Windows in Heaven

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Pete

The situation was desperate. Samaria had been besieged by the king of Syria (2Kings 6:24). Nobody gets out of the city. Nobody gets in. More importantly, nothing gets in. Not food . . . not water . . . nor anything else necessary for sustaining life. What’s more, the siege had occurred during a time of famine in the land (6:25) so the situation inside the walls went from bad to worse really fast — so much so that mothers were engaging in cannibalistic practices with their children (6:28-29). Dark, dark times. Hopeless times. But it’s in such times, that we’re reminded there are windows in heaven.

But Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD: thus says the LORD, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the LORD Himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?”    (2Kings 7:1-2a ESV)

Twenty-four hours. That’s all it would take, prophecies Elisha. Twenty-four hours for the siege to be lifted and for the supply of food to so outweigh the demand that buying in bulk would only cost shekels. And the king’s captain says, “Really? Impossible! Even if the LORD Himself should make windows in heaven, how could it be?”

Cue the windows. Draw the curtains. Throw open the shutters. Open wide . . . and watch the glory of God come down!

Bottom line is the LORD spooks the marauding Syrian army. They hear sounds in the night and, thinking them to be mercenary armies somehow hired by Israel, they flee leaving everything behind. Literally . . . everything is left behind. Horses, donkeys, and tents filled with enough food, clothing, and silver and gold, so that an army could outwait a city (7:6-8). And it’s there for the taking. More than anyone could have imagined. Easier to get than anyone could have thought but twenty-four hours earlier. All the result of windows in heaven.

Incredible story. Unbelievable. Abundance available to everyone who had been in captivity. Nothing they needed to do but leave the safety of the city walls and venture out into the abandoned camp and reap of the spoils. How could this be? Windows in heaven.

Sounds like another incredible story. A story of those besieged by sin. Held captive by the lust of their flesh and the darkness of their world. Though unaware of their desperate plight, people trapped and without any means to free themselves . . . even feeding on themselves, and on others, in order to satisfy a soul hunger that can only be satisfied by windows in heaven.

“I am the bread of life. . . . This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” ~ Jesus    (John 6:48-51 ESV)

The windows of heaven opened . . . the King of Heaven come down . . . that people might be freed from the siege of sin . . . and that they might drink of living water in abundance . . . and feed on the food of eternal life without measure. All without cost to the captive . . . accessible to all who believe, and, by faith, leave the death-sentence of their “safe city” and wander out to see the LORD’s provision. Provision not found in tents filled with food and money, but found in a blood stained cross . . . found in an empty tomb . . . found in a risen, ascended and living Savior. Heaven’s best given for sinners such as I. All because there are windows in heaven.

O’ what wondrous grace! O’ what a wonderful Savior!

To God be all the glory for windows in heaven!

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Let Down the Nets

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Pete

It came out of nowhere. One moment Jesus is teaching the crowd, the next he’s talking to the fisherman. With one breath Jesus is revealing the coming of the kingdom of God, with the next he says, “Go fishing.” And what grabs me this morning is Peter’s response to Jesus’ out-of-left-field request.

You know Peter . . . the impetuous one. The guy who still, after 2,000 years, is known for his tendency to pull the trigger before he aims the gun. The guy we often roll our eyes at because so often he acted first and thought later. But this morning, as I read in Luke, this one born Simon Bar-Jonah shines. Not because he moved slower. Not because he thought it out first. But because when Jesus said, “Do it!” He did it. He let down the nets.

And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at Your word I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:4-5 ESV)

“At Your word I will let down the nets.” Bam!!! That’s what we’re talking about. Jesus said do it, and Peter did it.

Didn’t make much sense to the experienced fisherman. Fishing was done at night . . . not during the day. And they had just been out all night . . . nothing, nada, zilch, big goose egg to show for their labors. But Jesus said, “Put out into the deep” and so Peter put out.

It’s not because Peter expected to land the big one, but because He was learning what it meant to follow the Master. It wasn’t because he thought it was a particularly good idea to fish, but was starting to learn that it was always a very good idea to have faith. And so when Jesus said,”Fish,” Peter fished.

They had toiled all night and took nothing. They had already given it their best shot and come up empty. They had executed “plan A” and all they had to show for it were wet nets. They had been up all night and were tired. And it’s then that Jesus says, “Try again.”

Your best plans, your best efforts have come up short, says the Master, but it’s My work. “Put out into the deep” one more time and behold the power of My word.

And behold they did. So many fish filled the nets that they were breaking. So many fish that Peter had to call for help. So many fish that they not only filled Peter’s boat but another boat as well. So many fish that Peter was compelled to fall before the feet of Jesus and saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Peter exercised a bit of “blind faith,” and was given eyes to see the holiness of God. The greater catch that day wasn’t the net full of fish, but the heart-full awareness of the glory of Christ. And all because Jesus spoke and Peter listened. All because Jesus asked and Peter complied. All because Peter heard the Word speak the word and that was enough for Him to obey the Word.

