Jars of Clay

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Pete

Every year when I encounter the fourth chapter of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians as part of my reading plan it always carries a special weight in my post-reading meditation. Love this chapter. So encouraged by this chapter. Particularly by the seventh verse. This morning I thought I’d update and replay some thoughts I put together back in 2009 . . .

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I’m not going to lie to you . . . “jars of clay” has got to be one of my favorite phrases. The phrase evokes a ton of implications, imaginations, and emotions within me.

In 2Corinthians 4, Paul’s theme is “we do not lose heart” (4:1, 16). Paul’s ministry was a glorious one (see chapter 3) but it was also a hard one. The price paid to bear the good news of the gospel was significant for Paul. He was “afflicted in every way . . . perplexed . . . persecuted . . . struck down . . . carrying in the body the death of Jesus.” Hard work . . . wearing work . . . often very unappreciated work. Yet, Paul says, “we do not lose heart!”

So, what’s the secret? Well, I know enough to know that it doesn’t boil down to a formula. Not as simple as some “3 Steps to Maintaining Your Spiritual Vitality.” But I also don’t think it’s really complicated–at the very least it begins with a realistic assessment of what I am. Cue “jars of clay.”

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

(2Corinthians 4:7 ESV)

A jar of clay, but the treasure it contains is grand. It is “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (4:6).

Oh, that mortal man should possess such knowledge, the knowledge of the glory of God! That he or she would be made so spiritually alive as to see, by faith, the face of Jesus Christ and, in so doing, begin to grasp something of the awe-invoking, jaw-dropping nature of God. (As an aside, I read in Psalm 99 this morning that the Lord reigns . . . that He dwells between the cherubim . . . that He is holy . . . holy . . . holy . . . and that the appropriate response is to praise His great and awesome name . . . to exalt the LORD our God . . . to worship at His footstool).

And what has God determined to do with such a treasure? To do with such light? To do with such magnificent experiential knowledge? He has chosen to place it within jars of clay. He has determined to commit it to fragile earthen vessels.

Why would such treasure be placed in such iffy vehicles? Paul asks the question a little differently, “And who is sufficient for these things?” (2:16)

Short answer: Not me!!! Saved? Yup, that’s me! Sanctified? You bet, declared so and being made so? Sufficient? No way! Just a jar of clay.

What a great perspective to own. Chipped . . . cracked . . . worn . . . brittle at times . . . only an earthen vessel. But it’s not about the vessel, it’s about what’s inside. Take an empty pop can (I think that may be soda can down here) and you can easily crush it with one hand. But fill it up and seal it and not so easy. So Paul could say:

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed

(2Corinthians 4:8-9 ESV)

It wasn’t about the jar of clay it was about the treasure inside. The treasure is a sustaining treasure. In fact, a little bit of brokenness, a crack here or there, it all serves to enhance the treasure. Through the cracks the light shines out and the power is evident. It’s the treasure, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, that gives the power. It’s of God and not of us.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison . . .

(2Corinthians 4:16-17 ESV)

We do not lose heart! Despite how fragile we get sometimes . . . despite how cracked and broken we may feel . . . despite the incredible pressure we sometimes experience . . . we do not lose heart because we are just jars of clay shored up by the glorious treasure we carry anticipating a future glory beyond imagination. It’s not about the strength of the vessel but about the glory of its contents. “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” (3:5).

Just a jar of clay. But the transport of an eternal treasure. Therefore, do not lose heart.

All because of amazing grace . . . All for God’s eternal glory.

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Giving God the “Write Away!”

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Pete

Paul found himself having to defend his credentials and his ministry in 1Corinthians 3. In so doing, he pointed to the same thing as both the evidence of God’s calling on His life and as the validation of the message he proclaimed. He pointed to the Corinthians themselves. “You yourselves,” wrote Paul, “are our letter of recommendation” (3:2).

