in the past. A lifting of the cup in tribute of thanksgiving and worship.

But this morning I notice that the words “lift up” can also be translated “take.” That’s how the CSB and NKJV translate it: “I will take the cup of salvation and worship the LORD” (CSB).

That’s kind of a different thought. What shall I render? How about I take? I want to give something in return? So let me appropriate something.

When Jesus prayed about taking a cup it was about doing the Father’s will (Mk. 14:36). Maybe that’s what we render to the LORD for all His benefits to us. We determine, with a holy determination, to lean into, and live out ,the cup of salvation He’s given us.

And that’s what triggered what I read in Galatians 5:

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore . . . 

(Galatians 5:1a ESV)

What can I render to God for all His benefits? To take the cup He has provided. To stand firm in the freedom for which Christ has set me free. To appropriate the power. To lean into the promises.

To not only lift up the cup in tribute, but to ingest it as a worship response of obedience. Heeding Paul’s warning about being entrapped by any thought that suggests that I can add to my salvation. To reject any temptation to boast of my own righteousness and pious acts.

To believe that it is only through the Spirit, who began the work in me, that the work in me can be brought to its perfect culmination. To purpose to walk by the Spirit. To engage the Spirit to war against the flesh. To want to know what it is to be practically led by the Spirit of freedom and not rely on the ways of the law. To live by the Spirit, and keep in step with the Spirit, through the resurrection power of the Spirit.

What can I render? I can take the cup of salvation. How can I worship in response? I can stand firm in the freedom for which Christ has set me free.

By His grace. For His glory.

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A Child of Promise

Posted on May 16, 2019 by Pete

He was the kid no one thought would ever be. A miracle child. Defied all the laws of nature. Even giving million-to-one odds that he’d be born would have been generous. But with God nothing is impossible.

And after he was born? Well, to say he was the apple of his parents’ eyes would have been an understatement. Nothing, and I mean, nothing was going to compete with this kid. While dad might have had some room for some shared affections, mama bear cleared house, literally, of everything that would, or ever could, take away from her boy’s special place in the home.

But not only was this one child the favored child of mom and dad, but God Himself was pretty invested in the boy’s life, as well. After proving that dad’s love for God was greater than his love for his kid, and that dad’s faith trumped dad’s fears, God intervened and provided for Himself a “lamb for a burn offering.” What’s more, not only did the wonder kid inherit all dad’s assets, God made him an heir of all of God’s assurances, too.

However, though always in the place of privilege, the kid wouldn’t grow up perfect. He’d make mistakes along the way, waver in faith at times, and even mismanage his own family to some extent. But even if he wasn’t perfect he never ceased to be a child of promise.

Just like us.

Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Now this may be interpreted allegorically . . . Now you, brothers (and sisters), like Isaac, are children of promise.

(Galatians 4:21-24a, 28 ESV)

Now you are children of promise.

I read it and I let it resonate.

I read it again and I remember my miraculous birth–defied all the laws of nature. No one, in a million years, me included, would have seen it coming. But with God nothing is impossible.

I behold the words on the page and I believe it. In some unfathomable way, I too am the apple of my Father’s eye, the favored kid. Not because of who I am or what I’ve done. In fact, in spite of those things. But eternally gifted with the affection of the Father, just because He determined to love me.

I chew on the sentence and think again about the sacrifice. A spotless Lamb offered in my stead. Provided by God Himself. God Himself. Heaven’s very best for a sinner like me. The only offering able to redeem, reconcile, restore, and renew.

That I too, like Isaac, might be a child of promise.

By His grace alone. For His glory alone.

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Known By God

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Pete

Well into Galatians. Reading the first part of chapter 4 this morning. And Paul continues to go for broke in calling these Galatians back to Christ alone by grace alone. You know how big a deal this is by how over the top Paul has been.

