The Grace Available . . . The Glory to be Revealed

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Pete

Double dose of fulfilled promise this morning. One from the Old Testament, the other from the New. Both concerning the same promise–God’s promise to David that He would “raise up your offspring after you, . . . establish his kingdom. . . .  your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before Me. Your throne shall be established forever” (2Sam. 7:12-16). The first dose a reminder of the grace available. The second, of the glory to be revealed.

First I read of Solomon’s rise to the throne in 1Kings. David, nearing death, gives final instruction to Solomon. Some of it practical, as to “cleaning up” some unfinished business concerning David’s enemies.  But some of it promise-based instruction concerning the throne. Be strong, be a man, and keep the charge of our God, David exhorts Solomon, that the Lord may establish His word spoken to me concerning my throne (1Kings 2:1-4).

And as Solomon carries out his dad’s final wishes he does so connecting his actions to God’s promise. He removes the threat of his older brother’s deceitful maneuvers for the throne in the name of the living God who had established Solomon as king and placed Solomon on the throne, “as He promised” (2:23-25). And when David’s son deals with one who had sought to see David dethroned he triumphantly declares, “the throne of David shall be established before the LORD forever” (2:45).

But while Solomon rises to prominence in fulfillment of the promise of God, he does so as one dependent on the grace of God. Though Solomon loved the LORD (3:3), he also had a weakness for the world, taking a daughter of Pharaoh king of Egypt as his wife, thus making an alliance with Jacob’s land of bondage (3:1-2). Talk about your unequal yoking . . . talk about reason for God to pause and give second thought as to this successor to the promised throne . . . especially knowing what a weakness women would become for Solomon.

And then I read that Solomon “sacrificed and made offerings at the high places” (3:3). What?!? Wonky worship and worldly women? Is this really the guy God’s raised up to fulfill His promise?

Evidently yes . . . for it’s after this foreshadowing of Solomon’s two clay feet, that God appears to Solomon in a dream and asks, “What shall I give you?” And Solomon, though very human, shows great humility, desiring great faithfulness as he asks God for wisdom that this “little child” might have “an understanding mind” to govern God’s people (3:5-9).

And “it pleased the Lord.” God answers the newbie king’s prayer . . . and then some. Not only gifting him with “a wise and discerning mind” but also with that which Solomon could have asked for but didn’t, “riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you” (3:10-13).

And I’m encouraged. God’s perfect promise fulfilled in less than perfect people. God’s eternal plan advanced through men of mortal flesh. Even amidst the flesh’s failure, the Father is pleased with a heart that seeks to faithfully serve. And in His grace, God supplies heavenly provision sufficient for those tasked with earthly obedience. A reminder that grace is available.

But then I came across my second encounter with the fulfillment of God’s promise to David. And what a contrast as I pause and reflect on the greater Solomon.

“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

(Luke 1:30-33 ESV)

Not a king in need of grace, but a King who from eternity past is declared to be great. Though of the flesh and tempted as Solomon was, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15). Not needing an extra measure of divine wisdom, but “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). Come the first time to claim a people for His own and establish a kingdom in redeemed hearts of faith. Coming again in might and power to reign forever in a kingdom that will know no end. Thus fulfilling fully God’s promise to David. A reminder of the glory to be revealed.

Our God is a keeper of promise. If He begins a work, He will finish it.

And it will be by His grace. His all sufficient, abundantly flowing grace.

And on that day when faith gives way to sight, it will manifest His glory. His everlasting, worship evoking glory.

All hail the King! Amen?

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We Will Reap!

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Pete

It strikes me as a bit ironic that a letter which so passionately defends grace and exposes the folly of works as a means to righteousness should wrap up with so many commands to obey. This morning, overlooking the ocean and in no rush to get on with my day, I read two days of my reading plan and so I ended up taking in the last chapter and half of Galatians. And, in a book that has been all about what we can’t do to merit God’s favor, these last twenty-nine verses are packed full of what we should be doing because we have known God’s favor.

Walk by the Spirit . . . be led by the Spirit . . . keep in step with the Spirit. Beware of becoming conceited. Don’t provoke one another. Don’t envy one another.

Restore the brother caught in a transgression. Keep watch over yourself. Bear one another’s burdens. Test your own works. Bear your own load. Share with those who teach the word.