That there was even a gathering of believers in Corinth validated that Paul had been “commissioned by God” to “speak in Christ” (2:17). That these human epistles weren’t the same people as they were before hearing Paul’s proclamation of the gospel, was proof that it wasn’t Paul’s good news but Another’s. Though the message might have come from Paul, it’s impact was from God. Paul may have spoken the words, but it was Another who scribed the letter.

And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

(2Corinthians 3:3 ESV)

A letter from Christ. Written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. Written not on tablets of stone, as was the old covenant, but on tablets of human hearts, as promised in the new covenant (Jer. 31:33). That’s the lot of every believer. That’s the dynamic at play for all who have responded in faith to the message of the cross. And if God in His sovereign grace and determination has purposed to write a letter on my heart, then I say, “Write Away!”

The truth of the gospel isn’t found just in how well it is articulated. Nor is it true just because many have believed it. There are many religions, philosophies, and systems of man which are presented by compelling orators and received by myriads of sincere men and women. Rather, the proof of the power of the good news that Jesus came to die for sinners is found in their lives. The overwhelming preponderance of evidence not found in what believers recite but in the spiritual dynamic they reflect. The weight of testimony not found in what they know but in who they have become. Not in their autobiography but in the story imprinted by the Spirit of God on their very souls.

And though our hearts may be God’s chosen writing surface, and while it may be His heaven-sent ink alone, there is a very real sense in which we are co-authors as we submit our lives to His divine authorship. There is a sense in which we must give God the “write away!”

We acknowledge that our spiritual rebirth is a work begun by Him and for Him — for His purpose, His honor, His glory. We understand that they are no longer our lives to live, but that we have been bought with a price and now belong to the Master. We consciously cooperate with the Divine as we refuse to offer any longer our members to sin but, by His power given us, seek only to offer them to righteousness. We are aware of the battle within, the war between the old nature and the Spirit, and so we seek to walk in the Spirit, be led by the Spirit, and live according to the Spirit. And all the while, He is writing His letter. He is imprinting Himself on our very nature.

His is to write the story, mine is to give God the “Write Away!”

Write away, Lord!

By Your grace . . . for Your glory!

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Loving Them By Letting Them Leave

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Pete

Do not murder. Check. Do not commit adultery. Check that one too. Do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud. Check, check, and check again! Honor your father and mother. Bam! Check one more. Six for six! The young man of some means was feeling pretty could about how this Q & A session with the Good Teacher was going (Mark 10:17-20).

That he was a sincere man seems evident . . . he ran to Jesus to ask about eternal life. That he was a humble man also seems clear . . . he knelt before Jesus and asked what he must do. And, if but for a few moments, it seems he might have also been a hopeful man as Jesus talked about keeping the commandments of Moses. The man was batting 100. Not two-thirds, not even eighty-three-and-a-third percent. But every command Jesus had mentioned he could honestly say he had kept. Everything he shouldn’t have done, he hadn’t. What he should have done, he did. Hello eternal life!

But then, Mark records, Jesus loved him.

And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

(Mark 10:21 ESV)

Jesus moved from the external to the internal. Jesus shifts the focus from what to do and what not to do to what to worship. Jesus plays the “do not covet” commandment . . . a commandment focused on not just the hands but on the heart. One thing you lack, says the Source of abundant provision, sell it all for the sake of true wealth, heavenly wealth, and come follow Me.

That’s how Jesus loved him. Probably violates any number of principles implicit in so many of our modern approaches to “building bridges” and making people comfortable in order to hear the gospel. Might even be considered a “fail tactic” based on the nature of the man’s response and “number of salvations” not counted that day.

Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

(Mark 10:22 ESV)

“The man’s face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go” (MSG).

Jesus loved him . . . and let him leave.

Jesus loved the man too much to let him think the road was wider than it actually was. Loved this one, who was so close, too much to reduce the good news to simply a checklist. Loved him too much to not direct his eyes toward his heart. “How difficult,” Jesus would tell His disciples, “it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God” (10:23). Difficult. In fact, with man impossible. But not for God. “For all things are possible with God” (10:27). Jesus wouldn’t have loved the man if He had arbitrarily made it about what he could do and not require that it be about what he worshiped and what God must do.

