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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Embracing the Thorns

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Pete

I don’t really like operating from a position of weakness. There’s something about feeling like you’re in control which helps reduce stress. Something about engaging a situation for which you believe you are equipped that helps maintain a sense of equilibrium. I really try to avoid getting in over my head because I know I can get really frustrated when I’m doing something — or something’s doing me — for which I really haven’t the ability to handle. Welcome to Paul’s world!

So to keep me from being too elated by the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.

(2Corinthians 12:7-8 ESV)

Paul was a pretty capable guy. Well educated, a pretty good thinker, and an extremely disciplined and hard worker. Oh yeah, and He had also met the risen Christ face to face. What’s more he had been “caught up to the third heaven” and tutored one-on-one by the Son of God at Paradise U (12:2-4). To say Paul had all the tools he needed would be an understatement.

But, and it’s a big but, he was constantly working from a position of weakness.

Whatever that thorn in the flesh was, it was such a tormenter that Paul pleaded repeatedly for the Lord to remove it from him. The NKJV translates it as a messenger of Satan sent to “buffet” him–literally to strike with the fist, to treat with violence, insolence, and insulting language. Whatever Paul’s thorn in the flesh, it was abusive. Always seeking to set Paul back on his heels. Relentlessly determined to push Paul’s head underwater. And yet, apart from this passage in what is Paul’s most personal letter in the New Testament, we’d never have guessed that, in addition to all the overt persecution that Paul suffered, he had to contend with this inner demon as well.

How come?

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

(2Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV)

I often glory in the amazing grace that saves, but what of the sufficient grace that sustains? Do I recognize that operating from a position of weakness is often exactly where God wants me in order “to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us (2Cor. 4:7)?

I say that I want to know the filling and enabling and empowering of the Holy Spirit. Maybe I need to remember that you only can fill up that which is already empty. That you enable that which is first disabled. That you empower that which is without power.

Paul got it. He wasn’t a masochist. His wasn’t a “bring it on” attitude. In fact, he pleaded three time for the henchman of Satan to be removed. But when God said, “No,” Paul looked to receive the grace and power of God needed to sustain and enable the man of God. He saw it as an opportunity for God to increase and for Paul to decrease. Paul knew that it would demonstrate that the power in his life clearly belonged to the One he sought to magnify and not to himself.

Honestly, I’m not looking to get any weaker than I am. Sufficient is the frailty of this man for God to manifest His power. But perhaps I need to embrace my “thorns in the flesh” more as they afford God’s strength to be made perfect in my weakness. That the amazing grace which saved me might also be known to be the sufficient grace which sustains me.

For when I am weak, then I am strong . . . because the power of Christ rests on me.

All by His sustaining grace . . . all for His everlasting glory

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A Lesson from the Cave

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Pete

Kind of crazy times in the world around us. Too much stuff that makes so little sense. And too much temptation to get spooked and take matters into our own hands.

Cue my reading this morning in 1Samuel 24. What an illustration of submission and faith. What an example of doing it “God’s way” even when we feel there is more than enough justification for doing it “my way.” It’s a reminder that while we might want to take matters into our own hands, we can trust the hand of God. It’s a lesson from the cave.

Here’s the scene . . . Saul and 3,000 elite fighting men from his army have received a tip on where David is hiding and they’ve gone after David and his band of 600 misfit followers. Saul is intent on destroying David. He is driven by jealousy, ego, and just a lousy overall disposition. Saul is almost out of his mind with fear and paranoia and he’s definitely out of the will of God. In short, Saul’s mostly out of control.

Anyway, Saul needs to “relieve himself” and so he steps into a cave to do his business. Guess what? David and his men have been hiding in the recesses of the cave. Saul is a sitting duck (no pun intended). David can do with him as he wishes. David’s men are certain that this must be the doing of the Lord and that David has the green light from God to take Saul out.

This is David’s chance to end the running . . . to take the throne which God has already promised him . . . to give Saul what he deserves. But, he passes on the opportunity. Instead he cuts off a corner of Saul’s robe as evidence of what could have been . . . and then let’s Saul do his thing and leave . . . un-touched!