Don’t grow weary of doing good. As you have opportunity, do good to everyone. And do good especially to those of the household of faith.

And lot of stuff to do for those who have been saved apart from any stuff they can do. So how come?

It’s not about earning salvation. It’s about planting for a future harvest!

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

(Galatians 6:7-9 ESV)

Reminded that good works are not the requirement for salvation, they are the response. They are not what earns us eternal life, they are the evidence that eternal life has been gifted. They are not the things of which we boast in order to claim our rightful place, instead they the things we plant, in Christ Jesus and as unto the Savior, in faith that they will bear much fruit. And the harvest will be life everlasting.

That there is a connection between the life we live here and now with the life that will be ours there and then is taught throughout Scripture. Beyond the motivation to obey Christ’s commands as His servants, seeking to glorify Him in our body knowing we are not our own by have been bought at price (1Cor. 6:19-20), there is the law of the harvest provided as an incentive to keep on keepin’ on.

Don’t grow tired of walking the talk. Don’t give up on swimming upstream in a downstream world. Don’t cash it in when the enemy whispers in your ear, “Is it really worth it!” Keep following. Keep obeying. Keep doing. Keep sowing. For in due season WE WILL REAP!

No uncertainty about it. We will harvest a good crop. Beyond knowing the dynamic of the Spirit’s enabling work in our life as we seek to be led by Him . . . beyond experiencing the all sufficient grace He gives to pursue that which we’ve been called to pursue . . . beyond seeing the surpassing power of God seep out through the cracks as we carry this treasure as jars of clay . . . Paul says that a day is coming when what we sow will bear it’s full fruit.

The Lord of the harvest Himself also declares this law of the harvest:

” . . . give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be back to you.

~ Jesus  (Luke 6:38 ESV)

We will reap. Be encouraged faithful sower. Keep on weary sojourner. Press on patient pilgrim.

All by His grace. All for His glory!

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Lift Up the Cup!

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Pete

We’re in Maui. Sue and I will be enjoying the blessing of this place for the next number of days as we reflect on, and rejoice in thirty-five years of marriage. Can’t help but that such milestones are cause for reflection and response. Perhaps that’s why the songwriter’s question jumps off the page this morning.

What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to me? 

(Psalm 116:12 ESV)

“What can I offer?” says the NLT. “What can I give back?” the MSG. The NIV’s question is, “How can I repay?” Literally it’s, “What do I return to Jehovah?”

Seems like the right question to ask when pausing to take stock of God’s abundant provision, His faithful protection, and His abiding presence. Count your many blessings, says the song. And then what? What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to me?

And the psalmist’s answer is in stark contrast to what I was reading in Galatians. The Galatians were also wondering what to do . . . but not what to do in response to the grace of God but what to do to merit the grace of God. They were frustrating the grace of God by thinking that somehow they needed to obey the law in order to really merit the righteousness of Christ. Which was crazy! If they could actually follow the law, they wouldn’t need the righteousness of Christ! “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore . . . ” (Gal. 3:1, 4:1a).

No, the psalmist’s response wasn’t in trying to work harder in order to deserve the LORD’s benefits. Rather it was in acknowledging afresh that the work was already done.

I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.

(Psalm 116:13 ESV)

Sounds like a toast, doesn’t it? You can see the picture the psalmist is trying to paint. God has heard his plea. God has rescued him again. The Almighty has made known to the songwriter, in the every day circumstance and trial of life, His glorious Name and power. Made known that He is gracious, righteous, and merciful, . . . that He preserves the simple (vv. 5-6).

. . . for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

(Psalm 116:7b ESV)

And this recipient of God’s grace simply raises the cup of salvation. No work of his own could be offered as repayment for such bounty. Only the acknowledgement of God’s mighty working in and around his life. No oath to do better. No vow to seek to be more deserving. Simply lifting up a symbol which speaks of what the LORD has done through His mighty acts of rescue, redemption, and reconciliation.

A cup of thanksgiving lifted toward heaven. And looking past the cup, the eyes of faith fixed on the Father of lights, the Giver of every good gift (James 1:17).

And if the psalmist could connect his cup of wine with the goodness of God, how much more can we who see in that cup the blood of Jesus poured out for our sin?

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?  

