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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Cares and Riches and Pleasures, Oh My!

Posted on June 27, 2018 by Pete

Pssst! Wanna know a secret? A secret of the kingdom of God? The seed is the word of God.

Maybe, if you’ve had “ears to hear” for awhile now, that’s not too earth shattering. Perhaps, it’s kind of an old secret. A kind of ho-hum, yeah-yeah-I-know secret. One of those “pat answer” secrets. One of those secrets that really doesn’t make much of a difference in your life on a daily basis.

But this morning, I’m chewing on it afresh. Because this secret is the key to bearing fruit in the kingdom. And this secret reminds me that bearing fruit can get derailed. Derailed by cares and riches and pleasures, oh my!

“A sower went out to sow his seed. . . . And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold. . . . The seed is the word of God. . . . And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” ~ Jesus

(Luke 8:5-15 ESV)

You reap what you sow. No sowing, no crop. No seed, no fruit. Just not gonna happen.

Same with the kingdom life. Don’t think you’re bearing fruit if you’re not in the Word. Or rather, if the word of God isn’t in you.

Not saying God can’t graciously do, what God’s gonna graciously do, but Jesus told this story as his first story for a reason. If we’re not gonna pay attention to this parable, then we’re likely not gonna do much with any of the other seed sown by the Author of Life.

And it would seem to me that for us believer types, the greatest warning is about hearing the Word and then just “going on our way.” And, in so doing, the Word gets strangled and suffocated by the cares and riches and pleasures of life.

Impeded by the million-and-one worries and anxieties of life. “What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear”–all things Jesus said we shouldn’t be anxious about because our heavenly Father knows we need them. Instead, we should seek first the kingdom of God (Matt. 6:31-33). By that way, that’s seed.

Throttled by the riches of life when I’m driven by the need to have them. When I’m preoccupied with where do I store them? Or when am I gonna enjoy them? Or how much time and money is going into maintaining them? All the while, the seed lies dormant. No time to water it with meditation. No time to work it through with some iron on iron interaction with other believers. Too busy going on our way and pursuing riches and, as such, the fruit, says Jesus, doesn’t mature.

Hamstrung by the pleasures of life. The seeds growth potential blocked by the pursuit of sensual delights. Impeded when what lights up our taste, sight, touch, smell, or hearing, takes priority and displaces the seed sown by the One who said He had come so that we might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10).

How many of us know the secret, but don’t really believe the secret? Accept it by fact, but don’t really pursue it by faith? Instead, we fall prey to cares and riches and pleasures, oh my!

But for those hear the word, and hold it fast with a sincere heart, and patiently wait for the Spirit to water it and tend it, they will bear fruit. For those determined, by God’s enabling, to take hold of it, claim possession of it, not only will they know the kingdom’s secrets, but its harvest as well.

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
   and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
   giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth;
   it shall not return to Me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
   and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

(Isaiah 55:10-11 ESV)

By His grace. For His glory.

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An Escapee

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Pete

Singing a song of ascent this morning, literally, to a tune I heard on a Gaither video (both likely written around the same time 🙂 ). An if / then song. If this had not been true, then that would have happened.

If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—
   let Israel now say–
if it had not been the LORD who was on our side
   when people rose up against us,
then they would have swallowed us up alive,
   when their anger was kindled against us;
then the flood would have swept us away,
   the torrent would have gone over us;
then over us would have gone
  the raging waters.

(Psalm 124:1-5 ESV)

Repetition in the Scriptures is amplification. It’s a way of putting up a big sign post and saying “Look here!” Take note! Chew on this!

David’s sitting on the other side of the threat of a people who had risen up against him as a fierce enemy. Like a flood that would have swept him away. A raging river that wanted to steamroll him. With such opposing vitriol that they wanted to eat David alive. And, on the other side of the battle, knowing the sweet spoils of victory, he ponders, “If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, where would I be?”

And to be honest, most often, and certainly most recently, when I think of this song of David I think about going through the trials of life. The raging waters associated with this pilgrim journey. But the reality is, I really have only one enemy like David’s enemy. Someone who so hates me that he sought to trap me in an eternal snare so that I might be prey in his teeth.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

(1Peter 5:8 ESV)

An adversary who had ensnared me in sin. Bound by iniquity.

And the wages of sin is death. Apart from deliverance, only to be swallowed up by destruction. Without rescue, dragged under and drowned in a flood of righteous, fully-deserved, holy wrath and judgment.

But then, more repetition, more emphasis, another great truth to take note of.

We have escaped like a bird
  from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
  and we have escaped!