Why??? Surely God has orchestrated these circumstances. Who wouldn’t have thought David justified to stop Saul’s crazy, murderous obsession to kill David? Killing Saul would have been an act of justifiable self defense. But David didn’t harm Saul. In fact, he regretted even cutting the corner of his robe. So, why?

He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORDs anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORDs anointed.”

(1Samuel 24:6 ESV)

David did not have the freedom to step outside the lines of authority established by God. For better or worse, Saul was David’s king. Chosen by God . . . anointed by God . . . given the throne by God. David would not raise his hand against the Lord’s anointed. Instead he would entrust himself to the Sovereign God.

“May the LORD judge between me and you, may the LORD avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you . . . May the LORD therefore be judge . . .

(1Samuel 24:12, 15a  ESV)

Let the LORD be judge. What faith! What confidence! What a submissive and trusting heart!

I’m not unlike David’s men that day. I can come up with a dozen arguments of why David would have been justified to take matters into his own hands. But that’s what it would have been — taking matters into his own hands. And this man after God’s own heart knew that the reason for this “chance encounter” in the cave wasn’t about Saul, it was about David.

It was a situation ordained to test his faith, to secure his trust in the One who is forever trustworthy.

Oh, what a lesson in letting God be God–even when it might be easier or quicker or apparently safer to take matters into our own hands. A reminder to rest on the word and the promises of God. To acknowledge Him as active and present in our lives, and in the world around us, even when it seems we are stuck in a dark cave. To believe that He works all things together for good for those who love Him and called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28), even when those “things” make no sense.

Submitting isn’t always easy. Waiting can be even harder. Being dealt with unjustly, no fun. Watching circumstances unfold that that make no sense . . . that can be almost unbearable.

But when I remember, and when I believe that the God who called me is Sovereign and works all things according to His will . . .

. . . then I can wait, because of His all sufficient grace, . . . and I can let God be God . . . for His all deserving glory.

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If You Believe That, You’ll Believe Everything!

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Pete

I’ve read or have heard messages on the conversation dozens of times at least. But this morning the conversation in Mark 12 between the scribe and the Savior strikes me as a bit odd. Jesus is ushering in a new covenant yet the conversation is about the old. Jesus is the catalyst for the age of grace but speaks about the requirements for living under the law. And, when the two exhibit a like mindedness on the writings of Moses, Jesus tells the man he is “not far from the kingdom of God” (12:34). It’s like Jesus is saying to this inquiring scribe, if you believe that, you’ll believe everything!

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that He answered them well, asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” And the scribe said to Him, You are right, Teacher.”

(Mark 12:28-32a ESV)

Odd, at first, that Jesus would connect agreement concerning the commandments with alignment concerning the kingdom. But maybe not.

If without faith it is impossible to please God and if saving grace comes only by faith then perhaps it’s not so remarkable that someone who has sincerely believed what God has spoken in the past “to the fathers” is ready to receive what He has spoken in “these last days” by His Son.

For the sincere seeker of God, believing that he or she is called to love God with all their being and to love others as themselves should cause great turmoil. To believe that’s the call of man yet to honestly acknowledge the inability to respond to such a call should be devastating.

The debt of sins already committed against God, the weakness of the flesh, the deceitfulness of the heart, the allure of the world, if one is honest, frustrates loving God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. So to believe that is what God wants puts the sincere seeker in a position of looking for a fix. A remedy that pays the debt, crucifies the flesh, provides a new heart, and sets one’s affections upon another world.

And so, the faith that believes we are to love God with every ounce of our fiber and then to love others as ourselves is the same faith needed to receive the gospel.

Those who argued with Jesus and were far from the kingdom of God were those who in their arrogance and pride redefined what loving God and loving others should look like. While they may not have created a god after the own likeness, they twisted God’s law to accommodate their own sinful weakness and desires. They didn’t believe the word written by Moses the man of God, and so, they wouldn’t believe the word as revealed by Jesus, the Son of God.

