Appealing Speech

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Pete

It doesn’t make for good news headlines, but if more heeded the sage’s counsel, it probably would make for a better world.

Inflammatory speech is big business nowadays. Outrageous rhetoric is sure to make the front page (for those who still read newspapers). Whoever thought that 140 character sound bites could stir up so much collateral reaction? And with the world wide web, everybody has a platform . . . a soap box . . . a pseudo-legitimacy to enter into any number of battle fields in which words are the preferred weapons. Maybe that’s why the opening verses of Proverbs 15, and their counter-cultural wisdom, jumped off the page this morning.

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. . . .
A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

(Proverbs 15:1, 4 ESV)

A soft answer. A gentle tongue. Doesn’t that sound like appealing speech?

Tender talk has a way of diffusing escalating tension. It says “return to sender” and refuses delivery of wrathful words.

A gentle, or healing tongue is more concerned with remedy then it is rhetoric. With building up, than tearing down. With reviving, than reviling.

Civility, it seems, is fast becoming a non-value in our world. And calm, quiet, thoughtful conversation just seems to be regarded as counter-productive to achieving one’s goals.

And the answer isn’t going to be found in courses on how to communicate or negotiate more effectively. The silver bullet isn’t going to come from “active listening” skills. Because it’s not really a mouth problem, it’s a heart problem.

” . . . for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”   ~ Jesus

(Luke 6:44-45 ESV)

A soft answer comes from a soft heart. A gentle tongue is the evidence of a gentle soul. Peace-making words have a way of flowing from someone at peace.

So, we don’t need more “good headlines”, we need more good news. For the gospel is the power of God unto salvation . . . and sanctification . . . and appealing speech. By faith, it turns hearts of stone, and tongues of fire, into hearts of flesh, and tongues of healing.

If anyone should model a soft answer and a gentle tongue it should be the child of God, the follower of Christ, those called to be the light of the world. We need to beware of the old nature’s tendencies to buy into the value our culture places on bombastic bullying and no-holds-barred debate.

Rather,

The Lords servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.

(2Timothy 2:24-25 ESV)

Might not make the news at 6, but may be used of the Spirit to draw people to Christ.

Words seasoned by grace. Words spoken for His glory.

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Mucking the Stalls

Posted on August 11, 2017 by Pete

I know nothing of what it’s like to own an ox, but I have been around someone who owns a horse. And while riding those beasts might be fun and games (ok, and sometimes a lot of work), it’s a whole different world when you gotta clean up after them. Stalls can be really nasty places. It’s where those horses eat, and drink, and . . . . do other stuff. So maybe I’ve got a bit of context for picking up the word picture the sage is trying to lay down this morning.

Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
  but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

(Proverbs 4:4 ESV)

It’s easy to keep clean the barn that is uninhabited. But it might be worth a bit of mess in the stable if the result is food on the table.

And, it might be wise to expect that as we seek to walk in a manner that’s worthy, it’s gonna come with it’s fair share of waste. But that dealing with the dust and dirt along the way is all part of reaping the harvest at the end.

Sure, it would be easier to not have to clean up after situations. To not have to replace bedding that’s been soiled and broken down over time. To not have to deal with unpleasant, and sometimes unexpected messes. But if the price for clean stalls are vacant silos, isn’t that too high a price to pay? Would a hassle-free life really be worth an empty existence?

Not that it makes the mess any less. Not that it eases the pain of dealing with the unavoidable consequences of doing life. But with an eye to the harvest, dealing with the bedding becomes doable. Remembering what lies ahead is great motivation for leaning into the seeming chaos of the present.

And here’s the thing, we’re not left on our own to deal with the collateral disorder that can come from doing life. The dirt left as a result of sin can be cleansed by the blood of Christ. The disarray that comes from separation can be re-ordered by the Comforter who draws near. The disorientation that caused by un-wanted circumstance can be realigned as we set our hearts afresh on things above. And the disillusionment that so often raises its head as we run the race can be diffused as we remember the promise that He will never leave us nor forsake as we strive for the prize.

