Be Patient

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Pete

The “brothers” thrice addressed in James 5:7-12 are the righteous poor of James 5:1-6 — that’s what the “therefore” is there for in verse 7.

They are James’ fellow believers who have been defrauded by the rich who have withheld their fairly earned wages. They are the harvesters who have cried out against those who, at the expense of their workers, have lived in luxury and in self-indulgence on earth. They are the children of God whose cries, as James reminds them, have also been heard by the Lord of hosts in heaven. They are those unable to stand against the oppressive elite, yet called to stand firm in their faith.

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

(James 5:7-8 ESV)

Be patient. That’s the command to obey in this passage. Be patient.

Be of a long spirit. Don’t lose heart. Bravely persevere. Keep on keepin’ on.

Establish your hearts. Stabilize your emotions. Firmly set your mind. Constantly fix your gaze. Lock on your source of hope.

I’ve never been a laborer in the field.  Well, actually I have . . . one summer after high school . . . sorry to the owner who thought we were burning down his hay barn . . . but I digress.

Never had wages unjustly withheld by a greedy boss. Never been overtly oppressed or defrauded or taken advantage of to the point where it impacted the ability to feed my family. But, have I known circumstance which seemed overwhelming? Encountered what I thought were no win situations with no way out? Grown weary? Been discouraged? Thought that the Elijah plan of retreating to a cave and curling up in a fetal position made sense? Hmmm . . . maybe. Who hasn’t to some degree or another?

And so, for the weary pilgrim, for the guy who’s been dealt a bad hand, for the gal who’s been served up lemons for way too long and is tired of trying to make lemonade, the indwelling Spirit says through the living word, don’t lose heart. And how come?

. . . for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Sometimes you need to focus afresh on the long game in order to stay in the game. You need to be reminded of the destination in order to continue to endure the journey. See a glimpse of the prize to keep running the race.

The Lord is coming, so we keep going. His promises are sure–and so, with holy determination and Holy Spirit enabling, we press on steadfastly.

We commit again and move forward, if only feebly, and the Lord is compassionate and shows mercy (5:11b).  We persevere patiently, and He remains faithful. And we keep on keepin’ on, because Jesus, perhaps soon and very soon, is coming back.

And it’s gonna be worth it all.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Content to be a Friend of the Bridegroom

Posted on October 3, 2018 by Pete

You gotta love John the Baptizer. Sure, maybe his attire was a little unorthodox. And I’m not sure I would run out and buy a new breakfast cereal that he created with his own “secret ingredients.” But spend just a little bit of time considering him, and he’s pretty inspirational.

Easy, perhaps, to overlook John, though. Maybe because that was his whole purpose. He didn’t draw attention to himself but to Someone else. His mission wasn’t to be in the limelight but to shine the spotlight on Another.

But I think there’s some value to noodling on this guy a bit. After all, Jesus said of him, ” I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John” (Luke 7:28).

Here’s what caught my attention this morning . . . John was content to be a friend of the Bridegroom

John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

(John 3:27-30 ESV)

Context? Some of John’s disciples come to him with a problem they’re picking up on. John’s losing his following as they go to Jesus to be baptized. The ministry’s coming to an end. The flash mobs are fewer and far between. The people are going to Someone else. And so John’s disciples are asking, “What are we going to do about it?” And John’s response, in essence?  Rejoice!

When it came to Christ becoming the focus, John was more than content to step to the side. After all, he says, the wedding isn’t about the wedding party, it’s about the bride and groom. The wedding attendants stand aside as witnesses of “those two crazy kids” coming together to unite their lives. The friends line the platform while the happy couple takes center stage. They’re lost to themselves, completely focused on the union about to be formed.

And even the friend standing next to the bridegroom knows that he’s not really “the best man.” He gets that the best man is actually the guy next to him offering the ring to his blushing bride. The friend doesn’t want to do anything to attract attention to himself. Instead, he does everything he can to ensure that the focus is duly placed on the one whose voice people need to hear.