Paul says he can’t wrap his head around their desertion of the gospel (1:6). He curses anyone, even angels, who would dare to add to the gospel formula: Christ + Nothing = Salvation Past, Salvation Present, and Salvation Future. He’s defended his ministry (1:11-2:10), rebuked Peter & Co. for behavior un-becoming the gospel (2:11-14), and personally testified of his own determination to do nothing, nor to boast in anything, that would “nullify the grace of God” (2:21). He’s called the Galatians fools and said it’s like they’ve been bewitched (3:1). Your not thinking straight, he says. Give your head a shake, he says, what’s happened to you is by the Spirit of God–do you think perfecting it will now happen through your own effort (3:2-3)? And he hasn’t yet got to the part about wishing the purveyors of this faith-plus-works gospel would slip up with their circumcision knives and “cut themselves off” (5:12 NKJV).

Like I said, a little over the top. Must be a big deal.

Paul’s been very particular with his words in order to make his point. And I notice that again this morning:

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?

(Galatians 4:8-9 ESV)

“When did you believe?” we often ask. How did you come to know Christ? Fair enough questions. Each of us has a story. And also fair enough that when we tell our story we’re at the center of it. But lest we think we know God because of what we eventually did, Paul reminds us that it’s only because of what God determined first to do–to know us. Or, as John puts it, “We love because He first loved us” (1Jn. 4:19). Or, as Jesus makes even more explicit:

You did not choose Me, but I chose you . . . ”    (John 15:16a ESV)

If we think that our acquaintance with God is owing to ourselves then perhaps we might also be deceived to thinking that, just as we decided to come to Christ, we can decide also how to grow in Christ. That if it’s because of our smarts that we recognized the truth, then we’ll rely on our brains to navigate how to grow in that truth. That if we think we initiated the relationship, then we might also be prone to think we have the right to direct the relationship.

Ahhh . . . no! says Paul.

If God knew us–not just in the general God knows everything about everybody sense, but in the He knew me in particular sense (like in Psalm 139)–and if God called us into this grace equation, then, asks a confused Paul, how can you turn back to being enslaved by things of the dictates of your flesh and the ways of this world? Turning back is giving God your back. Give your head a shake!

Seeing ourselves as captains of our own salvation ship is a sure way to become unanchored. A gimme for the devil to lead us astray. A no-brainer recipe for disaster, nullifying grace and eventually leading to falling from grace (5:4).

And what a crummy place to live, outside of grace. Looking for God’s favor through our disciplined behavior rather than His finished work on the cross. Relying on our wisdom for the worthy walk rather than surrendering to the mind of Christ as we abide in Christ. Depending on our work for approval in His way instead of His word renewing our minds and transforming us into His likeness.

To be sure, we have come to know God. But equally to be sure, it’s because He first determined to know us.

How amazing is that? Pretty amazing!

O’ to continue to walk in such amazing grace. That He might receive the everlasting glory!

Amen?

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Our High Above God

Posted on May 14, 2019 by Pete

“The LORD is high above all nations,” sings the songwriter. His glory is above the heavens. He is seated on high.

If there’s anything we are to get about our God it’s that He’s a “high above” God. A lofty God. In terms of spiritual geography, His address is located above the sky, past the stars, and beyond the heavens. Think about that. Look past the galaxies, that’s where our God resides. He is exalted. He is enthroned on high. Look up. Look way up. Keep looking up. Got a crick in your neck yet?

And what gets me this morning is that such a high above God looks down.

The LORD is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens! Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?

(Psalm 113:4-6 ESV)

As the songwriter marvels at the thought of his high above God, what strikes him as making this God unlike any other god is that He “looks far down on the heavens and earth.” The CSB and NIV says He “stoops down to look.” Not gonna lie, I really like the NKJV translation–the LORD is God who “humbles Himself” in order to see the things that are in the heavens and in the earth. Our God makes Himself low in order to look on His creation.

But this self abasement, if we can use that term, is not just for the purposes of looking far down out of a divine curiosity. It’s not some passive peering over a heavenly balcony for entertainment. But it’s so He might intervene in the affairs of men. So that He might raise the poor; lift the needy; give the barren women a home, sings the psalmist (113:7-9).

Our God looks down in order to lift up. Our God stoops low to set a needy people on high. Our God humbles Himself in order to raise up others.

And you can’t chew on this very long before you’re reminded that not only do we worship a high above God who looks down, but we worship a high above God who came down.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

(Philippians 2:5-7)

God came down.  The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory (Jn. 1:14).

