What Shall I Do?

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Pete

It was an encounter of the divine kind. A lawyer of Israel stood before the Judge of all mankind and sought to put Him to the test. The topic? How to inherit eternal life. The question? What shall I do? The answer? You tell me.

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

(Luke 10:25-29 ESV)

Jesus engages with the man, though the lawyer’s motives were less than sincere. He wanted to know what to do. Jesus told him he already knew what to do, so do it.

At first, it might sound like Jesus is preaching a salvation by works. But had that been the case, there would have been no need for the lawyer’s second question. No need for him to try to justify himself. He understood that if meriting heaven required obeying the law then it would be impossible without some qualifiers.

I imagine the sweat forming on his brow as Jesus turns the tables on his smug answer. I’m thinking the lawyer rattled the two greatest commands off pretty quickly. Jesus’ question was from home-schooling 101. He had memorized them as a child. Been quizzed on them repeatedly in synagogue. He knew the answer. But there was something in how Jesus told him to “just do it” that cut deep. Something that pricked his conscience.

A light went on revealing that what had been pretty easy to recite his whole life was, in fact, pretty impossible to actually do. Perhaps for the first time he paused to consider the implications of trying to practically obey the command. In the presence of the Truth, as he had never before, he was honest about how well he had been keeping the Law. And so he tries to maintain some sense of self-righteousness by seeking to reduce the field of “neighbors” he has to love as himself. (Funny that he didn’t try and probe what it really meant to love God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul and with ALL your strength and with ALL your mind.)

And I’m noodling on this not to judge the lawyer. But to marvel afresh that the answer doesn’t lie in, “What shall I do?” but in what God has already done. The law, whether the one given to Moses on Sinai or the one written on my heart and conscience, can only serve to condemn. It can only set a standard which, in and of myself, I am unable to meet. It’s design is to do what it did to the lawyer, to reveal my great need for a salvation which isn’t dependent on my performance.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, . . . the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith.

(Romans 3:21-25 ESV)

A righteousness apart from law. Transgression and rebellion dealt with by grace. Declared not guilty before God as a gift. All because of Christ’s blood shed to pay the price for my sin. The price paid in full. Redemption secured.

What shall I do? Receive it by faith. That’s what Jesus knew the lawyer needed, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

O, what a Savior!

To Him be all glory!

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So God, What Are You Thinking?

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Pete

Hovering over Psalm 139 this morning. Perhaps one of the most introspective songs of David, yet one of the most outwardly focused.

There’s a sense of hush and awe as David considers the all-knowing, ever-present nature of Jehovah. A sense of wonder that such a big God is aware of such small people. Not just aware as in a faint knowledge or passing interest. But intimately aware. Aware, as in every day that David lived had been scripted by the hand of God before they came to be (v.16). Aware, as in created by God. His entire being intricately designed and knit together. His physical, emotional, and spiritual essence all formed by the hand of God (vv. 13-15). Aware, as in aware in the moment. God present at all times, in all places, through all circumstances (vv. 1-12).

And most often when I read Psalm 139, I find myself camping on the end of the song. Chewing on David’s desire to be known. Asking God to search him, know his heart, and to be acquainted with his thoughts.

But this morning it’s another set of thoughts that has grabbed my attention.

How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God!
   How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
   I awake, and I am still with You. (Psalm 139:17-18 ESV)

So God, what are You thinking?

I read this Psalm and it’s clear that God has thought about me. A lot! But how often do I quiet myself and consider deeply that the Almighty, even now, is thinking about me. As vast as the sum of all the Divine consideration that has gone into me living this life at this time in this place, what of the continuing flowing sand that constitutes God’s considerations of me as “I awake, and I am still with You”?

So God, what are You thinking?

Are You frustrated as last night’s confession of failure (once again!) echoes in Your ear? Are You sitting back with Your arms crossed, Your chin dipped, and Your brow furled waiting to see how I navigate this day and deal with the trouble that is “sufficient” for it (Matt. 6:34b)? Or, are You simply too busy to pay much attention to me at all as You deal with other matters concerning this seemingly out-of-control world, not to mention doing what needs to be done to hold the universe together?

Or Father, are You, by Your Spirit, settling in for another day where You will draw alongside, fulfilling Your promise never to leave me nor forsake me?  Thinking again that if You are for me, who can be against me (Rom. 8:31)?

