Lean On Me

Posted on July 16, 2018 by Pete

Honestly, I don’t think I’m bright enough to pickup on such stuff on my own. When this happens in my morning reading, I really do think it is an encounter of the divine kind.

I’m reading in 2Chronicles this morning and I encounter a synonym for faith that strikes me as unusual, and so I mark it with my light green colored pencil. I read on a bit more, and there it is again . . . and again . . . and again. Four times in these four chapters.

So I do a quick bit of e-concordance work and I find the word only appears 22 times in all of Scripture . . . and nowhere else does it seem to have this sense of trusting in God. Instead it’s used of resting or leaning on something. And as I noodle on it, I’m reminded that my God wants His people to Lean on Me.

Chronicle #1 – Abijah and the army of Judah, 400,000 valiant warriors, defeat Israel’s aggressor army of 800,000 (2Chron. 13). How come?

. . . because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.

(2Chronicles 13:18)

Chronicle #2 – After Abijah’s death, his son, Asa, reigns in his place. And, like father like son, Asa successfully defends himself with an army of 580,000 against an Ethiopian horde of “a million men and 300 chariots” (14:8-9).

And Asa cried to the LORD his God, “O LORD, there is none like You to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.”

(2Chronicles 14:11 ESV)

Chronicle #3 – But while Asa started well, and ran well, he didn’t finish so well. In the thirty-sixth year of his reign, Israel again plays the role of aggressor against Judah. They build a great siege work against Judah. And Asa’s response is to purchase mercenary support from Syria. And the LORD, through one of His prophets, calls him on it:

At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, He gave them into your hand.”

(2Chronicles 16:7-8 ESV)

Four times in four chapters, the importance of relying on God, leaning on Him, is repeated. Just me reading more into it than I should? Nope!

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward Him.

(2Chronicles 16:9a ESV)

God is actively looking for opportunities to give strong support. Casting an omniscient gaze back and forth, He’s on the watch for hearts that rely on Him, hearts that are blameless, or at shalom, with Him. Hearts at peace, because they rely on Him . . . because they lean on Him.

Oh, to be such a heart. To trust in the Lord with all my heart, leaning not to my own understanding. Acknowledging Him in all my ways, confident–leaning on Him–to direct my paths (Prov. 3:5-6).

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.

(Hebrews 11:6 ESV)

Rely on Me, says the LORD, Lean on Me.

Yes, Lord!

By Your grace. For Your glory.

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Children of the Day

Posted on July 13, 2018 by Pete

We belong to the day. That’s who we are. Reminded of that as I read the first part of 1Thessalonians 5 this morning. So much confusion around identity these days, around what defines us and gives us meaning. And confusion as to who we are, leads to confusion as to how we should live. But that shouldn’t be the case for the Christian.

Our identity is in Christ. We are the people of God. Rescued from the domain of darkness, we have been brought into the kingdom of His Son, the kingdom of light. As Paul reminds me this morning, we belong to the day.

We are of the light. That’s who we are. That’s how we should live. Here’s how I thought about it 5 years ago . . .

—-

The specific subject is the second coming of Christ, a day that “will come like a thief in the night.” Paul says that it will come when most people are least expecting it. They’ll be saying, “There is peace and security” and then sudden destruction will come upon them. Jesus said that it will be like the days of Noah, when people were just doing life up until the flood hit (Matt. 24:38-39). He said it would be just as it was in the days of Lot, when people went about “eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building” until the day that “fire and sulfur rained down” (Luke 17:28-30).

But, says Paul, though the day will come as a thief in the night it should not surprise the believer like a thief . . . it shouldn’t overtake us . . . it shouldn’t catch us off guard. How come? Because, the apostle reminds us, we are children of the day.

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

(1Thessalonians 5:1-5 ESV)

And I’m thinking of the implications of belonging to the day (5:8) . . . of having been brought out of darkness into marvelous light (1Peter 2:9) . . . of having once been blind but now I see . . . of being a child of the day.

