Let Us Use Them

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Pete

It’s kind of been like Christmas at our fellowship for the past several months. We have, over the past couple of years, raised the profile of the importance of membership in a local body of believers. We’ve taught on the “whys and wherefores” of making “a living commitment” to the group of believers you believe God has called you to be identified with. We’ve emphasized that we are not talking “membership” as in being a member of a country club or a member at the Y, but rather membership as in being a uniquely called and enabled member of a body. To make this living commitment to a fellowship of believers is to, by God’s grace, say you’re willing to assume your role in the body of Christ as a body part.

And so, over the last several months, our church family has been welcoming a number of new members into our fellowship and, along with them their unique gifting as God ordained body parts. And we have this sense of expectant curiousity of what it will look like when those gifts are opened and operational. Kind of like Christmas.

There’s an anticipation. What role, what body part, will these new members play? What role will they play in the body of Christ? How will they impact our testimony for Christ and His kingdom? God knows. He’s the One building our body. He’s the one gracing the fellowship with the gifts. Ours is to use them.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them . . .

(Romans 12:4-6a ESV)

Many members in the one body. Not all with the same function, but still one body. Individuals yet members of one another. Each having gifts. Gifts not according to just our natural abilities but according to the grace given us. Gifts “according to the measure of faith God has assigned” (12:3). Gifts intended to be used. And so Paul exhorts believers, “Let us use them.”

I’m reminded again this morning that church isn’t something I do, it’s something I am. Every Sunday as I gather with the saints it’s a reminder that I’m a body part, that I have some apportioned gift that I am to exercise for the building up of the family of God and for the furtherance of the gospel. That without my gift in operation, my fellowship is operating on less than full power.

. . . if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

(Romans 12:6b-8 ESV)

It’s not an exhaustive list but it’s a pretty illustrative list. From declaring the oracles of God to showing acts of mercy. From teaching to giving generously. Something for everyone to do. All graced to individuals by God. So, says Paul, “Let us use them.”

And we don’t need to compare our gift to someone else’s gift. We shouldn’t shelve our God graced body function because we think someone else does it better. We steward what we’ve been given “in proportion to our faith.” God has measured it out. Ours is to share what we have, not what we don’t have.

The key to the body of Christ, is that, though we don’t all have the same function, we’re all still functioning. Though all teachers may have not been apportioned the same measure of teaching gift, they are all still teaching. Though all givers may not have been given the same GQ (generosity quotient), they are all still giving according the GQ they have been given.

Paul didn’t say, “Let us compare our gifts to one another.” He said, “Let us use them.”

So, let’s use our gifts.  Let’s be the body parts He’s enabled us to be. In proportion to our faith. According to the measure of grace He has assigned. As a member of the body of Christ . . . not a club member, but a body part member. And when we start bringing our gifts to the table, or rather to our fellowships, it will feel like Christmas as we anticipate the blessing that comes from each gift being opened and being operational within our gathering.

How wondrous is the body of Christ? How amazing is His provision for the body of Christ? How great is His gifting of the body of Christ?

Let us use them.

By His grace. For His glory.

Posted in Romans, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Batteries Included, Insert Batteries

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Pete

Moses was serving it up, but ultimately the people would have to choose. “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse,” says their faithful travel guide, “blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, . . . the curse, if you do not” (Deut. 11:26).

And so, he says repeatedly throughout Deuteronomy, “Take care.” Be on guard, beware, take heed. Your head needs to be in the game. “Lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul” (11:18). Don’t let your heart be deceived, don’t be drawn into the ways of the nations whom you about to dispossess, don’t be ensnared by their gods and their ways (11:16, 12:29-30). Destroy their places of worship and, instead, “seek the place that the LORD your God will choose to make His name dwell there” (12:2, 5, 11).

The land was theirs. The commandments for enjoying it were given. But they would need to take care, beware, and obey. They were given the gift, “batteries included.” But they would need to decide whether or not to appropriate the gift in its fullness. They would need to choose to “insert batteries.”

As I read through Deuteronomy, though it was written TO THEM, I know it was written FOR ME. I’m a different sort of sojourner but the same. My deliverance, while not from physical bondage, was from bondage nonetheless and brought about by the mighty hand of God. And while the promises are different, yet the fundamental dynamics of knowing the fullness of those promises are tied to a God who is unchanging. So, it occurs to me, I too am called to choose this day. Obey or not.