Oh for such Peter-like impetuosity. To know when to calculate less and believe more. To respond in faith . . . just because Jesus says, “Let down your nets.”

By His grace, for His glory.

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Double Down

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Pete

I guess I could blame it on . . . ‘er, I mean attribute it to the Holy Spirit. Or, perhaps I just need to concede my mind can work in strange ways. But this morning, reading in Psalm 119, a verse I’m noodling on has me thinking about the need to “double down.” Now “double down” isn’t found in my ESV translation . . . not found in any translation . . . not even found in the Message. It’s a term that comes out of the gambling world . . . a risky strategy where someone doubles their bet in blackjack based on the strength of the cards they’ve been dealt.

Now I’m not thinking gambling . . . I’m not even thinking high risk . . . but what I am thinking is about leaning in, or doubling down, when things get tough. And the hand we’re holding? Well, it’s the word of God.

I am severely afflicted; give me life, O LORD, according to your word! . . . The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from Your precepts.
 (Psalm 119:107, 110 ESV)

This theme of the role of word of God in times of affliction has been popping up regularly over the past several mornings as I’ve been reading Psalm 119. And the message I’ve been picking up is that when times get tough, that’s not the time to loosen our grip on God-breathed revelation. In fact, in times of affliction . . . in times of trial . . . in times of enemy attack, that’s the time to lean in . . . to read more ardently . . . to pray over more fervently . . . to follow more determinedly. When the going get’s tough, that’s the time to double down.

Even though princes sit plotting against me, Your servant will meditate on Your statutes. . . . My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to Your word! . . . The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from Your law. . . . It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes. . . . If Your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.   (Psalm 119:23, 25, 51, 71, 92 ESV)

Why is it that the Word often drops off the radar when we find ourselves up to our eyeballs trying to deal with life? The heat gets turned up and we fail to draw upon living water? Things get confusing and we go to leaning to our own understanding rather than desperately seeking the mind of Christ as revealed in the Scriptures given to make that mind known. We find ourselves treading water in the deep end and, rather than cling to the Word of life, we panic and flail about trying to keep our heads above water when in fact He wants His strength to be known in our weakness?

Rather than allowing trials to squeeze out our time in the Word of God before the God of the Word, we need to hold on tighter. Asking more diligently, knowing He will answer . . . seeking more purposefully, believing His way will be found . . . knocking on the door more ardently, trusting that He who owns the keys of the kingdom will open the way of escape and make clear the way of resolution.

In times of trouble, we need to double down with the word of God.

Double down by His grace . . . double down for His glory.

And that’s no gamble.

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Love Incorruptible

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Pete

At first, it came across as a pretty tall order. One of those “challenging encouragements” that is thrown out with the intent of getting believers to step up to the plate and just do it. Raising the bar . . . setting the standard. But quite frankly, just as easily as inspiring someone to “go for the gold,” it can just as easily cause someone’s shoulders to bow under the weight of another exhortation beyond our ability to attain.

Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. (Ephesians 4:23-24 ESV)

I read verse 24, Paul’s final words to the Ephesians and, at first, thought, “Really. Paul’s wishing grace upon all who love Jesus with an incorruptible love? Who can claim that?” Other translations say who love Jesus “in sincerity” (NKJV) or ” with an undying love” (NIV). The NLT translates it giving a different sense, that the incorruptibility is with God’s grace and not about our love. While that’s true and while I like that better, given that it doesn’t align with the sense given by the ESV, NASB, NIV, or NKJV, I think I have to wrestle a bit with what the verse seems to be saying.

So what does it mean to “love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible?”

Literally the word has the idea of “unending existence.” That which is beyond corruption, that which is immortal in nature.

And chewing on that for a bit, maybe the love we’re talking about is less about a love we’re able to manufacture and maintain and ensure that it’s a sincere, incorruptible, non-decaying love, but more a reflection on the nature of the love which God, in His grace, has “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5).

We love because He first loved us (1John 4:19). We know Him because He first knew us. We sought Him because He first sought us. We pursue Him because He first pursued us. We’ll love him eternally, into immortality, because God has seeded within our hearts His eternal, immortal love. We might falter, but we won’t fail. We might get distracted, but we won’t be disqualified. We can love with a love incorruptible because God is love and He has taken up residence in our lives through the Holy Spirit.

So, I’m thinking it’s less about an exhortation to step it up, and more a reminder of the riches of grace that is ours through Him who “having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1). And in so doing, has empowered us to love Him to the end . . . the end of eternity . . . with a love incorruptible.