(1Corinthians 10:16a ESV)

Every other blessing, though appreciated and worthy of lifting a cup, every other blessing is enveloped in the grace shown by a God who so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. Every other reason for thanksgiving is seen in the greater context of Him who came to give us life and to give it abundantly.

What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation!

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

(Romans 11:36 ESV)

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Not Just “From” But “For”

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Pete

It’s a short song. Less than a hundred words parsed into eight verses packaged into four stanzas. It’s a short song about a great God to be sung by a redeemed people.

The God of Jacob is the focus of Psalm 114. The God before whom the sea fled, the river reversed course, and the mountains and hills wildly ran away. Why? It’s just what the earth does in the presence of the Lord, it trembles. It dances wildly in response to heavens majesty. It vacillates between retreat and drawing near as it responds to the Glory with a sense of dread and yet great joy as perfect holiness draws near. It is the fear of awe and worship. It’s just what creation does when it sees its Creator.

But while God is the focus of the song, what captures my attention this morning is the first stanza which talks of His people. And I tremble. Because I’m reminded that God’s people have been redeemed not just FROM something but FOR Someone.

When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion.

(Psalm 114:1-2 ESV)

They were led out of Egypt. They escaped the angel of death and were delivered from the land of bondage. They were showered with the plunder of their oppressors and were free to worship the God of their liberation. A pretty good day, all in all, for the house of Jacob. There were saved FROM slavery, freed FROM oppression, rescued FROM their enemies.

But while it was so about them, it really wasn’t about them at all. Not when you consider what they were rescued FOR.

Judah’s redemption was so that they would become their Redeemer’s sanctuary. Israel’s rescue was so that the people might become their Rescuer’s dominion. They were to be a place where His glory would dwell and His rule would be known on earth.

Those led out of Egypt were to be God’s holy place. They were set apart so that the God of heaven might touch down on earth in their midst. Provision made to make the unholy holy, so that He who is holy, holy, holy might be manifest among them. Not perfect people, but purchased people, fit because of God’s sanctifying work alone to be the place of His dwelling on earth. That they were saved FROM Egypt was amazing, that they were saved FOR His holy dwelling place was fall to your face, tremble in your boots, awe invoking.

Those delivered from Pharaoh were also called to be the realm of God’s rule. Want some insight as to the inner workings of heaven? Look no further than to God’s people. Among them would be God’s kingdom on earth. The precepts, the principles, the practices, and the power of heaven would be seen in them as they traded the rusting chains of Egypt for an unreserved allegiance to heaven. Though the throne in their midst would be seen by faith, their obedience to Him who sits on the throne would be known in their faithfulness. Saved FROM the tyrannical rule of one who sought only to use them up and spit them out, they were also saved FOR Him who had come to give them life, true life, life to the full.

That’s the FROM and FOR of the people of God. To see our salvation only in terms of what we’ve avoided is to only see half a salvation. But to grasp something of what we have been saved FOR is to whirl about, flipping back and forth between holy fear and inexpressible joy, in glorious worship to our God.

God’s people have been called out so that they might be “a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22). They have been gathered apart to demonstrate what heavenly rule looks like–“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:13).

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.

(Psalm 114:7-8 ESV)

When I pause to consider anew not only what I have been rescued FROM but also what I have been redeemed FOR, it’s enough to make me tremble.

Because of His wondrous grace . . . all for His awesome glory!

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A Temporary Guardian

Posted on May 19, 2016 by Pete

It was added because of transgressions. It imprisoned everything under sin. It held everyone captive. That’s how Paul, in the latter part of Galatians 3, explained the purpose and the dynamics of the law.

Far from being given as the way to God, the law actually revealed how great the distance men and women had run from God. The commandments of Moses, never able to be a means of justification before God, were more than able to be a mirror of the natural man’s propensity to turn his back on God. And so Paul says to the Galatians, “O foolish Galatians!” . . . having begun by faith why do you now think that you seal the deal by observing the law? That was never the law’s purpose. In fact, “all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse” (3:1, 3, 10).

Instead, the commandments of God had a greater redemptive purpose. They were to act as a temporary guardian.