Are You again looking upon me and considering Your Son? Loving me with the same love You had for Him since “before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24)? Taking delight still that I have been clothed in the righteousness of Your Anointed and that, because of Christ’s finished work on the cross, far from being on some sort of “wait and see” probation, I am seen afresh as a child of God and a joint heir with Christ.  And as such, as I awake and know again Your presence, You too are filled with thoughts concerning me. Plans for wholeness and not for evil. Thoughts intended to bring peace and hope, not worry and despair (Jer. 29:11).

So God, what are You thinking?

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

(Psalm 139:6 ESV)

How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God!

All because of grace. All for Your glory.

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Paul’s Win

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Pete

He couldn’t take it anymore! Twice Paul says that he “could bear it no longer.” What was it that caused such anxiety for the beloved apostle? What was so taxing that this man who had been beaten with rods, stoned at the hands of his enemies, and had suffered shipwreck multiple times, was almost at a breaking point.? What was it that was beyond enduring for this one who lived in constant danger on multiple fronts and was accustomed to sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, and cold and exposure? It was not knowing how his children in the faith were fairing.

For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.

(1Thessalonians 3:5 ESV)

Paul had only been permitted three Sabbaths to proclaim the gospel in Thessalonica before he was run out of town (Acts. 17:1-10). While he had spent months, even years, in other places, in this place he was able to only to plant the seed, and to see only the early evidence of life before he was forced to leave the tending of this fertile ground to others and to the Spirit of God.

What I find so interesting is that Paul’s view of what it meant to win appears to have nothing to do with numbers or markers. There was obviously something beyond “professions made” or “souls saved” that drove Paul’s view of “winning.” Setting a record for the church most quickly established in the shortest amount of time amidst the most hostile of climates wasn’t the sort of statistic that Paul used to measure “success.”

Instead, what Paul needed to know–what he could not bear not knowing–was whether or not their confession of Christ bore the fruit of consecration to Christ. Having received Jesus as Savior seemed to mean little to the apostle if it were not also evident that they had given themselves to Jesus as Lord. He knew, given the hostility toward the gospel in Thessalonica, that if the believers there were not feeling the heat of opposition they probably were not living out the light of the kingdom.

He feared that the tempter would get the best of them, convince them that the cost they would need to pay was not worth the prize promised them. And so, unable to deal with not knowing any longer, he sent Timothy to learn about their faith and to “establish and exhort” them in their faith (3:2).

What grabs me this morning is that Paul seems to view a salvation which does not bear the fruit of salvation as no salvation at all. Had he not heard that their faith had resulted in them turning “to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1:9), he would have considered his time there in vain. Had the report not come back indicating that now these brothers and sisters directed their lives in anticipation of the Son’s imminent return (1:10), Paul would have considered his work there useless. Given the hatred and opposition toward the gospel in that place, if Paul had heard that his children in Christ were not feeling the heat of opposition and suffering for the sake of the kingdom (3:3-4), he would wonder if they had, in fact, really entered God’s kingdom.

Paul’s end game was not about the number who came forward for the altar call. The win wasn’t in simply planting a church. Rather, it was about disciples who lived out the faith. Followers who followed. New creations in Christ who lived as if Christ lived in them.

For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. . . . And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

(1Thessalonians 1:4-7 ESV)

Imitators of Christ.  Examples to other believers. That was Paul’s hope and joy. That was Paul’s “crown of boasting” (2:19). That was Paul’s win.

The fruit of grace. For the glory of God

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Arise and Build

Posted on July 8, 2016 by Pete

“Arise and work! The LORD be with you!” The words jumped off the page this morning as I was reading 1Chronicles 22. Here’s some thoughts on the passage I put down back in 2011 . . . .

It came into play again this morning. That wonderful dynamic between that which has been recorded in the Old Testament and that which is taught in the New Testament. The old adage, “the New Testament is in the Old concealed and the Old Testament is in the New revealed” kicked in as I read David’s words to some of his leaders. Because of what has been revealed through the God-breathed writings of the apostle Paul, this conversation between a king and his cabinet some 1,000+ years earlier takes on a meaning that they could not have imagined. Check out this part of “the chat” I eavesdropped on this a.m. . . .