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

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Limping Along

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Pete

It really wasn’t about wicked king Ahab or his prophets of Baal. Nor was it about a showdown on Mt. Carmel. It wasn’t even about fire from heaven. As I’m reading 1Kings 18 this morning, I’m reminded it was about God’s people. God had determined to show Himself powerful . . . God had determined to show Himself preeminent . . . for the sake of a people who were limping along.

And [Elijah] answered (Ahab), “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your fathers house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals. Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebels table.” So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.
 (1Kings 18:18-21 ESV)

Oh the lengths to which God would go to call back the hearts of a people who were “limping between two different options.” Like a kid going down the street with one foot on the curb and one foot on the road, never really in balance. Like a lame man who, while seeming to make progress, is always encumbered by an inability to walk properly. In fact, the people’s attempt to walk both sides of the fence was pictured in the futility of the actions of the prophets of Baal who were also stumbling about as “they limped around the altar that they had made” (18:26).

The futility of the prophets of Baal before their sacrifice was a reflection of those who tried to have “the best” of both worlds. Though Baal was a god who could claim a place in the hearts of people, just as the God of Israel could, Baal was a god without voice, one incapable of answering (18:26). No matter how much they cried aloud . . . no matter how much they cut themselves and offered their own blood for this poor excuse of a god . . . no matter how much they raved and limped along . . . “there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention” (18:29).

Stupid to sacrifice to such a god . . . dumb to waste a good bull . . . crazy to offer your blood to some composition of earthly materials. But that was one “opinion.” That’s one world to put a foot in so that you don’t risk missing out just in case the god does answer. But as long as there’s a foot in that world . . . it will always result in nothing more than limping along.

How much do we, as God’s people today, limp along in similar fashion? When we look at how we set our priorities and invest our time, what does it say about the “gods” that we are looking to, in addition to the God of heaven, in order to find happiness, fulfillment, or satisfaction. What sacrifices are we offering? What kind of crazy dance are we performing? How much blood are we pouring out in the futile attempt to hear some voice that validates our lives and makes us feel good. If the people of Israel teach us anything it’s that, at the very best, to try and follow the God of creation as well as the creations we make gods, it’s nothing more than just limping along.

Instead, what about wholeheartedly seeking and following the God who sacrificed for us? . . . the God who called out to us? . . . the God who shed His blood for us? . . . the God who made Himself known from heaven for us? That’s solid ground . . . when it’s not about how much we sacrifice and dance around, but all about a God who, motivated by eternal love and because of overflowing grace, showed Himself from heaven . . . not in some blaze of fire, but through the cross of Calvary.

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.    (Galatians 5:1 ESV)

No more “two opinions” . . . “The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God” (18:39).

No more limping along . . . by the grace of God . . . for the glory of God.

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Making God Angry

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Pete

In a conversation with a friend earlier this week, he reminded me that we tend to classify sin. All sin is bad, sure. But some sin, based on the response of many, is REALLY bad . . . way worse . . . the only thing to be focused on. And in doing so, he pointed out, we tend to minimize the nature of other sin . . . our sin. You know, that sin which we’ve become more comfortable with . . . that sin which we can talk about without it turning our stomach. But as I’m reading in 1Kings this morning, it occurs to me that perhaps we should be focusing first on another sin. One sin that I wonder if, after pride, isn’t at the root of all other sin.

It’s the sin of Jeroboam. The sin that was adopted by king after king in Israel. The sin that would lead to other sin. The sin that ultimately would lead to the northern kingdom’s downfall. The sin of idolatry.

And if there’s nothing else you learn about this sin in Kings, it’s that it makes God angry.

Omri did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did more evil than all who were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in the sins that he made Israel to sin, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols.   (1Kings 16:25-26 ESV)

Jeroboam, chosen by God, graced by God, and lifted up by God to be king of Israel’s northern ten tribes, chose to replace God. As a means to secure his own rule in Israel, Jeroboam built two golden calves so that people would not have to travel to Jerusalem to worship and perhaps have their hearts drawn again to the southern kingdom. And so he sets one in Bethel, the other in Dan, and declares these to be the gods who had really delivered them from Egypt (12:25-30). And this became “the sin of Jeroboam.” The sin which king after king followed in and, often “improved” upon. And, repeatedly, I’ve been reading that it provoked the LORD to anger.

King after king . . . generation after generation . . . more and more common place as time passes. But God never gets over it.

As I’ve said before, if repetition in Scripture is God’s way of saying something in “bold print” . . . if it’s His way of emphasizing a truth . . . then, as I read in 1Kings, God is yelling, “Idolatry makes me angry!”