So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

(Galatians 3:24-26 ESV)

The law was our guardian. Literally the law was to function as a guide of children, a tutor of those who knew no better until they matured in their understanding. My online lexicon says, “Among the Greeks and the Romans the name was applied to trustworthy slaves who were charged with the duty of supervising the life and morals of boys belonging to the better class. The boys were not allowed so much as to step out of the house without them before arriving at the age of manhood.”

Never intended as the means, always intended to show the need. Never the way to righteousness, always revealing the depths of rebellion. Never able to be salvation, very effective in showing our need for salvation. Thus, leading us to the way of salvation–faith in the person and work of Jesus.

Faith in His person. He is Christ Jesus, the promised Messiah. The Offspring of Abraham through whom all nations would be blessed (Gal. 3:16, Gen. 12:3). God’s Son, third Person of the Trinity, come in flesh.

Faith in His work. Manifest in flesh that He might be the Lamb of God come to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). After a life lived in complete and perfect obedience to the law, offered on a Roman cross as the spotless sacrifice for the transgressions–past, present, and future–of all people. His blood shed as the payment for our full and eternal redemption. Dying in humiliation but raised again to life in victory over sin and death.

The law was our guardian until Christ came. It showed us our need until God manifest the solution.

And now, in Christ Jesus, secure as sons and daughters of the God of Creation, we seek to obey the law. Not as a requirement of salvation, but as a response. Not that we rely on the need to obey the law, but that we relish in the thought of pleasing the Father.

No longer our guardian, it is now our grand desire. Having fulfilled it’s role in directing us to Christ, it is now our natural, or supernatural delight because of who we are in Christ.

Thank God for our temporary guardian. Praise God for our everlasting Savior!

By His grace . . . for His glory.

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Half Bought?

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Pete

The Galatians were confused. Paul likened it to having been “bewitched.” Someone had come to them with a “new gospel” which apparently made a lot more sense to them — I guess because the gospel they first believed seemed too good to be true — too much blessing for too little cost (at least to them).

But have someone tell them that what began in the Spirit now needed to be perfected by acts of the flesh? Now that made sense! Have someone tell them that Christ’s work on the cross was the down payment but that they would need to make on-going installments of obedience to the law to secure their home in heaven? Ok, now it aligned with their you-don’t-get-something-for-nothing understanding of life. In essence, the Galatians believed they were half bought!

If 2Corinthians is Paul’s most personal letter, Galatians is his most passionate. You read the apostle’s plea to the believers in the churches of Galatia and right from the get go you sense his intensity. He was beside himself that these children in the faith were so quickly deserting the truth of the grace of Christ. Not only were they listening to those who distorted the freedom that was theirs in Christ, but they were buying into it. Somehow it resonated with them. They believed they were half bought and the rest was up to them.

But as I read this morning in Galatians 3 the absurdity of such thinking hits home in a big way.

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” . . . Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us–for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”

(Galatians 3:10, 13 ESV)

The equation is pretty simple: Not abiding by ALL THINGS written in the law = Being cursed. Anything less than complete and perfect obedience can only result in the judgment of a perfect and holy God. Do them all, all the time ,and you’re in. Do most of them most of the time and you’ll have to pay the price–a price you can’t pay. How could they pay even half the curse? What could they possibly think they had to offer to appease even a portion of the wrath of an infinite eternal God?

But the price could be paid by Another – and paid in full! Enter Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, the spotless Lamb of God come into our world to redeem us from the curse of the law. He paid the price, bearing the just wrath of a holy God that we deserved. Not just some of the wrath. Not bearing just some of the curse. But taking on Himself the full judgment due for our sin, paying the full debt demanded because of our disobedience, bearing the whole curse righteously declared for the failure of our best efforts.

Half bought? No way!

For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.   (2Corinthians 5:21 ESV)

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich.   (2Corinthians 8:9 ESV)

Christ came to redeem. To purchase completely, once for all, men and women out of slavery to sin. To take on Himself the consequences of our sin. To fully empty His account on our behalf. To bear the curse that was ours to bear. Paid in full! That’s what happened at Calvary. That’s what was validated on the third day when He rose from the grave.

It’s a half-baked thought to think we’re half bought. It’s foolishness to somehow think we could anti up the rest of salvation’s price.

We have been justified by grace alone . . . through faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone . . . to the glory of God alone.

And there’s nothing half bought about it!

