I Know a Secret

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Pete

I know a secret. Most times I forget that I have privileged “insiders” knowledge because most of the people I hang with do too. Nevertheless, I reminded this morning that I know a secret.

It’s an ancient secret, hidden wisdom decreed before the ages. Not ordered by men of intellect or power, but a secret sourced in God Himself. Something beyond understanding. No eye able to have seen, no ear fine-tuned enough to hear, no heart of man creative enough to have imagined, “what God has prepared for those who love Him.” It was a secret formed long before any of us arrived on the scene. And I know the secret.

I know it not because I’m particularly bright or spiritually savvy. Not because I’ve climbed mountains in search of truth or was even particularly open to truth beyond the truth I felt was good enough for me. No, I know the secret because God chose to reveal it. I know the secret because of an encounter of the divine kind–one that continues to this day, one that I so often take for granted.

For who knows a persons thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

(1Corinthians 2:11-12 ESV)

I’m chewing on 1Corinthians 2 this morning. Amazing, really!

God has brought me into His confidence, having revealed things beyond what I could ever have conceived of on my own. Hidden wisdom made known. An unimaginable mystery disclosed. The revelation of “the things freely given us by God” through “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (2:2).

And all this through the Spirit. God Himself, third member of the Trinity, the One who “searches everything, even the depths of God” (2:10). And knowing all that the Father has determined, understanding fully the implications of the Son’s finished work on the cross, the Spirit visits us and allows us to know it, at least in some measure, too.

The problem of man’s unholy propensity, and the good news of a righteousness by faith. Awareness of our bondage to sin and death, and an awakening to the redemption and reconciliation through a Mediator. An understanding of what it means to be created in the image of God and what it can look like to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. An abiding sense that this world is not our home and a tangible longing for a place being prepared for us. Even amid the trials, testings, and struggles of the life, an eye to the future with “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow . . . Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!” (Thomas Chisholm, Great Is Thy Faithfulness)

And how do we know all this? The Spirit. That we know these things should be a continual reminder of the presence of God and of His active agency in our lives. The old, old story . . . the “pat answers” . . . the Christian-ese cliches . . . all that which is so familiar and can seem so common place, testimony to the spiritual dynamic we are apart of.

. . . these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

(1Corinthians 2:10 ESV)

 

I know a secret. And, if you know Christ, you do too? And that, through an ever present interaction with the Spirit of God.  How mind-blowing is that?

Because of grace! For His glory!

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Sandals

Posted on March 27, 2018 by Pete

Evidently, sandals can tell you a lot about someone. Whether it’s what you do with yours or what you aren’t worthy to do with another’s. In two of my readings this morning sandals are mentioned. Both, I believe, relating to the Son of God–one incident pre-incarnation, the other post. But both reminding me of something of His glory.

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man was standing before him with his drawn sword in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us, or for our adversaries?” And He said, “No; but I am the Commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” And the commander of the LORDs army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

(Joshua 5:13-15 ESV)

The transfer of power from Moses to Joshua was complete. Joshua had been exhorted by God to be strong and courageous. Joshua had been encouraged by God as the men sent to spy out the land reported back that the hearts of the inhabitants were “melting away.” And Joshua had been exalted by God as everyone saw that at his word the Jordan had stopped flowing so that Israel could enter the promised land.

But as they prepared to take Jericho there was one more thing needful for Joshua to be reminded of before entering the fray. That though he would lead the army, it would be the LORD who fought the battle. So Joshua is introduced to the One from heaven who in righteousness judges and makes war (Rev. 19:11). I think what Joshua saw was a Theophany, an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ. The Warrior on the white horse. Him who is called Faithful and True. And while His glory is masked somewhat, at His name, “I am the Commander of the army of the LORD,” Joshua knew the only response was a facedown one. And when he asks what to do, God’s Warrior Son says, “Take off your sandals . . . for to be in My presence is to be on holy ground.”

Then, I’m reading in Mark . . . and sandals are mentioned again.

