Guard Your Heart

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Pete

Kind of a one two punch this morning. Set up with the “left hand” in Hebrews 4 . . . the “right hook” coming in Proverbs 21. Less about intense conviction, more about a sober reminder. Don’t think I have any significant things to do but some serious stuff to think about. Noodling this morning on how important it is to guard your heart.

There is a rest for the people of God . . . so says the writer to the Hebrews (Heb. 4:9). It is a rest established on a creation principle. When the work is done, it is time to rest. God rested on the seventh day after six days of giving the world form, inhabiting it, and giving life to those who would bear His image. The work was finished, it was good and very good, and so, God rested.

And this same rest is available to those who hear, receive, and believe the good news of a another great work. The work of the Son of God when, by Himself, He made purification for sin upon a cross. The One who is greater than Moses, greater than angels, in fact, the One who is the express image of God, undertook to deal with the sin and death problem once for all. And, as He declared on the cross, and as was corroborated by the empty tomb, that work is finished. What’s left to enter that rest is to believe. And to that end, the writer quotes God’s words spoken long before through David in Psalm 95:

Today, if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts.      (Hebrews 4:7b ESV)

Do not harden your hearts. That’s the third time I’ve read this warning in this letter (Heb. 3:7, 15; 4:7). And this morning it rang out like a bell. Watch your heart. Don’t allow it to become hardened, insensitive, or obstinate. As much as lies in you, and by the Spirit who works in you, seek to maintain a soft, supple, heart.

And then I read this in Proverbs . . .

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
but the LORD weighs the heart.       (Proverbs 21:2 ESV)

The LORD weighs the heart. It’s not so much about what we do, as why we do it. Piety without passion . . . obedience without surrender . . . service without humility. There’s so much “good stuff” we can do and yet do it with a wanting heart . . . a hardened heart . . . a deceitful heart — maybe not even deceitful but a disengaged heart. Going through the motions . . . driven not by what we believe but who we think we need to impress. Acting not for an Audience of One but out of fear of what the many might think.

The LORD weighs the heart. Do not harden your heart. Guard your heart.

Guard it by not allowing sin to linger . . . saying, “Go away” to the flesh by confessing, repenting and returning to the leading of the Spirit. Guard your heart by feeding often on His word . . .not just reading it to check it off on your reading plan, but receiving it as the very word of life from God Himself. Guard your heart by abiding with the Savior . . . determining to want nothing more than to communion with Him even though your prayer life might feel kind of feeble. Guard your heart as, by faith, you seek first the King and His kingdom.

Oh, that by God’s grace I might be such a person. A person who maintains a soft heart, one whose heart, when weighed by the LORD, is found to reflect something of nature of His Son.

By God’s grace . . . for God’s glory.

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Wells of Salvation

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Pete

Isaiah foresaw a day when the Lord God would “extend His hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of His people” (Isa. 11:11). A day when those who had largely missed the first coming of Messiah would now recognize the “Shoot from the stump of Jesse,” a Branch from Jesse’s roots that would “bear fruit” (11:1). And in that day, says the prophet, they would give thanks . . . they would know the God of their salvation . . . they would believe to the driving out of all fear . . . and they would have access to wells of salvation.

You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to You, O LORD, for though You were angry with me, Your anger turned away, that You might comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.   (Isaiah 12:1-3 ESV)

And as I noodle on the truth of this revelation concerning a day to come, I can’t help but be reminded that, as the church, we’re the prototype. “That day” for this future gathered remnant, is reflective, or should be, of “this day” for the present day household of God.

We should be giving thanks as we are reminded that, at one time, we were enemies (Rom. 5:10; 8:7) of God, enslaved by sin and thus, objects of wrath (Eph. 2:1-3), but now God’s anger was been turned away.

Only God can avert God’s anger. Nothing I could ever do would have demanded a holy and just God to “turn back” His anger. That’s what the word literally means, God turned back His anger. Not just deflected it from falling upon me, but turned it back on Himself as He Himself, through the finished work of His blessed Son on the cross, took upon Himself the anger that was due to me. Jesus bore the penalty of my sin . . . He took upon Himself the wrath of a holy God which my transgression deserved . . . and, in doing so, the angry was turned away. And so, “I will give thanks to You, O LORD!”

God having become our salvation . . . knowing the LORD God as our strength . . . having Him as the song upon our lips . . . also leads us to do something that Isaiah says will be true of that future remnant of Jacob’s tribes. The people of God should be drawing water from the wells of salvation.