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An Expanded Sphere of Study

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Pete

If you were to ask me how the concept of studying plays into the Christian experience, I’d respond immediately, “We need to study the word of God.” When I think of the “brain” component of my salvation, I go to “rightly handling the word of truth” (2Tim. 2:15). But the Psalmist this morning challenged my thinking on what should be our expanded sphere of study.

Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.

(Psalm 111:2 ESV)

My brain power is not just to be used to plumb the depths of the word of God, but to also probe the wonders of the works of God.

There is a field of study that goes beyond the written word. Oh, to be sure, the written word is part of it, for in the Scriptures we find the record of many of God’s great works: the record of God’s dealings with man; His mighty acts on behalf of Israel; His entrance into this world as Immanuel; His full and finished work of atonement on the cross; His “hallelujah chorus” demonstration of power in the resurrection. But if it is only about the Word, then I miss volumes of learning concerning His works.

Creation. The human body. Great movements of revival throughout history. The salvation of a soul. The salvation of my soul. All works to be studied . . . to be pondered . . . to be recalled and re-investigated with care. I make time for my Bible reading as a means to keep it real and fresh. Do I make time to study the works of God to keep them real and fresh or do I most often just take them for granted? To take time to reflect on His deeds–not just what He’s done long ago, but what God has done recently, what God is doing even now–I sense I need to take more time on this expanded sphere of study.

And the motivation isn’t simply knowledge, it’s pleasure.

God’s works are studied by those who delight in them. Endless enjoyment, says the Message. That’s what’s available to those who recognize and ponder the great works of God.

Looking in an aquarium, and seeing the great works of God. Standing on an ocean beach and watching the endless rolling of waves crash on the shore, appreciating afresh the God who ordained the tides.

Recalling a prayer answered or a time when God just “showed up.”  Remembering those works in and around me that others may not have noticed.

Or even just shaving in the morning and realizing anew how fearfully and wonderfully made I am that my brain and hand work so well together that I don’t cut my throat (ok, sometimes that doesn’t always work out so well . . . but most times).

The works of God are all around us. And the songwriter says study them, inquire of them, recall them to memory. For they are to be a source of immense pleasure, delight and longing.

I remember being asked by more than one of my kids when they were younger about some subject they were studying at school, “Dad, why do I need to learn about this stuff? How am I ever going to use it in life? What difference will it make?” Well, if we’re talking about the works of God, the difference it will make is captured in one word . . . Praise!

Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

(Psalm 111:1 ESV)

A heart well-versed in the works of God will be a heart moved to praise. A heart that has known the pleasure of seeing God in His mighty, and sometimes not so mighty, deeds is one that is compelled to respond in worship. A heart that has experienced the joy of knowing God a bit deeper through an appreciation of what He has done is a heart that will seek to respond through ascribing all glory to the God of wonders.

The word of God, to be studied for sure. The works of God, also to be studied . . . and pondered . . . and chewed on. And to be a source of pleasure . . . and enjoyment . . . and delight.

Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all Thy works Thy hands have made.  I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in.  That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
‘How great Thou art! How great Thou art!”

His works because of grace alone. Our praise for His glory alone.

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A Place at the Table

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Pete

Longer than normal post this morning, but it’s one of my favorite stories in all of Scripture. Every year when I encounter it as part of my reading plan it has a special feel about it . . . igniting a wonder and joy and a bit of an annual celebration. This morning as I reflect on it, it’s somewhat appropriate that on the day my reading plan takes me to Galatians in the New Testament it also allows me to replay the story of Mephibosheth in the Old. Having read Paul’s introductory thoughts as to the importance of grace as the basis for the good news, that I get to relive a demonstration of grace that foreshadows that good news. Basking in amazing grace this morning. In fresh awe that I have a place at the table.

Rerunning some thoughts I penned in 2009, spruced up in 2011, and have tweaked this morning . . .

Undoubtedly his father had great hopes for him. Envisioned him to be a great man of God. As was the norm, dad named him in accordance with that aspiration. The boy would be called “Exterminator of Idols” or “Dispeller of Shame.” His name would be built around a verb. He would be a man of action, a godly man of action. Just as his father had bravely withstood the Philistines and repelled their aggression and their gods, so too, the boy would stand fast and stand firm for the things of God. His father saw him as a mighty warrior and a “dispeller of shame.”