Ours is to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength. Second to that is to love our neighbor as ourself. If we truly believe that, then we will also believe that in ourselves we are incapable of obedience apart from divine intervention. And when we confess our need we are ready to receive His abundant and free provision . . . and we draw nigh to the kingdom of God.

If you believe that, you’ll believe everything.

Because of grace . . . for His glory . . .

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The Glory of Christ

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Pete

I’m thinking that sometimes when reading the Scriptures you need to go with your first impressions and trust they are divine impressions. That’s the case for me this morning as a phrase jumped off the page while reading in 2Corinthians. At first read it seemed clear to me what the apostle was referring to. But after going back and hovering over it a bit, it’s evident that another understanding is possible. But, for now, I’m going with my initial impression. A fresh sense of awe as I meditate on the church being the glory of Christ.

As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.

(2Corinthians 8:23 ESV)

“The glory of Christ.” Referring to “the churches” or to “the messengers”? That’s the interpretive question here. Some translations make it clear they believe the descriptor should be attached to the messengers by adding the word “and”, as in ” they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ” (NIV). But when I read it I was stirred as I understood Paul to be saying that the church is the glory of Christ. ‘Cause it is!

She is His Bride. Christ having so loved the church that He gave Himself up for her. That He has determined to sanctify her, intending one day to present her to Himself “in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:25b-27).

She is the fruit of His finished work. A composite of men and women, boys and girls, who have been redeemed by the shed blood of the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world. Souls rescued from judgment because He bore their judgment. Slaves of the flesh emancipated from their bondage through a new nature, the very righteousness of Christ, gifted to them by grace alone. Those who lived in the shadow of the fear of death having been set free from fear as, through the cross and by the resurrection, they have been given life . . . life eternal . . . life to the full.

She is His Body. Each member attached to the Head through the mysterious dynamic of the Spirit of God. Called and endowed with a Spirit empowered gifting to fulfill a role as part of the whole. And when each part is working properly the Body grows, building itself up in love (Eph. 4:15-16). Increasingly reflecting the nature of Christ as it makes itself available to be His physical presence in a world that so needs the touch of God.

She is His Temple–the temple of the living God (2Cor. 6:16). Living stones built into a spiritual house (1Pet. 2:5). God determining that He would dwell among, and walk in the midst of, this people owned as His own. That it would be a living and growing structure, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone. A holy temple in the Lord, a dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Eph. 2:19-22).

She is the place where His glory is to be found. The radiance of who He is. The earthly expression of His heavenly being.

I believe the church, in all her flesh-bound imperfection, is the glory of Christ.

May His glory shine!

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

(Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV)

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The Living God

Posted on May 3, 2016 by Pete

The danger in a passage like 1Samuel 17 is that it becomes “skim material”. Bible accounts so familiar that we just breeze through them because we think we know them so well. Stories told and retold so many times and in so many ways that we remember the flannel graph or the object lesson rather than focus on the Word of God. We read the passage and before we’re done we’re re-applying the applications that we’ve heard so many times before. But when we do that with a portion of Scripture, such as the story of David and Goliath, we run the risk of not allowing the living and active word of God to engage our souls. It’s the reason I do my morning readings with colored pencils at the ready to mark what I see before noodling on what it means and what difference it should make.

This morning my blue pencil crayon was at work as I read through 1Samuel 17. Amidst what is written concerning David and Goliath, I’m also noticing what’s revealed concerning my God. And the phrase “the living God” catches my eye.

The phrase is found twice as David shows disdain toward Goliath, the uncircumcised Philistine, because of the giant’s defiance of “the armies of the living God” (17:26, 36). And it’s not that David is wanting to protect the reputation of Israel’s soldiers. No, it’s a much broader, more earth transcending perspective David operates under. His God is THE God, and his God is the LIVING God. It is not Israel Goliath mocks, it is “the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (17:45).

Oh, how right theology and internalized theology affects our actions. How it creates a perspective, a filter, through which life is understood and circumstances are encountered.

David’s God is the living God. He is not some invention of the religious mind. He is not merely a concept. He is not some world view. Our God is the living God.