Salvation isn’t just a prayer to be prayed so that you can “check the box” and reserve your ticket for heaven. Salvation isn’t something that happened in our past and now we get on with “real life.” Rather salvation is a living water to be drawn upon from fountains that never run dry, from springs that always run fresh. The wells of salvation gush forth the living water Jesus spoke of with the Samaritan woman (John 4:10). “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” (John 4:14). Water welling up to eternal life, that’s eternal life now . . .  sufficient for the day . . . with renewing power for tomorrow.

And I fear that so often the reason we fail to dip our cups frequently into the wells of salvation is that we have come to rely on other sources of “water.” Cisterns, Jeremiah says, that we have hewed out for ourselves (Jer. 2:13). Broken cisterns which “can hold no water” but only some cheap substitute that can never satisfy our thirst or rejuvenate our inner spirit.

The other thing that grabs me as I hover over this verse, is that I am to draw from the wells of salvation with joy. O’ the tragedy of joyless saints. It is the enemy’s victory . . . it is the old nature waging war with the Spirit . . . when our salvation becomes but a secondary endurance rather than our primary source of joy. Instead, as we reflect on the grace and glory of our salvation it should evoke depths of inner joy . . . and that joy should, in turn, compel us to go back to the well and draw afresh of salvation’s living water . . . which will then fuel our joy . . . which then draws us again to the well . . . thus creating this eternal perpetual cycle.

Oh, that we as God’s people would know the rhythm of joyfully drawing water from the wells of salvation. That, when the rhythm is disrupted by the cares of this life, His Spirit would so increase our thirst for real living water that we would be drawn again into the rhythm.

A rhythm of joy made possible by grace . . . a rhythm of drinking deep for God’s glory.

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A Chuppah

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Pete

Sometimes I feel like reading through Isaiah is like trying to follow what’s happening on a television controlled by somebody who’s engaged in extreme channel surfing with a remote. In one passage the prophet’s words seem to deal with immediate events and in the next passage with future events. You’re “watching one channel” and tracking with prophecies that have already been fulfilled and then, bam, the remote is clicked and you’re pretty sure you are reading about something that is yet to occur. For me at least, it can be a bit mind-boggling. But as I read Isaiah 4 I’m pretty sure I’m on the “future channel.” And I read of something there that I can relate to here and now. A chuppah.

In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. Then the LORD will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.    (Isaiah 4:2-6 ESV)

In the midst of the Israel’s current sin and imminent judgment, the prophet “fast forwards” and sees a day when Messiah, the promised Branch beautiful and glorious, shall rule over the people of a future Jerusalem. Those ordained of God to occupy the city will be called holy, their filth washed away and the bloodstains of their rebellion cleansed. And the glory of God, through the Branch, will be restored–the cloud by day and fire by night–just as it had been known by Moses and those delivered from slavery (Ex. 13:21-22). And over that glory, the glory of a people taken as His own, “there will be a canopy” . . . there will be a chuppah.

I’ve become kind of familiar with the chuppah (pronounced either hoo-paw or khoo-paw) over the past few months. Literally the Hebrew word chuppah means canopy or covering. And in a couple of weeks, Lord willing, my daughter and her fiance will be married under a chuppah in honor his Jewish heritage and tradition. What’s more, according to the word of God’s prophet, in a future time God’s people on God’s holy hill will be under the chuppah of God’s divine protection and leading. There because God has called them, because God has cleansed them, and because God has determined to make His glory shine upon them. And, as such, I can kind of relate, in the here and now, to being under a chuppah.

I was called by grace to respond through faith to the good news that Jesus, God’s blessed Son and promised Messiah, died to redeem my soul. The filth of my sin having been washed away through the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood shed on the cross as payment for my rebellion against God. The guilt of my transgressions, the blood on my hands, having been removed because the price was paid by Another. And in that, I am counted, along with all who believe, among the people of God . . . the Body of believers . . . the Bride of Christ. A Bride over whose redeemed glory there is a canopy, a chuppah.

Covered with a robe of righteousness, the righteousness of the Bridegroom, the Son of God Himself. Protected with the canopy of His Spirit who indwells me and seals me until the day the Bridegroom receives His Bride. Knowing the over-shadowing presence of God, day and night, as I abide under the glory of His promises and protection.

Praise God that “over all the glory there will be a canopy” . . . that there will be a chuppah.