Now John was clothed with camels hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes He who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

(Mark 1:6-8 ESV)

By Jesus’ own testimony, among those born of women there had arisen no one greater than John the Baptist (Matt. 11:11). But whatever notoriety John might have had, his “greatness” paled in comparison to the One he had come to proclaim. He too would be content to be barefoot at his Master’s feet. His awe and esteem for the Christ keeping him from even presuming to be worthy of performing the most menial task on His behalf.

Sandals. Ours to be taken off on holy ground. His to be consider too high for us to even touch.

Such is the attitude of reverence due the Son of God. Such is the veneration worthy of the One who goes into battle before us.

Whether it was before the walled city of Jericho, or the enemy of our souls, He is victor in the battle. Whether that battle was to be won by causing Canannite walls to fall or by being lifted up on a Roman cross, the Commander of the LORD’s Army has promised to go before us, to be with us, never to leave us nor forsake us.

And ours is to worship at His feet mindful that to abide in His presence is to enjoy privilege beyond full understanding.

Our sandals off. His unworthy to be untied. Even as we stand on holy ground.

Such is the wonder of grace. To Him be all the glory.

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Grace Abounded All the More

Posted on March 23, 2018 by Pete

Honestly, for me Deuteronomy 29 through 31 has to be one of the most depressing and troublesome parts of Scripture. On the outskirts of the promised land. A new leader in place. A new rallying cry to gather unto: “Be strong and courageous!” (31:6, 7, 23). A new promise to cling to: “He will not leave you or forsake you.” (31:6, 8) Blessing beyond measure to anticipate. The world literally given to them and at their fingertips to possess. And all the people needed to bring to the table? Obedience. To choose the way of life, “loving the LORD your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him” (30:20).

And it’s not like the commands were beyond their reach. Not like they had to play some cosmic guessing game as to how to obey and realize the promise.

“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. . . . But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.”

(Deuteronomy 30:11, 14 ESV)

Yet, given their sin corrupted spiritual DNA, failure was certain.

Even as they prepared to enter the land, God knew what they were inclined to do (31:21). That the people would rise “and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant that I have made with them” (31:16). Heavy sigh!

So much potential. Yet even more certainty that they would come up way short. Heavy sigh, again!

So why bother? Why does God allow it to play out? Why let them take the land if the land will become a snare and trap for them? Why let them posses it if eventually they will be driven from it? Something from my readings in Romans comes to mind . . .

Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(Romans 5:20-21 ESV)

While this part of Deuteronomy is hard to read, it serves to remind me of the brokenness created by sin. The commandments themselves aren’t too hard, but though the spirit might be willing, the flesh is weak. While the seeds of eternity might have been planted in our hearts (Eccl. 3:11) so that we should desire the kingdom of heaven, the pleasures of this world sweep the seed away, luring us with a siren’s call to embrace them. While we know that our Creator should be our king, we find our affections drawn to the creation so that we’re inclined to worship it instead (Rom. 1:25).

But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.

God will allow this promised land disaster to play out so that He might set the stage for the better promise. A promise founded not on a new land but on a new life. A promise not contingent on obedience as a requirement, but a promise which evokes obedience as a response. A promise sourced not in the will of man but in the will, and power, and grace of God.

. . . then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. . . . And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

(Deuteronomy 30:3, 6 ESV)

God would call them out of their sin-broken lives. He would restore their fortunes and show great compassion to them. He would gather them. And He would circumcise their hearts.

The flesh crucified and the Spirit given.

Enmity with God replaced with love for the LORD.

Death defeated . . . “that you may live.” Full and complete provision made through the finished work of the cross. Eternal life secured through Jesus Christ our Lord.

A righteousness from God revealed, “from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith'” (Rom. 1:17).

As dark as this portion of Deuteronomy is, it only sets the stage for the Light of the World to be revealed.

And the heavy sigh of failure gives way to the hope founded on His faithfulness.