“David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ‘Is not the LORD your God with you? And has He not given you peace on every side? For He has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the LORD and His people. Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy vessels of God may be brought into a house built for the name of the LORD.’ ”

(1Chronicles 22:17-19 ESV)

What was spoken by David to his leaders about the physical construction of a dwelling place for the ark of God hit me between the eyes this morning. It was like it was spoken directly to me. How come? Because I too am part of a building program for a holy habitation for the LORD.

The Old Testament concept of a physical temple built to house the glory of God is expanded in the New Testament. This Old Testament structure is a picture of a greater building in which God desires to dwell. A place that God would raise up. Not made with brick and mortar, but with living stones. A temple comprised of a people. A redeemed people. His people. So Pete, set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God . . . Arise and build the sanctuary of the LORD.

Revealed in the New is the amazing reality that I, as a believer, a blood-bought trophy of God’s grace, that I am part of the household of God. That I have been joined together with other believers to form a living building. One that is growing into a holy temple in the Lord as it is built together for a dwelling place of God through His Spirit (Eph. 2:19-22).

And just as the temple of ancient days was a place where offerings to God were brought, so too, as living stones being pulled together to form a spiritual house, this temple revealed in the New is to “offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1Peter 2:5).

So, get up and get at ‘er. Set your heart on seeking the Lord. Stand up and get in the game. And work. Building, by the grace of God and through the power of His indwelling Spirit, this holy habitation for the God of your salvation!

Let each one take care how he builds upon it. . . . Do you not know that you are Gods temple and that Gods Spirit dwells in you?

(1Corinthians 3:10b, 16 ESV)

Arise and build! Do it carefully. Do it purposefully. Do it wisely. And do it wholeheartedly.

Take care not to add to the foundation that which has no substance and will not last. Beware of trying to build with “wood, hay, and straw.” Watch out for cheap or imitation materials.

Instead, seek the Lord and build with gold, silver, and precious stones. Hold nothing back so that this new, holy habitation for God might be a place where He is pleased to dwell. Leverage the best materials from the spiritual treasures made available to you so that this flesh and blood temple might rise up to be a magnificent place of worship. So that the sacrifices of praise, and the living sacrifices of wholly consecrated bodies, would rise up as a sweet smelling aroma to Him who is worthy of our best.

Yeah . . . David thought he was talking to his leaders. In fact, the Lord is talking to me. You got to love the word of God! Amen?

Arise and build! By His grace. For His glory!

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Blessed, and Blessed Forever!

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Pete

Recorded both in 2Samuel 7 and in today’s reading in 1Chronicles 17, it is, for me, one of the most moving accounts in all of Scripture.

David desires to build a permanent dwelling where God’s glory might reside. No more tents. No more nomadic structures. Time to get rid of the animal skins and replace them with the finest of building materials. Time to trade in pragmatic functionality for majestic testimony. Rather than the LORD continually “packing up” and going with the people in the desert, now that they were in the land, it was time for their God to “settle down” and for the people to come to Him and the place where His glory would dwell. David’s desire was ignited, his heart aflame . . . time to break ground!

Not so fast, says the LORD through Nathan the prophet. I know you want to build Me a house, but David, “I declare to you that the LORD will build you a house” (17:10b).

And so God turns the tables. Though David’s heart was set on doing something great for God, he is reminded of the great things God has already done for him. Called from pastures where he followed bleating sheep to be a prince where he would rule over God’s chosen people. Determined to be a mighty man of war as the God of hosts purposed to go with him into battle and to cut off his enemies. His name made great. His throne established in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. All under the gracious sovereign hand of Almighty God. And what’s more, says the LORD, I will build you a house.

And David responds.

Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that You have brought me thus far? And this was a small thing in Your eyes, O God. You have also spoken of Your servants house for a great while to come, and have shown me future generations, O LORD God!

(1Chronicles 17:16-17 ESV)

“Who am I?” says the would be sub-contractor. What is my family? What possible merit do I possess that You would have brought me to this place and given me such a promise?

“Who am I?”  It is the question of the ages for every child of God.

Who am I that God the Father would send His Son to ransom me from my sin and rebellion? Who am I that the Christ would die on a cross and shed His blood so that a way might be opened for me to be cleansed and boldly enter the holy of holies? Who am I that, though I once set my back toward God, the Spirit of God descended to pursue me, to woo me, and to turn my face toward Himself?

Who am I to have ears to hear? Who am I to have had an encounter of the divine kind, having been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light through faith in the finished work of the cross? Who am I to have undergone a supernatural rewiring of my spiritual DNA? To have undergone radical internal surgery having my heart of stone replaced with a heart of flesh? Who am I?