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness . . .   (Isaiah 61:10a ESV)

All because of grace . . . all for His glory.

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He Sat Down

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Pete

Started in on two new books this morning in my reading plan, Isaiah and Hebrews. And while I’m looking forward to working through the prophecy of Isaiah, I’m pretty sure it will pale in comparison against the grand subject of Hebrews, for “long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son” (Heb. 1:1). His Son. To be sure He will be spoken of and foreshadowed within the prophet’s oracle, but in the letter to the Hebrews He is exalted front and center. Right off the bat He is introduced with a bio that is jaw dropping. And as I again meditate on who He is and what He’s done what moves my soul is when He sat down.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.    (Hebrews 1:1-4 ESV)

Who Christ is, though beyond human comprehension, is clearly stated. He is God’s Son. He is the One appointed to be heir of all things, “it will all belong to the Son at the end” (MSG). He is the radiance, the reflected brightness, the shining forth, the “out-raying” of God’s glory. Want to see the glory of God? Look upon Jesus. He is also the exact imprint of the nature of God.  The express image, an exact representation, of the substance and reality of God. Want to know how God thinks, how God feels, how God will react? Get to know the mind, the heart, and the responses of Jesus. Watch His every move, as it were, as recorded in Scriptures and then you will glean insight as to the nature of God. That’s who my Lord is.

But then you read of what He has done and it crushes the awe-o-meter. It was through the pre-incarnate Christ that God created the world. “He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:2-3). But after creation, He didn’t sit down.

And it is Jesus who upholds the universe by the word of His power. Want to know the secret of the atom? It’s Jesus. Want to understand the mystery of the galaxies? Jesus, again. Want an answer as to how it all hangs together and is so discoverable? You guessed it, Jesus. But even as the bearer of all things, He doesn’t sit down.

But then we read of another work of the Son of God. He made purification for sins . . . by Himself, He purged our sins (NKJV) . . . He made cleansing for all our iniquity. And then, says the Scriptures, He sat down.

Creating all things, amazing! Upholding all things, mind-boggling! Making, by Himself, the way to redeem all things, facedown time.

For the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Heb. 9:22). And so, for Jesus to, by Himself, make purification for sins He had to suffer and die as the once for all sacrifice for mankind’s transgression. He had to bear the wrath of a holy and just God in the place of those who deserved it. He had to have His blood spilled that sin might be atoned for. He had to know death so that death might be defeated. And, having done all this on the cross, and having then been raised again on the third day and then ascending into heaven, He sat down. It is finished!!!

Sat down for this was His greatest work. What’s more He is sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, the position of honor and exaltation. Sat down at the position of power (Matt. 26:64). Sat down at the place of the Father’s delight (Ps. 16:11). God having highly exalted Him in heaven, and soon to be, on earth. Sat down for a time while He waits to return. Behold our Savior!

And, as with faith’s eye, I look up and see Him sat down, I can’t help but be humbled and to worship. I reflect on the stuff in my own life for which He made purification.  I anticipate that day when He stands to receive me home (Acts 7:56).  And I declare, “O what a Savior!”

All because of grace . . . All for His eternal glory.

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Every Good Thing That Is In Me

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Pete

To hear some Christians talk, you’d think the blood really doesn’t have all that much power and that the Spirit isn’t really all that able to sanctify. These people often declare they are still wretched . . . they are still filled with hearts that are wicked and deceitful . . . they remain in competition for Paul as the chief of sinners . . . in them, still, is no good thing. Now, to be sure, we are not there yet. Every morning we wake to civil war within us — the flesh vs. the Spirit (Gal. 5:16:17). But, as believers, should we really be declaring that there’s nothing good in us? I’m thinking not.

Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.
(Philemon 1-6 ESV)

Philemon’s an inspiration. He’s an unsung hero. One of those guys who, while you can never remember his name, you’re glad is on your team. He was a man of means as he had slaves and a home big enough to house a church. More importantly, he was a man of love and faith. Not just an “I know what I believe and I’ll keep it to myself” type of faith, but a faith that was so impactful that Paul heard about it even in Rome. The type of love which manifested itself in such hospitality that “the hearts of the saints” had been “refreshed” by Philemon and his wife through their home (Philemon 7).