I have been brought into a land, into a kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. Nothing I’ve done to merit such privilege save that He has called me to part of His people and that He has fought the battle that allows me to go in and possess all that is mine in Christ. But in order to possess His inheritance I must take care, beware, and obey. Though He has given me a great gift, batteries included, I still need to, in a sense, by grace-infused enabling insert the batteries. I must choose to obey.

Not that my rescue from bondage is dependent upon my obedience or good works, but that entering into the land and the fullness thereof is found only through a careful determination “to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD” (10:12-13). Obedience. That’s how I, by His grace, insert the batteries.

For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the LORD your God, walking in all His ways, and holding fast to Him, then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves.

(Deuteronomy 11:22-23 ESV)

This would be the second time the people stood at the border of the promised land. The last time they did not go in. Allowed to choose, they chose not to follow their Deliverer and thus not to enter into the fullness of His deliverance. They “rebelled against the commandment” of the LORD their God and “did not believe Him or obey His voice” (9:23). They did not believe, thus they did not obey. Faith intrinsically connected with action. What we believe about our God and His promises determining what we will choose to do with those promises. Enter fully into the new life given us through faithful obedience by faith, or not. Insert batteries or not.

The promises stand fast. The land is there to possess in all it’s fullness. Life and life to the full is available to all who are in Christ.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

(2Peter 1:3-4 ESV)

Now will I, by faith, step out in the divine power given and precious promises granted and obey and possess the abundant life He has brought me into?

“Batteries included.” Will I “insert batteries?”

Choose this day.

Only by grace. All for His glory.

Posted in Deuteronomy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

God Alone

Posted on March 11, 2016 by Pete

This morning decided to heed Psalm 62’s exhortation more than write about it. So I’m re-posting some thoughts on the psalm from 2011.

That David knew the storms of life is a bit of an understatement. It seems that, for more seasons than not in his life, his life was turned upside down by something. Whether it was hiding from Saul who was trying to save his throne by taking out the young upstart shepherd, or running from Philistine enemies who wanted him dead or alive (preferably dead), or eventually fleeing from his own son who wanted daddy’s kingdom for himself, David and tumult seemed to find each other. And beyond the external wars he waged, he also found himself battling inner demons as he dealt with the guilt that came from killing a friend, stealing his wife, and sinning against the God he adored.

A lot of storms in David’s life. So where did stability come from? Where could calm be found?

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

(Psalm 62:1-2, 5-6 ESV)

You can’t help but take notice of things that are repeated in Scripture. Repetition is emphasis. And so, in asking the questions: what can quiet the soul amidst the storms of life? . . . what can silence the raging winds? . . . what can restore balance to an unbalanced world? . . . the answer is twice given so that I’m sure not to miss it.

God alone.

The presence of God alone could awe the storm-tossed soul of the psalmist into quietude. To turn his eyes from the insanity around him to the God before him could calm the anxiety within him. Rather than take inventory of how poorly the battle was going, David instead brings every thought into captivity to consider again that salvation comes from God. That God alone is his stability . . . and his salvation . . . and his refuge. And so, if God is truly all these things, then, says the psalmist, “I shall not be greatly shaken.”

Easier said than done. To shift our attention away from the stuff that’s creaming us and toward the God who has promised to never leave us or forsake us. But when, by the grace that surrounds us and through the Spirit who lives within us, we determine to look to God alone, then, my soul, know blessed assurance . . . experience the rest of those who are secure in the hand of Gods . . . drink deep from the waters of submission . . . feast on the fruit of faith.

And it is when the soul is silent that the heart can best cry out . . .

Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.   Selah

(Psalm 62:8 ESV)

As believers we have been granted access into the most holy place and invited to confidently draw near to His throne, “that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). And, as we act upon that invitation and enter by faith the inner sanctuary where God dwells, and behold afresh His glory and majesty, it is then that our souls are silenced.

And it is then that our hearts are primed. It is then that communion becomes active. And it is then that we are reminded that He is God and we are not. And that in God alone we can find refuge in His steadfast love and know afresh the hope that is ours through His promises.