(Psalm 124:7 ESV)

We have escaped. We have escaped.

That’s who I am this morning, in Christ.  An escapee.

An escapee, delivered, because the LORD was on my side. On my side even when I didn’t know I had a side that needed to be on. On my side before I even realized I was in a battle. On my side even while I ignorantly and willingly followed the enemies enticing bread crumbs into his eternal trap.

If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, where would I be?

Blessed be the LORD,
   who has not given us
   as prey to their teeth!

Our help is in the name of the LORD,
   who made heaven and earth.

(Psalm 124:6, 8 ESV)

A sinner saved by grace. Once prey for a mortal enemy, now a trophy for the King of Kings.

An escapee. By God’s grace. For God’s glory.

Blessed be the LORD!

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From Knowledge to Knowledge

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Pete

Started in on Colossians this morning. First thing that comes to mind, “How did he do it?” How did Paul pray for all these churches?

With all that he had on the go, often working by night and preaching by day, how did he continually intercede without ceasing for the people in the places where he had sown the gospel and it had taken root? With all the immediate, day to day ministry things on his plate that needed praying for, how did he maintain the fervor and make the time to also pray for the Romans (1:9b), the Ephesians (1:16), the Philippians (1:3-4), the Thessalonians (1Th. 1:2, 2Th 1:11), and, as I take note of this morning, for the Colossians too (1:9)? Lord, teach me to pray!

And then I take note of what Paul prayed for as he remembered the saints at Colossae before the throne of God.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

(Colossians 1:9-10 ESV)

Four things I see Paul asking the Lord to make real in the life of these believers. That they would: 1) be filled with the knowledge of His will; 2) so that they might walk in a manner worthy of Him and pleasing to Him; 3) so that they would bear fruit in every good work;   4) and thus, increase in their knowledge of God.

And what I’m chewing on, in particular this morning, is how knowledge leads to knowledge.

Same word for knowledge both times. More than just knowing about something, the original word has the idea of thoroughly knowing. Of knowing well, or being fully acquainted with something. And, says Paul, if we are fully acquainted with the will of God, and walk in the way of God, we will increasingly become fully acquainted with God Himself.

Paul wanted those redeemed by the Son to intimately know the Father. And that, he says, comes as they accurately know His will.

Not some secret, mysterious, see if you can guess it will. But the revealed will of God. Revealed in the law and prophets. Revealed in the gospel. Revealed in the written word of God. Revealed in the incarnate Word of God.

Want to know God? Not just know about God, but really know God? Seek to be filled with the knowledge of His revealed will.

Want to know His revealed will? Don’t know how you get there apart from His inspired word.

We need to be people constantly in our Bibles. Not as some sign of piety. Not in order to amass great head knowledge. But because it unleashes the walk worthy of the Lord. It’s the catalyst to a life lived that’s fully pleasing to the Lord. A life that bears fruit in every good work. And, in so doing, causes to grow an experiential, living, dynamic knowledge of God.

From knowledge to knowledge. From being thoroughly acquainted with the will of God, to increasingly understanding the ways of God. From believing the truth of gospel, to behaving more and more in light of the gospel. From trusting in His promises, to actually experiencing His power.

Lord, move mightily to answer Paul’s prayer for the saints today. That we too might filled from knowledge to knowledge.

By Your grace. For Your glory.

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Grace In the Most Unexpected Places

Posted on June 21, 2018 by Pete

Strike three, in a sense. Under Moses, despite great deliverance, every adult who walked out of Egypt, hundreds of thousands of people, died wandering in the desert because of unbelief and rebellion. Moses himself failing to enter the promised land.

Then, under the Judges, unimaginable darkness! The post-conquest generation, those after Joshua and his generation, found that worshiping the idols of the nations around them was but the on-ramp for adopting their degrading pagan practices. Judges producing so many “heroes” because of the people’s repeated descent into being like the nations around them. Strike two.

But then a glimmer of hope. Under the kings, after a bad start with Saul, things looked promising . . . literally. God blessing David, a man after his own heart, with not only a kingdom but with a glorious, hope-filled promise, “Your throne shall be established forever” (2Sam. 7:16b). But that too, at least in appearance, was relatively short-lived. 1Kings starts with David’s death and 2Kings finishes with Jerusalem’s destruction. David handed over a kingdom to his son ready for peace and prosperity, but Judah’s last king sits in a foreign prison, his eyes blinded by cruel enemies after seeing them slaughter his sons and raze God’s city. The people in exile, the glory departed. Strike three. Heavy sigh.

So I was not expecting to see grace in the closing words of 2Kings. Not sure I ever noticed it before. But finding grace in the most unexpected places is something I’m chewing on this morning.