For grace abounded all the more.

To God be the glory.

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Fully Convinced

Posted on March 22, 2018 by Pete

Hovering over Romans 14 this morning. Funny thing, this Christian freedom we have. While we are free as to the law, yet we are bound by consequence. Nothing is unclean in and of itself, and yet everything can be unclean if a person sees it that way (v.14). One has freedom to partake, and honor the Lord as he does, another to abstain, and honor the Lord as he doesn’t (v. 6). Free in Christ, yet not free to live for ourselves (v. 7-8). Free in Christ, but not free to stumble a brother (v.21). Free from religious requirement, yet required one day to give an account before the bema seat of God for all that we’ve done (v. 10-12).

While, if the Son makes us free, we are free indeed (Jn. 8:36), it’s not the freedom to do as we please . . . even if “as we please” is permissible.

So, while Christian freedom might sound pretty appealing, it can also be a bit confusing. While we might think we can romp about as we desire, we actually need to carefully watch our step.

How then, do we know what we’re free to do and not so free to do?

Well, in addition to running everything through the filter of “as unto the Lord,” and weighing everything as to its potential to knowingly stumble a brother, what I’m chewing on this morning is the “fully convinced” filter.

One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. (Romans 14:5 ESV)

Christian freedom, it seems to me, is intentional freedom. Freedom that is thought through, biblically weighed, and conscientiously exercised. Freedom born not out of a lack of boundaries but founded on a premeditated conviction.

We need to be able to recognize when we are in the grey zone. When what we think we’re free to do others might think otherwise. And in those areas spend enough time aligning our desired actions with our core beliefs. Paul says that we should exercise our freedom within the context of our faith, “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (14:23). So we need to pass it through the fully convinced filter.

Ours is to be thoughtful. Ours is to be intentional with every freedom we exercise. Ours is to be fully persuaded. Fully persuaded within ourselves.  Fully persuaded before our God.

The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves.  

(Romans 14:22 ESV)

We have been given the Word of God. We have been given the mind of Christ. We have been given the Spirit who leads us into truth and convicts of sin. Ours then, is to intentionally engage them as we weigh our actions in light of our liberty and in light of His kingdom.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

(Romans 14:17 ESV)

Let freedom reign. Let us be fully convinced.

By His grace. For His glory.

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To Him Who Rides

Posted on March 21, 2018 by Pete

Read Psalm 68 this morning.

Ask me during the rest of the year what’s in Psalm 68 and I’m pretty sure I couldn’t tell you. But then I read it, and it comes back . . . my God is a Rider. He rides in the heavens, which I’d expect, and He rides in the desert, which never ceases to amaze me.

It set off the awe-o-meter again this morning just as it did, apparently, 9 years ago. 2009 . . . seems like a different lifetime ago. Whatever the trials and struggles back then, they pale in comparison to some of the “milestones” since then. But while the times may change, and the circumstance may be different, our God never changes and His Word is ever true.

Here are some thoughts from back in 2009 (remixed a bit) on the God who rides.

————————————————–

My God rides. Yup, you read that right . . . rides . . . not reigns (though He does that too). That’s the thought that captivates my imagination and lifts my heart heavenward in awe, wonder, and worship . . . My God rides!

This morning, while reading Psalm 68, twice David reveals it to me (well, actually I’m thinking it was a Holy Spirit thing through David’s writings) . . .

Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
   lift up a song to Him who rides through the deserts;
His name is the LORD;
   exult before Him! (Psalm 68:4 ESV)

O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
   sing praises to the Lord, Selah
to Him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
   behold, He sends out His voice, His mighty voice. (Psalm 68:32-33 ESV)

He rides. The imagery is that of being mounted on horseback. Of being seated upon a majestic steed, the likes of which can’t compare to the Majesty enthroned upon it. To look upon the Rider is to recognize one who is King . . . to understand at the soul level that He is the Victor . . . to be driven facedown by His presence.