It’s going to be worth it all. We want oxen in the stable, and all the mess and effort that comes with them, because we believe their will be a great harvest. We’re willing to try and pick up the pieces along the way, because we’ve been told it’s worth putting our shoulder to the plow.

Not based on any merit that is ours. But founded solely on the majesty that is His. Not because of what we can do. But only because of what He has already done.

“I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”   ~ Jesus

(John 16:33 ESV)

And so, we’ll keep mucking the stalls as we watch for the harvest.

By His grace. For His glory.

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An Agapao Spectrum

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Pete

Hovering over Paul’s final words to Timothy this morning. Thinking about this man who knew his “departure” was at hand–ready to be loosed from his earthly moorings and to set sail. Reflecting on what it was for him to have fought the good fight, to have finished the race, and to have kept the faith.

But also thinking about another man. Lesser known, yet equally on mission. But with a different legacy . . . at least at this point in his life. Demas, while a co-laborer with Paul, goes AWOL in battle, he bails out on the race, he seems to falter in the faith. In this closing part of this letter, he’s identified as one who abandons and forsakes Paul. He’s marked as a deserter.

So why the difference? How come Paul and Demas end up in such different places? Seems, at least in part, it was a love issue. And in that, I observe an Agape Spectrum.

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.

(2Timothy 4:7-10a ESV)

Paul was anticipating receiving a crown in glory because he loved His appearing. Whereas Demas high-tailed it for home because he was in love with this present world.

The word for love in both cases is agapao. The highest form of love. Different than sensual love, greater than brotherly love, it is the love driven by what is highly esteemed and, as such, it is the love which drives acts of sacrifice.

Paul highly esteemed standing before the righteous Judge and so he was good with being poured out as a drink offering. His life viewed as but a small part of a greater sacrificial offering on heaven’s altar.

Demas, on the other hand, most highly valued “the world that now is.” He wanted to remain in this world rather than go to the other. He wanted to live longer here before going there. And hanging out with Paul put that priority at risk. So he was unwilling to remain. And so he made the required sacrifice. He walked out on Paul.

It’s not that Demas was necessarily a worldly man or in love with the sinful things of this world, he just wasn’t ready to leave yet. He loved the things of this life and wasn’t ready for the life to come.

And in many ways, I get it. We are wired for life. There’s something in our DNA which compels us to hold on to life. The issue is which life commands our heart?  This life or the one to follow?

And I’m not judging Demas.  And I don’t think Paul does either.  I think Paul is more grieved at Demas’ departure than anything else.  For only by God’s grace, and the Spirit’s over-riding enabling, can we loosen our grip on the life we know and truly walk in the anticipation of the life we are promised, but have yet to experience. Only by Divine intervention can I really set my heart and mind on things above, and not on things of earth, so that I “seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1-2). So that I love and live in light of that Day. Making Spirit-empowered, sacrificial choices in the context of that reality which is yet to be fully real.

Oh, that I might live more on Paul’s end of this Agape Spectrum.  That I might be counted amongst all who have loved His appearing.

By God’s grace. For God’s glory.

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Sharing our Showbread

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Pete

Ok . . . so not quite sure where this is going to go, but this morning’s reading in 2Timothy led to an interesting rabbit trail. Spent a bit of time noodling on two connected things that I wouldn’t have thought connected and so started asking myself, why? Don’t know that I have a good answer, but here’s my thinking.

So, beyond their teaching and instruction, one of the things that grabs me about Paul’s two letters to Timothy is the insight they bring to the relationship between Paul and Timothy. The Paul/Timothy relationship presenting itself as a model of, and encouragement for, the mentor/mentee relationship. Thus, I take note of what Paul was laying down so Timothy could pick it up.

You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra–which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.

(2Timothy 3:10-11 ESV)

Paul shared life with Timothy. Timothy accompanied Paul in doing life. He knew all about his talk and his walk. And, he also shared in the showbread.

What? Where did that come from?