John was thrilled to be part of the wedding party and to be able to get close enough to stand next to the Bridegroom. He rejoiced, his joy being made complete, just to be near enough to hear the Bridegroom’s calling, “Will you be mine?” And then to see people respond, “I will,” as they came to Jesus–even if it meant that John’s “day job” was drying up.

How often do I fall into thinking that the wedding is about me?

Oh, maybe it is to some degree if I’m remembering that I’m the bride. But even then, my place “at the altar” is all because of the price He paid for my sin as the Lamb of God. It’s all about His persistent pursuit of me, a wayward sheep, as the Great Shepherd who came to seek and save the lost.

I might do well, however, to think of myself more as the friend of the Bridegroom. There for Him. There but to serve Him. Fully prepared to fade into the background. Not desiring to draw attention to myself but asking only to be a magnifying glass through which Jesus is brought into clearer view by those who need to see Him.

Instead of my joy being dependent on how much recognition I get, or the amount of blessing I think I’m getting by being at the wedding, my joy, instead, should be made complete when Jesus is exalted. When Jesus alone is the object of attention. When people, as it were, turn their back on me because they’re longing to look into the face of the glorious Bridegroom.

Truly, He must increase, I must decrease. If only in my own eyes. If only as part of my own agenda.

It should be enough to just be standing there with Him. My eyes too fixed on Him alone. Doing nothing that would distract others from setting their gaze upon Him.

Content to be a friend of the Bridegroom.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Making Sense of the Ups and Downs

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Pete

At first read, you give your head a shake and then go back for a second read. And then you realize this guy is flip-flopping like a fish outta water. Or, as my friend used to say, emotionally he’s up and down like a toilet seat. But that’s Jeremiah’s reality.

In Jeremiah 20, the prophet suddenly goes from giving a “thus says the Lord” to a corrupt priest who has been persecuting him (1:6), to giving the Lord a piece of His mind for the lame ministry that’s been placed on him (7-18).

O LORD, You have deceived me, and I was deceived; You are stronger than I, and You have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me.

(Jeremiah 20:7 ESV)

“You pushed me into this, GOD!” That’s how Peterson puts it in The Message. You set me up for this no-win ministry and I let You. But then again, who can resist You? And the result? “I’m a public joke. They all poke fun at me.” (MSG)

And so Jeremiah goes off. He rails on the personal impact of his offensive ministry. So offensive, in fact, even his close friends plot against him, having had enough of his endless doom and gloom, supposedly prophetic word (v.10). He wants to stop delivering the unpopular message of Babylonian captivity, but he can’t. And that because the word of the LORD burns in him like a fire “and I’m weary of holding it in, and I cannot” (v.9).

But then there’s a but.

But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. . . . O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You have I committed my cause.

(Jeremiah 20:11a, 12 ESV)

All of sudden, Jeremiah flips from focusing on his lot in life and looks up to the LORD of life. He remembers that the awesome One (NKJV)–He who is a mighty and dreaded warrior, He who knows all things, the One to whom Jeremiah has committed all things–that the LORD of hosts is with him. He refocuses, turning his gaze from himself and his circumstances, and sets his mind on things above where He sees afresh the LORD of hosts reigning. And it’s enough of a redirect that Jeremiah breaks forth in spontaneous praise.

Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For He has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.

(Jeremiah 20:13 ESV)

But then, just as suddenly, He flops again.

Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed! . . .Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?

(Jeremiah 20:14, 18 ESV)

One moment he’s confident of victory, next he wishes he’d never been born. He knows he’s walking in the path God has set for him, but he feels as if he’s gonna explode if he stays on that path. When he fixes his eyes on the Lord, praise can’t help but come from his lips. But when his heart again weighs the burden of his life circumstance, he’s not sure he even wants breath any longer coming from those lips.

Like my friend used to say, up and down like a toilet seat!