He rides. Whether it is through the deserts or on the heaven of heavens. Whether it is guiding through the wilderness as a cloud by day and pillar by night or, upon the clouds, ascended on high, leading captives in His train (Ps. 68:18).

And, as I think upon it, I have known this Rider in both the barren places and in the clouds. Times when parched with thirst, struggling amidst the heat and dust, He has shown Himself present . . . and faithful . . . calling me to trust His leading . . . to rest upon His sufficiency . . . to hope in His promise. And times when He has enveloped my heart with the desire to be nothing more than His captive, His slave, following in His victor’s processional.  To be taken by Him and lifted up and seated together with Him in the heavenlies–by His grace . . . and for His glory. My Jesus rides!

And what am I to do when considering Him who Rides?

“Sing,” David says, “and sing some more!” Sing praises to Him. Exalt Him. Extol Him. By His high and holy name, YAH, rejoice before Him. Sing, and then keep on singing!

When I consider the Rider, how can I help but sing? How can I not, though it be a feeble attempt, determine to convey to Him my amazement . . . my appreciation . . . my adoration?

“Sing to God,” David says. “Sing to God,” the Holy Spirit cries to my spirit. “Yes!” I respond, “Yes and Amen!”

Sometimes I just need to take my eyes off the path, whether it be a path in the desert or a path engraved in the clouds, and cast my eyes upon Him who rides.

Awesome is God from His sanctuary . . . (Psalm 68:35a ESV)

Sometimes I need to shift the focus from the load, and what I lack, to the One who goes before me and to what I possess in Him.

Blessed be the Lord,
   who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation. Selah
Our God is a God of salvation,
   and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.

(Psalm 68:19-20 ESV)

And as I behold the Rider, I can ride too. I can ride through the deserts. I know I will ride upon the clouds.

Led by my Shepherd. My eyes fixed on Him who rides on a white horse. The One called “Faithful and True” and one day to be recognized by all as “the King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:11, 16).

Ride my King! Be exalted! Accept the offering of my song!

————————————————–

Thank You, Lord, for sustaining grace. You are worthy, my God, to receive all glory!

Amen.

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Love Genuinely

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Pete

Hovering over Romans 12 this morning.  Not all of it.  But, in particular, four words of it.  Not at the edges of it–neither the part about offering our bodies as living sacrifices, nor the part about not being overcome by evil but overcoming evil with good–but pretty much smack dab in the middle of it.  Four words that, in a passage heavy on “commands to obey,” seems to make all the difference when it comes to “acceptable obedience.”  Four words that seem to me to be a pivot point determining whether we are simply going through the motions or walking in the way of the Master.  Four words reminding me this morning that it’s a matter of the heart when it comes to loving genuinely.

Let love be genuine.     (Romans 12:9a  ESV)

My soul is stirred whenever I work my way through Romans.  Paul’s precept-upon-precept, glorious-truth-upon-glorious-truth treatise of what makes the gospel the power of God for salvation always evokes the awe factor.  Being reminded of the deadly dynamics of sin, the deliverance afforded through the Savior, and the new life empowered by the Spirit, never ceases to prime the pump of praise.

I’m ready, by the time I get to chapter eleven, to join Paul in his spontaneous outbreak of worship and shout, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom. 11:33).  And I’m ready, by the time I get to chapter twelve, for the “so what?”  For the “Therefore” that reminds me that, along with great doctrine, comes a desire to respond with great duty.

And so, when Paul shifts from what to believe to how to behave, I’m all ears.  When he exhorts me to offer my body as a living sacrifice, I’m ready to respond, by His enabling grace and His empowering Spirit, and receive the practical instruction as to what that looks like.  And in the middle of instructions about using the gifting I have for the church body, and how to live life in the world boldly, Paul says, “Let love be genuine.”

Four words in my English translation, two words in the original.  “Love unfeigned” . . . “love undisguised” . . . “love sincerely” . . . “love genuinely.”  Or, as other translations render it, “Love without hypocrisy.”