Here’s what caught my eye this morning . . . it says that in addition to Paul’s teaching, conduct, faith, patience, love and steadfastness, Timothy also followed Paul’s “aim in life.” Other versions translate it, his “purpose” or, his “manner of life.” And I asked myself, “Self, what does it mean to share one’s aim in life? Is there any insight into it from the original language?”

So, using my handy dandy computer lexicon I looked up the word and “surprise, surprise, surprise!” It’s the word for showbread or, as the ESV translates it, the Bread of Presence. Yeah, it’s the word for the twelve loaves placed in the holy place, outside the curtain, across from the lampstand (Ex. 25:30, Lev. 24:5-9).

The word is found 12 times in the New Testament. Four times it’s translated the Bread of Presence, or showbread if you’re reading the NKJV.  Three times in the gospels, where Jesus talks about David eating the showbread (Mt. 12:4, Mr. 2:26, Lk. 6:4), and once in Hebrews, where the tabernacle is described (Heb. 9:2). The other eight times, in Acts and the epistles, the context causes it to be rendered purpose, and in 2Timothy 3:10, as aim in life.

So what’s the connection? Don’t know for sure, but thinking there’s gotta be one. So here are a couple of thoughts . . .

First, our aim in life, our purpose, should be brought into the holy place. It should be consecrated. Set before the place where the glory dwells and across from the lampstand from which the perpetual light of divine blessing shines. The “why we do” for “what we do” is to be holy. Set apart before God.

And it is to be constantly renewed. Just as the Bread of Presence was to be replaced every Sabbath with fresh bread, we’d also do well to renew our holy determination to submit our manner of life before our holy God on a regular basis. And weekly might not be a bad cadence for that. Shouldn’t our weekly gathering with God’s people always renew our desire to live our lives in God’s presence?

And from my reading this morning, the showbread is to be shared. I should be walking close enough with at a least a few people that they are intimately aware of my showbread, of my purpose and aim in life. Not only is my aim in life presented before God, it’s subjected to the scrutiny of those closest to me, as an example for others to imitate.

Lastly, just as everything in the tabernacle was consecrated through the sprinkling of blood, my purpose, my aim in life, my showbread, is also presented under the blood. Worthy of being offered before a holy God, only because it is offered through a great High Priest. One who has opened the way into the presence of God by His once forever atoning sacrifice for our sin. One who brings the offering, not on the basis of our good works, but on the basis of His finished work. Our showbread offered not because it’s holy, but made holy because it’s offered.

Hmmm. Something here to chew on, I’m thinking.

Our showbread, presented to God and others by His grace. Our aim in life, consecrated for His glory.

Make sense?

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Acting Presumptuously

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Pete

You’re not going to find it among the seven deadly sins. I’m not sure if I started brainstorming and did a brain-dump of all the types of transgression against God I could think of, that I’d even list this one. But it jumped off the page at me this morning as I was reading in Nehemiah.

Nehemiah 9 is a re-telling of the old, old story. Literally! The walls of the city have been built again and the word of God has been found again. And nothing less than national revival has swept over the land as the evidence of God’s good hand surrounds them, Jerusalem. And so, knowing God is with them, they humble themselves to listen again to what God has had to say to them.

Ezra the priest reads the word. Those able to teach go among the people and make clear the meaning. The Spirit moves mightily in their hearts and brings a great awakening.

And revival has a way of creating a pendulum of a emotion–swinging from tears of joy as they behold the wall around them, the evidence of God’s presence, to tears of sorrow as they consider again the ways that haunt them, the sins of their past which led to the city’s destruction in the first place..

And this goes on for over three weeks. And on the twenty-fourth day they gather again in humility to hear yet more from the Book of the Law. And for six hours the word of God is read. And for another six hours they make confession and worship the Lord. And the Levites call the people to remember again from whence they came.

And so, beginning with the God of creation, they retell the story of Abram’s calling, and of God’s covenant. They recount their rescue from Egypt and remind them of God’s provision in the desert. And they recall the sin that surfaced.

“But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey Your commandments. They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that You performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt.”

(Nehemiah 9:16-17a ESV)

They acted presumptuously.

