Judges, Don’t You Know?

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Pete

Judges. That’s not the book I’m reading this morning, it’s the thought that is rolling through my mind. The followers of Jesus are going to be judges. It’s not Paul’s main point in the first part of 1Corinthians chapter 6. In fact, it’s just slipped in there as supporting data as he rebukes the believers at Corinth for suing one another and going to pagan courts to work through family matters. But this “supporting data” has caught my searching eye and is resulting in a surreal wonder. Judges, don’t you know?

Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!

(1Corinthians 6:2-3 ESV)

Can’t say I’m studied up on saints judging the world. Haven’t really spent time exploring Judging Angels 101. Don’t have the time for that this morning. Nevertheless, sounds like it’s part of what lays in store for the church.

And I’m thinking, with all I know about what it means to be redeemed . . . with all that I believe concerning being a child of God . . . with all that I hope for on that day when faith gives way to sight, how much do I still not know or fully appreciate of what it means to be a blood-bought follower of Christ? I’m guessing, quite a bit. Like one day judging the world. Like one day judging angels. Like one day what else?

As much as we live in the wonder of the expectation of seeing Him in all His glory, shouldn’t there also be an energized anticipation of what life will be like when the mortal gives way to immortality? When the things of this world fade away and the dawning of the next goes from theory to reality? I’m thinkin’!

We’re gonna be judges, don’t you know? What else will we be? What else will we be doing?

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him

(1Corinthians 2:9 ESV)

We should be living in the here and now in the light of who we will be in the there and then. Gonna judge the world? Then, says Paul, start handling the “trivial cases” in the church? Gonna judge angels? Then know that we’re competent, by God’s Spirit-filled enabling, to navigate this life.

Live in light of who you are in Christ. Live in light of who you’ll be in Christ.

Judges, don’t you know?

By His grace. For His glory.

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Investing in a CRA (Caleb Retirement Account)

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Pete

So what if they were giants? They were on his land! Time for them to go. And who’s gonna make them go? He would. Caleb, the eighty-five year old son of Jephunneh, was ready to take it to them. Unlike many today, his “twilight years” weren’t going to be spent playing games. Instead, “retirement” for Caleb would be lived very much like “pre-retirement” — investing in his CRA . . . laying up treasure in his Caleb Retirement Account.

He had known the emancipation from slavery and the exodus from Egypt. He had walked through the Red Sea. He had served under Moses. When he was forty years old he had spied out the land most thought unconquerable and had formed the minority opinion with Joshua, firmly believing that God could and would give the land promised to them into their hands. He had spent forty years wandering in the desert witnessing firsthand the faithful provision of God and the inevitable death of every one of his peers. And what’s more, he had just survived several years of war in Canaan. You’d think that at eighty-five he’d be saying to Joshua, “Hey Josh, can you find me a nice cushy oasis to settle down in?” But not this guy.

“So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said.”

(Joshua 14:12 ESV)

You got to be inspired by this guy! Caleb’s ready to fight a tribe of “long-necks” (literal interpretation of Anakim). He’s ready to go toe-to-toe with warriors who are head-and-shoulders above him. And he’s going to do it in the hill country, not even having the advantage of a level playing field. What drives a guy in his 80’s to desire such an undertaking? What compels a senior citizen to keep on keepin’ on like that? I’m thinkin’ he’s driven by faith in his CRA.

” . . . I wholly followed the LORD my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.'”

(Joshua 14:8b-9 ESV)

Three times in this chapter the Holy Spirit makes sure we know that Caleb “wholly followed the LORD.”

When Caleb was delivered from Egypt, he wholly followed the LORD. When he spied out the land, Caleb wholly followed the LORD and was ready to “take the hill” at that time. As he wandered in the wilderness, he wholly followed the LORD. As he moved through the land on the frontlines of battle after battle, he wholly followed the LORD. By faith he had been investing in the inheritance promised him and, at eighty-five years of age, he wasn’t about to stop now. He was building his CRA fully believing that the best was yet to come.