And that’s just the beginning. For all that I have been saved from, what is it that I am being saved to? What will it be when the groaning of creation is done and the children of God are revealed (Rom. 8:18-19)? What will it be when the Bride is presented to her beloved Bridegroom, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing–holy and without blemish, and the greatest rescue mission of all ages is consummated (Eph. 5:27, Rev. 19:7)? What will it be to have faith give way to sight as we gather before the throne and worship with the heavenly host and with all those purchased by the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:9-12)?

To coin another’s phrase, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”

And so I sit with David this morning as he considers where he’s been and what God has said is yet to come. And I whisper along with this man after God’s own heart, “Who am I?”

And I am moved as I hover over the closing thoughts of his response to his God.

“Now You have been pleased to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You, for it is You, O LORD, who have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”

(1Chronicles 17:27 ESV)

Blessed. And blessed forever.

All because of grace. All for His matchless glory!

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A Whole Heart and A Single Mind

Posted on July 6, 2016 by Pete

They were his men. Many of them joined with him at the lowest of times and they stayed with him through the toughest of times. Others came to him as they discerned the working of God concerning the throne of Israel. Yet all were mighty and experienced warriors who gave allegiance to David. And though their backgrounds differed, though they came from different tribes and possessed different strengths, they were all marked by the same thing. A whole heart and a single mind.

All these, men of war, arrayed in battle order, came to Hebron with a whole heart to make David king over all Israel. Likewise, all the rest of Israel were of a single mind to make David king.

(1Chronicles 12:38 ESV)

These mighty of men of war owned David as king with a whole heart. And, like the people who bowed to David’s throne, they did so with a single mind.

All in, nothing held back. In complete agreement, no wavering. Upon such consecration David rose to power. Because of such dedication his throne was established.

A whole heart and a single mind–they are the attributes of which strong kingdoms are built. And as my eyes locked on those two attributes, I couldn’t help but think of the greater King, Jesus, and of his greater dominion, the kingdom of heaven, and of how His people also need to be all in with a laser focus.

Half-heartedness is the enemy of the kingdom. Competing priorities compromise His rule. That’s why Paul exhorts the Colossians:

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

(Colossians 3:1-2, 17 ESV)

We are never called to “do church” 24/7 . . . but we are called to be the church 24/7. Our hearts given fully to the risen, ascended, and interceding King of kings. Our focus locked in on things above. Bringing, then, everything we do here on earth under the great calling of serving the One who reigns in heaven.

And so we rise as unto the Lord. We go to work as unto the Lord. We engage our world as unto the Lord. We gather together as unto the Lord.

O’ to bring everything I do under the banner of the kingdom of heaven. To be unwavering in why I do what I do. To be undistracted as to where my ultimate allegiance should lie.

And it’s not that I’m some mighty warrior. It’s not that Jesus’ power and authority are somehow dependent upon my allegiance. Instead, I know that I am just a sinner saved by grace–mighty only in and through Him. And I’m aware that, far from rallying to Him, He drew me to Himself with a love I can’t fully comprehend through a grace that is really beyond my understanding. And this, so that with a bit of holy determination, and a whole lot of Spirit within me, I might seek to be of a whole heart and a single mind.

Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.   ~ Isaac Watts

Because of grace. For His glory.

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Who’s In the Boat

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Pete

They weren’t rookies when it came to navigating the lake. They knew how bad it could get when the weather turned and the winds came rolling in. They had been there, done that. They had navigated storms before. So when I read that they were in danger because of the windstorm that enveloped them, they were in danger. They weren’t overreacting. They hadn’t misunderstood the severity of the storm. They hadn’t miscalculated the amount of water they had taken on. The storm was real, the waves were real, the water in the boat was real, the danger was real. But what they had yet to fully appreciate and thus factor into their assessment was who was in the boat with them.

And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even winds and water, and they obey Him?”

(Luke 8:23b-25 ESV)

It wasn’t just that He commanded the wind and waves, but that they listened. Anyone could have shouted desperately into the air, “Stop it!” But what kind of man commands the elements and the elements respond?

Not to minimize the reality of the harrowing situation they were in, but with Jesus in the boat, what was happening around the boat was really of secondary importance. Greater was He that was with them than that which was happening around them.