By God’s grace and the illumination of the Holy Spirit, the believer is able to see things they could never have otherwise seen . . . to know deep things that can never be known by natural man . . . to have a perspective on life which is simply hidden to those who are dead in trespasses and sin. At that moment, when, by faith, I acknowledged the need for a Savior . . . when, through no merit of my own, my sins were forgiven . . . when, due to no effort I could put forth, I was redeemed by the precious blood of Christ . . . at that moment, I was forgiven . . . I was cleansed . . . I was sealed . . . I was adopted . . . and, praise God, I was made a child of the day.

And, says Paul, it should make a difference.

So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. . . . since we belong to the day, let us be sober . . .

(1Thessalonians 5:6-8 ESV)

Keep awake and be sober . . . be alert and self-controlled (NIV) . . . stay alert and clear-headed (NLT) . . . no snoozin’ at the wheel (PJC).

What a waste to be children of the day and walk around like people of darkness. How short we fall of our potential in Christ when we take our cues from the world. How under utilized is the mind of Christ we possess, the ability through the Spirit to know the deep things of God (1Cor. 2:14-16), when we, instead, live after the wisdom of men.

Oh to live as children of the day. Awake to the realities of the kingdom of heaven about us . . . doing life with an engaged radar discerning the “truths” fed us by a world cloaked in darkness . . . pursuing that which is of God, letting pass that which is not.

Can’t do it on my own. But children of the day don’t have to. The God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone His light in our hearts, “giving us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ . . . but we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2Cor. 4:6-7). His light . . . his power . . . my holy determination to be awake and clear-headed.

Oh that, as His people, we would continue to seek to live as children of the day in a world which is shrouded in the darkness of night.

To do so by His all sufficient and enabling grace. To do so for His eternal and praiseworthy glory.

Amen?

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The Good Portion

Posted on July 12, 2018 by Pete

She was distracted by many things. Her sister was determined to pursue but one thing. She was anxious, her sister attentive. She was troubled, her sister was tuned in. She welcomed the Savior into her home, her sister welcomed the Savior into her heart.

And her sister had chosen the good portion.

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to Him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

(Luke 10:40-42 ESV)

An old, familiar story. But chewing this morning on “the good portion.”

No criticizing Martha for welcoming Jesus & Co. into her home. Who’s going to judge her hospitality? And you kind of get that there was a lot that had to be done to prepare a meal fit for a King. Understandable that Martha might have been in a bit of a tizzy over the “many things” she had to be concerned with.

But one thing, said Jesus, was necessary. While many things may have distracted, there was one thing this encounter of the divine kind demanded.

Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His teaching.

(Luke 10:38b-39 ESV)

There is a time for serving the King, and there is a time for sitting at His feet. This, apparently, was such a time. That, said Jesus, was the one thing necessary. And Mary had chosen the good portion.

You kind of think Martha may have been cut from the same cloth as Peter. I read just last week of Peter’s distracted-ness on the mount where Jesus was transfigured. Not only does he behold Jesus in His glory, but Peter also finds himself staring at Moses and Elijah. And he too becomes distracted with the need to do something–the need to somehow serve. And so, he says to the Lord, “Let us make three tents for you.” To which Luke the commentator editorializes, “not knowing what he said.”

Give your head a shake, Pete! Your in the presence of visible glory. Seeing and hearing things that no man has seen or heard. Privy to conversations impacting eternity. And your immediate thought is what should I be doing?

But then the Voice comes from out of the cloud, and the LORD God informs Peter in no uncertain terms of the proper response when being in such an audience,

“This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!”    (Luke 9:35 ESV)

Listen to Him. That was the necessary thing. That was the one thing. That was the thing Mary got. That was the good portion.

To be sure there is a time for serving Him. But how we need to know when it’s the time for sitting at His feet. A time for laboring with all our power, but also a time for listening in His presence.