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. . . . storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

(1Timothy 6:17-19 ESV)

That’s a CRA . . . investing in an eternal future, laying hold of life that is truly life. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21). Caleb’s goal was to know the realization of the promises of God, that was his treasure. And so, his heart was fully devoted to following the LORD. His “retirement goal” was “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1Peter 1:4), and he would invest in it with all his might until he could invest no more. Even if it meant fighting giants at eighty-five.

Oh that I might be such as Caleb . . . investing in my PRA.

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

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Seeing Their Believing

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Pete

There’s no record that any of them said anything. What they did conveyed what they were seeking. Their actions spoke louder than any words. And those who were present that day were seeing their believing.

Jesus was back in Capernaum. And as the word got out that He was home, the house where He was staying started filling up. He was preaching the word and the people were filling the place. So many had come to hear Him teach that the place was packed. So many gathered that they were “jamming the entrance so no one could get in or out” (MSG).

But there were five who had arrived late to the party and were not about to be denied. Four of them could walk, their buddy couldn’t. Four of them carried a bed, their buddy lay on it. And all of them knew they needed to see Jesus.

Whenever I read Mark 2 I try and imagine the scene as the four started removing tile and other material from the roof above Jesus. I’m thinking that they intended to lower the paralytic’s bed down horizontally and so it was no small hole they were creating. Talk about an interruption. One moment Jesus is figuratively lifting off the ceiling as He preaches the written word of God and the next, the ceiling is literally being lifted off as five desperate men seek an encounter with the living Word of God. And all eyes are drawn to the commotion above Jesus and the focus is clearly on the one who’s laying on the bed being lowered to floor in front of Jesus.

Everyone in that house, including Jesus, was seeing their believing.

And when they could not get near Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”

(Mark 2:4-5 ESV)

Jesus saw their faith. He witnessed the conviction of the paralytic’s four buddies. He observed the firm opinion of the man who lay helplessly on the bed. Without a word being spoken they demonstrated that they believed Jesus was sent of God and had power to heal brokenness. The torn up roof tiles evidenced their heartfelt confidence that He who had released others from their bondage would be willing to set free this man confined to his back. The spectacle they made of themselves was due to the surety they placed in the Savior.

And seeing their belief, Jesus said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”

Not forgiven because of the paralytic’s works or the extraordinary effort of his friends. But forgiven because of what lay behind their actions. They removed the roof because they believed that Jesus was who He claimed to be. They tore up the tiles and rained debris down on the crowd because they believed that Jesus could do what He claimed to be able to do. They interrupted the meeting because they believed that Jesus was bringing about the kingdom He said He had come to bring about.

Sometimes what we say we believe needs to be manifest in what we’re willing to do. Not that we do so to demand His favor, but we do so in order to demonstrate our faith.

Faith born of His abundant grace. Faith for His eternal glory.

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The Power of God

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Pete

Tonight, Lord willing, the saints plan on gathering at, as my friend Garry likes to calls it, L-T-double-C. The plan is to sing a bit, read Scripture, respond with Scripture, and then eat and drink symbols of Someone’s death. In fact, even the songs and the Scripture are going to have a strong death theme to them. While tonight we intend to celebrate, I’m not anticipating much of a party atmosphere. Rather we’ll gather to consider the cross of Christ as we read and respond and reflect and remember. And, with the Spirit’s enabling, we will know afresh the power of God.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. . . . For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

(1Corinthians 1:18, 22-24 ESV)

The cross is the power of God. Christ crucified is the dunamis, the force, the strength, the mighty and wonderful enabling. For those who have received and believed the truth that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”, His death on our behalf is the power that enables us to live for God.

Some try to “clean up the cross” and make it more attractive to modern sensibilities. Others try and deflect from the offense of the cross which speaks of the death of a Substitute for our sin, and focus instead on the attractiveness of a wonderful plan for our lives. But when all is said and done . . . when all is done and said . . . it is Christ crucified which “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith'” (Rom 1:16-17).

And in reflecting on the foolishness of the cross we find anew the foundation for our faith.

Sunday we will celebrate an empty tomb. He is risen! Because He lives I can face tomorrow! But tonight we’ll meditate on why that tomb was even used. We’ll know again that it was our sin and transgression that compelled the Son of God to cry from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” We’ll recall the price paid and the grace extended that speaks into the darkness, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” We’ll rejoice that our redemption is sure and that our salvation is nearer than when we first believed because of Calvary’s triumphant cry, “It is finished!”

