Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Pete

Done! Time to finish the job. It had already been over tens years since the city was captured and the people carted off into captivity (2Kings 24:10-17). Over ten years since all the treasures and all the vessels of gold in the house of the LORD had been removed and taken to Babylon. But now the vassal king of Judah, Zedekiah, flexed what little muscle he thought he still possessed against Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and rebelled. Enough’s enough! Time to clean house. Literally.

And so they laid siege to Jerusalem. Eventually they breached the city. They wiped out the resistance (25:1-7). And then they finished the job they had started (25:8-21).

They razed the king’s house and every other house of prominence within Jerusalem’s walls. Then they went after Jerusalem itself breaking down its walls, emasculating the city of David as they removed its defenses. What’s more, they set fire to the house of the LORD. And they broke down the great pillars Solomon had built for the place where the glory of God should dwell. And they tore apart, cut up, and hauled off everything that had been built to facilitate worship to the God of Jacob. And they murdered the high priest and his successor, putting an end to any thought of God’s people ever again standing on holy ground in God’s presence.

And what’s so remarkable is that “surely this came upon Judah at the command of the LORD” (24:3).

Then, after reading this, I moved on in my reading plan and read in Psalms:

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you! Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!”
For my brothers and companions sake I will say, “Peace be within you!” 
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.

(Psalm 122:6-9 ESV)

Jerusalem. To be standing within it’s gates would be to stand on the threshold of the house of the LORD. The tribes would set their faces and their feet to go up to Jerusalem that they might give thanks to the name of the LORD. It’s where the cloud of God’s glory descended. It’s where the smoke of atoning sacrifices ascended. The place where the people of God could enter into the presence of God. And so, says the songwriter, pray for it. Seek its peace. Seek its good. For the sake of each other. For the sake of our God.

How tragic then to read of Jerusalem’s dismantling this morning. The hope of security apparently lost. How awful to imagine the house of the LORD leveled–the glory having departed, the offerings long since ceased. The destruction of sin having apparently won. How depressing to consider the people of God absorbed by the nations around them. The benefits of sanctification apparently forfeited because of unfaithfulness.

Heavy sigh as I come to the end of 2Kings. A warning about spiritual infidelity. A yellow flag about turning one’s heart from God in pursuit of the world. A reminder that while God is patient and slow to anger, He will not be mocked, “for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Gal. 6:7).

And yet, I know the story is not over. That even in the exile God has determined a way of redemption, reconciliation, and return. That even the destruction of Jerusalem and the decimation of the temple will work together for good as He again calls a people to Himself from a foreign land to pursue again their heavenly home. The temple will be rebuilt. The walls will be reestablished. And Jerusalem will stand again, if only to offer it’s greatest sacrifice for man’s transgression, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

The leveled mount a reminder that God is not done. That His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is being fulfilled and yet to be fulfilled. That His word is sure and that He is faithful and that Jerusalem, and it’s people, will again be His glory.

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.

(Revelation 21:2-3 ESV)

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Prayer, Praise, Practice, and Peace

Posted on June 22, 2016 by Pete

Continuing to hover over Paul’s exhortation to the Philippians in the first part of chapter four.

He’s writing to faithful believers who have faithfully supported him. He’s writing to fearful believers who are worried about Paul and the implications of his Roman imprisonment. He’s writing to faulty believers who need to deal with some internal family strife lest a spirit of division be allowed to take root within their fellowship. So, as he wraps up his short letter to them, he gives some very practical instruction on how to pursue the peace of God and how to invite among themselves the God of peace.

First, pray!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:6-7 ESV)

If it’s causing tension, pray about these things.

Whether they were troubled about the interpersonal issues within their fellowship, or whether it was worry and anxiety that was stressing the relationship between two of their members, Paul says pray. Bring it before the Lord. Bring everything before the Lord. And a state of tranquility from out of this world (literally) will calm the raging storm. Heart and minds will be shielded from fear and frustration. Pray about everything and know the peace of God.

Next, praise!

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

(Philippians 4:8 ESV)

If it’s praiseworthy, think about these things.