But how things change. That day was absolute chaos. The boy’s father and his grandfather had gone up to battle against the Philistines and both were killed on the battlefield. The army of Israel was falling like flies before the enemy. The enemy was advancing. A mandatory evacuation edict was announced. The people had to flee.

The boy, now five years old, was taken up by his nurse and she ran for their lives (2Sam. 4:4). But as she ran, she tripped. The boy flew out of her arms . And crashing to the earth he broke both his ankles. There was no treating the broken joints. No setting them back in place so that they would heal properly. The damage was done . . . it would be permanent. The boy once destined for action was now a cripple, lame in both feet.

Once the grandson of a mighty king of Israel, once the hope of his father’s legacy, he was now an orphan and a descendant of the “ex-line of kings.” What’s more, he was unable to walk. Unable to care for himself much less be a “dispeller of shame.” In fact, his life, it seemed, would be lived in shame. The boy’s name was Mephibosheth.

Years later the boy is now a young man. A crippled young man. And then a king enters into the young man’s life. A king determined to show kindness to the man, the kindness of God (2Sam. 9:3). Not that the man deserved it, not that he could repay anyone for any kindness shown him, but it was kindness to be shown for the sake of another (2Sam. 9:1).

The young man wasn’t aware that he had a benefactor. He wasn’t looking for a savior. Instead, it was the king who sent for the young man (2Sam 9:5). When he arrived, he did what men should do before a king, he bowed down (2Sam. 9:6). But more than that, with fear and trembling he prostrated himself before the king as a natural enemy of the king. He was of an opposing line of kings, his grandfather having been on mission to take the king’s life before losing his own. He was facedown before him who had the power–and just cause–to destroy this descendant of Saul.

And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.”

(2Samuel 9:7 ESV)

Oh, what marvelous grace! God’s grace shown through the king. Kindness shown not because of his worthiness but for the sake of another. The land restored and great wealth given to one unable to earn even a day’s wage.

But beyond the wealth, there was gifted a place at the king’s table. Four times that fact is mentioned. The man lame in both feet would have that shame covered as those feet were placed under the king’s table. He would sit at the place of honor and he would eat at the table “like one of the king’s sons” (2Sam. 9:11). Not just once, not only when he found favor in the king’s sight, but “he ate always at the kings table” (9:13). This was to be his place continually. The deal was done, the sovereign decree of the king was final and forever. What restoration! What exaltation! What amazing grace!

And, each time I come across this story of amazing grace, I can’t help but see in that man with the deformed ankles, this man sitting in this chair. I can’t help but identify with this one who was once of a lineage in opposition to the King. I can’t help but envision myself facedown before the mighty King only to hear, “Do not fear, I am going to show you God’s kindness. Not because You deserve it . . . but for the sake of Another, the One who has purchased your freedom. I will bless you with spiritual wealth beyond your understanding, every blessing in heavenly places will be deposited to your account. And beyond that, I have reserved a place for you at My table. As a son and heir you have been given full rights to dine at My table. Your defects will be covered. Your lame feet forever hidden. As far as the east is from the west it will be remembered no more. In My sight, and in My presence, you are whole and you are wholly accepted.”

Can’t help but marvel afresh that I have a place at the table!

All glory to the King!!!

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Aim for Restoration

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Pete

No church is perfect. Kind of an understatement when talking about the church at Corinth. There was confusion, there was contention, and there was transgression. If there was ever a messed up body of believers it was the crazy saints at Corinth. If there was ever an assembly to wash one’s hands of, it was their assembly. But that’s not what the apostle Paul does. Instead, he contends for them. He lovingly teaches them, admonishes them, rebukes them, corrects them, and seeks to encourage them. And as I wrap up reading the second letter we have to them, what catches my eye–and my imagination–is his overarching desire for them. Aim for restoration.

Your restoration is what we pray for. . . Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration . . .

(2Corinthians 13:9b, 11a ESV)

Each of the major translations uses a different word to translate the Greek word katartizo. The NIV says “be perfect”, the NASB and NKJV render it “be complete”, and the ESV translates it “be restored.” And I’m liking the nuance of the ESV translation as I think it best captures what’s needed for this fractured fold. Restoration.