But God who is gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love did not forsake them. Instead, in His great mercies, He sustained them in the wilderness for forty years, and then delivered them to the land of promise. He subdued the inhabitants and handed over the keys to their cities. And they “took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in [God’s] great goodness” (9:25).

Fat and happy. Yet they rebelled. And, though God sought to call them back to Himself repeatedly,

“Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey Your commandments, but sinned against Your rules, which if a person does them, he shall live by them, and turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey.”

(Nehemiah 9:29b ESV)

Yet they acted presumptuously.

Can’t be too sure, because I’ve only spent a few minutes doing the word study, but it seems this is a sin unique to the people of God. For those outside covenant, the word is translated as simply acting arrogantly or acting proudly (Neh. 9:10). But for those who have known the good hand of God–who have been given ears to hear the promise . . . have seen His deliverance from bondage . . . have received His provision in the desert . . . have realized His presence in conquering their enemies . . . and have received of His abundance the good things in the land–for them, when the love of the gift turns their heart away from the Giver, it is acting presumptuously.

Having been blessed, it’s a pride causing amnesia, and they forget where the blessing has come from. An arrogance leading to self-sufficiency, and they think, “I’ve earned what I have, so I am more than capable of going it alone.” Delusions of grandeur bringing on blindness, the stuff on earth blocking out the treasures of heaven. Haughtiness resulting in transgression, as they divorce their prosperity from their Provider they become ready targets for idolatry.

Can’t really happen to those outside the kingdom of heaven. Those outside of Christ may be proud and arrogant, but only the child of God is susceptible to acting presumptuously.

Oh that I would beware of being presumptuous concerning God’s abundant provision. That, whether it is new life in Christ or lots of stuff in general, I would not forget that it is mine solely by God’s good hand.

Mine by His grace. To be stewarded for His glory.

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The Joy of the LORD

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Pete

It’s not like they didn’t have just cause to mourn. Not like there was no good reason to grieve. In fact, under any other circumstance, their tears would have been the appropriate response to what they had just heard preached. Their brokenness, contrition, and lament, the right acknowledgment to what they had been reminded of. But not today.

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.

(Nehemiah 8:9 ESV)

The wall was finished–God had prospered them. The word was being proclaimed–and God was speaking to them. Their ways again before them–God reminded them of His faithfulness.

But as they comprehended afresh the connection between their transgression and their exile, between their adulterous rebellion and Jerusalem’s all-encompassing ruin, it overwhelmed them to remember again where they had come from. And so, they faltered in their recognition of where they were now. That they were standing again in the city–with the glory again in their midst behind the curtain, and the walls again about them in their land of promise. And so they wept.

But this was not to be a day of weeping. It was a holy day. A day of feasting. A day of remembering God’s faithfulness despite their failure. A day of rejoicing in God’s goodness to them. Not because they were good. But because He is good. It was to be a day of knowing the joy of the Lord. And in that, they would find strength.

Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” . . . And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

(Nehemiah 8:10, 12 ESV)

The joy of the LORD is your strength.

Last night I was talking to one of my girls and she said, “Dad. Life is hard.” Yeah . . . at times it is. Sometimes it’s our own doing and other times, it’s not. Sometimes it’s partnered with justified regret, but other times it makes no sense and is without apparent reason. Either way, not much to rejoice in, other than the joy of the LORD.

And it occurs to me that it’s important to observe holy days of feasting. Important to set apart times of feeding again on the things of God.

Important to find a place at the banqueting table. Yesterday, at our church, is was the Lord’s table as we remembered His great provision through the cross by taking the symbols of His body and blood.

Important to feed deeply on the meat of His word. Being reminded afresh of His ever-present power and provision, and of His unchanging promises .

Important to seek to satisfy our thirst with the rivers of living water flowing through us by the Spirit in us.

And so, being at the table, feeding on His word, drinking deeply of His Spirit, though our circumstances don’t change and our hearts are still heavy, we purpose to feast. To make times of remembrance and response. To reaffirm the presence, power, provision, and promises of our God. And in doing that, we can’t help but rejoice. To know afresh the joy of the LORD. And the joy of the LORD is our strength.