Oh, to be attuned as Mary was. To know when the time is for sitting at the Savior’s feet. Abiding in the Savior’s word. Choosing the good portion.

By His grace. For His glory.

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This Is the Will of God

Posted on July 11, 2018 by Pete

There’s a lot of things we don’t know up front when it comes to the will of God. A ton of details we are left to humbly try and discern as it pertains to the call He has put on our lives. All kinds of possibilities. Forks in the road demanding a commitment to one way or another. Facts to be weighed. Counsel to be sought. Decisions to be made. Truth is, this knowing the will of God thing can sometimes be quite overwhelming.

Maybe that’s why a piece of Paul’s encouragement to the Thessalonians lands so powerfully on my radar this morning. He makes known, at least in part, with great clarity and without ambiguity, the will of God.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification . . . For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

(1Thessalonians 4:3a, 7-8 ESV)

Might be a ton of stuff I don’t know, but this I do know, this is the will of God, my sanctification. This is the call of God, holiness. And this is the great provision of God, His Spirit.

Whatever else I might be trying to figure out about the will of God for me for tomorrow, this is the will of God for me today.

I have been set apart in Christ. Consecrated by the sovereign determination and over-flowing grace of God. Declared holy through the finished work of Christ on the cross. And the will of God is that what I have been declared to be, I should be. That the divine banner of holiness which envelopes me should increasingly be the practical reality that characterizes me. That, as Paul says, I should be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29). That I should put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:24). That the work God began by saving my soul, should be made complete through the redemption of my character.

This is the will of God, my sanctification. This is the call of God, my holiness. And this too a work of God, by His Holy Spirit.

Sanctification is part of our salvation. It is the now part. The on-going part. The “God’s not done with me yet” part. And a big part of the will of God for my life.

Mine is to desire the will of God. To cooperate with the way of God He has chosen for me. But it’s not like God’s done His part and now I need to do mine.

Just as the gospel is the power of God for salvation, it’s the power of God for sanctification. For the faith that believed He would declare me holy in His sight, is the same faith that believes He will make me holy in His sight. While by faith I believe that I am betrothed to Christ as part of His bride, by faith I trust that on that day I will be presented to Christ “in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing . . . holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27).

The power of the gospel is that it lies not in who we are, but in who He is. The power never found in what we can do, but in what He has already accomplished. And in that power, in response to what He has done and what He has promised to do, we seek to be holy, for He is holy.

Realizing we have not been called for impurity, we determine to abstain from sexual immorality. Knowing that we have been blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:3), we say no to the fleshly cravings for the cheap counterfeits offered by the world. Believing we are, as He has declared, new creations in Christ (2Cor. 5:17), enabled by the Spirit we purpose to put off the man and put on the new.

We behave in accordance with what we believe. Our practices informed by His promises. Our conduct directed by this confidence, “not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” (2Cor. 3:5).

This is the will of God, our sanctification. This is the call of God, our holiness.

All by the grace of God. All for the glory of God.

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The Substance of Faith

Posted on July 10, 2018 by Pete

Paul was going crazy not knowing how the new believers at Thessalonica were doing. He had been forced to flee by night after the Jews had stirred up a mob and set the city in an uproar over Paul’s convincing persuasion among many that, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ” (Acts. 17:1-10). But while Paul had escaped the Jews’ vigilante justice, those who had believed were left behind to deal with the opposition and persecution on a day by day basis.

How would their faith hold up? That was the question pressing on Paul’s mind. So when he could bear it no longer, he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to find out.

Five times the word “faith” appears in 1Thessalonians 3. That’s what Paul wanted to know about, their faith. How was it fairing in the midst of daily afflictions?

And, as I hover over this chapter, what occurs to me is that while faith may be the substance of things hoped for (Heb. 11:1 NKJV), standing fast might just be the substance of faith.