And I sit back and say to myself, “Self, what am I to make of this?” How do you make sense of the ups and downs? To which comes to mind,

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

(2Corinthians 4:7 ESV)

Fragile, cracked pots called into service by the Potter. Weak and weary soldiers enlisted by the Commander of the Army of the Lord. Feeble servants told to occupy until His return by the Master. And there’s gonna be times when we’re feeling, “Enough’s enough!” And those are the times to look up . . . to look waaaayyy up . . . and see Jesus (Heb. 12:2-3). Those are the times to remember the Word of God, to recount the promises of God, to reaffirm the presence of God, and to reenlist by the grace of God.

Jeremiah, was not some super-hero called to some super-human task but, like Elijah, “was a man with a nature like ours” (James 5:17). And that nature has a tendency to flip flop like a fish out of water. And that too, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

So we do not lose heart. Instead we keep on keepin’ on. Looking up when we’re down. Getting up, knowing that we may very well stumble again. Confident that these things are transient and are preparing us for an eternal weight of glory (2Cor. 4:16-18).

And that, by His grace. And only for His glory.

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More Grace

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Pete

His letter is written to “the twelve tribes in the Dispersion.” So James’ epistle was penned for believers but with a particular Hebrew flavor. Maybe not surprising given that it’s thought this could be the first NT book written, and thus written to a church that was still largely Jewish.

So it’s for those who are born again. Those who are new creations in Christ. And maybe that’s what makes the opening verses of chapter 4 a bit disturbing.

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

(James 4:1-4 ESV)

What? Quarrels? Fights? Murder? And all this among the believers?!? Say it ain’t so!

What happened to “and all who believed were together and had all things in common” (Acts 2:44)? Or, “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own” (Acts 4:32)? Even if you understand that James isn’t referring to murder in the literal sense but in the Sermon on the Mount sense, that of intense anger towards someone (Mt. 5:21-22), you’re still asking yourself, what’s going on?

What could so corrupt the unity of the Spirit believers were born again into (1Cor. 12:13, Eph. 4:1-3)? What could so mar the testimony of love for one another that Jesus said would mark His disciples (Jn. 13:35)?

Two things, apparently. Passions at war within us, and love for the world around us. Evidently a lethal combo for the church being the church.

The nature of the flesh is to want. To desire what it thinks it must have to be satisfied. What it feels it needs in order to experience pleasure. And when someone else has that something, there can be a tendency to turn on that person. Either out of jealousy, or of trying to compete for it. Cue a catalyst for conflict.

And what feeds the flesh? The world. The system of values, priorities, and prizes that man has built up for themselves in order to satisfy “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions” (1Jn. 2:16). The world feeds the flesh. And flesh wars against others driven by flesh. And then you have quarrels, and fightings, and murders . . . oh my!!!

What’s the answer? Stop it!!!

It’s that simple, says James. Stop coveting and start praying, asking for what you think you need. And if you don’t get it, then know that you ask amiss.

What’s more, stop befriending the world (by the way, that’s not BFF type of befriending, that’s getting into bed with type of “friends” . . . you adulterous people). For to befriend the world is to set yourself up as an enemy of God. Why would believers hang the enemies flag in front of their homes? Oh yeah, the flesh!

Ugly mirror to be looking into this morning. Bitter food to be chewing on. But thank God for the word but.

But He gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

(James 4:6 ESV)

More grace. Greater grace. Larger grace. Stronger grace. That’s the grace our God dispenses . . . and dispenses freely and abundantly.

And it’s available to the humble. To those who look in the mirror of Scripture and see their own reflection in the twelve tribes of the dispersion. Who refuse to say, “Not me! That’s someone else,” but know the battle between the flesh and the Spirit is their daily reality. Who, by the Spirit’s enabling power, say, “No!” to the flesh, and “Forgive me” to God. Who preach the gospel to themselves — the blood’s power to forgive and cleanse, the empty tomb’s power to allow those once in bondage to the flesh to live in newness of life. To believe in, and avail themselves of, “but He gives more grace.”

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

(James 4:10 ESV)

Yes He will.

Because of more grace. And that for His glory.