So Jesus loved him so much that he let him leave. Rather than dimming the light, Jesus shone it on the man’s sin darkened heart. Instead of watering down truth, He applied it knowing that it would be the truth that would set this man free. Instead of leaving the Word of God out of the discussion, Jesus drew His sword and trusted in the living and active two-edged sword of the Word of God to pierce “to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow”, and discern “the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). And having wounded him, Jesus allowed him to leave. Because Jesus loved him.

I like to think that the young man eventually cashed in his worldly wealth for eternal investments. I want to believe that a sincere and humble man who is seeking truth will respond to it when it is found. That the kindness, forbearance, and patience of God in allowing this man to walk away eventually led this man to repentance (Rom. 2:4).

Our is to love ’em. Ours is to speak truth. His is to deal with the heart . . . to deal with what they lack. For all things are possible with God.

All by grace. All for His glory.

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A Warning In An Unexpected Place

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Pete

The verse pops off the page for two reasons. First, I recognize the verse . . . it’s familiar . . . I remember it. Second, but not from here. If you quoted the verse to me and asked where it was found I’d say it is found in Hebrews, and I’d be right. But this morning I encountered it in Psalms . . . not where I’d normally expect to find it. Not looking for it in the Psalms, not thinking of it as an Old Testament exhortation, certainly not thinking of it in the context in which the songwriter is prompted to include the verse.

Might be interesting to do a study on how many warnings are found in both the Old and New Testament. To take note of those things the Spirit tells the people of God to beware of regardless of which covenant they reside under. This unexpected verse in Psalms is one of them.

Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts . . .

(Psalm 95:7b-8a ESV)

It is an exhortation to respond. Not think about responding, but to respond . . . today.

If, says the psalmist (and the writer to the Hebrews) God is speaking to the core of who you are, if your conscience is stirred, if your mind is active, and you believe it is the Spirit of God doing the stirring and the activating, then do not shutdown. Refuse to stonewall. Determine not to be unresponsive. Avoid ignoring the promptings. Resolve not to be dull to the commandment. Said another way, if you hear His voice, do what He’s saying.

And what’s causing me to hover over this familiar verse in this unexpected place is the drastically different context it is found in. In Hebrews 3 it’s a warning about unbelief and refusing the rest available to people through the cross. A warning to not harden your heart to the testimony of the Spirit as to the person and work of Jesus. And I get it. To refuse to believe that Christ is God’s anointed and that through His death all that must be done has been done for people to enter into relationship with the living God, is to foolishly continue to pursue His holiness through our best efforts. Efforts which can never be enough. Works that are unable to change the core of who we are. And thus a never ending striving after that which can never be achieved by our labor. Thus, no rest when rest has been made available.

But in Psalm 95, the exhortation to not harden our hearts is in the context of an invitation to worship.

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation! Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise! . . . Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!

(Psalm 95:1, 2, 6 ESV)

Three times the people of God are beckoned to come. To respond to who God is and for what God has done. To acknowledge that “He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture” (95:70). And after this thrice repeated invitation the songwriter says, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”

And it’s got me thinking, so what’s the connection between songless saints and their hearts? What danger is involved in making ourselves dull to the prompting to open our mouths to declare the praise of Him who has saved our souls? What damage are we doing when we’re at best ambivalent and at worst obstinate when it comes to offering the sacrifice of the fruit of our lips? Is being bored in the midst of congregational worship a big deal? Is refusing to participate when the saints gather to declare His praise harmful? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Wasn’t expecting this verse in this song. But if today I’m hearing His voice . . . better not harden my heart.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!

Because of His abundant grace. All for His eternal glory.

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Muckers

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Pete

Paul met them in Corinth but they were originally from Rome. Paul had come to Corinth to preach the gospel, they had left Italy because of persecution. And while they were all descendants of one of the tribes of Israel, what really bound them together was their occupation, as in what they did for a living, and their occupation, as in the focus for what did with their lives. They were all tentmakers by trade and they were all pursuing the kingdom of God by grace.