Far from keeping His infinite distance from a fallen world, He entered our world. He “passed through the heavens” so that He could know firsthand our weaknesses, tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:14-15). Being made “like His brothers” (Oh, that He would own us as family!) in all things so that He might raise the poor; lift the needy; make fruitful the barren.  And this, by becoming “a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God,” making “propitiation for the sins of the people” (Heb. 2:17).

For because He himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.

(Hebrews 2:18 ESV)

Our high above God looks down. Our high above God came down.

From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised!

(Psalm 113:3 ESV)

What amazing grace. All glory be to our high above God.

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Collateral Blessing

Posted on May 13, 2019 by Pete

I start in on the familiar story in 2Samuel and what catches my attention is the collateral damage–the injury suffered by others than the intended target.

First, Bathsheba is the king’s intended mark. But she was the violated daughter of an innocent man named Eliam (11:3). And she was the adulterous wife of a faithful soldier, Uriah. Both those guys were collateral damage.

Then, Uriah was the target. But when the cover up David masterminded was unsuccessful, when the finessed furlough failed to provide a credible birth announcement, he resorted to a less sophisticated, more brutal plan B–send Uriah back to war and put him on a suicide mission (11:14-15). And it worked. A little too well. The report came back to David, “Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also” (11:24). Don’t know how many died with Uriah. Don’t know their names. Just more collateral damage.

And then what of the innocent baby? What did he do other than be born? But God had determined the fruit of their affair would be afflicted for life and that life would be but seven days (12:14-15). You might make the case the little guy got the better end of the deal by being fast-tracked into God’s presence after only a week of toiling on the earth, but for all earthly reality, he died before he had a chance to live. An innocent bystander bearing the wages of his parents’ sin. More collateral damage. Heavy sigh.

But then, like a light being switched on when your eyes have just grown accustomed to darkness, the following verses nail me . . . and the awe-o-meter starts to spike . . . and wonder evokes worship as I chew on the collateral blessing.

Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the LORD loved him and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.

(2Samuel 12:24-25 ESV)

Think about it. David had a number of wives who might have been more worthy of bearing a son like Solomon. What about Abigail (1Sam. 25)? A wise, resourceful, noble woman. Just the kind of mom you might want to bear a son like Solomon. The kind of women you’d pick to be in the forever promised royal line of David. But that, praise God, is not how our God rolls.

I’m struck by the grace of God in fulfilling the promises of God. The grace that determined that a David and Bathsheba would have a Solomon.

“That woman” is now referred to as David’s wife. Before this she was referred to as the wife of Uriah the Hittite.

And David is still king, even though he had “despised the word of the LORD” and done what was “evil in God’s sight” (12:9). Even though, by his own admission, he had “sinned against the LORD” (11:13) and, by God’s own prophetic declaration, he had “utterly scorned the LORD” (11:14).

But God raises beauty out of these ashes (Isa. 61:3). Weeping endured for a night, but joy came in the morning (Ps. 30:5).

And the basis for such grace? The justification for such collateral blessing?

And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”

(2Samuel 12:13b ESV)

The LORD had put away David’s sin. Though there would be consequence and collateral damage, neither David, nor Bathsheba, would bear the debt of sin they could never pay. How come?

But as it is, [Christ] has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

(Hebrews 9:26b ESV)

And sin put away opens the floodgates for the collateral blessing of grace overflowing. Makes way for things “no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined”, prepared by God for those who love Him (1Cor. 2:9).

How great is our God? Pretty great!

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Because of grace. For His glory.

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A Steadfast Heart

Posted on May 9, 2019 by Pete

Based on how the song starts, you’d probably never guess the situation. Getting up in the morning with the praise band cranked up, a song on your lips, and a melody permeating your soul is usually a pretty good indicator of how well things are going–not what you’d expect from someone taking it in the teeth. Giving thanks to the LORD, singing praises for all to hear, not something you immediately tie to circumstances which make you think the Lord’s rejected you. Exalting God when your enemies have the upper hand, not something that seems intuitive. Unless, it seems, it’s sourced in a steadfast heart.

I will sing and make melody with all my being! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your steadfast love is great above the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let Your glory be over all the earth!