Amen?

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Justified By Works

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Pete

Context is everything. And that there are two sides to the salvation coin needs to be grappled with. Such is the paradox created by one three-word phrase in what Luther referred to as “a right strawy epistle.”

By “strawy” Luther had in mind 1Corinthians 3:12 and the letter he was referring to was the letter of James. At one point at least, Luther thought that James’ letter, as material for building on the foundation of the gospel, was more akin to “wood, hay, and straw” than it was to “gold, silver, and precious stones.” And you get where he’s coming from if only from considering how James uses the three-word phrase, “justified by works.”

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

(James 2:21-25 ESV)

Justified by works. For those of us who are not ashamed of the gospel, the instinctive response when reading that is akin to hearing fingernails dragged across a chalkboard. What’s more, it creates a sort of systematic theology whiplash as you do a double-take when you recall what Paul has written:

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.

(Romans 4:2-4 ESV)

. . . yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ . . .

(Galatians 2:16 ESV)

Holy tension, Batman!

No away around it, though. When you read the latter part of James 2, verses 14 though 26, you need to give it some serious consideration. There’s some wrestling to be done with the dichotomy created by this portion of Holy Writ. And, even encountering it year after year as you go through your reading plan, there’s serious re-consideration and some wrestling again that seems necessary.

From what I know, Luther had no issue with James as part of the canon of Scripture. And I believe that all Scripture is God-breathed, profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2Tim. 3:16). So I can’t just blow by it. I need to hover over it and let it continue to equip me for “every good work” (2Tim. 3:17).

You can’t get away from it. While James might be somewhat blunt, the assertion is crystal clear, “faith apart from works is dead” (2:26b) . . . it is a non-faith.

Both James and Paul assert that we are saved, that righteousness is imputed to a person, by faith alone. And both use Abraham as the great example.

But James is lead by the Holy Spirit (something else true of all Scripture) to highlight the facet of faith that says where true saving seed is sown, real fruit is evident. That a profession of salvation apart from some evidence of sanctification does not compute. That the reality of regeneration is manifest in some objective display of righteousness. That real belief eventually bears right behavior.

James does not contradict the essence of the gospel, instead he contends for his brothers and sisters to live out the gospel. A living faith should be evident by how we live for the kingdom. Evident in who and what we worship. Evident in our moral compass. Evident in how we assume our ambassadorship for the kingdom. Evident in how we pursue gospel community. Evident in how we steward our resources. Evident in how we prioritize our calendars. Evident in how we make our way on mission.

Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

(James 2:18b ESV)

Justified by faith alone in Christ alone? Absolutely!

Justified by works, too? Really? Yeah . . . really.

A mysterious dynamic of grace. A manifest reality for the glory of God.

Amen?

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Knowing and Understanding God

Posted on September 27, 2018 by Pete

Maybe I watch too many court room dramas, but as I’m reading in Jeremiah this morning I’m envisioning an unrelenting prosecutor with a seemingly unending closing argument. The indictment against Judah is based on a mountain of evidence. Accused of “perpetual backsliding,” the evidence is presented, again and again, proving beyond any reasonable doubt that “everyone” had turned “to his own course” (8:5-6).

They had forsaken the law of God and thus, were left to their own counsels fashioned according to their own stubborn and evil hearts. The result? They had set themselves on a course of going backward and not forward (9:24). Rather than purpose with holy purpose to follow His ways, they followed their own inclinations which set them on a path of pursuing false gods (9:14).

And with self determination and corrupt worship, came corrupt practices. Everyone deceived their neighbors. No one spoke truth (9:5). Greed for unjust gain was the consuming motivator. And that, says the Lord, had become the operational reality for “everyone”, from the least to the greatest (9:10).

And yet, unlike the TV courtroom prosecutor concerned only with getting a conviction and sending the bad guys away for a long, long, time, God relentlessly presents His case that His people might humbly amend their ways (7:3). He is prepared to punish their sin, that it might refine their souls (9:7). While He speaks with unmatched and unchallenged authority, He weeps with a broken heart as He looks upon His people’s demise (9:1). With justice, there is a desire for mercy.

Thus, amidst prosecutorial fervor there comes a tenderhearted plea.

Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

(Jeremiah 9:23-24 ESV)

Of all the motivators in life–wisdom, power, riches . . . and let’s add to that family, promotions, pleasures, and toys–to understand and know God is the only one worth glorying in. Because to know God, to know what delights Him, is to set right the foundation for the pursuit of all other things. When He becomes our true North, navigating everything else allows us to move forward and not backward.

But that the God of creation, the Maker of the universe, the Sovereign over all things could be known should, in and of itself, spike our awe-o-meter. That a mere man might be confident in boasting that, in some measure, they can comprehend an eternal God? What’s that about?!?

But that’s exactly what’s happening this morning as I drink some coffee and hover over His word.  I’m continuing to get to know and understand the God who allows me to call Him, my God.

As in Ecclesiastes I’m reminded that God makes everything beautiful in its time and has put eternity into the heart’s of men and women (Eccl. 3.11). As I behold the Lamb of God in John’s gospel and wonder again at Messiah arriving incognito so that men might “find Him” rather than bursting on the seen in heavenly glory so that no one could miss Him (Jn. 3:36, 41). As I’m reminded by James that God has chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom (Ja. 2:5). And even as I listen in, like a fly on the wall, as God, through His appointed prosecutor, Jeremiah, reveals His holy, holy, holy character as He indicts His people, that they might return to Him.

In all this, gaining some understanding of the LORD of heaven and earth. Aided by His illuminating Spirit, knowing more and more of that which delights Him. Believing that through a dynamic I cannot see, He is continuing to transform me through the renewing of my mind with His living and active Word.

Amazing!

What grace! To Him be all the glory!

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Remaining Steadfast and Loving Him

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Pete

Chewing on steadfastness this morning thanks to James. To remain, to persevere, to endure–something to be desired, if even at great cost. That’s why James says we should “count it all joy” when we encounter “trials of various kinds.”

. . . for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 

(James 1:3 ESV)

Steadfastness is a goal worthy of being sought. When it marks a person as a foundational trait, when the root of endurance goes deep and remains strong, it bears fruit in various and diverse ways. When fully developed, keepin’ on keepin’ on has a profound impact on the total character of a person.

And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

(James 1:4 ESV)

In fact, there is a blessing promised for those who hang in there.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial . . . 

(James 1:12a ESV)

But here’s the thing I’m chewing on this morning. If I’m reading this right, there is also a connection between remaining steadfast and loving Him.

. . . for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him. 

(James 1:12b ESV)

The blessing promised for persevering through hard times, for enduring seasons of testing, is the crown of life. But what jumps out this morning is that the crown isn’t promised to the victor, or to the overcomer, but to the those who love Him. It’s not the reward for being tough when the going gets tough, nor the prize for powering through when being overpowered. Instead, the crown of life is for those who love God. Evidently, those who love God are those able to stand amidst the storm when the storm rages.

Remaining steadfast, it would seem, is less about willpower and more about “not my will” power. Those who love God, trust God. Those who love God, know that God loves them and has promised to never leave them nor forsake them. Those who love God, believe God is working all things for their good and His glory. Those who love God, rest in His sovereign purposes and promises, being confident nothing has reached them that hasn’t passed through His fingers.

Isn’t that the core of being steadfast? Not our ability, but our adoration? Not of relying on our self-determination, but of responding to the Son’s self-sacrifice on our behalf?

Love for God, the great accepter of whatever the circumstance. Love for God, the enduring motivator to cling to Him even when our strength is failing. Love for God, the catalyst for knowing the supernatural power to persevere under mounting pressure.

For love casts out fear (1Jn. 4:18).

What’s more, it bears all things, believes all things, and hopes all things. Thus, love endures all things (1Cor. 13:7).