All because of grace.  All for His glory.

“O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see?
   There’s light for a look at the Savior, and life more abundant and free!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
  look full in His wonderful face.
  And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
  in the light of His glory and grace.”   (Helen H. Lemmel)

 

Posted in Psalms, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Restoration, Reconciliation, and The Return of An Inheritance

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Pete

There were to be six cities. Of the forty-eight cities to be given to the Levites, six of them were to be designated as cities of refuge. Six cities scattered throughout the land of promise where anyone who killed another person unintentionally could flee from “the avenger of blood.” There the manslayer would be protected until he received due process, until “the congregation” could review his case and determine that, in fact, the death he had caused occurred inadvertently and without intent. And having been cleared as a murderer, yet still accountable as a manslayer, he was to remain in the city of refuge under its protection (Numbers 35:9-25a).

Protected but not restored. Safe but not reconciled. Spared in life but separated from his inheritance. But there was an event that could lead to restoration, reconciliation and the return of an inheritance.

And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. . . . For he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession.

(Numbers 35:25, 28 ESV)

To leave a city of refuge before the high priest’s death was to leave its protection and thus invite the avenger of blood to avenge the blood of the one killed (35:26-27). But to wait until the high priest’s death was to walk out of a city of refuge as a free man, no debt owing for his accidental crime. To leave the gates of these cities of asylum after God’s highest representative had died, was to return, without fear or recrimination, to his city and his people. The life of the high priest was sufficient to warrant restoration, reconciliation, and the return of an inheritance.

And you can’t help but read this and think that this provision foreshadows our great High Priest.

In a sense, all sinners reside in the “protective custody” of God’s patience and longsuffering. Guilty of transgressions–many done in ignorance, many not so much–we are spared immediate judgment for our sin. But we live separated from God, at enmity with His holy nature, and apart from the eternal inheritance offered to all. Alive, but not living as intended by the Creator. Doing life but not the abundant life. “Strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). No hope, that is, until the death of the High Priest.

But when Christ appeared as a High Priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

(Hebrews 9:11-12 ESV)

He came that He should die. He offered Himself that the captive could go free. He died so that there would be a way for the manslayer, and every other sinner, to know eternal redemption through His blood.

And for all who acknowledge their sin . . . who recognize His grace–even while they were yet sinners . . . and who appropriate the High Priest’s death on their behalf, the gates are opened. And there is restoration. And there is reconciliation. And there is the promise of an inheritance God longs His children to possess.

All because a high priest died. The High Priest, Jesus the Son of God. He who died, rose again, and lives now to ever make intercession.

Such is the grace of God.

To Him be glory now and forevermore.

Posted in Numbers, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Fear Mounds

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Pete

Read a familiar story in Matthew’s gospel this morning, but with anything but a familiar impact. Kind of how the Spirit works . . . He will convict concerning sin (Jn. 16:8).

Jesus told the story of a man who before going on a journey “called his servants and entrusted to them his property” (Matt. 25:14). Three servants were each given a certain amount of wealth with which to invest for his business. They weren’t given equal amounts, but each were given a lot. They weren’t all entrusted with the same responsibility, but the wise master gave to each “according to his ability” (25:15). They weren’t all given “5 talents” but they were all given equal opportunity.

Usually when I read the story I fixate on the first two servants. They took their treasure and traded with it and doubled it. And, when their master returned, they both heard, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (25:21,23). That’s what I aspire to hear from my Master on the day I give an account for how I invested the wealth of my time and treasure and talents entrusted to me through grace. And, thinking with “sober judgment” (Rom. 12:3), in some measure I think I might.

But as I read the story this morning, I pictured mounds in my backyard. Little hills of dirt scattered about, like those you see in a yard where gophers have found a home. And those mounds mark where spiritual treasures for investing in eternal returns are buried. Buried because of fear. They are fear mounds.

He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, “Master, . . . I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.”

(Matthew 25:24-25 ESV)

The servant buried the talent because he was afraid. In his case he feared because he didn’t really know his master or the nature of his master’s business. But I was struck with this thought: Though I have invested some, maybe even most, of the treasure graced to me, if I’m honest, I know that scattered in my backyard are some fear mounds. “Talents” to be put into play that, because of my fearfulness of something or someone, I have opted to bury and have not invested.