This is agape love that’s being spoken of here.  The love we often consider to be the highest form of love, often described as self-sacrificing love.  But it is only the greatest love when it is genuine love.  Love without pretense.  Not simply having the appearance of self-sacrificing love, but at it’s core sacrificial love expressed because sacrificial love is present.  Beyond going through the motions, it’s a love grounded in Christ-like motives.

I’m reminded of Paul’s assessment of love’s actions tendered apart from love’s presence:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 

(1Corinthians 13:1-3  ESV)

I can be graced with the most visible and impacting of gifts for the church, but if not exercised with genuine love, just a bunch of noise.  Knowledge can be mine, even faith can be mine, but without love?  Nada, nothing!  And I can “one another” until the cows come home, I can serve and sacrifice until I’m exhausted and wasted, but do it without real love and it doesn’t mean a thing.  Love hypocritically, and there’s nothing to show for it . . . just smoke and ashes from wood, hay, and stubble (1Cor. 3:12-15).

Love genuinely.  More than just a command to seek to obey, it’s a reality to cry out to the Savior to make real.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, 
  and renew a right spirit within me.  (Psalm 51:10 ESV)

By His grace.  For His glory.

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His Unsearchability

Posted on March 16, 2018 by Pete

It was a conversation after our small group meeting this past Sunday night. One of our group was talking about the struggle it is to read the Bible . . . especially those parts that simply don’t make sense. A few tips and techniques were swapped on how others sought to read intentionally and consistently through the bible, but, at the end of the day, there was an acknowledgment that sometimes making sense of God’s word is kind of hard.

Something I read this morning brought that conversation to mind. Something that says to me, “Ya’ think?”

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid?”

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
To Him be glory forever. Amen.

(Romans 11:33-36 ESV)

Now this spontaneous burst of divine declaration by Paul comes at the end of a discussion about God’s purposes for Israel, but really, it is an uncontainable response of wonder at all Paul has penned so far concerning the power of God for salvation, the gospel. Indeed, pick almost any place where you might be reading the Scriptures and having such an “Aha!” moment is probably appropriate.

No wonder the Bible can be a bit mind boggling at times. We’re searching the unsearchable and scrutinizing the inscrutable. We’re seeking to plumb the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. Say that again, we’re trying to take in the depths of what God knows and how God thinks!

Incredible? No. Unsearchable! Inscrutable!

For a people who are used to everything being searchable, we’re just not accustomed to encounters of the divine kind with things that are beyond our ability to comprehend. After all, we can explore the inner workings of the atom. And we’re able to take pictures of galaxies far, far away. All very awe-inspiring but, let’s face it, it’s kind of common place, too. But when it comes to what’s at the bottom of our oceans, that’s still somewhat of a mystery . . . hasn’t been as easy to do. Thinking that’s why the Spirit moves Paul to talk about the depth of the abundance of God’s wisdom and knowledge. You can’t fully plumb the depths. They cannot be searched out. They are past finding out.

To quote one of my favorite songs, it’s like “trying to fit the ocean in a cup” (“Three Minute Song” by Josh Wilson).

No wonder that sometimes reading the Bible–the inspired word of God, the revelation of the mind of God–can be a bit difficult. What would we expect?

Sure we have the mind of Christ (1Cor. 2:16), but we still “see in a mirror dimly” (1Cor. 13:12). At our best, we know in part. We’re only putting together some of the pieces. After all, we’re trying to explore the dimensions of a God who is love and know the love of God which “surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:18-19). Did I mention the ocean in a cup thing?

Praise God the Bible is hard to understand sometimes. Do we really want a God that we can fully figure out? A God who fits within our cognitive capabilities? A God of our understanding is a God cast in our own image. Instead, our God is unsearchable. And His ways are inscrutable.

But we have the Word. And we have the Spirit. And so we open the Book with the expectation that we’re going to increase, at least a bit, in our wisdom and understanding of our God, and that we’ll grow in the grace and knowledge of our Savior.

So, let’s not be surprised when the going gets a little tough. Instead, let’s sit back and praise Him for His unsearchablity.

And then, let’s search some more.

Because of grace. For his glory!

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No Angels Required

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Pete

You gotta love him! One moment he’s sleeping, the next, he’s swinging a sword. Though there’s no doubt his “flesh was weak”, there can equally be no doubt that his “spirit was willing.”

Willing to be a lone warrior, he draws his sword, ready to defend his master and stand against “a great crowd with swords and spears.” He tries to level a head shot against one of the high priest’s servants, perhaps one of the first to lay hands on the Master, but unaccustomed as he was to taking off a man’s head, he instead manages a glancing blow which take’s off the servant’s ear.

Matthew, in his gospel, doesn’t identify the would be defender of the Messiah. But years later, writing his account of the life of Jesus, John would identify the disciple who would be a swordsman as none other than Peter (Jn. 18:10). And like I said, you gotta love him!”

But Jesus tells Peter to put way the sword.

Jesus had already settled the matter with the Father in the garden (if Peter had been able to stay awake in the garden, he might have known that). This was a cup He must drink. It was the Father’s will.

And Jesus had come to do the Father’s will.  No sword required.  No angels required.

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and He will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”

(Matthew 26:52-54 ESV)

Ok, imagine that. The mob advances upon Jesus and His disciples, swords and spears in hand. Judas walks up to Jesus and delivers his kiss of death. And then Jesus flashes the sign and, BAM!!!, the crowd is staring down a football stadium of angels arrayed around the Son of God.

Twelve legions of angels. If we’re using a Roman legion as the metric, then that’s more than 72,000 awe-invoking messengers of God. And we’re not talking some winged fairies in diapers floating on clouds, but divine warriors mounted on horses and chariots of fire (2Ki. 6:17). Talk about your guardian angels!

If Jesus had any inclination of being rescued from His present danger, he had no need of Peter’s sword.

But Jesus had no such inclination. He had set His face toward Jerusalem. He had a baptism to be baptized with. He would not turn back. He would give His back to those who would strike Him, His face to those who would pull out His beard, and hide not from those who would deride and spit upon Him (Isa. 50:5-6).

He would be lifted up–lifted up on a Roman cross. He would endure the wrath of God for the sins of the world. He would endure the darkness, forsaken of the Father. He would endure it all for the joy set before Him (Heb. 12:2) — the anticipation of souls rescued from death, and a kingdom established for eternity.

Jesus would trade the legions of angels in the garden for a “great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Rev. 7:9-10).

Jesus came to do the Father’s will. No angels required.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

What amazing grace. To Him be all the glory.

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The Heart of God

Posted on March 14, 2018 by Pete

I’m sure there must be other places where God speaks with such longing, but I can’t think of any right now. And, it occurs to me, my first thoughts of God tend not to be of what He passionately desires but more often of what He has powerfully done. I don’t tend to think of God as sighing with a certain angst, but usually of Him speaking with an unmatched authority. My God speaks things into being. Not often do I consider Him yearning for something to become a reality.

I’m thinking that’s why this verse in Deuteronomy has caused me to pause and reflect this morning on the heart of God.

“Oh that they had such a mind as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!'”

(Deuteronomy 5:29 ESV)

Moses is making his final appeal for obedience. Soon the people will go up to take the land promised to them. He’s explaining to a generation that has grown up in the wilderness the law they received at the foot of Sinai when they were but children (Deut. 1:5).

In my reading today, again and again Moses appeals to the people of God to listen to the “statutes and rules” he is teaching them and to “do them, that you may live” (4:1). He warns them to “take care, and keep your soul diligently , lest your forget” (4:9). He reminds them of the ten commandments given that day when they drew near to the base of mountain and “heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire” (5:23).

What’s more, he reminds them of their response to such an encounter of the divine kind.

“And you said, ‘Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire. . . . Now therefore why should we die? . . . . If we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived?'”