If it’s deserving of high esteem, meditate on it. Divine truth? Noodle on it. Compute and re-compute, again and again, all that you know about a redemption which comes by faith through a gospel which is the power of God for such salvation. Spend time considering the multi-faceted beauty of a Savior come from heaven and returned to heaven–who even now intercedes at the Father’s right hand on our behalf. Worthy of praise? Chew on it!

Finally, practice!

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me–practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

(Philippians 4:9 ESV)

If it’s worth imitating then practice these things.

Heard it taught? Seen it lived out? Know deep down it’s the way of the Christ-follower, then do it! And keep doing it. Exercise those behaviors which are consistent with our calling as Christians until they become holy habits. Work it in by working it out.

While in the flesh, practice may not make perfect but the Spirit says it will invite divine presence. Pray and you’ll experience the peace of God in you. Practice these things and you’ll know the God of peace with you.

Divine presence. Deep peace.

Available, I’m thinking, for those who pray, praise, and practice.

Only by His of grace. Only for His glory.

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The Command in the Shadow

Posted on June 21, 2016 by Pete

Three commands in rapid succession. That’s what I notice as I’m reading the first part of Philippians 4 this morning. And though they should carry equal weight, I’m thinking the reality is that the command in the middle is overshadowed by those on either side of it. That it’s like a lesser noticed sapling in the shade of two great elms. On the one side stands “Rejoice in the Lord always” (4:4). On the other, “be anxious for nothing, pray about everything” (4:6). I’m guessing that for most of us who read our bibles, if we haven’t memorized these verses, they are at least very familiar to us.

But what about Paul’s exhortation sandwiched in between these two pillars? What about the command in the shadow?

While the commands that bookend it tell me what to do, the middle command may have an equally far-reaching impact as it tells me how to go about doing it.

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand.

(Philippians 4:5 ESV)

Your reasonableness. The word is translated “gentleness” in other translations. The NLT renders it, “see that you are considerate in all you do.”

It has the idea of that which is appropriate, of what is suitable for the occasion or circumstance. The word speaks of moderation and a lack of excess–of what is mild or gentle. Think of what is equitable or fair. Or think propriety, and you’re starting to pick up what the apostle is laying down. Think of being even keeled, governed in action by the mind of Christ, and you start sensing how someone conducts themselves when they are rejoicing in the Lord, anxious for nothing, and praying about everything.

And this inner equilibrium is to be “known by everyone.” It is to be part of our persona as followers of Christ. An evidence of the peace of God which passes understanding, a witness to the heart and mind which are guarded in Christ Jesus. It’s that “something you’ve got” that others say they want. Not a fake cool-ness. Not a put on confidence. Not a well calculated act to try and show others we’ve got everything together. Rather, it’s the result of having sought the mind of Christ and of having submitted ourselves to the leading of the Spirit.

As such, we seek to avoid all manner of excess. By the Spirit’s enabling we desire to bring every thought into subjection under the truth of the gospel. In all circumstance we purpose, as much as lies in us, to be imitators of Christ. So that our reasonableness, our gentleness, might be known to everyone.

Why? The Lord is at hand. The Master is coming and will return at an hour we know not. Until then we are His ambassadors and are to be occupied with doing His bidding in His name. Engaged in His work and showing how one labors according to His way. Reflecting something of the light of His character though we are but jars of clay.

And so this command in the shadow emerges as a witness to those we encounter. Not just in what we do, but in how we go about doing it.

By God’s grace. For God’s glory.

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He Trusted

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Pete

His name literally means “Jehovah is my strength.” It’s one thing to be named something like that, it’s quite another to actually believe it. But as I’m reading in 2Kings 18 and 19 this morning that’s exactly what Hezekiah did, he lived up to his name. In fact, he’s the only king of Judah or Israel of whom it was written, “He trusted.”

In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, . . . And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. . . . He trusted in the LORD the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.

(2Kings 18:1-5 ESV)

Hit me like a ton of bricks as I was reading this morning. Don’t think I’ve ever had the Spirit bring this to my attention before. But as I read the word “trusted” in verse five it felt like I hadn’t seen that attribute mentioned much in the annals of the kings. And as I’m reading chapters 18 and 19, the word comes up again and again–8 more times–all in the context of Judah’s enemy, the king of Assyria, telling the people of Judah not to listen to their king should he tell them to trust in the LORD for deliverance from Assyria.

“Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”

(2Kings 18:30 ESV)

And it’s not just that I hadn’t read “trusted” much in 1 and 2 Kings, it’s that, until this point, I hadn’t read it all.

I checked. You will not find the word trust (at least in the ESV) anywhere in 1Kings or 2Kings other than in the passage I read today which introduces a king who trusted in God like no other king before or after him. The word is not to be found anywhere else other than here where the enemy mocks those who would trust in their God when no other god has been able to withstand the conquering hoard of the Assyrians.

And, honestly, I’m blown away! Not just because I’ve discovered the trust passage in 1 and 2 Kings but because the Spirit allowed me to see it! As much as I am inspired by King Hezekiah’s faithfulness and leadership, I’m in awe again at the ability for the Spirit of God to be my teacher . . . to illuminate the Word of God . . . to reveal the mind of the Almighty . . . to lead me into all truth. Just as Jesus promised (John 16:13). Just as Paul said would happen (1Corinthians 2:9-16).

And so, a fresh longing is ignited this morning to trust as Hezekiah trusted. Not only because of his example but also because of the still small voice that whispers, “Take note, Pete. Without faith it is impossible to please Me. I am Jehovah your strength. Will you trust me?”

Yes Lord!

He trusted.  I would too!

By Your grace . . . for Your glory!

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Give Me Life!

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Pete

Their number was many. The songwriter’s “persecutors and adversaries” lined up to take a swing at him. And knowing he could not withstand the barrage on his own, the songwriter cries out to his God. Look on my affliction, he says, and deliver me. Plead my cause and be my advocate against my accusers. I am Your heritage, thus step up and step in as my kinsman and redeem me from the faithless who oppress me.

And as I hover over Resh, the twentieth stanza of the songwriter’s love song to the Word of God, and consider the psalmist’s plea before “the Existing One,” Jehovah, I’m drawn to the request that is repeated three times in these eight verses. Give me life!

Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to Your promise! . . . Great is Your mercy, O LORD; give me life according to Your rules. . . . Consider how I love your precepts! Give me life according to Your steadfast love.

(Psalm 119:154, 156, 159 ESV)

Give me life. Revive me (NKJV, NASB). Both translations better, I think, than the NIV’s “preserve my life.”

While there is certainly a sense in which the psalmist seeks to survive his present circumstance, more than that there is an air of him wanting to thrive through the struggle. More than just rescue him, he wants the LORD to renew and reinvigorate him. If he has to go through the testing then he longs to be transformed by it. Through the battle he longs for the LORD to make him better.

“It is a desire which cannot be too often felt and expressed. As the soul is the center of everything, so to be quickened [made alive] is the central blessing. It means more love, more grace, more faith, more courage, more strength, and if we get these we can hold up our heads before our adversaries.” ~ Spurgeon

And where does a revived soul come from? The songwriter identifies a threefold source . . . the Promises of God . . . the Precepts of God . . . and the Propensity of God.

Though the thief might come to “to steal and kill and destroy”, the Lord has come that we “may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). If that’s His intent, then should we not appeal to Him that we would know in practice what He has promised? Abundant life, life to the full, is not just mountain top enthusiasm, but is every day, in every way, power for seeking first the kingdom of heaven while I deal with the realities of earth. Lord, give me life according to Your promise!

And we’re not left to our own wisdom or devices to deal with that which stands against us. Rather we take up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” against all circumstance and against every enemy (Eph. 6:17). We rely not on bread alone, but on “every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Lord, give me life according to Your rules!

What’s more, we stand fast in the confidence of the cross. God so loved us, that He gave His One and only Son to redeem us. So, “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? . . . Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? . . . in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom. 8:31-37). Lord, give me life according to Your steadfast love!

Sometimes all we want to do is get through it. O may the cry of our hearts be that we might be revived through it. Lord, give me life!

Through Your all sufficient grace. For Your all surpassing glory.

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Proven

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Pete

“I’ll take lesser-appreciated New Testament people for 800, Alex.”

“Ok. And the answer to the question is: Paul said of him,

‘For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. They all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know [his] proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.'”