What’s more, Paul was confident that these good deeds were not birthed in a self-serving desire to impress men but were, in fact, a manifestation of a man who had been saved and transformed by the glorious gospel. Acts of grace and generosity sourced in Philemon’s own personal encounter with the grace of God and the generosity of the cross. Paul being so confident that this was a man with his heart and soul so set on things above that Paul would ask him to do the unimaginable — receive back a runaway slave without judgment. In fact, Paul asks Philemon not only to give this rogue bondservant a second chance, but to welcome him as Philemon would welcome Paul, regarding him not as an AWOL bondservant but as a brother in Christ.

Big ask! But Paul was confident. How come? Because of “every good thing” that was in Philemon.

Receiving this runaway slave back into his home as an equal in the Lord was but a sharing of Philemon’s faith . . . a living out of what he knew to be true concerning kingdom dynamics . . . an exercising of “every good thing” that was in him through Christ and for the sake of Christ.

And I’m reminded this morning that, while it’s true that “nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh” (Rom. 7:18), I am no longer a creature in subjection to the flesh. But, in Christ, I am a new creation in subjection to the Spirit of God and “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). And in that, there should be a lot of “good things” in me. Good things that should be manifest in good deeds for the sake of Christ. Good things that are to be shared such that the love and faith I have, for the Lord Jesus and all the saints, is evident. Good things that witness to the power of the gospel to take wretched people and redeem them. That testify to the power of the gospel to replace wicked and deceitful hearts with hearts that seek to worship God in truth and spirit. That powerfully communicates the power of the gospel to take a chief of sinners and conform him or her into the image of the Son of God. All by the power of Christ . . . all for the sake of Christ.

Might God’s people be like Philemon . . . that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.

Because of grace . . . for God’s glory.

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Devoted to Good Works

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Pete

Over the past few years, a new term has surfaced in the circles I engage with. Gospel-centered. Though I would consider myself to have always been “gospel centered” . . . . though the gospel has always been the power for those being saved . . . this relatively new resurgence has brought a keen focus and reminder that the gospel is not designed for just a “once and done” application.

Certainly the good news of the finished work of the cross on my behalf is the power for having been saved from the penalty of my sin in the past. But the gospel is also the ocean of grace in which I currently swim as I am now being saved, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit of God, from the power of the sin in my present. What’s more, ’tis grace that will lead us home. The grace of the gospel also reminding us that Jesus not only died to set us free, but that He rose again and ascended that we might one day be with Him. Grace alone, not how well we performed as Christians, will be the sole reason that, one day in the future, I am going to be saved from the very presence of sin when the Bride, the church, is received by the Bridegroom.

Thus, there is no boasting in anything we have done, or are doing, or will do, as far as meriting salvation, whether past, present, or future. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone. Not of works . . . it is the gift of God.

But I as reminded by Paul’s letter to Titus that to think that being gospel-centered is mutually exclusive of good works would be a mistake. In fact, says the inspired Word of God, we should be devoted to good works.

. . . He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.    (Titus 3:5-8 ESV)

Four times in this letter Paul talks about “good works.” Titus was to be “a model of good works” (2:7). Jesus redeemed and purified us so that we might be a people “zealous for good works” (2:14). As such, Titus was to encourage “our people” to “learn to devote themselves to good works” (3:14). Thus, because we, as God’s people, have been saved not by our own works, but by Another’s . . . because we have known regeneration and renewal through the richly given gift of the Spirit . . . because we have been justified by grace alone . . . because we have freely been made heirs of the hope of eternal life . . . in light of all this, because of the gospel, God’s people are to be “careful to devote themselves to good works” (3:8).

There should be no one working harder at good works than those who are gospel-centered. No one running the race more purposefully . . . no one fighting the good fight more courageously . . . no one laboring to harvest in the field more determinedly . . . no one working harder than those who know that their works could never save them.

Yet, they are those who are devoted to good works.

That’s the type of people that grace grows. Those who labor IN RESPONSE to all they have been freely given. Those who labor AS A REFLECTION of the image of the Son of God being formed in them. Those who labor in light of THE REWARD when, one day, standing before Jesus face to face they hear, “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” (Matt 25:23).

Far from being mutually exclusive, when God’s people are truly gospel-centered then God’s people will be truly devoted to good works.

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

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Receiving A Kingdom

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Pete

As they neared Jerusalem, His disciples thought the kingdom of God was “to appear immediately.” And so, Jesus told them a story about a noblemen who went away to receive a kingdom (Luke 19:11-12). It was so far from what they were anticipating. After three years of walking with Jesus they sensed that something big was about to happen as they drew near to the city of the throne of David. They thought Jesus was coming into His own. Instead, He tried to tell them, He would soon leave.