(Deuteronomy 5:24-26 ESV)

And so they ask Moses to go and receive the full revelation and then to come and teach it to them. Then, they declare, “We will hear and do it” (5:27).

That’s the heart God longed for. The heart that knew holy fear and responded with a desire to obey. A heart that was bowed by His presence and was determined to live by His promises.

“Oh,” says the LORD, “that they had such a mind as this always . . . “

But that isn’t the way of the natural mind. It’s not the inclination of the natural heart. At best, the spirit might be willing, but the flesh is weak. And so, while the heart of God greatly desires a people who would always fear Him and keep His commandments, the heart of man, in and of itself, is unable to do so.

And thus, God provides the means for a new heart and a way for a heart transplant. For people to receive the heart of God through the finished work of Christ. To be awakened to the holiness of God and enabled to walk in the power to obey. To fulfill the desire of God by accepting, by faith, the provision of God.

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules.

(Ezekiel 36:26-27 ESV)

What God desires, God enables. The heart of God is that His people would walk in holy fear and obedience. And the heart of God, received by faith and unleashed through the Spirit within us, can know such abiding awe and desire to delight.

Oh that His great desire for us would be our great desire for Him.

By His grace. For His glory.

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A Vessel of Mercy

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Pete

This morning I’m chewing on the sovereignty of God. That God’s will is accomplished not because we comply, necessarily, but simply because it’s His will. That what He determines is done. What He promises He performs. Kind of a mind stretching concept. The implications raising all kinds of questions.

Seems to me, that when it comes to the Divine determination, ours isn’t to try and fully comprehend how it works (we can’t), but to acknowledge that’s how things work and to be in awe and wonder that we are part of it.

I was reading in Deuteronomy 2 this morning. And what hit me was the realization that not only had God decided where Israel would hang their hats, but He had also reserved land for others. Three times I notice that God had told the people of Israel who NOT to contend with as they approached the promised land. They were not to encroach on the territory around Mount Seir because God had “given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession” (Deut 2:5). What’s more, the Israelites were not to harass Moab, their land was also off bounds, because God had given it to Lot “for a possession” (2:9). Same with the people of Ammon, none of the land was up for grabs because God had already determined it for another people (2:19). Though these ancient people may have thought they had laid claim to the land for themselves, the God of all the earth had determined their addresses in advance and for His purpose. Though they may not have acknowledged Him as God, nevertheless He is Landlord over all.

And then, it got real personal as I read Romans 9, Paul’s explanation of God’s sovereign choice of a people. People not of a particular bloodline, but a people purchased through a blood-stained cross. Not natural descendants by birth, but supernaturally determined children through faith. Not those who could claim they had worked their way to God, but those who’s sole testimony was that they were wooed to Christ. Not because of self-determination but only because of Sovereign delight.

Paul calls us “children of promise” (9:8), “sons and daughters of the living God” (9:26). But what’s evoking awe, wonder, and worship this morning, is the reminder that we are “vessels of mercy.”

What if God, desiring to show His wrath and to make known His power, has endured with much vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory–even us whom He has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

(Romans 9:22-24 ESV)

Honestly, I find it hard to connect the dots between “vessels of wrath prepared for destruction” and a God who is “longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2Pet. 3:9). But God is God and nothing less. And I am but a man, nothing more. And “who are you, o man, to answer back to God?” (Rom. 9:20)

But what I do get, God’s Spirit bearing witness with my spirit, is that I am a vessel of mercy. A sinner called to respond to God’s great love shown for all sinners in the giving of His only Son to pay the wages of their sin. A lost soul who was invited by divine invitation to be found. Someone given ears to hear, and new heart to respond. A broken jar of clay called into service to carry the light of the gospel “to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2Cor. 4:7). And this, for no other reason, than that He is God.

Why me, Lord? Because You are Sovereign.

A vessel of mercy saved by grace alone, to make known the riches of Your glory alone.

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