(Philippians 3:20-22 ESV)

“Who is Timothy?”

“Correct!”

Timothy. No one like him. Like spiritual father, like spiritual son. Genuine. The real meal deal. Proven!

The few verses I read in Philippians this morning aren’t the most theological verses in the New Testament. Not much here in the way of a promise to claim, or a command to obey, or an attribute of God to evoke worship. Instead, in Philippians 2:19-30 Paul talks about two guys who are not that well known by most. Kind of un-sung heroes. But concerning them, Paul says, “Honor such men” (2:29).

Timothy is probably the better known of the two. At least we know that there are a couple of letters in the New Testament written to him. Paul loved this guy. Paul saw nothing but potential in this guy. Paul was encouraged by this guy. Encouraged not because of what Timothy did for Paul, but because of what Timothy did for others — because of what Timothy did for Christ.

Paul says that there was no one like him. No one who was as “like-minded” (NKJV), no one as “equal in soul”, as Timothy when it came to loving and caring for the saints. Paul said that he knew of no other who, like Timothy, so possessed the mind of Christ (Php. 2:4-5) that he was fueled by looking out for the interests of the Great Shepherd and the welfare of His flock. Timothy had an ingrained passion for caring and feeding the bride of Christ. That’s why Paul asked him to visit the Philippians and encourage them.

And two words that grab me in this mini-bio of Timothy’s are “proven worth.” Paul says of his son in the faith, “You know his proven worth.” The NKJV translates the Greek word “proven character.”

A little poking into the Greek word and it has the idea of a coin that was approved and verified as being of full weight–unlike some of the shaved coins of the day put into circulation by those who hoped to make a few dollars by turning the shavings into another coin. Timothy was no counterfeit, he was proven.

His character was weighed on the scales of his actions and found to be the real thing. He didn’t just read about having the mind of Christ and esteeming others better than himself. He didn’t just talk of serving others. Timothy actually did it! He sought to model His Savior, the One who came not to be served but to serve others and give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). He had the mind of Christ. He had the compassion of Christ. He lived as a servant of Christ. Genuine. Authentic. Proven.

And as I think about Timothy this morning my mind goes to a conference center in Oregon where a bunch of men and their wives are gathered together for some respite, reflection, and renewal. It’s one of a number of such gatherings that will be held throughout the U.S. and Canada over the next few weeks. And you might say that all of these couples are “lesser known New Testament people.” For the most part, they serve small congregations in out of the way places. These couples will probably never receive much notoriety here on earth. But they are those marked by genuine concern for others, faithfulness to Christ, and a commitment to the gospel. They are the men and women of Village Missions. Those of whom Christ might echo Paul’s words, “I have no one like them. Honor such people. They are proven.”

By God’s grace. For God’s glory.

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Well Tried

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Pete

We often talk of our less than ideal circumstances as divinely appointed or allowed crucibles. Situations where the heat is turned up so that the impurities might be burned off. Times that test our faith and in so doing expose thoughts, attitudes, and actions unbecoming those who name Christ as Lord. Where, beyond reacting to the latest curve ball thrown at us, we are also repenting of the latest less than godly “swing and a miss” at dealing with that curve ball. Where our jar-of-clay-ness is once again made evident and we find ourselves falling before the throne of grace in need of His forgiveness and His fortification. Experiences endured that God might continue to form within us the image and nature of His Son.

And from time to time, if but for a brief respite, we walk out of the fiery furnace of our trial and realize that it’s working. While we’re not there yet, we’re not where we were. Certainly not perfect, but evidence that shows we really are a work that’s making progress. Nothing to boast in, no merit to claim, but signs that our holy determination to try to walk in the Spirit, and be led by the Spirit, and live by the Spirit is, in fact, bearing something of the fruit of the Spirit. Our lives are tried, and He is glorified.

But this morning, and I may not be reading this exactly as intended, the Spirit illumines the fact that the Word of God is also tried.

Your promise is well tried, and Your servant loves it. 

(Psalm 119:140 ESV)

The promises of God are also smelted or refined. They are also subject to the intense heat of trial and testing. They are no stranger to the crucible, not unfamiliar with the fiery furnace. But not for the purposes of cleaning them up or driving out any flaws or impurities. Instead, the promises of God are subjected to the heat that they might be tested and proved to be pure. That they might be shown to be that which, far from being burned up, withstands the heat of all life’s troubles and afflictions.