Jesus had already told them that everything written of Him, the Son of Man, by the prophets would be accomplished. He would be delivered over to the Gentiles and would be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging Him, they would kill Him, and on the third day He would rise (Luke 18:31-33). But they didn’t get it. And so, nowhere on their radar was an expectation that, even after rising from the dead, instead of ascending the throne in Jerusalem, He would be lifted up out of their sight into the clouds with the promise that one day He would return (Acts 1:9-11). His disciples thought they were going to Jerusalem to inherit a kingdom. Instead, according to His story, Jesus was going away to receive a kingdom.

And that reading, this morning, set up my reading in Titus.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.    (Titus 2:11-14 ESV)

The grace of God HAS appeared. The glory of our great God, as manifest in and through the Savior Jesus Christ, WILL appear. And for now, in this present age, He is receiving a kingdom.

Having brought salvation by His first appearing through the finished work of the cross, He is now gathering to Himself His subjects, “purifying for Himself a people.” This period between His first appearing and His promised appearing is all about kingdom work. The kingdom of God is now being established in the hearts of believers. The kingdom of God is now being manifest through those who “renounce ungodliness and worldly passions” and, instead, live godly lives in anticipation of the glory of a future day.

According to Jesus’ story in Luke 19, they are those who take the talents and treasures given them by the departed King and labor faithfully and diligently so that there might be a return on the King’s investment when He returns. Titus calls them the King’s “own possession who are zealous for good works.” I call them sinners saved by grace who have their minds and hearts set on things above. And through them . . . that is, through us . . . Jesus is receiving a kingdom.

In Jesus story, the nobleman returned. In Paul’s letter to Titus, the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ will appear. And in this present age, we are to “Engage in business” until He comes (Luke 19:13).  And we to wait for the blessed hope of His glorious appearing. Even so, Lord Jesus come.

Waiting in anticipation because of grace . . . engaging in kingdom business for His glory.

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Honoring the Maker

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Pete

This past Sunday, a number of our students reported out on their experiences on a recent missions trip. In past years the annual missions trip has targeted international destinations . . . most commonly Mexico. But this year God led our youth to “stay at home” in order to experience a different culture. Home as in within the United States. Different culture as in the inner city of Chicago. For a week our kids teamed with Sunshine Ministries, through their Bridge Builders program, in practical acts of service, in targeted education, and, if I’m making the connection correctly between their report out and my reading this morning, in honoring the Maker.

Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors Him.    (Proverbs 14:31)

Something some of our students said on Sunday resonated as I was reading in the Proverbs this morning. In essence they said that, through their experience in Chicago, they learned to see the homeless as those made in the image of God.

One day they were broken up into small teams, were told to each pack themselves a lunch as well as pack an extra lunch. Their task? Offer to have lunch with a street person and engage them in a conversation. For some of our kids this turned out to be a pretty powerful experience. From meeting Bonnie, who was on the streets because her cancer treatments had left her broke, to meeting a guy who had been on the street for years and had never had anybody seek to talk to him, our kids got down (literally) and engaged those made in the image of God. They stepped out of their comfort zones, where challenged to not just look over or around these folks on the streets, and, in so doing, looked into the eyes of image-bearers.

Solomon says that in oppressing the poor, a man insults his Maker. I’m guessing there’s application here as well to disregarding the poor . . . or ignoring the weak and lowly . . . or in automatically devising an “it’s their own fault” scenario concerning the homeless. And why would it be a reproach? Because all men and women are created in the image of God. All bear His likeness.

Conversely, so says wisdom, those who are generous to the needy honor God. Those who show favor . . . those who are gracious to image-bearers in need . . . glorify their Creator.

And it has me thinking. Shouldn’t those who have known abundant grace be generous in showing grace in return? Shouldn’t those who have been freely given treasure in heaven, though they were once poor in trespass and sin, be generous in sharing of whatever earthly riches they have? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Those born of God desire to honor God. How can we do that? Well, one way is to be generous to the needy. And I don’t need to travel to Chicago to do that.

Honoring the Maker. Freely giving because we have freely received. Being generous because we have known abundant favor.

Because of grace . . . for His glory.

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The Prudent

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Pete

Prudent. It’s not a word I use very often or hear used in “normal conversation” a lot. It even has a bit of an old fashioned ring to it. Prudent.