Thus Jesus’ question, “Where is your faith?”

Having seen all that they had seen as they had walked with Him . . . having heard all that they had heard as He had taught them . . . why, asks the Master, did you not believe that when I said, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake” that we would, in fact, go to the other side of the lake? Why, as I abide next to you, are you so gripped with panic? Why wake Me with fears of perishing when I told you that I have come to give you life?

To be clear, I’m not slamming the disciples, I’m identifying.

Too often I lose sight of who’s in the boat. Not that I don’t believe He’s there, but that I kind of forget who He is. That He’s the Master of wind, the Maker of the rain (oh, that could be a song . . . it is, click here). That Jesus is the Lord of the storm.

How I need to remember that it’s not just the word He speaks but the power He commands. That it’s not about some random unexpected situation, but that it’s about His sovereign purposes and plans.

I need to remember who’s in the boat.

And then drink deep of His grace . . . even as I ride along for His glory.

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Beloved Sleep

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Pete

There’s a reason it’s called “the grind.” For many they understand all too well why it so often feels like a “rat race.” Everyday the same old, same old. Breaking your back but never seeming to get ahead. Or, if you are getting ahead, never seeming to have enough–never knowing a peaceful, contented satisfaction. Lots of work, little rest. Lots of worry, never enough reward. This morning the songwriter reminds me that for too many it’s about “eating the bread of anxious toil.” But I’m also reminded this morning of the promise of beloved sleep.

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep.

(Psalm 127:1-2 ESV)

A pretty familiar psalm. And it occurs to me as I hover over these opening verses that most often I’ve connected more with “the what” of these verses than I have with “the how.”

It’s a shaky foundation that is laid without consideration of God’s purposes. It’s a weak defense if all we rely on are our senses for protection. Want to build a solid house?  Engage the One who created all things. Want a safe abode?  Call upon Him who sees and knows all things. Structures built with God’s hand upon them are structures that stand. Security that is founded upon God’s presence is a sure security. These are “the whats.” The results.

But beyond the benefit of a good outcome, inviting the LORD to be part of your building program, or seeking the LORD to draw alongside you as you stand guard, impacts more than just “the what.” It also makes a huge difference on “the how.” It’s the difference between “the bread of anxious toil” and “beloved sleep.”

It’s vain, says the songwriter, it’s empty and desolate to rise up early and go to bed late in an attempt to get ‘er done by going it alone. Without a sense of God’s purpose and God’s presence, our work, no matter how hard we work, is like eating the bread of anxious toil. It’s consuming the food of sorrow and hardship. While the paychecks (paycheques for those in the homeland) are nice to receive, without the peace of knowing they are God’s provision, they can leave a bitter taste.

But for those who do what they do with an abiding sense that it’s what God has called them to do, for His beloved there is sleep. And for His, there is beloved sleep.

. . . for He gives to His beloved sleep.

I have read this promise of God over and over this morning. Tasting the word of the LORD and seeing that is good. Chewing on and savoring this food from heaven. Noodling on the fact that I can read this promise in two ways. One where beloved is a noun and so, to His beloved He gives sleep. The other where beloved is an adjective, thus, to His He gives a beloved, or lovely, sleep.

Child of God. You are beloved. More loved than can be fully comprehended. Loved with “the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (Eph. 3:19). And for His beloved there is available rest rather than anxious toil. Sure, early mornings and late nights might be part of the deal, but when that “deal” is God’s deal, when that job is undertaken with God’s power, when our labors are for God’s glory, then He gives sleep.

And it is a beloved, or lovely, sleep. It is the rest of the faithful servant who, in good conscience, toiled for the Master that day and hears heaven whisper in his ear, “Well done!” It is the rest that knows the results are ultimately in the Master’s hand. It is the rest that rejuvenates knowing the Master will provide sufficient resource and grace to get up and do it again the next morning.

A lovely sleep for a beloved people. Who labor not in vain, because they build with a sense of God’s purpose. Who watch without fear of missing something, because they abide in the reality of God’s presence. Who refuse the bread of anxious toil and receive the promise of a blessed sleep for those He loves.

Praise God for beloved sleep.

Available by grace. Appropriated for His glory.

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The Cry from the Battlefield

Posted on June 29, 2016 by Pete

True or false . . . Working through the opening chapters of 1Chronicles can be kind of tough going? True. Really true! True or false again . . . the opening chapters of 1Chronicles are God-breathed, “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work?” True again! And because of this latter truth, we persevere in our reading despite the former truth.