But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you–for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith. For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.

(1Thessalonians 3:6-8 ESV)

Timothy returned with good news about their faith. A faith not only to a creed, but a faith that was manifesting its authenticity through love. Which, for Paul, was the only thing that counted for anything–“faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6). And so Paul was greatly comforted by the report of their faith. It was like cold water to Paul’s thirsty soul (Pr. 25:25). In fact, says the apostle, it infused him with new life to know that they were standing fast in the Lord.

Might not be reading this quite right, but seems to me Paul equated a living faith with standing fast in the Lord. That though faith might be intangible, its reality was observable. They were standing firm, thus their faith was active. They endured, and so, Paul’s concerns about the state of the faith, were alleviated.

While love, joy, and peace might be the fruit of the Spirit, seems that perseverance is at least one of the evidences of faith. That persistence is an outward sign of an inward reality. That the degree to which we believe the promise is demonstrated by how we hold up under pressure. That what we really, really believe is going to be evident in how we really, really behave . . . regardless of the circumstance.

We were saved by faith. And we are being saved by faith.

. . . And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God . . .

(Ephesians 2:8 ESV)

The Thessalonians were hanging in there. Paul rejoiced at Timothy’s report. And the thanks went to God.

For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God.

(1Thessalonians 3:9 ESV)

Our mustard seeds of faith, His unfailing faithfulness. Our holy determination, His steadfast provision.

We know that’s the unseen dynamic when we find ourselves keepin’ on keepin’ on.

That while faith might be the substance of things hoped for, standing fast in the Lord is the substance of things believed.

Only by grace. Only for His glory.

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The Old, Old Story

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Pete

Hovering over Psalm 136 this morning. A song of repetition. Not hard to pick up what the songwriter’s laying down:

. . . for His steadfast love endures forever.

Twenty-six verses in the psalm. Twenty-six times the heartbeat of the song is heard:

. . . for His steadfast love endures forever.

And what are we to do with this rhythm of heaven echoed in this song? Give thanks to the LORD (v.1). Give thanks to the God of gods (v.2). Give thanks to the Lord of lords (v.3). Give thanks to the God of heaven (v.26). Give thanks, for He is good (v.1).

. . . for His steadfast love endures forever.

So, this morning, guess what I’m doing (besides typing). Giving thanks.

And what hits me in particular are the two great themes pounded on in this song as the catalyst for thanksgiving.

It’s not the blessings of the day that primes the pump. Not the good life enjoyed. Not that the headlines in the news are encouraging. Not even the favor shown to the house. But the evidence that the steadfast love of the LORD endures forever seems to be anchored to two great themes: His creation (v. 4-9); and His deliverance (v.10-24).

Creation reminding the songwriter that He “alone does great wonders” (v.4). Deliverance a reminder of the “strong hand and outstretched arm” (v.12) that rescued a chosen people and brought them into a divine inheritance (v. 21-22).

Both old, old stories.

Today’s reality, whatever it might be, framed in the context of yesterday’s legacy. God’s steadfast love just as sure in the present, because of His mighty works in the past.

Creation’s durability a reminder His steadfast love endures forever. Redemption’s reality a reminder His steadfast love endures forever.

And so, there’s something about going back to old, old stories when it comes to dealing with new realities. And that takes me to the cross.

The cross where Jesus died as the Lamb of God. Immanuel, God Himself, humbled in flesh, obedient to death, even death on a cross.

. . . for His steadfast love endures forever.

The cross, where with outstretched arms, the rejected Son of God interceded, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing.”

. . . for His steadfast love endures forever.

The cross where my sin, once and for all, was atoned for. The price which I could never pay, paid in full.

. . . for His steadfast love endures forever.

The cross where the King of Heaven declared, “It is finished!”

. . . for His steadfast love endures forever.

The cross where death was defeated.

. . . for His steadfast love endures forever.