A word that should be spoken . . . some time to be given . . . a bit of money to be spent . . . or some other heavenly provision that has not been invested for the kingdom of heaven because I don’t want to be rejected . . . or I don’t think I can do a good enough job . . . or I’m worried about maintaining a “financially secure future.” Whatever the “talent” and whatever the fear, those fear mounds are a bit of an indictment of a lack of faith and a bit of a misdirected focus.

Not such an indictment that I am so crushed by conviction that I’m sidelined. No, because “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” and “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1John 1:7-9). What’s more, though “for the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, . . . later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:11).

You see, the Spirit who draws my attention to those fear mounds, is the same Spirit who has been given to overcome fear. He is the same Spirit who prompts me and empowers me to invest the Master’s treasure for the Master’s business. He is the same Spirit who reminds me that there is still time and I can dig up those fear mounds and tender the Master’s opportunities of grace.

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord . . .

(2Timothy 1:6-8a ESV)

Time to dig up some fear mounds and invest His treasure.

By His grace . . . for His glory.

Posted in Matthew, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Lamps in Hand with Oil in Reserve

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Pete

There were ten of them. Similar in many ways, but different in one over-arching manner. These ten ladies were all young and they were all pure. Each had indicated they wanted to be part of the wedding processional when the bridegroom came for his bride. Everyone of them knew it was likely he’d arrive at night and so each had a lamp. And each went to meet the bridegroom.

But the bridegroom was delayed. And so, each had to wait. And wait longer than they had anticipated. Wait so long that eventually each of them became tired and slept.

Each of them was wakened by a midnight cry, “Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” Each awoke. Each sought to get their lamps ready.

All similar in many ways. But yet vastly different in one very important way.

“Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. . . . And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ ”  ~ Jesus

(Matthew 25:2-4, 8-9 ESV)

Though they all had said they wanted to be part of the wedding, five were prepared and five were not. Five had availed themselves of the necessary provision to ensure their lamps would shine, and five had fallen asleep at the wheel even before they fell asleep waiting for the wedding. The oil had been available to all, but not all had availed themselves of the oil.

Thus, five entered the wedding feast and five scrambled at the last minute to get ready and found themselves outside a locked door.

And Jesus makes clear the point of this story He told about the nature of the kingdom of heaven,

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”  ~ Jesus

(Matthew 25:13 ESV)

Watch. Stay awake. Be vigilant. Ensure your head is in the game.

Lamps without enough oil? Foolish. Devices capable for emitting light without the resources to provide light? Dull and unprepared. Relying on their ingenuity to, at the last minute, improvise and presume on others giving them what they should have had? Blockheaded, absurd. And the consequence of not being ready? Massive.

So many ways to apply Jesus’ parable. Fact: He, as the Bridegroom, is coming again. Fact: many are being invited to participate in the wedding. Fact: many will look like they’re ready. Fact: some will not be ready. Not ready in that they never really owned the Bridegroom or His wedding day as their own and thus failed to avail themselves of His provision in order to, themselves, be light-providers. Or not ready in that, while they had started out well, with lamps trimmed and ready to shine, they lost interest, or became distracted, and fell asleep and their lamps were all but out when it was time for them to shine brightest at His return.

And to all Jesus says, “Watch therefore.”

Be ready. Lamps in hand with oil in reserve . . . anticipating the call.

The provision for lit lamps? Available to all by His grace. The purpose for lit lamps. That they might shine light on Him alone–while we wait and when He comes.

Lamps in hand with oil in reserve . . . for His glory.

Posted in Matthew, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Even in Failure There is Glory

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Pete

The promised land was the goal, but it wasn’t the end game. It was worth dedicating a life for but, ultimately, it wasn’t what life was all about. I need to remind myself of that this morning as I consider Moses coming up short of stepping foot into the land. That even in failure there is glory.

It hit me this morning as I was reading in Numbers 26 and 27. A new generation is being counted. “Not one person on this list had been among those listed in the previous registration taken by Moses and Aaron in the wilderness of Sinai” (26:64 NLT). And while the desert is scattered with the graves of an entire generation who had refused to enter the land out of fear, a few particularly notable “crash-and-burns” are mentioned.

Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, are called out. They “contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the LORD and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah” (26:9-10). Then I came across the mention of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, who “died when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD” (26:61). Yeah, they got what they deserved. Who were they to think they could challenge the LORD’s authority or play loose with the LORD’s commandments?

But then I read this in Numbers 27:

The LORD said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against My word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold Me as holy at the waters before their eyes.”

(Numbers 27:12-14 ESV)

Dathan, Abiram, Korah, . . . Nadab, Abihau, . . . Moses. When counting those who would be entering the promised land, these are called out in particular as those who wouldn’t step foot in the land because of their failure. Doesn’t seem right to me that Moses’ name is found in that list of names. But it is a reminder of the holy nature of our God. And of the good news that even when coming up short of the goal, there is grace. And in that grace, even in failure there is glory.

Moses blew it. No question. God said, “Speak to the rock” and the servant of God, deferring to his sin nature, disobeyed, striking the rock . . . not once but twice. And, in so doing, crossed the line . . . rather, was told he would not cross the line–that he would not be permitted to bring God’s people into the land God had given them (Num. 20:2-12).

How sad. A lifetime of being prepared for a work commissioned of God. Decades spent in the wilderness leading a grumbling hoard to a place of blessing they really didn’t deserve. Having known a relationship with God unlike any other man as he had spoke to God “face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex. 33:11). And then to come up short. To not make it into the land because of a momentary transgression. To not reach the goal because of stupid frustration and anger. But even in failure there is glory.

For, how did God treat Moses? Not in the same manner He did toward the rebellious sons of Eliab who were swallowed by the earth. Nor like His reaction to the foolish and arrogant boys belonging to Aaron who were consumed by the flames. Instead, despite Moses failure of not upholding God as holy before the people and the associated consequence, God would still be glorified through Moses. It wouldn’t be in God leading Moses into the promised land, but His glory would be known in the manner in which He would bring His faithful follower home.

Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land . . . , And the LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, and He buried him . . . no one knows the place of his burial to this day.

(Deuteronomy 34:1-6 ESV)

And while Moses didn’t hear, “Well done, good and perfect servant,” I’m pretty sure he heard His LORD and God say something like, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

God’s provision, to be tendered millennia later on a cross, was sufficient to pay the price for His servant’s failure. God’s goodness, manifest through Jesus, the Son of God, would be known even in Moses’ shortcomings, as God personally escorted Moses through the valley of the shadow of death and into the glorious light of His presence.

Moses’ failure. God’s glory. All because of the nature of a holy, and loving, and gracious, and good, and glorious King.  And all because of His finished work on the cross.

Too much to think that even in my trip ups and slip ups, He can be exalted. I don’t think it’s too much to think. Through His great provision and by His abundant grace, even in failure there is glory.

His glory. That’s the end game.  Beyond reaching the goal, that’s what life is all about . . . His glory!

Amen?

Posted in Numbers, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Praise from the Cave

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Pete

I’m no poet. Never been a songwriter. But I know that sometimes lyric writers will get away to a special place in order to find inspiration for their next song. They’ll retreat and get away from it all in order to prime the pump of creativity.

David “got away” and penned the fifty-seventh song in Psalms. He “retreated” and wrote a piece for the choirmaster. His inspiration? “Do not destroy.” That’s what he did, he didn’t destroy his enemy Saul when he had the chance. “Do not destroy.” That was his plea to God as he continued to flee from Saul’s murderous intent. And his place of inspiration? The cave. And the result of his inspiration? Praise.

Praise from the cave, that’s the essence of Psalm 57. It begins as a cry for mercy from a soul “in the midst of lions” (v.4a) and ends as a song of thanksgiving and exaltation from a steadfast heart (v.7). Though the pressure and stress of the reality of his situation forces the songwriter’s soul to be “bowed down” (v.6) yet the presence and glory of His God compels his harp and lyre to wake up (v. 8).

So how do you get there? How does dire predicament lead to directed praise? How do you go from being on the ropes to singing at the top of your lungs? How does the cave inspire such praise? I think a clue, if not the key, is found in David’s opening stanza:

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in You my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.