By some people’s estimate it won’t be much of a party tonight at L-T-double-C. But there will be rejoicing. Some will think that a crucifixion is kind of dumb thing to give up a Friday night for and isn’t much cause for celebration. But there will be thanksgiving.

And when all is said and done, we’ll take the bread and drink the cup and proclaim once again the Lord’s death until He comes. Because it is the power of God . . . and because we know Sunday’s a comin’!

By His grace . . . for His glory.

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Seeing Is Not Necessarily Believing

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Pete

Not enough time to really dig in this morning and study the chronology of Jesus’ post resurrection appearances. But if Galilee was a bit of a trek from the empty tomb it seems that the resurrection appearances Jesus made to His disciples behind closed doors, and on the road to Emmaus had already taken place before the meeting recorded in my reading this morning. And it’s not really clear to me whether Jesus met with just the eleven on the mount in Galilee or whether there was a greater band of disciples present . . . though I think it could have been when “He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time” (1Cor. 15:6). Regardless, there was a reunion at that mountain in Galilee. And while there was a great celebration there was also, for some at least, a measure of skepticism. So, it seems, seeing is not necessarily believing.

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw Him they worshiped Him, but some doubted.

(Matthew 28:16-17 ESV)

Time for a praise party! When they saw Jesus they worshiped. When they encountered the risen Christ I wouldn’t be surprised if there were raised hands and bowed knees . . . if some stood lifting their faces to heaven and some went prostrate with their faces to the ground . . . if some blessed God and others remained silent in inexpressible awe and wonder. It’s kind of what you might expect of those who had hoped in Jesus, seen Him crucified, and now were standing before Him in all His resurrection beauty.

But, Matthew records, some doubted. Some wavered in their opinion of what they saw. Some weren’t so sure. This is what makes me think there was a greater group present. I think the eleven had worked through their doubts during previous encounters with the living Christ, thanks in large part to Thomas (John 20:24-28). But, whoever was there, some doubted.

Doubted what? That He was alive? That He was ever really dead? That this was really Him and not just a spirit or apparition? I don’t know.  But there they were and there He was and still some doubted.

And it’s got me thinking . . . how many will make the trek to a place of worship this weekend to celebrate and worship the risen Christ and yet will doubt?

Doubt that they will encounter Him though He has promised to be where His people gather. Doubt that they can really know Him though He said He would send His Spirit to testify of Him. Doubt that they are worthy to be in His presence though He has said He died for them and that, in Him, they would be robed with His righteousness. Doubt that they really need to worship Him, and Him alone, but can fit Him in along with all their other gods.

O, that this Sunday God’s people would see Jesus . . . and worship Him . . . and not doubt. That those outside the faith who attend celebrations of the empty tomb would be graced by God with eyes to see and ears to hear, and that the hardness of unbelief would be shed.

That we would not glibly or mindlessly go through the motions this Resurrection Sunday, but would gather together expectantly. And not doubt. But worship. And though, not seeing, we would be believing.

He is Risen!

By His grace . . . for His glory.

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Seeking Jesus

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Pete

Matthew writes that the women went “to see the tomb” but the angel knew they were actually on a mission. They didn’t rise up before dawn wanting just to behold the rock in front of the tomb. Rather, according to Luke and Mark, they had brought spices hoping, somehow, to anoint the body of the Rock they had seen lain in the tomb. They went to the sepulcher on the first day of the week with a flickering faith and an uncertain hope, but they went nevertheless. And they went seeking Jesus.

And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. . . . the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

(Matthew 28:2, 5-8 ESV)

“I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified,” said the angel. It wasn’t some morbid curiosity that led the ladies back to the tomb early that Sunday morning. It was a heart of devotion which evoked a sense of duty even if they had no idea how they would accomplish what they sought to do.

Jesus had been buried hastily. On the Friday He was crucified they had not been afforded the time to mourn Him in anointing His body after His death. The Sabbath prevented them from doing so and thus, at first light on the day after the Sabbath they went seeking Jesus.