(Psalm 108:1b-5 ESV)

Stop! Rewind. Go back and read those opening lyrics of David’s song again. Slowly.

Don’t those verses sound more like a victory song than a valley song? More like music from a mountain top than a chorus from the cave? Does to me.

You wouldn’t guess from those verses that what follows is a plea for deliverance (v.6). That David’s looking for some divine help from some pretty determined enemies (v.12). That, though he has the promises of God (v.7-9), he’s wanting some indicator of His presence, as well (v.10-11). For most of us, such praise in the midst of such problems isn’t the usual cause and effect we’d expect.

So what’s the secret sauce? How can such soaring songs be sung amidst such severe situations?

My heart is steadfast, O God!     (Psalm 106:1a ESV)

David’s heart was steadfast. Confident (CSB). Fixed (KJV). It was established. It was directed aright.

Despite the lack of equilibrium caused by his current problems, he was rock solid on the Person, the Power, and the Promises of God. They would define the context of the circumstance–the situation wouldn’t suggest what should be considered true of God.

A steadfast heart is sure heart. Sure about God. Sure about His promises. And fully convinced that God is able to do what He has promised (Rom. 4:20-21). Fully convinced that what He has promised, God is willing to do. So fully convinced that it even wakes up in the morning praising God though it went to bed the night before wondering how to make it through another day.

Spurgeon calls this psalm “The Warrior’s Morning Song, with which he adores his God and strengthens his heart before entering upon the conflicts of the day.” So grounded in the truth of God’s word that he can’t help but trust in God’s way as he readies to do battle again with a hostile world. Ready to sing though in need of salvation. Ready to praise even amidst the pressure. Ready to exalt even when surrounded by the enemy. Ready to worship even when he can’t help but worry.

O for a steadfast heart. O for a song to sing despite the situation.

Because He is faithful, His promises sure, and His power is known through an empty tomb.

His grace is sufficient. His glory is to be declared.

On the mountain, in the valley.

Amen?

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The Source of Grace

Posted on May 8, 2019 by Pete

Probably being overly simplistic this morning. Likely I’m just scratching the surface of the depths of something which, if I really got the half of it, would strike me dumb and put me facedown. But, as I’m continuing to read in Psalm 106 this morning, I read verse forty-six and what hits me is, “That’s the source of grace!!!”

Many times [the LORD] delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity. Nevertheless, He looked upon their distress, when He heard their cry. For their sake He remembered His covenant, and relented according to the abundance of His steadfast love.

(Psalm 106:43-46 ESV)

The non-inspired heading for Psalm 106 in my bible says Give Thanks to the LORD, for He Is Good. But as I read it, it’s a brutal indictment of a chosen people constantly choosing to go off the rails. God is so good, because they are so bad.

From worshiping golden calves in the wilderness to having no faith in the promised land; from murmuring in their tents to disobeying His voice in the open; from yoking themselves to Baal, mixing with the nations, and serving their idols to sacrificing their sons and daughters to demons; this rebellious people angered the LORD. So much so that the songwriter’s inspired commentary is that “He abhorred His heritage” (v. 40).

Ya’ think? You’d think enough is enough. Let’s erase the slate. Let’s start over with another people of promise who just might appreciate the promise. Let’s go again and set apart a people as holy who just might try and actually be holy. Let’s be faithful to a people who just might be faithful in return.

But though they were “brought low through their iniquity”, our God looked on their distress, heard their cry, remembered His covenant, and “relented according to the abundance of His steadfast love.” That, my friends, is mercy undeserving, and grace overflowing. And it was according to the abundance of His steadfast love. That’s the source of grace!

God is love (1Jn. 4:8, 16). Not just the definition of love, but the Source. It’s not just an attribute, it is His essence. Is it too much to say that what God does, whatever He does, is born out of love? Steadfast love? Abundant steadfast love? I’m thinkin’.

For God so loved the world. And out of that love pours forth overflowing grace.

Not only did God relent concerning a rebellious people, but He purposed to redeem them as well. Not only did He think twice about removing them from before His presence, He doubled down and determined to provide a way to reconcile them and provide bold access into the holy of holies. Not only did He spare them, but He paid the price in order to save them. What unmerited favor! What grace! And this according to the abundance of His steadfast love.