My reading in Psalm 102 this morning further reveals to me something of the living God. He looks down from “His holy height” (Ps. 102:19). From heaven the LORD shows regard and pays attention to what’s happening on the earth. God is not some distant God. He is not unaware. He is not dormant. Rather, God is the living God . . . the God who is engaged in the affairs of man . . . the God who is engaged in the affairs of this man in this chair this morning.

When I get that, then I too can boldly face the enemy’s opposition. I can look to the heavens in the time of distress. I can remember that the battle is His. I can cry to Him knowing that He has promised that He will never leave me nor forsake me.

And so David goes forward. With Saul’s armor lying on the ground . . . with a sling in his hand . . . with five smooth stones in his pouch . . . and with a ton of confidence–not in himself, but in the living God. The Psalmist too, though facing his own giants and distress, goes forward. Knowing that the LORD will build up Zion . . . sure that He will appear in His glory . . . believing that He will respond to the prayer of the destitute . . . confident that He will not reject the psalmist’s plea (Ps. 102:16-17).

And what will be the result of the psalmist’s victory? What is the legacy of David’s triumph?

Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD

(Psalm 102:18 ESV)

I’m that generation to come. Thousands of years removed from the shepherd boy, David, on the battlefield with the giant. Centuries and centuries after the heart wrenching cry of the psalmist to His God. I’m that people, yet to be created, now reading what was written so long ago–inspired and preserved by God–that I might praise the LORD.

That I might grasp afresh that my God is the living God. That I might be reminded that the Creator of heaven and earth is the re-Creator of this man in this chair–by grace alone–through the blood of Christ and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. That I might know with assurance that He is living and He is high and He is holy and He alone is worthy of all glory.

Our God is an awesome God!

Amen?

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It’s Not Me . . . It’s You!

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Pete

There was a drift happening. Once they had been very tight, now, not so much. Once they had fully trusted in his authority, his words, and his motives. Now they weren’t so sure. The bro-mance (as in brothers and sisters in Christ) wasn’t what it used to be. Something was coming between Paul and the Corinthian church. And in Paul’s estimation, “It not me . . . it’s you!”

We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.

(2Corinthians 6:11-13 ESV)

2 Corinthians is as personal and passionate a letter as any of Paul’s letters.

There were those who had come into Corinth seeking to discredit Paul’s apostleship, his authority, and his authenticity. They sowed seeds of doubt as to his character and his motives. They cast a shadow over his professed love of them. And so Paul writes a letter of defense as he contends for the believers at Corinth. Not that he might be something, but that Christ might be everything. Not that he might find favor, but that the Corinthians wouldn’t turn their back on the favor of God’s full and gracious provision in Christ.

And Paul doesn’t pull any punches. The problem, he says, isn’t me, it’s you. It’s not our openness, it’s yours. It’s not a matter of our affection, but of your hesitation. It’s not because of our hearts, it’s because of yours. Widen your hearts!

Make broad the seat of your affection. Throw open the door of your devotion. Trust me again. Know that the words I have spoken have been words sourced in heaven and spoken in sincerity. That I contend for you not for the sake of my ego but for the sake of your eternity!

And as I hover over Paul’s impassioned plea I hear the Savior echo his words, “Widen your hearts to Me also! Open them up!”

If we’re drifting in our relationship with the Lord, if things are cooling off between Him and us, “It’s not Me,” Jesus could say, “it’s you!”

Something has caused us to withhold our affection from Him who has loved us without restriction . . . loving us unto death, even death on a cross. It’s not as if His heart is not open wide to us . . . for if the Father “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?” (Rom. 8:32)

No, it’s us. It’s me. My faith has wavered. I’m holding back for some reason. I’m listening to the wrong voices–whether they are the voices of the world beckoning me to “broaden my horizons and gain more balance in my life” or, the voice of the accuser trying to convince me that His grace isn’t really as amazing as it needs to be for a wretch like me. Instead I need to hear my Good Shepherd’s voice as He calls out with heart wide open, “Widen your hearts also!”

Yes, Lord!

By Your grace . . . for Your glory!

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