The didn’t how they would remove the great stone in front of the tomb. All they knew is that they wanted to worship Him in His death as they had in His life.

And for those who seek Jesus, sometimes there are encounters of the divine kind.

What amazed them more that early morning? Seeing an angel, his appearance like lightning, and his clothing white as snow, or seeing the stone rolled back and hearing, “He is not here, for He has risen, as He said?” Talk about your extrasensory overload! Bright lights and blown minds! Empty tomb but full hearts. Not fully understanding what was meant by what they angel had just declared but never more certain of what they believed.

So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Fear and great joy. What a combo! Minds racing, hearts pumping. Wanting to fall on your face and at the same shout from a roof top. Awe and wonder . . . praise and worship. Experienced by those who venture out seeking Jesus.

And as we anticipate this weekend’s celebration will we be like those ladies?

Probably more natural to be like the guards who stood before the closed tomb. Just another assignment for them. Though the circumstance may have been out of the ordinary, it was just standard protocol. They knew what to do and relied on themselves to get it done. Though it would become mundane and boring, they would fight against snoozing off and would fulfill the charge of being at the tomb.

But I want to be like Mary and Mary. Up before dawn in anticipation of mission. Seeking Jesus though not quite sure of what will happen or how. Desiring though not demanding an encounter of the divine kind. Wanting to encounter anew the bright light of the Spirit’s illumination as I hear afresh, “He is not here, for He is risen!” To be filled with authentic awe and overwhelming wonder. To know holy fear and great joy. To meet with the risen Christ, fall at His feet, and worship Him (28:9). All because this Easter I was seeking Jesus.

By His grace . . . for His glory.

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Make It As Secure As You Can

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Pete

Their hardness of heart continued even after His death. Even after the spectacle on Calvary was over and the crowds were gone they were not done with trying to write the script. The Pharisees gather before the Roman governor and warn him of a possible conspiracy (after all paranoia’s just smart thinking when everyone’s against you). A plot they fear will be conceived by eleven spirit-broken, soul-crushed men. A plot to steal the lifeless body of Jesus from where He was buried.

“Order the tomb to be made secure until the third day,” they tell Pilate, “lest His disciples go and steal Him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead'” (Matt. 27:62-64).

Self-serving. Self-protecting. Even after His death.

What did they fear? Deep down did they fear that perhaps, just perhaps, He might actually rise from the dead? Did they rerun the many signs and wonders He had performed over the past three years? Did they think again of Lazarus–dead and buried for four days and then called back to life simply by Jesus’ command (oh yeah, they remember, we need to kill Lazarus too)?

Or were they truly dead as a spiritual door nail? So enveloped in darkness and so focused on their own interests that they just wanted to take whatever precautions were necessary to ensure they maintained their position?

I don’t know exactly what was running through their minds, but whatever it was they wanted the tomb protected. So they went to Pilate to ask for a Roman guard. An elite commando team of four to sixteen soldiers trained to stand their ground and repel the greatest of enemy forces . . . even if that enemy force were dejected, depressed, and dispersed followers of Christ.

Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

(Matthew 27:65-66 ESV)

“Go, make it as secure as you can.” That’s the phrase that caught my eye and my imagination this morning.

I wonder, was there a bit of sarcasm in Pilates voice? Could he have been thinking, “Really? You’re worried about that rag-tag group of followers stealing Jesus’ body? Fishermen, tax collectors, and other uneducated no-names? That’s the band of conspirators you’re worried about? Go ahead play out your paranoia and take a guard.”

Or perhaps, in light of the encounter Pilate had himself with Jesus, he thinks, “Really? You think a band of men–no matter how many or how well trained–will be able to stand in the way of what God’s program is for the Christ? If Jesus is God’s anointed, do you truly think that any army could secure that tomb and prevent God from doing whatever God intends to do? But go, make it as secure as you can.”

And so they sealed the tomb. And so they set a guard in front of the large rock covering the entrance of where they laid Jesus body. And they made it as secure as they could.

But guess what? Not secure enough. Sunday’s a comin’ . . . .

Who’s getting ready to celebrate?

By His grace . . . for His glory.

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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.

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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.

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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)

 

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