Aim for restoration. That’s the goal. That’s the aspiration. And, too a large extent, it’s what the gospel is all about. Things that are broken made whole. Direction that has been lost reestablished. Relationship that is on the rocks reconciled. There’s always a way back. Aim for restoration.

And the “bookends” of this finally section of 2Corinthians are, I think, particularly relevant when it comes to aiming for restoration.

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?
. . . The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

(2Corinthians 13:5, 14 ESV)

The way back starts with examination and ends with appropriation. It begins with testing ourselves and results in testing the truth of God’s revealed word.

There’s no incentive to fix something if there’s no recognition that it’s broken. No reason to turn back if we don’t recognize we’re heading down the wrong path. And so we need to take inventory. Are we walking in a manner worthy of our call in Christ? Are we walking in the light? Are we unequally yoked with this world? In the daily battle, is the flesh racking up more wins than losses against the Spirit?

And the purpose of such inventory taking isn’t despair, it’s a holy determination to return. It’s a recalibrating of direction, pounding the “home” button on our spiritual GPS. Aim for restoration.

And once we realize we’re eating hog slop instead of dining at the King’s table, when we decide to turn again our faces towards home, we need to remember that the journey back isn’t something we go alone. The blood of Jesus is sufficient to cleanse from all sin–the grace of Christ is abundant and sufficient whatever the way back. The love of God is so vast He awaits and watches for the return of the prodigal, ready to always receive those who come to Him. And the power of the Spirit so immense that nothing, no turn around, is impossible. He strengthens the inner man, He intercedes when we don’t know how or what to pray, and He is relentless in fulfilling His charge to be the guarantee who delivers us to the inheritance that awaits.

Ours is to aim for restoration.

Because of grace . . . for His glory.

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Doing What You Can, When You Can

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Pete

She had sat at the Master’s feet and listened while others had busied themselves around Him. She had quietly meditated on what He had said, seeking to know the secrets things of the Messiah, while others had reacted to and critiqued what He had said, evaluating whether His revelation lined up with their view of the Messiah. So perhaps it shouldn’t be too surprising that while most had yet to grasp what Jesus meant by, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him” (Mark 9:31), she was ready to anoint His body beforehand for His burial.

And while He was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as He was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over His head.

(Mark 14:3 ESV)

Mark doesn’t name her, but he seems to be writing of the same incident recorded by John where the woman is identified as Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus (John 12:1-8). And what captures my attention about Mary this morning is that, when it came to honoring and serving the Savior, she did what she could when she could.

Mark says that there were some in the room who were choked at such waste (not to mention any names here, but his name begins with a “J” . . . and ends with an “udas”). Three hundred denarii! One year’s salary! That was the street value for the flask of potent perfume that was poured on His head and used by Mary to wipe His feet with her hair. Outrageous! That’s what it was!

Yup, it was. Outrageous. Extravagant. And over the top. All because she did what she could when she could.

But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to Me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have Me. She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for burial.”

(Mark 14:6-8 ESV)

She couldn’t stop the betrayal. She had no voice before the Jewish tribunal. She would be powerless to appeal the decision of the Roman court. Even to receive His body after it was taken down from the cross and prepare it for burial would be beyond the realm of possibility for her. But what she could do was worship Him when He was in the room. What she could do was bring an offering at great personal cost in response to her shadowed understanding of what the Son of God must do in order to redeem a people to Himself. She could anoint His head. She could wipe His feet with her hair. She could fill the entire house with the bittersweet fragrance of impending death.

Jesus didn’t take note of what she couldn’t do, but of what she could. And I’m thinking there’s application here.

So often I can list the things I wish I could do for the Savior but can’t — whether because of a lack of capability, a lack of opportunity, or a lack of victory over the old nature. But rather than imagine what I could do if I had much to offer my Redeemer, maybe I should be faithful with that which has been apportioned me. The ability to faithfully meet with Him daily . . . the opportunity to use whatever gifting He has graced to me in whatever circumstance He has placed me . . . the tenacity to offer, and re-offer, my body as a living sacrifice–seeking, by His enabling, to crucify the flesh and walk in the power of the Spirit. To take my life, such as it may be, and pour it out for Him who is worthy of all I have to offer. And then hear Jesus say, “He has done a beautiful thing to Me . . . he has done what he could.”

Yeah, I’m thinking it’s about doing what I can when I can.

By His grace . . . for His glory!

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