And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table.

(2Kings 25:27-29 ESV)

The king of Babylon graciously freed Jehoiachin, the second to last king of Judah. The eighteen year old who, like so many kings before him, “did what was evil in the sight of the LORD” (2Ki. 24:9). The king who surrendered when Jerusalem was besieged by the Babylonians (24:12).

Other translations simply say he was “released.” But it was more than just a release. The old King James might have a better literal translation in that the king of Babylon “did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah.”

Lifted up his head. Not just released from prison, but also treated with kindness. Freed from bondage, and given a seat above other kings also taken to Babylon. His chains removed, but also given new clothes and a seat at the king’s table. No explanation as to why. Just an interesting epilogue at the conclusion of a tragic story in a land of such potential and promise.

But more than just an interesting epilogue, you can’t help but think it’s a God-breathed foreshadowing that He wasn’t done with His people yet. Just as God, after 37 years of corrective discipline, had moved the heart of king named Evil (who names their kid that) to show grace, in another 30 years or so he would move the heart of another pagan king to free His people from exile and allow them to return to the land of promise (2Chron. 36:22-23).

But even beyond that, it primes the pump of remembrance and response as it speaks of another great deliverance of someone who had given God their back. Not a king of Judah, but a kid from Vernon, who did evil in the sight of the Lord and, though he didn’t recognize it, was also in bondage to a cruel oppressor. A kid who, apart from anything he could do, was graciously freed by a Savior King at great cost to Himself. What’s more, this kid’s head too was lifted up as he was given a new set of garments–a robe of righteousness, seated at the King’s table, and was invited into communion with One “the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie” (Jn. 1:27).

Wasn’t expecting grace at the end of 2Kings. To be honest, kind of surprised by grace at the end of my teens, as well. And really, I never cease to be amazed by His grace as it is, again and again, found in the most unexpected places.

To God be all the glory!

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Things

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Pete

“Finally,” says Paul, for the second time in this letter to the Philippians. He got side-tracked a bit after his first “finally” (3:1). But now he’s gonna wrap up this short letter for real. And in the portion I read this morning, 4:8-13, I notice he talks a lot about “things.”

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me–practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. . . . for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

(Philippians 4:8-9, 11b-13 ESV)

Think about these things. Practice these things. Do all things.

What we set our minds on, and what we choose to give ourselves to, will have a direct influence, it seems, on what we are able to deal with.

And Paul says it’s a secret to learn. The only time in the NT, I think, where the term secret is used outside of understanding the revelation once hidden of Christ and the gospel. The original word used here is used only once in the NT, having the idea of being initiated into a mystery, of becoming intimately acquainted with a thing not intuitive to everyone. Of learning the secret of doing all things through Him who strengthens us. And, it seems, it is tightly linked to thinking about the right things and in practicing the right things.

Whatever is true, honorable, just and pure. Whatever is lovely, commendable, in essence excellent, and worthy of praise. Think about these things. These things sound a lot like the Savior.

To meditate on the person of Christ is to think about these things. After all, isn’t He the truth (Jn. 14:6)? Will not every knee bow one day before Him and show the honor due His name (Php. 2:10)? By His divine nature He is just, and by His great love and sacrifice became the justifier (Rom. 3:26). Remember that He came as the spotless, pure Lamb of God, who “committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth” (1Pet. 2:22). What’s more, He is the Bridegroom, the Beloved, the altogether lovely One (Song 5:16).

Is anything more commendable, more excellent, or more worthy of praise than the One who is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature” (Heb. 1:3). Thinking not. Thinking about these things.

But the secret of doing all things lies not just in meditating on Christ, but also in imitating Christ. Taking what we’ve learned and received and heard, and practicing these things. Not just hearers of the word, but doers, as well. Training for godliness (1Tim. 4:7-8). Exercising. Cooperating with the Spirit’s work of sanctification as we strive to become more in reality what we are in standing. Doing “reps” of righteousness. Committed, by His enabling, to working it out, that we might know His working in us.

Thinking about these things. Practicing these things. Aren’t those, at least in part, what enables us to face all things?

Aren’t they part of the secret sauce that allows those who flourish to do so whether they are brought low or abound?

Frequently, consistently, chewing on the things of Christ. Regularly, diligently, trying to walk the talk. The things we think about, the things we practice, are the things that will help us learn to be content in every situation. They are the things which, through His Spirit, enable us to do all things.

Might we learn the secret.

Thinking about these things. Practicing these things. Doing all things.

By His grace. For His glory.

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