In this age where we are bombarded with more information than we can possible process. This age of 140 character thoughts, most with a shelf-life of just a few seconds as they are scrolled by on some feed, quickly supplanted by the latest 140 character thought. This age of the temporal, the unreliable, and the disposable. In this age obsessed with the latest thing and the newest ideas, . . .

. . . there is something to be said for going back to the old, old, story–again and again–and giving thanks.

. . . for His steadfast love endures forever.

Because of grace. For His glory.

Amen?

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Turning from Time Idols

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Pete

This morning, chewing on two passages which make reference to idols. One speaks of the plight of those who make them, the other of the path before those who turn from them. One of the folly of bowing before gods made by human hands, the other of the fruit associated with the pursuit of the living and true God.

. . . you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

(1Thessalonians 1:9b-10 ESV)

That was the word on the street concerning what had happened in Thessalonica. Though Paul had only been allowed to stay there a few short weeks (Acts 17:1-10), the precious seed of the gospel had been sown, and the power of the Spirit of God had taken hold. And what happened there had gone viral, their faith in God spoken of everywhere (1:8).

They were known for their “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope” (1:5). Becoming “an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia” (1:7).

They were alive! Living life, and living it to the full. Shaking things up for the kingdom, they were not only followers of the Way, but they were “imitators” of the risen Lord (1:6).

What a contrast to the other passage I read describing those who turn from God to serve idols made by human hands.

The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
   the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
   they have eyes, but do not see;
they have ears, but do not hear,
   nor is there any breath in their mouths.
Those who make them become like them,
   so do all who trust in them!

(Psalm 135:15-18 ESV)

Inanimate. Lifeless. Moving their mouths but nothing of lasting substance spoken. Eyes wide open yet blind. Ears capable of hearing only, “Wah, wah, wah!”

Worship silver and gold, and expect, eventually, to be as desensitized as silver and gold. No real feeling. Nothing much to offer but an inert existence.

But really, today in our context, for most of us silver and gold aren’t the valuable treasures we use to fashion our idols. Instead, the precious material with which we craft our idols is our time.

Show me where someone puts in their time and I’ll show you what they are trusting in. Show me what consumes their week, and it may be a pretty good indicator of what they are looking to for self-realization and self-satisfaction. And that which they have fashioned, not with silver and gold but with minutes and hours, and placed on the altar of their priorities, is that which eventually defines them. Their identity becomes encased in “time idols” of their own making. Those who make such time idols and trust in these time idols become like their time idols. Because these time idols rob the time deserving of the God who made time, the God who gives to each man and woman limited time, ends up not getting their time at all.

And at the end of the day, these time idols are just as lifeless and just as inert as silver and gold idols. And “those who make them become like them.” Desensitized to the life they were created for. Never really finding the fulfillment they were made for. No real investment in the future. No legacy left outside of time. Nothing of eternal value.

O, to be like the Thessalonians and turn from our time idols to serve the living and true God. To be spoken about in time-transcending, heavenly realms as those marked by our work of faith, our labor of live, and our steadfastness of hope.

Marks not made by our human hands, but by His grace. A legacy not for our boasting, but for His glory.

Amen?

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A Lovely Prayer

Posted on July 3, 2018 by Pete

He’s one of those guys we don’t really know much about. His name found only a couple of times in the “credits” of Paul’s letters. The credits–you know, that list of names that scrolls by your eyes as you get to the end of Paul’s letters where he wraps it up by mentioning a bunch of people. That part we so often just skim over. The people we don’t know a lot about, and, most often, don’t really care about. But yet, the people the Spirit prompts Paul to mention. And, if all Scripture is inspired by God (and it is), then the credits are God-breathed too . . . and are “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2Tim. 3:16).