I’m wrapping up 1Corinthians this morning and the names of these co-workers of Paul are put on my radar again.

The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.

(1Corinthians 16:19 ESV)

This morning I’m noodling on Aquila and Prisca, or Priscilla. Lesser known saints. But enough known about them to be inspired and encouraged. And enough known about them to be reminded that so often God uses “the muckers.”

Muckers. The term, for me, refers to those players on a hockey team who aren’t the stars . . . whose talent isn’t anything particularly spectacular . . . but who can be counted on, shift in and shift out, to put in a solid effort and do the non-flashy stuff in order for a team to win. They are the grinders. They are the hard workers. They are the ones that will go into the corner after the puck, again and again, and dig it out.

Their names are on the backs of their jerseys, but no one is going to pay a lot of money for their hockey card years from now. They’re the everyday, average players. Nothing special, but so needed and relied upon. They’re the muckers. And, I think, so were Aquila and Priscilla.

Tentmakers, but not just tentmakers. Tentmakers who opened their home, and their shop to Paul when he came to Corinth (Acts 18:1-3). Tentmakers who up and left any roots they had started to put down in Corinth in order to accompany Paul on his missionary journey (Acts 18:18). Tentmakers who knew the way of God well enough that, when they encountered a young upstart preacher who knew his Bible but didn’t really grasp the gospel, “they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (Act 18:24-26).

Tentmakers who Paul considered “fellow workers in Christ Jesus” and who “risked their necks” for Paul’s well-being . . . to whom not only Paul was indebted “but all the churches of the Gentiles” as well (Rom. 16:3-4). Tentmakers who regardless of where they were “pitching their tent” opened their home as a gathering place for Jesus’ church (1Cor. 16:19).

Aquila and Priscilla . . . a man and wife team who sought to earn an honest days living while seeking first the kingdom of God.

Muckers. Not widely known on the earth, but highly regarded in heaven. They don’t have the place in the history of the church that Paul or the other apostles have, but their names are written in the book of life and their reward awaits them at the Bema seat of Christ (1Cor. 3:12-14).

Muckers. Not anything flashy but so inspiringly faithful. Not in it for the glory of self, but constrained by the goodness and grace of God to serve wherever and however God would have them. Not pulpit people, but people of the Word and the way.

Thank God for the muckers.

While many of us may never know the calling to public ministry, while for most of us the measure of grace given us in our gifting will never be considered extraordinary by man’s standards, might we be faithful to the call to be grinders for the kingdom . . . to be willing to earnestly venture into the non-glamorous work of the kingdom, even if others never notice . . . to run the race set before us steadfastly and with joy. Knowing that God delights in the muckers.

Because of grace. Always for His glory.

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Worthy

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Pete

They probably wouldn’t have seen one another’s profile on eHarmony.com. She was a young widow from the country of Moab. He was a bachelor of the clan of Elimelech of the tribe of Judah. She hadn’t much more than the clothes on her back. He was a man of great prominence and wealth. He owned fields. She worked in them. He was able to redeem. She was in need of redemption. But, based on my reading this morning in Ruth, there is one attribute that was a direct match for this least-likely-to-be-compatible couple. They were both worthy.

Now Naomi had a relative of her husbands, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

(Ruth 2:1  ESV)

And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.

(Ruth 3:11 ESV)

The connection jumped of the page as I was reading. Not as evident in other translations where Boaz is described as “a man of great standing” or “a man of great wealth”, and Boaz’s characterization of Ruth is translated as “virtuous” or a woman of “noble character.” But it is the same word in the original used to describe both of them and so the ESV translators used the same English word, “worthy.”

It is a word that means to have strength, to be mighty, to have efficiency, to possess wealth. A word also used of those of with notable valor or virtue. So whether it refers to a physical strength defined by position and profitability, or of a strength of character evident by humility, loyalty and service, both Boaz and Ruth had a reputation of being worthy.

And what is so remarkable about this match made in heaven is that they lived “in the days of the judges” (Ruth 1:1). Dark days when men and women did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25). Chaotic days when, in general, there was little to distinguish the people of God from the pagans around them. Days of idol worship and depraved behavior. Days where seemingly not much could be described as “worthy.” But here are Boaz and Ruth, a worthy man and a worthy woman.

And there’s something about authentic character that brings a light to the darkness. Something about virtue that sparks a flame of hope in the midst of despair. Fact of the matter is, you quickly find yourself really liking Ruth and warming up pretty quickly to Boaz. You think on these two worthy people and it fans the flame of knowing afresh that God works even in the darkest times to fulfill His purposes.

And it causes me to think of another who is worthy. Not in kind with a Boaz or a Ruth but so much greater than either of them. And Paul’s exhortation comes to mind,

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)

And so I do. Jesus is true and He is honorable. Jesus is just, He is pure and lovely and deserving of all good report. Jesus defines excellence and He is the embodiment of virtue. Jesus is worthy. Worthy of praise . . . “and honor and glory and blessing” (Rev.5:12).

Worthy.

Because of His great grace God raised up a man whom He deemed worthy to redeem a woman whom He deemed worthy. And in so doing, He painted a picture of a greater Redeemer who would one day pay a great price in order to purchase His Bride.  And He set the stage for a throne to be established.  A throne that one day will be occupied by this same Redeemer who is worthy beyond all description.

What joy, what blessing to think on these things.

Because of grace. For His glory.

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Songless Sabbaths

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Pete

Psalm 92 is a song for the Sabbath. It’s to be sung when the choir is most aware of its rest. To be sung when the hustle and bustle of the week has subsided and one’s primary duty is to reflect not on their own work but on the works of God. When, as they cease their striving and consider afresh the deep thoughts of God toward His people, His people open their mouths with thanksgiving to their God. And as one who has entered into the greater Sabbath rest of Christ’s finished work (Heb. 4:9), it is a song for me.

It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your steadfast love in the morning, and Your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For You, O LORD, have made me glad by Your work; at the works of Your hands I sing for joy.

(Psalm 92:1-4 ESV)

It’s a good thing to give thanks to the LORD and to sing praises to His name. It’s good in that it is pleasant and enjoyable. It’s good in that it is appropriate and becoming of saints. It’s good in that it is a worthy and valuable investment of time. It’s good in that it is better than other stuff one could be doing.

Of all the downsides of our culture having minimized the value of, and need for, a day of rest, perhaps the greatest impact has been on the giving of thanks. That we have redefined “rest” as non-employment activities, that we have elevated recreation over rest, that our “days off” are as busy, or even busier, than our “work days” has, I fear, stolen time for much needed reflection and response. And so, for too many, too often, there are songless Sabbaths.

The songwriter anticipated declaring the steadfast love of God in the morning and then engaging in an encore at night, singing of His faithfulness (v. 2). There was no trying to find a spot on the Sabbath calendar for an hour or two of worship, worship WAS the calendar for the Sabbath. And not out of a sense of duty, but because “You, O LORD, have made me glad by Your work” (v.3). And His work meant their rest. His tasks, their thanksgiving. His labor, their lute and lyre melody.

And, as I get somewhat nostalgic concerning simpler and less busy times and more (in number and in degree) consecrated first days of the week, I’m not really advocating a return to the time when you never took off your “Sunday best.” But I do think we, as the people of God, have robbed ourselves of a valuable life-rhythm if we lose that seven day cycle of rest, reflection, and response. And not to be too simplistic, but I wonder if songless Sabbaths aren’t directly related to simple and sickly saints.

The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.

(Psalm 92:12-13 ESV)

The righteous are meant to flourish. Those robed in the perfect nature of the Son of God through His finished work on the cross by the same power that raised Him from the dead are to blossom, to break out, and to fly! But too many remain withered, entrapped in sin, and never seem to get off the ground.

And again, not to be overly simplistic, I wonder if there isn’t some correlation to the low regard we have for the Sabbath principle. To the rejection of the value of putting worldly pursuits aside in order to reconnect with heaven. Or of the benefit of turning our thoughts from what needs to be done before Monday toward what already has been done for eternity. Or believing that placing the need for recreation below the need for reconnecting and responding on our priority lists will actually result in greater benefit and blessing.

Really, I’m not judging . . just reflecting on the possible impacts of songless Sabbaths.

It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to Your name, O Most High

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

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Do the Math!

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Pete

I read Psalm 90 and it caused me to do some math. The psalm is a prayer of Moses. An “oldie but goodie” that’s been preserved and included in this book of songs. It’s the only psalm that’s attributed to Moses. And the math I was compelled to noodle on? How many graves a day were showing up as the people wandered through the wilderness.

The prevailing theme of the prayer has to do with man returning to dust (v.3) . . . of them being swept away as with a flood (v.5) . . . like grass that fades and withers (v.6). But these generations of Jacob are not “passing on” after a life under the sunshine of God’s countenance upon them. Rather, they are brought to an end by His anger, they die dismayed by His wrath (v.7). Their iniquities laid out before His eyes, their “secret sins” splayed in the light of His presence (v.8). Moses is lamenting over the people who are dying daily around him because they rebelled against God and refused to trust Him (Numbers 14:1-32).

And so I’m doing the math. About 600,000 men over the age of twenty, not including Levites, are counted as they leave Egypt (Num. 2:32). If two-thirds of them have a spouse, then we’re talking close to a million people over the age of twenty. And, says the LORD, “your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun” (Num. 14:29-30).

So a million people die over the span of 40 years, or about 14,400 days. That’s an average of 70 fresh graves a day for 40 years. Every time they “break camp” and move on they leave a cemetery behind them. Every day as they travel in circles they leave mounds of dirt in their wake as evidence of the judgment their sin deserved.

Heavy sigh! Not exactly a “picker-upper.”

No wonder Moses pens,

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

(Psalm 90:12 ESV)

But what if instead of wandering in the desert until you die, you are marching to the promised land in anticipation of life to the full? What if instead of waking up every morning under the cloud of God’s anger and wrath you arise to a fresh outpouring of His mercy and grace? What if your sins have been atoned for, once and for all? What if, day in and day out, you are dressed in the clothes of righteousness of the One in whom the Father delights?

What if, rather than a dirge, your song is song of victory?

Wouldn’t you pray the same prayer?

Teach us to number our days! Not just because they are short, but because they are a countdown. Cause us to reflect upon the graves of those who have gone before. Not because they have succumbed to Your wrath, O God, but because they have entered into Your presence. Give us a heart of wisdom. Not just to navigate this desert, but to invest to the max in the inheritance that awaits.

We are not desert dwellers. We are not under the wrath our sin deserved. No, we are on our way home knowing there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1). Far from backs bowed under life’s heavy loads, our faces are turned heavenward in the expectation of glory and joy everlasting. We are being escorted to the Father by the Son through the Spirit.

So Lord, help us to do the math. Teach us to number our days.

Because of grace. For Your glory.

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Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Pete

I’m reading 1Corinthians 12 and realize it’s an object lesson. Paul is taking something that everyone is familiar with and trying to make a point about something they still have much to learn about.

At issue is their ignorance around the nature and purpose of spiritual gifts. That there are a variety of gifts but only a single Source, the Spirit of God (12:4). That there are various manifestations of the Spirit’s enabling but that all are to be for the common good (12:7). That while these gifts are attached to individuals they are apportioned and empowered by “one and the same Spirit” (12:11).

And so, to convey this idea of many different parts but one divine purpose, Paul holds up the human body as an example. Look in the mirror, he says, and know that the church is like you . . . fearfully and wonderfully made.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–Jews or Greeks, slaves or free–and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. . . . Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

(1Corinthians 12:12-14, 27 ESV)

I’m reading through the detail Paul provides of his object lesson and for a moment I get lost in the object he is describing and lose sight momentarily of the point he is trying to make. Paul talks about the body. Many members. Each with a role to play. Each different, yet a vital part of the whole. Its beauty found in its diversity, without which it becomes grotesque–what would a body look like if all its members were an eye? Its purpose realized not as each part does the same thing, but as each part does that which God has ordained. Parts that seem weaker but are actually indispensable. Parts thought of as less honorable are held in high honor as they fulfill their role in the body. Parts, like the intestine, that you really wouldn’t show off, as you would your beautiful hair, but without which you’d die.