Genealogies are not the most riveting reading. The names of who fathered who all blur together after a while. While some names are familiar, most are not. But as I slog through these first chapters of 1Chronicles what I’m particularly on the look out for are the periodic inserted editorials concerning some of these unknowns. Those breaks from the list of names meant to provide some divinely inserted “color commentary” on these mostly unknown people. While I’m sure there is a ton to be learned from researching the names themselves, I’m thinking that when the Spirit pauses to provide some additional information it’s probably prudent to pay particular attention.

They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. And when they prevailed over them, the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hands, for they cried out to God in the battle, and He granted their urgent plea because they trusted in Him.

(1Chronicles 5:19-20 ESV)

“They” are the valiant men of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh who carried the shield and the sword. “Them” are some obscure, haven’t-a-clue-who-they-are enemies of “they.” And they prevailed over them. How come? Because they cried out to God in the battle. And so, it’s got me thinking about the cry from the battlefield.

The battlefield. The point past the point of no return. You’re in the fray. The enemy has been engaged, the ebb and flow of hand to hand combat has begun. You keep raising and positioning your shield to stave off life-compromising blows. You keep swinging your sword with all your might and strength desperate to gain some advantage in the conflict.

There’s a lot going on. Strategies to be formed, tactics to be executed, prisoners to be taken, casualties to be ministered to. Not the sort of situation where your first thought is to take a timeout and head into your prayer closet. But the sort of situation that compels us to cry out to God in the battlefield.

When you’re up to your eyeballs in alligators, that’s a good time for a cry from the battlefield. Urgent pleas ascending while you stave off the enemy. Desperate petition and supplication brought before the throne even as you find it hard to see past the circumstance. Though you’ve put on the full armor of God and have fully engaged the battle you still need to be”praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Eph. 6:18).

And those who cry from the battlefield are those who trust in the LORD. They look up in the midst of the fray because they believe God looks down from His throne. They pause to petition for air cover because they believe there is refuge in the shadow of the Almighty’s wings. They call out even as they press in because they believe that greater is He that is in them than he that is in the world.

They cry from the battlefield because, though the battle may be fierce, they know their God is faithful.

And the victory will be won.

Because of His all sufficient grace. And for His everlasting glory.

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On Our Side

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Pete

It’s written in such a way as to grab your attention. It’s broken up so that you’re not too quick to just slide on by it. The songwriter is masterful. The sentiment is powerful. And who, having known the Lord, couldn’t relate.

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. Blessed be the LORD . . .

(Psalm 123:1-6a ESV)

If it had not been the LORD on our side . . . let the people of God say it again! . . . if it had not been the LORD on our side, where would I be? Where would I be?

Before I realized this soul searching question came from an ancient song of David, I heard it on a Gaither video (almost as ancient . . . check it out here if you have a few extra minutes).

Hard to imagine life without knowing the LORD. Can’t imagine where I would be if I had refused the Spirit’s wooing some 38 years ago. No idea what would have filled that hole in my heart reserved for the things of eternity (Eccl. 3:11). And, to use the songwriters imagery, not sure from where I would have drawn strength to deal with torrents, raging waters, and flood waters capable of sweeping me away.

And as I hover over this song of ascent I am a bit overwhelmed by the thought that the LORD is “on our side.”

Really? The One who made heaven and earth is on my side? (Ps. 124:8) Sounds kind of presumptuous, doesn’t it?

Truly? The Almighty God enthroned in the heavens has eyes on me? (Ps 123:1-2) He actually knows about me? And He purposefully acts to draw alongside me?

I know it’s not about me . . . but had not been the LORD who was on my side . . .

Sometimes it’s easy to forget, even believing He lives in us by His Spirit, that God is really on our side. The waves of circumstance keep us from taking a breath of His life giving Word. The enemy gets in our head and tell us we’re really alone and that we gotta figure it out ourselves. The world sucks us into grasping after self-help solutions when what we really need is a bit of divine intervention. Let God’s people say it again, if it had not been the LORD who was on our side . . .

He is on our side.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?

(Romans 8:31-32 ESV)

Sometimes it’s good to ponder the “what if” questions so that we might rejoice in the “what is” reality.

On our side. Because of grace . . . for His glory.

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