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness

(Isaiah 61:10 ESV)

We need to find time to reflect again on the God who is with us at all times–even the hard times.  Without deposits of joy, the withdrawals of life can become overwhelming.

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

(Proverbs 17:22 ESV)

Thank God for the holy days. Thank Him for the times of feasting, where sorrow is set aside for a time that we might remember that our God is good . . . and our God is faithful . . . and His mercies really are new every morning . . . and His grace really is sufficient in all things.

For in that, there is joy. And in that, there is strength.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Remember

Posted on August 4, 2017 by Pete

Sometimes, when the going gets tough, it’s tough to get going. Pressure mounts and paralysis sets in. What began with enthusiasm, becomes a constant source of exhaustion. The prize once set before you, now seems beyond your grasp and you feel like you’re barely able to even walk much less run the race.

Disillusioned. Discouraged. Disoriented. Depressed. You don’t know how you can keep on keepin’ on.

Kind of describes the prevailing mood halfway through the great wall re-building campaign of Nehemiah’s day.

The rubble was being cleared and the wall around Jerusalem was taking shape. But the opposition was also becoming greater.

At first, the enemies of God’s people were just “greatly displeased” that Nehemiah had returned with the king’s blessing to “seek the welfare of the people of Israel” (Neh. 2:10). Then, when they heard that Nehemiah was promoting the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls, they laughed out loud and mocked such folly (2:19). When the people actually came together and started making a bit of progress, then their enemies became “angry and greatly enraged,” their mocking laughter turning to spitting derision (4:1-3).

But when they saw the walls at half height, the enemies of God determined to take action, “and they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it” (4:7). And that was the straw that seemed to break the camel’s back . . . or at least break the people’s spirit.

In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.”

(Nehemiah 4:10 ESV)

Or as Peterson puts it, “The builders are pooped, the rubbish piles up; Were in over our heads, we cant build this wall” (MSG).

And it was true, they were in over their heads.

For as long and hard as they had been working, the piles of debris were still surrounding them.  What’s more, the more they kept faithfully laboring at the task before them, the greater the opposition was growing around them. While at first they might have shot back at their enemies with “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names can never hurt me”, now the other guys were preparing to come at them with “sticks and stones.” Insults were about to give way to injury.

But what they may have failed to notice was that they were in over their heads in another aspect as well. The wall, being half built, was over their heads. Significant, against-all-odds progress was being made. But the overwhelming circumstance of the present caused them to forget God’s provision of the past and so they weren’t sure they could press on into the future.

Enter Nehemiah . . .

And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

(Nehemiah 4:14 ESV)

Remember, says Nehemiah. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome.

Mounting pressure required a moment of perspective. The task before them was still doable in light of the God who promised to always be behind them. The enemies around them paled in comparison to the Lord among them. While they might have been in over their heads, they needed to pause and reflect on the Sovereign who is head over all.

Maybe easier said than done. But still needing to be done.

Before they’d be ready to resume the fight, they first needed to pause, pray, and not forget.

Not forget that our God is a great and awesome God. That the work He has called us to begin, He will enable us to finish. That the race He wants us to run, He has already won. That pressure we might feel can be offset by the power He has promised. That while our enemies might seek to devour us, greater is our Savior who has delivered us.

Sometimes you just need to remember. To be still and know that He is God–that the LORD of hosts is with us and the God of Jacob is our stronghold (Ps. 46:10-11). To be still and believe that His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2Cor. 12:9).

Such, it would seem, is at least one of the keys to unlocking all sufficient grace.

Such, it is sure, is the type of response that will bring Him all deserving glory.

Amen?

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Walk in Integrity

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Pete

To be honest, while I like hanging out in Proverbs, it becomes harder for me once we actually get to the proverbs. To engage in the first nine chapters of the book, the father’s arguments and impassioned appeals to his son to seek wisdom, is much easier for me than to take in the random bits of wisdom presented afterward. Working through, and meditating upon the concepts, ideas, and word pictures in the “introduction” is far more aligned to the way my brain functions than to try and read and process 20+ verses in a chapter which often declare 20+ different maxims.