I’m reading Paul’s description of the human body and my mind flashes to Psalm 139 . . .

For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mothers womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

(Psalm 139:13-14 ESV)

And it hits me, when was the last time I looked upon the spiritual body of Christ with the same awe and wonder I experience when I pause and reflect on the human body of men. Sure, the church isn’t perfect . . . but, hey Pete, have a look in the mirror . . . there’s a bit of work to be done there too.

But the church, like our bodies, is God’s creation. As we consider the meticulous and miraculous way our bodies have been put together, we should also see the purposefulness and power with which Christ’s body is being formed. As we consider all that our bodily members do and how they work in concert, it should renew our appreciation of the diversity of enabling within an assembly of believers and compel to us to work together, in His power, to accomplish His purpose.

What if, when we walked into our various gatherings this Sunday, we paused, looked out at our brothers and sisters in Christ and were blown away by these Spirit empowered members of Christ? What if we took just a moment, considered the church, despite all her imperfections and opportunities, and whispered, “Fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Would it not remind us of His abundant grace? Would it not, in some measure, bring Him much deserved glory?

I’m thinkin . . .

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For the Common Good

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Pete

Yesterday morning, when I was reading in the latter part of 1Corinthians 11, the words that jumped off the page were “when you come together.” Not because I had some profound insight concerning them but because they are repeated again and again. Five times in eighteen verses Paul uses the phrase. If you learn anything from the passage it’s that “coming together” was just what a local body of believers did. If you said you were part of the church at Corinth then people knew that, whatever else you did as a body, you at the very least were coming together. However, Paul says of these believers, “When you come together it is not for the better but for the worse” (12:17). And he proceeds to instruct them on how to come together in a way that is honoring to the LORD and beneficial for the body.

This morning, reading the first part of 1Corinthians 12, I’m reminded of how the body can come together for the common good.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

(1Corinthians 12:4-7 ESV)

No one should be busier at a Sunday morning gathering of saints than the Holy Spirit. When we gather to exalt the Son to the glory of the Father it is the Spirit who should be, in a manner of speaking, breaking a sweat as He enables the deployment of all the spiritual gifts. And after we’re done meeting and head home to every day living, when the body serves the body outside the building, then too the Spirit should be active as He powers these “varieties of gift.” No Sabbath rest for the Spirit it seems to me. Instead, active empowerment of what Jesus has graced to every believer (Note: EVERY BELIEVER). And all for the common good.

How we deprive the body of common good when we don’t show up. How we stifle the family’s growth when we are not contributing. How we miss out on knowing an encounter of the divine kind when we are not in a place or position to be the conduit of the Spirit’s power through the gifting given us. How we fail to know the touch of God when we cancel on the opportunity for Spirit gifted brothers and sisters to minister to us.

Hard for these gifts of the Spirit, given for the common good, to have an effect for the common good if we don’t come together.

I wonder if it would be different if we really believed what we say we believe . . . that a divine gracing has been “given to each one of us according to the measure of Christs gift” (Eph. 4:7). And that “all these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills” (1Cor. 12:11). Beyond just the responsibility of the stewardship implied from having received a gift from Christ, what of the anticipation of seeing that gift energized by the Holy Spirit and the satisfaction of knowing God Himself has determined it for the common good.

I’m thinking the people of God need to be coming together more. I’m thinking that, as individuals, we miss out when we remove the opportunity for our Spirit powered gifts to flow through us and to others. I’m thinking the Bride of Christ misses out when members of the bridal party have gone AWOL and are MWA (missing without action).

For the common good. It’s our common calling. Enabled by anything but a common dynamic.

All because of grace. All for His glory.

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