(Psalm 57:1 ESV)

His soul was in the midst of lions. His soul was bowed down. Yet David’s soul found a place of refuge in God and the shadow of His wing. Just as David had fled to the safety of a cave for protection against his enemy, Saul, so too His soul had fled to the protection of His God from his greater enemy, fear and despair. My soul takes refuge in You . . . my soul trusts in You (NKJV).

That’s the solid ground, our faith. That’s the place from which we can plant both feet and cry out to God Most High.  Faith being the substance of things hoped for (Heb. 11:1). The safe place which bolsters our flagging soul as we’re assured that God “fulfills His purpose for me” (v.2), that “He will send from heaven and save me,” and that He “will send out His steadfast love and His faithfulness” (v.3).

In the cave our souls take refuge in our God. In who He is and in what He has promised. And as we know the shadow of His wing through faith, His presence, His person, and His promises all lead to His praise.

Praise from the cave. I’m not looking for any more “inspirational retreats” like David’s, but should they come–rather, when they come–might they result in songs and singing fit for heaven.

My heart is steadfast, O God,
   my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
   Awake, my glory!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
   I will awake the dawn!
I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;
   I will sing praises to You among the nations.
For Your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
   Your faithfulness to the clouds.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
   Let Your glory be over all the earth!

(Psalm 57:7-11 ESV)

By His grace . . . for His glory.

Posted in Psalms, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Return of Singing

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Pete

It’s been a long haul. Forty years long. Lot of miles covered, but not much distance . . . round and round she goes. And graves? They’ve left a lot of graves in their wake. An entire generation has fallen, never having set foot in the land that was promised them when they left the bondage of Egypt. But their children and young people, now adults themselves, have filled their ranks. And they’re ready to move in.

And what struck me this morning as I was reading in Numbers 21 is the return of singing.

And from there they continued to Beer; that is the well of which the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that I may give them water.” Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well!  Sing to it!”

(Numbers 21:16-17 ESV)

There was singing when they left Egypt. Singing which also occurred by a body of water, the Red Sea. They had just walked through it on dry ground. Their enemies, not so much. There they sang to the LORD who had triumphed gloriously by casting horse and rider into the sea. Then, having seen again the mighty hand of God act on their behalf, they were moved to song and the camp was filled with joy. He was their victory. He was their salvation. And He would be their song (Ex. 15:1-2).

And there was singing at the foot of Sinai (Ex. 32:18). The mount that rumbled and was covered in cloud. The place where Moses had ascended to meet with God. But there the singing was directed toward idols. There the celebration was before an inanimate statue made from gold, fashioned by their own hands. There the singing brought judgment and wrath. And there, if I’ve done my e-concordance work correctly, the singing stopped. None recorded since then. Not until Numbers 21. Then the singing returned.

It’s not that God hadn’t shown Himself mighty since Exodus 32. Not that God hadn’t miraculously met their need after leaving Egypt. But, by and large, it never seemed enough for the sons and daughters of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. What prevailed was a spirit of discontent, a disquieted and grumbling undertone, an attitude of ingratitude. As such, in addition to everything else they suffered because of their propensity to murmur, it seems there was no singing. Lament, perhaps . . . but we find little joy, little praise, very little worship.

But here is a new generation in Numbers 21. They are closing the book on forty years of wandering in the wilderness. They are heading in a straight line towards the land promised to Abraham, the circling has stopped.

They’ve seen some victory on the way as they defeat the Canaanite king of Arad (21:1-3). And, while they’ve also slipped back into to their old ways, becoming impatient and grumbling about a lack of food and water, and paying the price with fiery serpents among them . . . even through that, they’ve learned of the dynamic of faith as they believed the LORD and simply looked upon a lifted up bronze serpent in order to be saved (21:4-9).

So you sense a new day is dawning as you read Numbers 21. And when they came to the well at Beer and saw the water God had provided, . . . provided apart from them whining and complaining and demanding it, . . . provided because God is good and they were His people, and that’s what a good God does for His people, . . it’s then that singing returns to the camp.

Singing. Worshiping. Lifting voices in thanksgiving and praise. Seems like a pretty natural response to a pretty supernatural situation. Songless saints, it would seem to me, are those lacking an appreciation for God’s great provision for them. Maybe they don’t recognize it . . . or have become bored with it . . or have failed to remember it for some time.

” . . . whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”   ~ Jesus

(John 4:14 ESV)

But to stand before the Well. To know that living water has been provided by the hand of God. To be invited to drink deeply. And then to drink deeply. That, my friend, is a reason to return to singing.

Sing to Him because of His ever present provision and grace. Sing to Him for His ever due exaltation and glory.

Posted in Numbers, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Dominated No More

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Pete

Call it a “Wayback Wednesday” post. This entry from 2009 reflects so many of my thoughts this morning as I hovered over the first part of Romans 6. I remember vividly the incident between the “little guy” and the “little girl.” Hard to think of him being 17 today and of her as a 16 year old. A lot changes in 7 years. But not the truth of Romans 6 or the need to take seriously the charge of Romans 6. Might be going way back with this post but I so need it’s encouragement today.

———————————-

We had a couple of “small friends” over last Friday . . . a little guy, 10, and a little girl, 9. He is a typical 10 year old boy . . . she an angelic 9 year old girl . . . Venus and Mars . . . you get the idea. Anyway, they’re playing the Wii together and, for the most part, he’s doing what us guys like to do most . . . dominate! But then they played a game which, no matter how hard he tried, he could not win. She absolutely owned him! As one who is personally very aware of the male ego, it was kind of fun to see his ego being tamed a bit. Every time she’d win she’d just smile sweetly . . . and he’d go crazy . . . and he’d demand that they play again.  And she’d quietly agree. . . and then she’d sweetly kick his keester again! Fun to watch! She had dominion over him.  He was powerless to “muscle” his way to victory.  Kind of how sin used to have dominion over me . . . but no more, as Romans 6 reminds me this morning.

Paul asks the question, “Shall we continue in sin?” His answer? . . . “NO WAY!!!!”

And as I read the first 14 verses of Romans 6 I’m reminded of some truths . . . and I’m reminded of some responsibilities.

Truths . . . through our salvation we have been interwoven with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? . . . if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.

(Romans 6:3, 5 ESV)

That’s part of the spiritual transaction that occurred when I first believed. I wasn’t aware of it . . . but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t happening. Born again . . . dead to the old man and the old way . . . resurrected in newness of life. The body of sin done away with that we should no longer be slaves of sin (6:6). That’s what happened . . . that’s the truth. Just as Christ shed death’s dominion over Him through His resurrection (6:9), so too, the believer shed’s sins dominion over him through his re-birth as a new creation in Christ. Alive with Christ . . . freed from sin . . .

It’s one thing to know that freedom positionally . . . but don’t we want to know it practically, too? That’s where the responsibility comes into play.

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. . . . Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, . . . Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

(Romans 6:11-13 ESV)

The victory is mine, but the battle must be fought.

By faith, I believe the declaration of Scripture . . . and that I need not concede the battle to sin. And what I believe drives what I determine to do . . . or, as the case might be, what I determine not to do. I determine to engage in acts of righteousness . . . to present myself to God . . . desiring His will and His way . . . seeking holiness . . . thirsting after faithfulness . . . wanting to practice righteousness. I determine not to let sin reign, but to deal with it quickly when it trips me up. I determine not to flirt with unrighteousness . . . but to stay far away from those things which can so easily entangle me.

That I have been freed from sin (6:7) is not just some nice platitude, it’s a context in which I determine to order my life. It’s a principle within which I make decisions, a reality that I determine to pursue.

And, unlike my little buddy on the Wii who was powerless in and of himself to gain the victory, I have the sure hope of “winning” at this “death to sin” game by the grace of God.

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

(Romans 6:14 ESV)

That’s the bottom line–sin will not have dominion over me. Grace is the “secret sauce” to triumph. The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal. 2:20). God said it. I believe it.

Father, thank You not only for saving me from the penalty of sin, but for saving me also from the power of sin. I am so aware of sin’s assault . . . too often it has gained the upper hand. But it need not reign . . . it shall not reign . . . for if I confess my sin, You are faithful and just to forgive my sin and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1John 1:9).

Thank You for Your grace which breaks sin’s dominion . . . and for Your Spirit which empowers me to pursue righteousness. Enable Me to live in newness of life, I pray . . . dominated no more by sin . . . amen!

———————————–

By His grace . . . for His glory.

Posted in Romans, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment