Our Fellowship

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Pete

True confession time . . . I’m kinda’ hooked on The Voice talent show. Very capable singers are given 90 seconds to audition sight unseen to secure a spot on a coach’s team. These coaches are themselves big names in the music industry. After finding a spot on the team, these singers go through a number of head-to-head singing competitions. If their coaches pick them as the winners of each round they eventually advance to the live shows where America eventually picks an ultimate winner to be crowned as The Voice.

So why am I thinking The Voice as I sit back and meditate after reading The Word this morning? It’s because of a dynamic that is played out again and again on the show. Not only are these contestants in awe of being able to work with a famous singing artist, but through the rounds different advisors are brought in who are also big names in the music industry. And the show’s producers ensure there is ample contestant testimony as to how amazing, or mind-blowing, or unbelievable it is that they get to meet with and work with such big stars. They get to rub shoulders with the elite. They receive coaching and encouragement from the best. And they often remark how they can barely believe it’s all happening.

And as I’m reading the opening verses of 1John this morning, I realize that this fleeting fellowship they experience with mere mortals is no match for the eternal fellowship we have been brought into. That their awe at such privilege should pale in comparison to the awe we should continually express as we consider the nature of our fellowship.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life–the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us–that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.     (1John 1:1-3 ESV)

Our fellowship is with the Father. Our fellowship is with His Son Jesus Christ.

How much do I take that for granted? When’s the last time my jaw dropped to consider such privilege of association? And it’s not some distance association, but up close and personal abiding community.

Communion with the Creator through Him who created all things. Intimacy with the Source of life. Fellowship with the Giver of eternal life. Chosen not because of some capability I possess. Not earning myself a spot on “the team” through a great audition. Not to be tested against others hoping to perform my way to the live rounds. Knowing God not because I have any chance of being the best based on my own talent.

But chosen for fellowship because of the work and the worth of another. My merit being that of God’s blessed Son. My “advancement” only possible by the sanctifying work of the God’s Holy Spirit. The crown I will one day wear having nothing to do with my abilities but solely a trophy of God’s amazing grace.

And in the meantime, I get to commune with the Father through the Son by the Spirit. I can wake every morning and, in the most personal and intimate of ways, participate in the divine with the Almighty and Holy God of eternity. His “coaching” is the conforming of my nature to that of the Son’s as I hear and respond to His voice through the Spirit resident within me. Indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

And that should be jaw-dropping. That should evoke a fall-to-your-knees face planting. Far from being old hat, it should be an ever present flow of fresh water that primes the pump of awe and wonder and resulting praise.

Who gets to be in community with God? We do! The Word of life having made the way through His own blood for us to enter the Holy of Holies, boldly approaching the throne of grace, abiding with Him as He desires to abide with us.

O that my voice might continually sing His praise . . . because of His grace . . . and for His glory!

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True Disciples

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Pete

Jesus looked at these new “believers” and determined to test their belief. They were yet to fully realize their deep, deep need to be born again, much less how that would be accomplished. They were yet to bear with Jesus the cross . . . yet to be on the other side of the cross looking back at the blood shed for their transgression . . . yet to behold the empty tomb declaring their victory over sin and death. At this point they were ready to assent to this man, Jesus, being sent of the Father, that He was the Messiah. But Jesus knew what was ahead.

He knew what was ahead of those would claim to be His disciples. The mirror that would show them the depths of their own depravity. The questions that would arise as they went through the valley of His death and the euphoria that would follow the mountain top of His resurrection. Jesus knew the difficulty awaiting those who would find themselves going against flow as they started to know the joy of fellowship with the saints. He knew the increasing hostility they would face as creatures of light by those in darkness. And so Jesus tests them by setting forth the mark of true disciples.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
(John 8:31-32 ESV)

Abiding in His word. That’s the test of a true disciple.

Many of them “failed” the test almost immediately as they tried to process the words of Jesus suggesting that they needed to be set free. They objected. People of such privileged heritage–offspring of Abraham–bristled at the thought that they were enslaved to anyone or anything (8:33). (Funny how pride blinds the mind. Look around people, those Romans all around you aren’t exactly your invited guests!)

And so I’m noodling on the test that Jesus put forth marking true disciples. They are those who remain in the truth of His word. Those who continue in what Jesus says. They keep on keepin’ on even when God-breathed revelation is hard to hear . . . hard to apply . . . and hard to submit to. The don’t turn away when the living and active word of God splays their inner most thoughts and motives and reveals junk to be repented of. They don’t tap out when the call to a worthy walk takes them way out of their comfort zone.

True disciples abide in His word. True disciples grow in the grace and knowledge of the Savior. True disciples increasingly apply the gospel to all they do. And in so doing, true disciples know, more and more, freedom from the power of sin. They know increasingly what it is to live in the righteousness that they have been clothed in since they first believed.

By grace they abide in His word. By grace they grow in His word. By grace they walk according to His word. By grace they know the freedom found in His word.

True disciples. Only because of His . . . only for His glory.

p.s.  Looking back on some previous thoughts, I was again encouraged by some thoughts I had last year on this day of my reading plan.  If you have the time, maybe check out my thoughts on our “Final Approach”

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When I Atone for You

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Pete

It’s a love story gone terribly wrong. Not a “boy meets girl” sort of love story, but a benefactor meets waif type of love story. A rags to riches love story. I’m reading Ezekiel 16 this morning and what a story as God the benefactor laments over Judah the waif . . . recounting their love story and sorrowing over how terribly south it had gone.

She caught His eye from birth. Not much of a birth to speak of. No royalty or particular merit in her heritage. So poor in fact that she was abandoned in a field without any of the normal post-natal care afforded babies of the day (16:1-5). But when He saw her, He had the pity and compassion no one else did for her. He cleansed her and literally gave her life. And she flourished. Growing in beauty and innocence.

When He saw her again, “at the age for love,” He claimed her for Himself and entered into covenant with her. He bathed her, anointed her with oil, wrapped her in fine linen, covered her with silk, and adorned her with fine jewelry. And she continued to flourish. Growing in beauty, blossoming into royalty, the splendor He bestowed on her made her the talk of the town (16:6-14).

But then it went terribly wrong. Headed terribly south. The beauty which she had been given by her Benefactor she gave to others.

But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his.
 (Ezekiel 16:15 ESV)

And for the next 45 verses her shame is revealed and her fall is prophesied. Having provoked her holy Benefactor to anger she would receive the just recompense for her unfaithfulness. Wrath and judgment would come. Devastation would be experienced. But as sad as it is, while it’s tragic, it’s not surprising. That’s what you’d expect for such rebellion. Those are the wages which seem just for such rejection and unfaithfulness. Given all that she had been given, and having turned her face and back towards the Giver, such punishment should be expected.

What’s not expected is how the story ends . . .

. . . yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. . . . I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord GOD.
(Ezekiel 16:60, 62-63 ESV)

Yet . . . glorious, grace-filled yet! . . . Yet I will remember my covenant with you when I atone for you.

When I atone for you.

It’s the last thing you’d expect. Though there would be consequences for her sin, she would not be utterly cast out because of her sin. Though she really could never pay the wages for her transgression . . . though she could never make the wrong right . . . though she could never restore her own beauty or make up for her lewd infidelity . . . He would remember the promise and He would pay the price required for her to know again her place as His betrothed.

When I atone for you. Those words echo in my head because her story is my story.

I’m not the waif of this story, but I am the destitute orphan of my own story. It’s not the same rag to riches story, but mine is the same rebellion and rejection of the One who gave me life. Not really royalty, but created in the image of God for His glory. And I spoiled it. Gave the beauty to others. Deserving of His wrath. Worthy of being cast out because of my rejection of Him. Yet He says, even to me, I will remember the covenant when I atone for you.

O blessed cross of Christ! O glorious eternal payment made for my transgression. The blood shed so that I might be spared. The live given that I might be given life. The great exchange undertaken that Jesus would bear my sin and I might be robed in the beauty of His righteousness.

When I atone for you! What glorious words. What amazing grace. To God be all the glory!

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Able to Deliver Another

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Pete

If the shear volume of words, and the number of times something is repeated is an indicator of certainty, then that God was going to judge Jerusalem was without dispute. And nothing was going to prevent it. The nation had stepped over the line. They had so hardened their hearts, they had so set their affections on other gods, they had so bought into the lies of false prophets, that the only way they were ever going to look up again, and know that God is the LORD, was to be knocked down. There would be no deliverance, not even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in their midst.

And the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out My hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD . . . even if these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the land would be desolate.”    (Ezekiel 14:12-14, 16 ESV)

In Ezekiel 14:12-23, God says He will send four “disastrous acts of judgment” upon Jerusalem, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence. And four times He declares that even if such men of faith and righteousness as Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the midst of the city they could but only deliver themselves . . . they could not deliver even one son or daughter of someone else.

Noah, because of reverent fear and a divine plan of escape ,was able to save His family (Hebrews 11:7). Daniel, because of divine insight to a crazy king’s dream, was able to deliver from a death sentence the wise men of Babylon (Daniel 2). Job interceded for his faux friends and God accepted Job’s prayer and relented from dealing with his coarse comforters according to their folly (Job 42:8-9). But though they all lived in Jerusalem, though the accumulated godliness of such a powerful triumvirate were present in the city, “they would neither deliver sons or daughters.”

And what comes to mind as I think about the inability for three godly men’s righteousness to cover the sin of even one other, is the sin-covering righteous of the Man, Christ Jesus, sufficient for, and available to, all who believe.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one mans trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one Man Jesus Christ abounded for many. . . . Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one mans disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one Mans obedience the many will be made righteous.    (Romans 5:15-, 18-19 ESV)

What undeserved favor that God would send within the midst of our rebellious Jerusalem One whose righteousness IS ABLE to deliver. What out of this world love that such deliverance was accomplished as He who knew no sin became sin for us and took upon Himself the just judgment of God which we deserved. What infinite compassion that such rescue is offered to all men and women through the quiet, patient, persistent wooing of God’s Holy Spirit.

Noah, Daniel, Job . . . mighty men of faith, but unable to deliver even one soul. Jesus the Christ . . . blessed Son of God able to deliver another. And to save to the uttermost all who believe (Heb. 7:25).

Blessed redeemer. Fountain of overflowing grace. All for the Father’s eternal glory.

To Him be praise forever! Amen?

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Able to Rescue

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Pete

There’s no minimizing what Job’s gone through. A man of great material wealth, he was all but wiped out financially in just a matter of moments. A man, you assume of good physical health, is, out of nowhere, inflicted with “loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head” so that those who see him can’t even speak. But beyond the loss of his stuff, and the loss of his health, there’s the never ending inner torment of having buried all ten of his children–wiped out in the blink of an eye. Can it get any worse? I’m thinking not. So who’s going to blame Job for his lament in chapter three of the book named after him?

“Let the day perish on which I was born,” he cries out. “Why did I not die at birth,” he questions into the silence, “There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest.”

And his conclusion? Somewhat of an understatement I think . . .

“I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, but trouble comes.”    (Job 3:26 ESV)

Heavy sigh. Though I can’t imagine it, to some degree I get it.

And yet, I’m not left to read the God-breathed words of Job 3 without the context of the rest of the His holy word. You get what Job’s feeling and what he’s saying, but you also know there’s a bigger picture. That even amidst such calamity, personal tragedy, and justifiable despair, there is a source of ease, a way to quietness of heart, a place of rest when trouble comes.

Something I read in 2Peter this morning, though I know I’m applying it out of context, connected to Job’s story for me. With Job’s sad state still running through my mind, as I read of God’s wrath against the wicked but his preservation of the righteous — Noah’s protection from the flood and Lot’s rescue from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (2:4-8) — I was reminded that God is greater than the greatest trial and that He is able to rescue.

. . . the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials . . .    (2Peter 2:9a ESV)

My God knows how to rescue. From the most dire and despairing of all human circumstance, that of being slaves to our sin and in bondage to death, He provided a way of escape. Sending His Son to be the once for all sacrifice for my sin . . . to take upon Himself the wrath of a just God for my transgression . . . my Lord knows how to be the Just and the Justifier and rescue from the penalty and power of sin. If He is able to do that, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials.

The God of all comfort is able to bring comfort to the discomforted soul through His Spirit. He is able to sustain the grief crushed soul with all sufficient grace. He is able to bring peace in the midst of unimaginable upset conditions with a peace that passes understanding. He is able to renew the inner man though the outward man is wasting away. He is able to lift up the cast down eyes with thoughts of a time and place when tears are wiped away and there’s no more “mourning nor crying nor pain anymore” (Rev. 21:4). The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials.

Able to rescue. That’s my God. Doesn’t necessarily make it easier, but it does make it doable.

Able to rescue by His grace . . . Able to rescue for His glory.

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Stir It Up

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Pete

Peter knew his time on earth was drawing to an end. He knew he was on the homestretch . . . that he was in his final countdown. And rather than use his last days to take all that he could in, he invested himself in pouring all he could out. Rather than taking it easy and ramping it down, he put his shoulder to the wheel and did all he could to stir it up.

I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.    (2Peter 2:13-14 ESV)

Peter has just reminded the saints of the divine power that has been granted them to partake in the divine nature (2:3-11). As such, he presses them to not rest in their faith but to make every effort to supplement it. He exhorts them to make their calling sure, directly correlating their godliness on earth to the richness of their entrance into heaven. For Peter, it wasn’t enough that they knew Christ, but that they were effective and fruitful in that knowledge of the glorious Lord of heaven. And so he seeks to stir it up.

He then goes from talking about partaking in the divine nature and reminds them that one day they will behold the divine King of Glory (2:16-18). Peter saw the glory on the mount when Jesus was transfigured. He was there when God the Son received honor and glory from God the Father. He was an eyewitness of the night-expelling majesty and heard the voice from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” This wasn’t some “cleverly devised myth,” this was real life. Spoken of by the prophets as they were moved by the Spirit. To be experienced one day by every believer when they enter the eternal kingdom. And I write these things, says Peter, to stir it up.

Isn’t that why I open my Bible in the morning? Isn’t that why I purpose to work my way systemically through the Word of God every year? To stir it up? I’m thinkin’.

It’s not just about gaining more head knowledge but about maintaining a heart reality. It’s about what I know being awaken and impacting how I behave. It’s about setting my mind on things above so that I live in the here and now in the context of the there and then.

Too easy to coast. Too easy to ride on the spiritual vitality of the past. That’s why, by God’s grace, and through the illuminating work of the Spirit, I try and keep myself in the Word. The living and active, sharper than any two-edge sword, dividing soul and spirit, discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart word of God. That’s why I read it . . . and hover over it . . . and noodle on it. To stir it up.

Our spiritual DNA was been rewired through the new birth. We have been given all the tools we need to participate in a realm that is out of this world. Him, whom we have met by faith, we will one day see face to face (perhaps sooner than we think). So stir it up.

By God’s grace . . . for God’s glory.

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Amazed

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Pete

This morning I started into three new books as part of my reading plan, Job, Ezekiel, and 2Peter. Amazed at Peter’s opening comments and the power that has been granted to us to partake of the divine nature. And I’m instructed that the response to such provision is to “make every effort to supplement your faith” (2Peter 1:5-8). I’m also amazed as I try and imagine the manifestation of God’s glory given to Ezekiel. And I’m inspired to be like Ezekiel and go facedown when the glory of God is revealed before my eyes of faith (Ezekiel 1:28, 3:23). And then there’s Job. I’m amazed at how quickly life turned upside down for this godly saint. And I’m in awe of his response. Wondering if, in the same circumstance, I would worship as he did (Job 1:20).

Looked back through my journal and decided to brush off and rework some thoughts from October, 2010 . . .

To think that God and Satan might have a conversation . . . and that such a conversation might focus on what’s happening on earth . . . and focus not in general terms but focus on a specific man, living at a specific time, in a specific place, amidst a specific set of life circumstances . . . to think about such a conversation, absolutely amazes me. Such is the case every time I read the first chapter of Job.

I’m amazed at Job . . . a man described as ” blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (1:1). Whatever the form of revelation available to Job during his time, he responded to it. He was a man who lived in a reverential fear of the Creator. He understood enough of the character of God to know that which was counter-character to God’s holiness. And, as such, he determined to turn away and repel all manner of evil. He determined, as much as lay within him, to walk in the way of righteousness. He was a man of integrity. A man beyond reproach.

And I’m amazed that this characterization of Job wasn’t just the talk of the town but it was conversation of heaven itself. That Job was blameless and upright, wasn’t just his own claim to fame . . . that Job feared God and shunned evil, was more than just a good reputation he held among the people of Uz. That Job was noteworthy, was the topic of conversation of God Himself (1:8, 2:3). Not only did God notice Job, God wanted others in heavenly places to notice Job as well. How pleased God must have been with this man’s determination to live in a manner worthy of the God he had owned as Lord. So pleased, that when the sons of God presented themselves before the Lord, and Satan along with them, the Lord said to Satan, “Hey, have you noticed my servant Job?” (1:6-8).

I’m amazed also concerning God’s confidence in Job that He would allow Satan to mess with Job’s life. And to mess with it in such a big, big, way. You might think that the reward for bringing God glory (which Job did) would be more blessing . . . aka good stuff. But it seems the reward for bringing God glory is the opportunity to bring Him even more glory . . . and that doesn’t necessarily translate into the status quo view of “the good life.”

Satan is permitted power over all Job has but he is not permitted to lay a hand on Job’s person (1:12). And the devil takes full advantage of the latitude he’s given by God to upset Job’s apple cart. A day comes when, in a matter of minutes, Job’s entire world comes crashing down around him. His business is destroyed . . . his wealth vanishes . . . and worse yet, his 10 children are all taken in a freak storm. What does a blameless and upright man do now? How does a man who fears God and turns away from evil respond to such personal catastrophe and tragedy? This too is amazing . . .

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mothers womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”   (Job 1:20-21 ESV)

Oh, that I might model such a man. That everything, whether blessing or trial or tragedy, might pass through a “God filter” such that in every circumstance I would worship Him. That I would bless His name for so much more than the good things I enjoy from His hand, but bless His name, also, simply because He is worthy of blessing. All the time. In every circumstance.

Don’t think I’m a topic of conversation in heaven, save perhaps as a trophy of grace to the Son’s eternal glory. But I do know that my Father knows me, and my circumstance, inside and out.

And though I don’t know what the future may bring, I do know the God of the future. And that in all things He can be trusted . . . that in all things He is to be blessed and worshiped. and that, in such worship, He delights.

Because of grace . . . for His glory.

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Where Does He Come Up With This Stuff?

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Pete

When Jesus spoke, people were blown away. From the beginnings of His public ministry, when He taught in the Capernaum synagogue on the Sabbath, those who heard Him “were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22).

One time, when He preached in His “home church” in Nazareth, those who listened were amazed at His words, saying, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenters son? . . . Where then did this Man get all these things?” (Matt 13:54-56). And this morning, I’m reading that when Jesus taught at the temple during the Feast of Tabernacles the Jews marveled, saying, “How is it that this Man has learning, when He has never studied?” (John 7:15).

The question on the minds of those who heard Jesus was simply, “Where does He come up with this stuff?”

“My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.” ~ Jesus     (John 7:16 ESV)

Jesus spoke not just as a man, but as the Son of Man. He spoke as the promised Messiah, the One of whom Isaiah would prophesy, “And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD” (Isa. 11:2). Jesus didn’t need to “make it up” as He went. The teaching was sourced from heaven itself. From the Father . . . through the Spirit . . . spoken by the Son . . . marveled at by the people.

The complexities of the Trinity and the interwoven dynamics of Immanuel, God in flesh, both come into play here. I’m not sure that my mind can really wrap itself around it. But what I do know is that Jesus spoke the way He spoke, taught the way He taught, impacted people the way He impacted people because He was quoting the Father.

The material didn’t originate with the man Jesus, but had been drafted from before the foundations of the earth by the Three-in-One God of eternity. His words weren’t original to Him, in a sense, but they were the very words of God Himself. Jesus didn’t speak on His own, but spoke the words taught to Him by the Father (John 8:28). The Father directed the Son as to what to say and how to say it (John 12:49). No wonder it blew people away. He was speaking a word that was, quite literally, from out of this world. His was the voice of God Himself . . . because Jesus is God Himself.

What would it have been like to hear Him teach? Talk about your powerful sermon!

When Jesus spoke no one was falling asleep in the back row. When Jesus taught the impact was tangible, even if their understanding was yet clouded. His was always a powerful message. The delivery always with a Spirit empowered unction. When Jesus opened the Scriptures it ignited the hearts of those who had ears to hear (Luke 24:32). “No man ever spoke like this Man” (John 7:46).

And I reminded that there is a dynamic by which I too can hear Him . . . and the Father’s words through Him. No, it isn’t a podcast I can download. I can’t go pull an mp3 or video off of His website. But I have the God-breathed Scriptures before me and the God-placed Spirit inside me. And with that combo, His words–those divinely penned and placed words of the Father–can be as fresh and powerful today as when they were first delivered.

When I hear Jesus quote the Father, my heart can burn within me. As I take in these thoughts sourced in heaven, my inner man can be stirred to awe and wonder. When I meditate on principles and precepts from another world, I can be moved to respond with worship and obedience.

“If anyone’s will is to do Gods will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on My own authority.” ~ Jesus    (John 7:17 ESV)

Speak Lord, your servant is listening.

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

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When His Glory Is Revealed

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Pete

Context. That’s the comfort Peter offers the “elect exiles of the dispersion” (1Peter 1:1). The big picture. That’s what Peter paints for those who are being slandered and are suffering for doing good (3:16-17). The end game. That’s what he directs their attention to knowing that inevitably they will encounter and be tested by a “fiery trial.” And in the right context . . . within reality’s big picture . . . given what awaits them at the end of the line, Peter can say, “Rejoice!” Rejoice now because you know you’ll rejoice then. When His glory is revealed.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christs sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. (1Peter 4:12-13 ESV)

Things weren’t getting any easier for these brothers and sisters. Though they were a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession (2:9), the world they were living in was growing increasingly anti-God . . . and thus, anti-God’s people. To be a Christian, to own the name of Christ, was to invite persecution. To live for the kingdom of heaven was to increasingly get out of sync with the ways of the world. As they looked ahead, the path only looked stormier. So Peter says, don’t just look ahead, but look way ahead . . . to when His glory is revealed.

The day is coming when faith will give way to sight. When He who is the “radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature” (Heb. 1:3) will appear. When Jesus the Lamb of God who bore our sin will return as Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who will bear us home. Whether that day comes through natural means, or whether we are of that privileged generation who will be caught up together with Him in the air, that day is coming when His glory is revealed.

And so, says Peter, it is possible to rejoice now insofar as you share in Christ’s suffering, because you know there will be a day when you will rejoice and be glad as you share in His glory revealed. A day when, like John on Patmos, we look upon “one like a Son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around His chest.” The hairs of His head, white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes, like a flame of fire. His feet, like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace. His voice, like the roar of many waters. His face, like the sun shining in full strength (Rev. 1:13-16). We shall behold Him when His glory is revealed.

And like John, we will fall at His feet. And we will feel the touch His hand upon us. And then we will know, know without any shadow of doubt, that it was worth it all.

Context . . . the big picture . . . the end game. It’s what helps us to keep on keepin’ on. Until that day when His glory is revealed.

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Sorrow With A Divine Perspective

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Pete

Started in on Lamentations this morning. Not exactly your “pick me up” book. Jerusalem, what’s left of her, is empty. Once the apple of God’s eye, she now is the subject of scorn for the nations. The princess has become a slave. The vineyard has been overcome by weeds. The glory has departed.

I’m not really well-versed in the finer points of lament, but it’s not too hard to pick up what the writer is laying down. At least in this opening portion, it comes down to his closing words in the first chapter.

“. . . for my groans are many, and my heart is faint.”     (Lamentations 1:22b ESV)

Who hasn’t been there? Not that all our trials and testings can compare in magnitude to a razed city and an entire people taken captive into exile. But who hasn’t gone through something that evokes that heavy chest which almost forces your breath out of you? Deep sighs being the audible indicator of a sick heart.

But what grabs me as I hover over this lament is that, rather than being self-consuming, it is heaven revealing. It is sorrow with a divine perspective.

The lamenter knows why the city is empty. He is well aware of why her “friends” and her “lovers” have deserted her. Well aware of why she is afflicted.

. . . the LORD has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions . . . (Lamentations 1:5 ESV)

The writer of this song in a minor key sees beyond the rubble and connects it with Him who is righteous. The One who “is in the right” (1:18) is in sight. The songwriter lifts his dirge to the One who hears the cry of His people. He confesses the sin of his people and cries out for mercy from his enemies to the LORD who is “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ex. 34:6). The songwriter laments with a divine perspective.

Now, I’m not in any way suggesting that all groaning and sickness of heart is tied to rebellion and transgression. That’s the context for the lament I’m reading this morning, but there are many other circumstances which allow us to sing along with the songwriter’s sad song.

What I am thinking about though is that all our sorrow can be processed through the filter of a divine perspective. That we are not left to lament alone. That we are not left to try to “catch our breath” without some heavenly help. It’s why Paul could write,

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed . . . So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.    (2Corinthians 4:8-9, 16 ESV)

Groanings may be many. The heart might be faint. The outer nature might feel like barren Zion after the Babylonian horde has passed through. But when we sorrow under the covering of God’s faithful presence and provision, we do not lose heart. In fact, when we look up our inner nature is renewed.

Because of grace . . . for His glory.

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