The crown of life is promised for those who love Him. And those who love Him–and that by His gracious enabling and power–remain steadfast.

Worship is fuel for persistence. The testing of our faith, an opportunity for our adoration of the Savior to be manifest through our endurance.

Remaining steadfast and loving Him.

And that by His grace. And that for His glory.

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In The Beginning

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Pete

I’m not enough of a student of how the Scriptures were put together to know why the books of the New Testament are ordered they way they are. But if someone told me I could take one book from the New Testament and put it in a different spot, I think I’d take the Gospel of John and move it to the front of the line. And that, because of three words — In the beginning.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

(John 1:1-5 ESV)

It would provide a nice balance, don’t you think? Starting the New Testament with the same words as the Old Testament? A not too subtle connection emphasizing that the God who was declared to be in the beginning in the Old, is also the Word–the Word who is God– who was in the beginning in the New.

But more than just for literary emphasis , I might start with in the beginning because of the difference it makes in how we think about the past, navigate the present, and anticipate the future.

Thanks to a couple of back to back road trips, I recently finished listening to an audiobook that, in 15+ hours, pieced together a brief history of humankind. And at it’s core, in the beginning was matter. Matter that eventually evolved into man. And as man’s cognitive abilities randomly became more advanced, they came to rule the planet. And, in order to explain and help navigate life, they created realities that existed purely in their own imagination. Imagined realities such as God. So, for the author, in the beginning was matter. And matter became man. And man, in his own mind, created God.

While the book is a fascinating account and piecing together of history and human dynamics, ultimately the author admits there’s a struggle with understanding why we are here. At best, he offers up that it might be so that we are happy. But then he wonders if, even with all the advancement over the past five centuries, we are any happier today then we were 500 years ago. Thus, it felt to me, this learned man, with a huge capacity to put together a ton of facts and data into a compelling narrative of human history, is unable ultimately to answer the great questions of life, who are we and why are we here?

But what if, as stated in Genesis, and as I read this morning in John, in the beginning was God? That far from being a creation of our imagination, we are in fact His creation. That instead of the Scriptures being the culmination of human imagination and creativity, they are in reality the revelation of God’s purposes and plans. That rather than take our physical, biological, and material realities and invent some metaphysical realm for them to exist in, there really is a spiritual realm that gives context to all our earthly realities. What a difference, in the beginning was the Word makes.

Then, as we look back, we are in awe of the common grace of God at work throughout history. Having been made in His image, we marvel at the ability to explore His universal handiwork as the heavens and earth and all creation reveals the glory of God. Having also received His narrative as to our rebellious nature, we have a framework for understanding and navigating evil, suffering, and even death. What’s more, we have the anchor which secures a sure, eternal hope. For the Word that was in the beginning, is the Word that became flesh, the Light that came into the world to rescue people from the darkness. And to all who receive Him . . .

. . . who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

(John 1:12b-13 ESV)

So that’s why I might put John’s gospel at the front of the parade. Because sometimes you need to be reminded of where you came from, in order to keep on keepin’ on to where you’re going to.

And that only by His grace. And that only for His glory.

Amen?

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The Heavens Remain Intact

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Pete

The holy city had become a wilderness, Jerusalem but a desolation. The once holy and beautiful house of praise had been burned by fire. The pleasant places were in ruins (Isa. 64:10-11). And so the cry went up.

Oh that You would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at Your presence–as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil–to make Your name known to Your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at Your presence!

(Isaiah 64:1-2 ESV)

Rend the heavens and come down!

They were looking for a big entrance. An epic arrival. Cue the trumpets! Array an angelic army! And, with guns blazing, rescue us O Lord!

Should God look down from heaven, His holy and beautiful habitation (63:15), and decide to intervene, the collective imagination was that it would happen with the skies being torn open, the mountains trembling, the sea fleeing as it had during Moses’ great deliverance. The waters might go red, the sun might grow dark, and God’s visible manifestation that He had left His throne to intervene in the affairs of man might again be seen in a pillar of fire by night and a tower of cloud by day. When God would come everybody would know, and the nations would tremble.