The Word of God is not intended to sit on the shelf.  Most of us know that. But nor is it only intended to be pulled out for morning devo’s or mid-week Bible studies or Sunday sermons. Rather, His testimonies, His statutes, His commandments, and His promises are intended to accompany the child of God into the crucibles of real life. They can stand the heat. And only as we purposefully include the Word as part of our “survival kits” during calamity, only as we cling to it as an anchor during the storm, only as we apply it as a balm for our wounds, do we try and test the promises of God and find that they are gold–that they are true and endure.

I never really would have known experimentally the peace that passes all understanding, if I hadn’t believed the Word when it said such peace could be experienced. Wouldn’t have confirmed the veracity that His grace is sufficient, or that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, or that He won’t allow us to be tempted or tested beyond what we’re able, if I hadn’t continued to “taste and see that the Lord is good” during my temptation and testing.

The songwriter-servant could proclaim, “I love Your promises” not only because by nature they were without blemish, but also because in everyday life they had been tested in the context of his testing and were found to pure and as resilient as gold.

The Word of God . . . not just a book for the shelf, or for the morning closet, or for the Sunday pew. But a book to be taken with us into the fire. A book to be well tried.

Promises for the present. A living and active Word for those who are living and active.

Reminding of His grace. With us in our testing for His glory.

Amen?

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Turn to Me and Be Gracious

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Pete

For me, it is one of my favorite stories told about Jesus in the gospels. If I had a “top ten”, this would be on the list. The picture that is painted of Jesus teaching in a house when all of a sudden the roof starts to cave in. The perseverance that is portrayed as a band of friends start to lower their paralyzed buddy on his bed down through the roof in front of Jesus. And the power that is pronounced when Jesus declares, “Man your sins are forgiven you. . . . But that you may know the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home,” . . . and the man does!

And when I read the story I tend to respond as those who were eye-witnesses to the man coming down with his bed and the glory of God coming down from heaven.

. . . amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, . . .

(Luke 5:26 ESV)

And within that story that so captures my imagination there is a phrase that always jumps off the page. Beyond the spectacle they created, looking past the dust in the air and the pieces of roof scattered over the floor, Jesus turned toward the paralyzed man before Him and evoked the power of heaven, and the eventual finished work of His cross, to heal the man–both spiritually and physically–because, Luke writes, “He saw their faith” (5:20a).

He didn’t have to read their minds. No need to search their hearts. Their faith was laid before Him . . . literally! Their actions spoke louder than any creed. Their boldness evidence of their deep belief. And seeing their faith, Jesus wiped clean a sin-stained heart and restored the strength of lifeless limbs.

Did I mention I love this story. Amazed! Filled with awe! All glory to God!

But this morning, after reading this account, there was an “encore.” Something I read in the songwriter’s love song to the word of God in Psalm 119 which brought a finishing touch to the story I had just read in Luke 5.

Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is Your way with those who love Your name.

(Psalm 119:132 ESV)

In the seventeenth stanza of this twenty-two stanza song, the writer continues to sing of God’s wonderful testimonies, of their ability to give light and impart understanding. He declares again his longing for the Almighty’s commandments, that he might be taught them, that he might walk in obedience to them, that, according to God’s promise, his feet would be steady in walking in their ways.

And in the midst of this stanza, he looks beyond the word revealed to the Revealer of the word. As if he is lying on the floor, trusting in the Word before him but knowing he is helpless to help himself, he calls out to the Giver of the word, “Turn to me and be gracious to me.”

The NKJV translates it, “Look upon me and be merciful to me.” See me, Lord, and show unmerited favor because that’s just what you do with those who love Your name. It’s how You have said You would respond to those who desire with great affection nothing more than to know You and Your holy character. It’s just what You have said You will do for those who seek You believing that if they seek, they will find. When you see their faith, turn to them, look upon them, show abundant grace to them. Forgive their sin, heal their disease.

Turn to me and be gracious. It’s the plea of faith. It is the precursor of heaven come down. And, praise God, when He “sees” such faith, He responds with great power.

Because of His amazing grace. All for His everlasting glory!

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Our Gain

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Pete

My media world exploded with death over the past couple of days. A Facebook “friend” who lost a husband, a Voice contestant who we followed a few years ago, a nightclub full of people we have no connection with other than through the news cycle. The husband who passed did so of natural causes. The others, of heart-wrenching, head-shaking, anything-but-natural causes. Our FB connection’s husband went home to be with the LORD, He was promoted into glory. The others, we don’t know.

Paul says that when someone who has placed their faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross “falls asleep”, those with like faith should “not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep” (1Thess. 4:13-14 ESV).

But death confronts us with mortality. And the death of others acts a reminder of our own mortality. So maybe that’s why something I read in Philippians this morning jumped off the page. Paul reminds me that for the believer who is confronted with death, and their own mortality, that when they think about falling asleep it should ignite their imagination to an awakening beyond imagining.

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.   (Philippians 1:21 ESV)

Nothing pretty about death. Nothing easy for those left behind to mourn and figure out how to move forward. But for those who have trusted in Jesus for life beyond life, to die is gain. Having turned to the cross, they anticipate one day standing before a heavenly throne. Having recognized that Jesus came to die for their sin of rebellion against God in their old lives, they also know that Jesus came to provide a spiritual re-birth into a new life which will extend far beyond the confines of this world and time and space.

They know that to be absent from the body is to be present with Lord (2Cor. 5:6-8). And in that there is great hope, even among unfathomable tragedy.

That is good news. That is the message of light so needed in a dark world.

O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

(1Corinthians 15:55-57 ESV)

Because of grace. For His glory.

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Let’s Be Old Fashioned

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Pete

Understanding. That’s the word for the morning. It’s the one that jumped off the page. The word that appears three times in the portion of Psalm 119 I was reading. Interesting though . . . unlike the ESV most often, the ESV translators used “understanding” for two different words in the original. The first has the idea of being prudent or circumspect. The second, the idea of being discerning or insightful.

Prudent, circumspect, discerning. As I chew on those words they seem to be words that many would consider to be old fashioned. You know, the kind of words you’d find in a movie set in the early 1800’s. Words that you recognize as part of the English language, but not part of the everyday, modern day English language. Words perhaps not used as much any more because they are not valued much any more.

But being prudent, circumspect, and discerning are the way of wisdom (perhaps another old fashioned word). Wisdom being a much valued treasure in the economy of the kingdom of heaven (check out the early chapters of Proverbs). For, as said so well by Chuck Swindoll, wisdom is looking at life from God’s point of view, it is the art of skillful living. And wisdom, along with prudence, circumspection, and discernment, are to be found in God’s word.

I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for Your testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the aged,
for I keep Your precepts. . . .
Through Your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.

(Psalm 119:99, 100, 104 ESV)

The songwriter sings of meditating on the word of God, and of keeping the word of God as he made it a life habit to take in the word of God. Not that it’s about formulas, but this is probably a pretty good start at how to see life from God’s point of view and of building up muscle in the art of skillful living.

His discernment surpassed the academics. His prudence exceeded those who relied solely on experience. His ability to distinguish right from wrong was fine-tuned.

Wisdom is not dependent solely on how smart we are, but on how supple we are. Not just about how much we know of the Word, but how much the Word knows of us–“piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).

The art of skillful living is not simply gained by doing life and gaining experience for “there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Prov. 14:12). Rather it’s developed as, by faith, we step out and walk in the way God says we should walk and find that, in fact, it is the way of life everlasting. It’s as we taste and see that the LORD is good.

Yeah. I think that too many in our culture consider that being prudent, circumspect, and discerning are Victorian-era virtues not really relevant for today. They’re probably the same people who also believe the word of God is kind of out of date, as well. May that not be the case among the people of God.

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

(Hebrews 5:12-14 ESV)

Let’s be those who chew on solid food. Let’s continue to work out the Word in our lives and thus have our powers of discernment fine-tuned. Let’s continue to make His word our meditation, our way of action, and our source of wisdom.

And if that’s being old fashioned, then let’s be old fashioned.

By His grace. For His glory.

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