So, back to the guy. Like I said, we don’t know much about him. But he shows up in the credits of Colossians–which I’m wrapping up this morning. And what we do know is that he was a member of the Colossian church and a servant of Christ. That he “worked hard,” not only for his fellowship, but also for two other churches in the area–“for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis” (Col.4:12-13). We also know that he was with Paul when Paul wrote his letters from a prison in Rome. In fact, he’s described by the apostle as a “fellow prisoner in Christ” (Phm. 1:23).

Finally, we can look up what his name means. Epaphras, apparently, means “lovely” (not a name that ever made it on our list of names if we had had a boy).

But what grabbed me this morning, as I encountered the credits at the end of Colossians, and by God’s goodness spent some time hovering over them, is that Epaphras prayed for his fellow believers. And the Spirit, through Paul, records what he, and I’m thinking God, aspired for those believers. And so, this morning, I’m chewing on a “lovely prayer.”

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

(Colossians 4:12 ESV)

Epaphras struggled as he prayed for God’s people. He labored fervently (NKJV) . . . he wrestled (NIV) . . . he agonized (literal). That’s how Epaphras prayed. But it’s what he prayed for that’s got me thinking.

. . . that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

That they would stand perfect. That they would be filled to fullness knowing the will of God. Two different terms having the same idea, that of being complete.

That they would have grown up, attaining increasingly to the full measure of Christ in them. Not perfect, as in without flaw, but perfect as in functioning with the mind of Christ, for the cause of Christ, relying solely on the finished work of Christ. No longer babes in Christ, but grownups in Jesus. No longer children, “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Eph. 2:14), but functioning as adults in the ways of the kingdom. Standing mature. That’s a lovely prayer.

What’s more, that they would abound in confidence as to the will of God. Nothing lacking. Because, by God’s grace they had determined to stay in the Word, the Word was liberally supplying them. The mind of Christ, more and more their default position. Thus knowing their own hearts increasingly better, as their thoughts and intents were splayed by the living sword of the Spirit. So they would see the world more and more accurately through divinely enlightened eyes. And hear the world’s “truth” more and more clearly through heaven tuned ears. Confident in the will of God and ways of God, not because of their own intellect, knowledge, or wisdom, but instead, because they had learned to abide in the One who promised to abide in them (Jn. 15:4). And so, being fully assured. That too, a lovely prayer.

Oh that I might struggle more in prayer for my brothers and sisters in Christ, as did Epaphras.

And that I might know increasingly the reality of Epaphras’ lovely prayer answered in my own life. Standing mature. Fully assured in all the will of God.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Sitting at the Feet of Jesus. Clothed and in His Right Mind.

Posted on June 29, 2018 by Pete

He had no home because he himself had become an airbnb to a host of demonic spirits. So many, in fact, when Jesus asked the man his name, he replied, “Legion.” And he wore no clothes. So consumed by evil passions, nakedness brought no shame. Many times they had bound him with chains and shackles, but their battle wasn’t with flesh and blood, and the powers of this present darkness within him easily broke their restraints and would drive the man into the desert.

No home, no clothes, no community. A force beyond contending with. A madman to be feared. A tormented soul in need of deliverance.

And Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. And when the Son of the Most High God speaks, even the forces of hell obey.

In a sense, not much for me to really closely identify with. Though it reminds me that we wrestle not with flesh and blood (Eph 6:12), and that greater is He that is in me then he that is in the world (1Jn. 4:4), can’t say–at least that I’m aware–that I’ve ever been home to any of Legion’s friends.

But I once was lost. I once was slave to the sinful nature. Though I may have tried to cover up my iniquity with pathetic fig leaves of my own making, before Him who sees all things I was naked. And, though I may not have recognized it, now having tasted the living water, I once was quite comfortable living in the desert of separation from the Author of Life.

And so, while I may not be able to closely relate to Legion, I can relate to the man “from whom the demons had gone.”

Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind . . . ”

(Luke 8:35 ESV)

Sitting at the feet of Jesus. Clothed and in his right mind.