But this morning, reading in the Proverbs, three times in the first half of chapter 14, I encountered wisdom concerning the prudent. Caught my attention. And has me thinking.

The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.
The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.
The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
(Proverbs 14:8, 15, 18 ESV)

Interesting word for prudent. First time we find it in Scripture is pretty close to the beginning, Genesis 3. And there the word is translated “crafty” or “cunning” as in, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made” (Gen. 3:1). Talk about keeping your bad company. With the serpent it’s being crafty, but with the wise it is being prudent.

At it’s core, the idea is that of being shrewd . . . of giving careful thought . . . of recognizing and navigating nuance. Seems to me it is the opposite of being a bull in a china shop . . . the antithesis of fools rushing in . . . the safeguard against “ready, fire, aim.” At it’s worst, it is being sly and subtle. At it’s best it is being thoughtful and sensible.

The prudent discern their way. They give thought to their steps. And they are encircled with understanding, having great skill in applying knowledge. They are mindful of where they are going . . . they are careful as to how they get there . . . they are wisely assessing and evaluating all that presents itself as being helpful towards reaching their destination.

Thus, while the serpent cunningly and slyly nuanced Eve and Adam to think their way around God, the people of wisdom prudently, sensibly, and carefully give thought to how they live life. Perhaps in this lies some of the reason why Jesus, when he sent out his disciples, exhorted them to “be wise as serpents” (Matt. 10:15). Fight fire with fire. Combat craftiness with prudence.

At the other end of the continuum from prudence, it seems to me, is recklessness. Opposed to giving careful thought is acting on whatever feels good. And, if ultimately we are going up against the serpent who has mastered cunning and craftiness, then to ignore prudence is to place ourselves in grave danger.

Instead, we battle the serpent’s deceitful subtleness with Spirit infused godly thoughtfulness. We have been given the mind of Christ (1Cor. 2:16)f . . . we have been promised a resident Helper who will lead us into all truth (John 16:13) . . . and we have been given “the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2Tim. 3:15). All that we need we have been abundantly provided that we might be “the prudent” . . . that we might discern our ways, give thought to our steps, and be encircled with divine understanding.

All by grace alone. All for God’s glory alone.

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His Appearing

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Pete

He had fought the good fight . . . he had finished the race . . . he had kept the faith. His earthly life was soon to be over, but even this he viewed as but “being poured out as a drink offering.” Offering his body as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1) wasn’t just some eloquent oratory penned to inspire others to live for God, it’s how Paul did life. If Jesus had been the lamb offered upon the altar for the sin of the world (John 1:29), then Paul viewed his life as but the accompanying drink offering . . . vaporized over the sacrifice-accepting flames as a pleasing aroma to His King (Number 15:7).

But before his departure, Paul had a final charge for his son in the faith, Timothy. And what captures me this morning is what drives the passion behind this final and urgent exhortation. Two words. Two words that bookend Paul’s charge. Two words that provided the motivation for following in the footsteps of “the foremost of sinners” (1Tim. 1:15). Two words that can fuel a holy determination to fight the good fight, run the good race, and keep the good faith. Those two words?

His appearing.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. . . . Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing.     (2Timothy 4:1-2, 8 ESV)

“What a friend we have in Jesus.” True. Love the hymn. In awe that we have been brought into such intimate relationship with Him who created all things and holds all things together. He is the friend of sinners.  But what a powerful friend.

It is Jesus who will judge the living and the dead. Jesus who will bring in His kingdom. Jesus, the righteous arbiter, who will assess and reward the work of His people.

When? At His appearing.

He came once. The Scriptures prophesied of it . . . history attests to it. He’s coming again. He said He would and He will.

And this morning I’m reminded that I am to live in the shadow of the surety of His imminent return. Perhaps today! But if not, the charge is clear.

In light of His appearing . . . in preparation for the kingdom . . . because He is laying up crowns of righteousness for all who love His appearing and live in light of His appearing . . . followers of Jesus are to discharge the ministry He has given them. Timothy’s ministry was to preach the word and do the work of an evangelist (4:2, 5). Ours may be different. Each of us has been called . . . not only to salvation and the inheritance of heaven, but to service and the work of the kingdom.

And the great motivator for figuring out our ministry and doing it? His appearing.

Love His appearing, O you saints. Live in light of His coming. By His grace, seek first the kingdom of God. Because of grace, anticipate the crown.

To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.    (2Timothy 4:18b ESV)

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