So, this morning I decided to take one of the proverbs presented in my reading and see what all of Proverbs says about it. Rather than try and take in multiple words of advice, focus on one and, by God’s enabling and illuminating Spirit, take that away with me for the day.

Today’s word of wisdom is integrity.

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.

(Proverbs 10:9 ESV)

In the ESV, integrity is spoken of eight times in Proverbs–twice in the first nine chapters, six times in the actual proverbs (10:9, 11:3, 19:1, 20:7, 28:6, 28:18).

Of those six times, except for once, integrity is associated with how one walks. But even the other occurrence talks about integrity as a guide. So integrity is to be intricately linked to how we do life–and, I’m thinking, every aspect of life.

Almost invariably, integrity is contrasted with crookedness. So integrity is about being straight. Rather than walking in a way that is twisted, distorted, or marked by duplicity, integrity would seem to be living in a way that “what you see is what you get.” From motive to manner, from one situation to another, regardless of circumstance and consequence, the one who walks in integrity is going to be sincere, aboveboard, and lay it on the line–a straight line. Their walk is going to line up with their talk. And their talk will truthfully convey how they desire to walk.

And the proverbs layout the benefits of embracing integrity. Integrity results in safety and security, a sure foundation laid from a straight path embraced. It will be a sure guide, a reliable internal GPS, as situations are navigated, decisions are made, and stands taken.

What’s more, in the economy of heaven, integrity is a treasure unto itself. Better to be poor with integrity, says wisdom, than rich and wavering from popular opinion to popular opinion. For while riches have a way of ensnaring those who pursue them, integrity will deliver those who choose it as the way to navigate their life. No promise of avoiding tough or tempting situations, but an assurance of the Lord’s protection upon those who seek to walk blameless before Him.

And finally, wisdom says that integrity has a legacy. That the children of those who, by God’s grace and enabling, seek to walk on straight paths are blessed. These kids, having seen the right stuff modeled by their parents, learn to embrace the right stuff. That as they observe the consistency between how life is done in the secret of their homes and how it is played out in public, they too seek to walk straight.

Integrity. It is the way of wisdom. Vital for skillful living. Of great value in the kingdom of heaven.

To walk in integrity . . . Possible because of grace. To be embraced for His glory.

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Whoever is Simple, Turn in Here!

Posted on August 2, 2017 by Pete

The one lady has, at great cost to herself, built a magnificent house, seven hewn pillars drawing the eye of those who pass by to its majesty. The other lady sits in front of a ramshackle dump. It’s in obvious need of a coat of paint and in serious disrepair. Yet, it too draws the eyes of those who walk by its way. Not because of its beauty, but because of the seductive attractiveness of the made up woman who lays out in front of it.

The first lady has set a table with only the best cuts of meat and the finest wine. The second? Well, she’s offering stolen water and illicitly obtained bread–but claims there’s something deviously sweet and savory about it when consumed with her in secret.

To dine at lady one’s table is to experience that which is life-giving. But enter into lady two’s dingy banquet room, and once your eyes adjust to the darkness you find those sitting around the table are skeletons, that her guests who come to feast have been consumed themselves by the depths of hell.

Such is the comparison laid out by the sage in Proverbs 9 (verses 1-6 vs. verses 13-18). Two ends of a spectrum with no in-between. These two women defining a fork in the road, one of but two paths having to be chosen. And they both call out to the same audience–the naïve, those still trying to find their way, and the confused, those who still don’t have their act together. Both women extending the same invitation, “Whoever is simple, turn in here!”

“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here! . . .
Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”  

~ Lady Wisdom  (Proverbs 9:4-6 ESV)

“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here! . . .
Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”   

~The Woman Folly  (Proverbs 9:16-17 ESV)

And as I noodle on this God-breathed contrast, I am in awe and wonder of Lady Wisdom and the reminder she brings of the way of the gospel.