What wasn’t expected was that, while God would one day rend the heavens, His initial rescue mission would be birthed–literally–through the womb of a virgin. Far from splitting the skies, His entrance was, to say the least, understated. Other than an angelic announcement to some shepherds in a field at night, there were no mountains shaking, no waters churning, no heavens rending. Just a baby crying.

And as I sit back and chew afresh on how we’d expect God to enter our realm versus how He actually determined to visit His creation, awe is re-kindled.

Coming not as a warrior, but as a Good Shepherd. Brandishing not a sword to engage His enemies, but willing to bear a cross that our enemy, the devil, might be defeated. Targeting not physical chains of bondage with physical weapons of warfare, instead destroying the bondage of sin by offering Himself once for all as the all-sufficient atoning sacrifice for the debt of slavery we could never pay.

To be sure, there is coming a day when the heavens will be torn from top to bottom, and the glory will be manifest. That day when the Son of Man, the One called Faithful and True, on whom the name is written, “King of kings and Lord of lords,” will return in might and power (Rev. 19:11-16). When justice will rule the day and an accounting will be demanded.

In the mean time, the heavens stay intact (though we don’t know for how much longer) as His people carry the good news of His salvation to all who will receive it and believe it. The skies remain whole as His Spirit moves to rescue and redeem souls often imperceptibly. And heaven comes down as the kingdom is quietly established.

All by His amazing grace. Only for His everlasting glory.

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Righteousness and Praise

Posted on September 20, 2018 by Pete

Some things just go together. Where you find one, you expect to find the other. For example, peanut butter and jam. And you can probably fill in the blanks on some others: hammer and ____; needle and _____; knife and _____; shoes and ____; nuts and _____. You get the idea. Where there’s salt, you’re gotta find pepper.

After reading in Isaiah this morning, I want to suggest there’s another pairing that should be added to the list.

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, . . . For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.

(Isaiah 61:10a-11 ESV)

Righteousness and praise. Don’t know how you find one without the other.

Isaiah looks to a future day when Israel’s Messiah reigns. A day marked not only by national revival but a world-wide acknowledgment of their God and they as His people. A day foreshadowed by our current age of grace. This time period in which the Lord’s anointed, Jesus, has come to bring good news to the poor, offering liberty to those captive to sin’s bondage, proclaiming the time of the LORD’s favor (Isa. 61:1-3).

And the harvest reaped through the sowing of the seeds of the LORD’s favor? A people clothed with garments of salvation and covered with robes of righteousness. A righteousness acquired not through man’s best efforts at being holy, but by faith.  Not some tier-2 righteousness that you might expect from mortal men and women, but perfect righteousness, the righteousness of God, imputed to all who believe through God’s own Son.

And where such righteousness is found, I’m suggesting that Isaiah’s suggesting, you’re gonna find praise as well.

. . . that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

(Isaiah 61:3b ESV)

A people clothed in the spotless beauty of Another. On display before heavenly realms as a majestic forest of righteousness. Planted by Another. Raised up in holiness for His glory. Their righteousness evoking His praise.

When those rescued from bondage grasp the fullness of their redemption, when they comprehend something of the degree of their declared righteousness, there can only be the unquenchable urge to worship.

so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up

Songless saints reveal something is amiss. They may not have been taught of the garments they have been freely given through Christ’s finished work–their sins not only forgiven, but His righteousness credited to their account. Or, they may find it hard to believe that such garments are really for them as they hear the accuser’s voice trying to convince them that their sin is really beyond the full gospel and such an all-encompassing salvation. Or, their lack of desire to offer sacrifices of praise, the fruit of their lips, might be reflective of the fact that they really stand in their own righteousness–somehow believing they have merited His unmerited favor.

But some things just gotta go together. Peanut butter and jam. Hammer and nails. Needle and thread. Knife and fork. Shoes and socks. Nuts and bolts.

Righteousness and praise.

Because of His grace. Only for His glory.

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