O to be sure, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good. Abounding in grace. And this, according to the unfathomable depths of His steadfast love.

O what wondrous love! What amazing grace! To Him be all the glory!

Amen?

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Great Things, Wondrous Works, Awesome Deeds

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Pete

Doing devo’s at SeaTac airport this morning as I wait to get on a plane bound for Maui. Heading there the day before what would have been Sue’s 60th birthday. Coming back the day after what would have been our 38th anniversary. Looking forward to a time of rest, relaxation, reflection, and, Lord willing, renewal.

Something in Psalm 106 catches my attention as I sip on my Starbucks and chew on His word. Perhaps a theme verse for this break . . .

They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

(Psalm 106:21-22 ESV)

Great things. Wondrous works. Awesome deeds. That’s just how our God, our Savior, rolls! Did it when He delivered the people from the bondage of Egypt through the Red Sea. Did it when He delivered Christ’s bride from the bondage of sin and death through the cross of Calvary.

And if there’s anything the first half of Psalm 106 says, it says that nothing good comes from forgetting.

After going through the Red Sea, God’s people “believed His words; they sang His praise” (v.12). But then, “they soon forgot” how they had been rescued. Which led to them not waiting to hear His counsel. Which spawned a “wanton craving” and, ultimately, they “put God to the test” (v.13-14).

A bit of forgetfulness resulted in a whole lot of pain. A lack of remembrance would bear the fruit of regret. Taking their eyes off of the Redeemer, left them to their own devices and so, says the songwriter, God “gave them what they asked” (v.15). Next think you know . . . POOF!!! . . . they made a calf at Horeb . . . they worshiped a metal image . . .they exchanged the glory of God for a cheap imitation (v.19-20). They forgot God.

Had it not been for the intercession of Moses, had it not been that God’s chosen one stood in the breach before Him, they would have been done like dinner.

Forgetfulness. Complacency. A taking for granted. An attitude devoid of intense gratitude. Nothing good comes from it.

But beyond a “sinful forgetfulness” which of us hasn’t known a “distracted forgetfulness?” Suffering distracting us from the Savior. The worries of life averting our gaze from the wonders of God. Our pursuit of stuff that may be good, causing what is awesome to be forgotten.

Oh, that we would take time . . . regular time . . . enough time . . . to consider afresh great things, wondrous works, and awesome deeds.

Behold our great salvation . . . past, present, and future.

See the wondrous work of sanctification!  Sure, sometimes it seems like two steps forward, one step back, but who but God would patiently work in us to bear increasingly the likeness of His Son?

Let your jaw drop at His awesome deeds–grace sufficient for every need, mercies new every morning, faithfulness never ceasing.

Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever! Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD, or declare all His praise?

(Psalm 106:1-2 ESV)

WE CAN!!! . . . if we but take time to remember.

By His grace. For His glory.

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A Lesson in Kingdom Economics

Posted on May 3, 2019 by Pete

Common wisdom today is that money makes money by being invested. The days of savings accounts and compound interest as a means to putting our money to work are long gone. And, the way we measure how good our investments are is by the amount of money it returns.

But what if there are non-monetary returns we should be considering? What if at least part of our portfolio should be invested for returns that never go back into our account but instead go to Another?

This morning I’m continuing to chew on Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians to give generously to the saints in Jerusalem. And I’m wondering if there isn’t a lesson in kingdom economics here.

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ . . .

(2Corinthians 9:10-13a ESV)

Paul is encouraging the saints at Corinth to fulfill their pledge to practically assist the saints in Jerusalem who are taking it in the teeth for following Christ. He wants them to be generous. His word picture is that of a farmer who has to make a call as to whether he sows seed sparingly or bountifully. Does he conserve so he has food for today, or is he more sacrificial, anticipating a bountiful harvest for tomorrow? “Each one,” Paul says, “must give as he has decided in his heart” (9:6-7).