Isn’t that the testimony of all, who by God’s grace, have been rescued from the bondage of sin?

No longer living in the place of death, but sitting at the feet of Jesus. No longer banished to the desert, but sitting at the feet of Jesus. No longer in fear of being face-to-face with the holy God of all creation. But sitting at the feet of Jesus.

No longer naked. But clothed. Clothed with the garments of salvation, covered with the robe of righteousness (Isa. 61:10). Not a righteousness of my own making. But the righteousness of God, credited to my account because I am in Christ, the One who knew no sin but was made to be sin for us (2Cor. 5:21).

No longer sentenced to try and navigate life through the clouded futility of a darkened mind. But given the mind of Christ (1Cor. 2:16). No longer destined to be conformed to the devilish, destructive, and dying ways of this world, but able to be transformed through the renewing of the mind (Rom. 12:2). A mind renewed by the word of God, as it is illuminated by the Spirit of God, as I abide at the feet of the Son of God

Sitting at the feet of Jesus. Clothed and in my right mind.

Only by His grace. Only for His glory.

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Hearing Is Believing

Posted on June 28, 2018 by Pete

Yesterdays’ thoughts were kind of my conclusion to Jesus’ parable of the sower. I continue reading today and I realize, not surprisingly, Jesus provided His own conclusion. And then, as if to punctuate it all, Luke relates an interestingly placed epilogue that emphasizes the point again. Another reminder as to the importance of what we do with what we hear. That, in a sense, hearing is believing.

“Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

Then His mother and His brothers came to Him, but they could not reach Him because of the crowd. And He was told, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.” But He answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

(Luke 8:18-21 ESV)

Yesterday I read Jesus’ diagnosis of what happens to the seed of the word of God when it falls among thorns. It gets choked out (8:7). The fruit that the seed should have borne doesn’t mature (8:14). And the problem isn’t that the sower had bad aim and had let the seed fall where it shouldn’t. Instead, it’s that those who received the word hadn’t thoughtfully prepared the ground, cutting back the competing priorities of “the cares and riches and pleasures of life.”

Jesus goes on to say (8:16-17) that just as a lamp is lit for a purpose, to bring light, so the seed is sown for a purpose, to bear fruit. You don’t cover the light with a jar and but it under your bed, and, by extension, you shouldn’t allow the seed of the word of God to be choked out with other distractions and prevent it from bearing fruit. What’s more, there will be an accounting for what was done with the light. And thus, neither can we keep secret seed that has been crowded out and not allowed to flourish. What we did with the Word will one day be exposed.

And so, says Jesus, “Take care how you hear.” That’s a command to obey in my books.

And it comes with a law of diminishing returns. Use it or lose it. Don’t think that whatever fruit might have been borne once through receiving the seed on good soil is somehow “money in the bank.” Doesn’t work that way. Fruit-bearing bears more fruit. Seed-choking, it seems, causes fruit already borne to rot. Kind of a scary warning. No place for coasting on what we think we’ve done in the past. Folly to think that what we’ve known from a past season of life is enough to sustain us as we pursue a worldly “to do” list in this season of life.

” . . . even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

And then, as if Jesus conclusion isn’t warning enough, Luke relates that receiving the Sower’s seed onto good soil isn’t just a matter of fruit-bearing, but a matter of relationship-building as well.

“My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

Jesus, redefines His family. Beyond the blood relationship, Jesus’ people are those marked by what they do with the Sower’s seed. Those who know a living, dynamic, intimate relationship with Jesus are marked by good soil. They are “those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart” (8:15).

How important is having ears to hear? Pretty important!

How big a deal is it to be mindful of that which could choke out the word? Pretty big!

More than just bearing fruit, receiving and nurturing the seed of the word of God is vital to being in relationship with God. And anything we want more than that, seems to me, has a flashing “Idol Warning” sign over it.

Hearing really is believing.

“Take care then how you hear.”

By His grace. For His glory.

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