No holding back in order to prepare the banquet. God sending His Son to make ready the table. Requiring the Christ to be all in to make available the feast. His body offered, His blood shed, that there might be a place for all who would heed His call to come, turn in here, and eat with Him.

Offering food that gives life and life eternal. Bread come down from heaven itself, that “whoever feeds on this bread will live forever” (John 6:58).

Opting not for the way of passivity, not content to just set the table and sit back and wait for the simple to stumble upon it. Instead, sending out His messengers to the high places, leaving the pristine palace of glory and going where the people are dabbling in the pursuit of idolatry.

And to all, to the simple and to the those who think themselves wise . . . to those who lack sense and to those who think they have it all figured out . . . to all, He says, “Come! Turn in here!”

Make your way to My table by faith. Eat of the food I offer, trusting that I really am the way, the truth, and the life. Receive it, though as the simple, and enter into the knowledge of God.

O Lamb of God, I come!

What wondrous grace! To Him be all the glory!

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Delighting in the Children of Man

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Pete

Proverbs 8. It’s why I do what I do when it comes to Proverbs. It’s why I shade every reference to wisdom in blue, my color for God the Son. While the sage portrays her as Lady Wisdom, raising her voice and inviting the simple to heed her counsel, that she is also personified in Christ seems evident as she declares her relationship to creation.

When [the LORD] established the heavens, I was there; when He drew a circle on the face of the deep, when He made firm the skies above, when He established the fountains of the deep, when He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside Him, like a master workman, and I was daily His delight, rejoicing before Him always.

(Proverbs 8:27-30 ESV)

Wisdom was there, like a master workman, when God created the earth. Just as the incarnate Word, Jesus the Christ, was in the beginning. Was with God. Was God. And “all things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3). Through God’s beloved Son, “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, . . . all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through Him and for Him” (Col. 1:15-16).

Jesus is the Master Workman of creation. Jesus is Wisdom . . . God’s daily delight, loved of the Father since “before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). Rejoicing always before Him as together they created what was good.

To hear Wisdom’s beckoning voice, is to hear Christ cry out, “Come to Me.” To meditate on the promises of Wisdom–that those who seek her find her (8:17) . . . that those who love her will be given an abundant inheritance (8:21) . . . that those who find her will find life and obtain favor from the LORD (8:35)–is to recognize how those promises are realized through relationship with the living Son of God.

That’s why, in my Bible, Wisdom is blue . . . and it’s Christ who is extolled as His voice cries out in these opening chapters of Proverbs.

And so, if it is Christ who is found in Lady Wisdom, then it’s His voice I hear this morning when she says,

. . . then I was beside Him, like a master workman, and I was daily His delight, rejoicing before Him always, rejoicing in His inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.

(Proverbs 8:30-31 ESV)

Jesus delights in the children of man. Celebrates in the wondrous creation of mankind. Having created them to love them, He takes great pleasure in them.

And even though rebellion has marked them, though they have given their Creator their back and not their face, though sin has marred and stained those made in the image of the Divine, He still delights in them . . . so much so, that He died so as to redeem them.

And though, even as redeemed, we stumble over ourselves trying to walk in a manner worthy of our calling, He continues to delight in us. As His creation and as His re-creation.

Having come not to condemn the children of man, but that, through Him, the sons and daughters of creation might be saved (John 3:17). Redeeming and reconciling us not to shadow us with disapproval as we falter and fail, but finding pleasure in us as He patiently forms within us His own nature–the image of Christ. Infusing within our spiritual DNA Wisdom herself.

Words can’t express what it is to be the object of His delight. Our highest thoughts can’t fathom His thoughts toward us.

But as we look to the cross, we get an idea of His desire toward us. As we consider the empty tomb, we start to grasp His power to fulfill what He has promised. As we think about heaven, we sense a measure of the joy He longs to share with those He has made and re-made.

All praise be to the Master Workman! Thanks be given to Her who cries out inviting us to partake of heaven’s great Wisdom! Let us worship alone the Son who so delights in the children of man.

Rejoicing in His grace. Seeking only His glory.

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