But the harvest Paul is talking about is not necessarily a money for money crop. It’s not measured by some return on investment ratio. Rather, Paul calls it “the harvest of your righteousness.” And it’s not about money making money. Nor is it about expecting some spiritual benefit based on the amount physically invested. Rather the “proceeds” from the investment, the harvest anticipated, what will be produced, is “thanksgiving to God.”

Their money would not only supply the needs of the saints but would also “overflow in many thanksgivings to God!” The harvest of their liberal sowing of monetary seed would be realized in glory to God. That’s the math of kingdom economics.

Gospel giving bears a harvest of righteousness and that is realized when thanks is given to God. What more return could we ask for?

And I’m thinking that, whether it’s a saint who knows the Giver of all good things or a sinner who is still in darkness, when they give thanks to God for generosity shown them by the people of God–whether they know God personally or not–that it’s a heavenly return on our earthly investment.

For the believer, they praise the God who shows Himself faithful by supplying all their need in Christ.

For the unbeliever, grace-filled, generous giving combines with God’s other “invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature” clearly perceived through creation (Rom. 1:20), to bear witness to the common grace shown to lost people as the Creator patiently seeks to make Himself known. Some monetary provision but a sign post pointing to God’s greater gift for their greatest need. And when they say, “Thank the Lord!” a harvest is realized in heaven. The glory given to God providing an opening for the Spirit of God to further the gospel work of God in calling them to reconciliation.

O that we might sow in anticipation of such a harvest–a harvest of our righteousness. That though we may not hear it ourselves, that our generous disbursement of our material wealth into the lives of others for the sake of the gospel would result in the reaping of an abundant crop of thanksgivings to God.

Seed generously sown as we’re enriched in every way. The return on investment an overflowing of many thanksgivings to God.

By the grace of God alone. For the glory of God alone.

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The Difference the Joy of the Lord Makes

Posted on May 2, 2019 by Pete

Hovering over the first few verses of 2Corinthians 8 this morning and thinking about an intriguing dynamic and the difference the joy of the Lord can make.

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.

(2Corinthians 8:1-4 ESV)

As I read these verses, a formula popped off the page:

Severe Test of Affliction + Extreme Poverty = A Wealth of Generosity

Now come on, that’s not intuitive. Give someone the answer, “The outcome of severe affliction and extreme poverty,” and there’s no way anyone buzzes in with, “What is a wealth of generosity, Alex?”

Put me in some great pressure cooker of distress, drain my bank account, and naturally I’m looking at how I can conserve. Very little income along with very great uncertainty, and every purchase, discretionary or not, get’s considered twice before any money goes out the door. I’m in penny-pinching mode. Not just saving up for a rainy day, but already in the midst of the storm, I am going to keep what I can, and as much as I can, for as long as I can, in hope of making it through.

But what if the formula changes up a bit? What if there’s some secret sauce added to the severe situation?

Severe Test of Affliction + Abundance of Joy + Extreme Poverty = A Wealth of Generosity

Mix in the joy of the Lord, and regardless of the severity of affliction, despite the extremity of the poverty, the results are unpredictable . . . like “a wealth of generosity” unpredictable.

Not talking about emotional happiness, or some divinely imparted, out of touch with reality, happy go free, “what me worry” attitude. But the deep, abiding joy of knowing the Lord. Of the reality of abiding in His presence, of really believing in His promises, and faithfully trusting in His provision. The game-changing, long view of life that’s focused not just on the here and now but always has an eye cast toward the there and then.

The joy of the Lord doesn’t minimize the affliction. Doesn’t change the poverty. But can result in a less than intuitive outcome. Paul calls it “the grace of God that has been given.”

These suffering saints in the churches of Macedonia, with very little in their bank accounts, were moved by the need of the believers in Jerusalem, and because of their joy in the Lord, because of their supernatural, sourced in heaven gladness, they sacrificed, giving beyond their means, to meet the needs of others. And the grace of God was manifest.

Take away for me isn’t necessarily that “God loves a cheerful giver”, though He does (2Cor. 9:7), but that the joy of the Lord makes things unpredictable. That it provides a beat of a different drummer to march to. A context for doing life that is unearthly, one determined by things above and not just things below.

O’ the difference the joy of the Lord makes.

By His grace. For His glory.

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