Provoking God to anger. To trouble His spirit. To vex His very nature. To stir up righteous indignation that can only be followed by holy and justified wrath. Such is the nature of replacing God with an idol. Such is the outcome of looking to something of our own making as the source of deliverance and happiness. Not to be minimized. Not to be forgotten as we point the finger at those sins which are popular to call out. Idolatry makes God angry. Period.

To be sure, the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin . . . even the sin of idolatry. But we must apply the blood. “If we confess our sins,” John says, “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9). But there is no cleansing apart from confessing.

And if the kings of Israel tell us anything, it’s that idolatry is truly a slippery slope. That when we start to worship other things, there is no stopping what we will add to our worship list and what we will do in order to serve those other gods which are no gods at all. And though we might grow more and more comfortable with it, Kings also reminds me that God does not. Again and again, I read in Kings that they provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger with their idols.

I’m guessing that’s why something else I read in Ephesians is resonating right now . . .

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. . . . For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
(Ephesians 5:3, 5 ESV emphasis added)

That God’s people would beware of idolatry. That we would see it as the sin which leads to all other sin. That we would first deal with the plank in our own eye before dealing with the spec in another’s . . . and, to be sure, we should be showing others the way of rescue from their sin. That God would reveal to us our other gods that we might leave them at the foot of the cross. Looking to the Son only for our deliverance . . . bowing to the Father only with our worship . . . drinking deep of the Spirit only as our sufficiency.

By His grace . . . for His glory.

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A Dinner Invitation

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Pete

In many ways it’s kind of a confusing story. Not the part about the man of God sent to King Jeroboam to pronounce judgment on the king for his idolatrous leadership of the northern kingdom. That part’s pretty clear. The altar Jeroboam had built in Bethel, as the place of sacrifice to the two golden calves he had declared to be “your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt” (1Kings 12:28), would be the altar upon which Jeroboam’s fake priests would be sacrificed (1Kings 13:2). Jeroboam had provoked the LORD to anger (1Kings 14:9, 15) and, unless there was repentance, judgment was inevitable. No, that part’s not the confusing part.

The confusing part is what happens to the man of God. At first he is invited by Jeroboam to come home with the king. You sense it’s Jeroboam’s way of trying to get on God’s “good side.” Seems like he’s thinking he can wine and dine and bribe the prophets favor, then maybe he secures some of God’s favor. But God doesn’t turn a blind eye to sin . . . He can’t. And besides, God doesn’t work for the man of God, the man of God works for Him. So, as a further sign of God’s judgment, the man of God refuses to “eat bread or drink water in this place” for the word of the LORD had been clear to the man of God, “You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came” (13:8-9). So far, so good.

Then the confusing part.

As the man of God heads out of town, an old prophet who lives in Bethel invites him home for dinner. The man of God refuses. Just as he had said to the king, the man of God tells the old prophet, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, for it was said to me by the word of the LORD, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came'” (13:16-17). But the old prophet lies to the man of God and says that he too received a word from the LORD and that God had changed His mind — the man of God was to eat in Bethel at the old prophet’s house.

Old man’s motivation for lying? I’m thinking it’s the same as the king’s. To secure favor and avoid God’s just wrath upon his own sin in worshiping the golden calves which “led Israel out of Egypt.” But while they are eating, God’s Spirit overpowers the lying flesh of the old prophet and uses him to pronounce judgment on the man of God for his disobedience. The man of God, after receiving the word, finishes his meal and leaves. Shortly thereafter he encounters a lion on the road and is killed. Weird. Kind of confusing.

Who feels sorry for the man of God? How unfair does it feel that a lying old man can cut short the aspiring career of a promising up-and-comer? What does it say about the importance of obedience?

So, not sure exactly what all this passage is meant to teach us, but here are some thoughts that run through my mind. First, God is God and His ways are perfect. Second, God’s word is to be guarded and obeyed and we need to beware of anyone or anything that says, “We’ve heard something different from God.” And third, while there is no buying God’s favor with the bread and drink we have to offer, there is the need to invite THE MAN OF GOD home for dinner.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.”
~ The Ascended, Living Jesus (Revelation 3:20 ESV)

Jeroboam couldn’t bribe his way into God averting His just judgment upon sin.. The old prophet couldn’t lie his way into God overlooking his complicity in Bethel’s idolatry. They both tried by inviting someone home for dinner. But they invited a man who, just like themselves, ended up tripped up in his own disobedience.

Instead, God calls all those enslaved in sin to invite His Son for dinner. It’s not what they can put on the table for Him, but about the table He has prepared for them. His body, our bread . . . his blood, our wine. Favor with God secured not by our wisdom, but by the wisdom of the cross. Having taken our wrath upon Himself, He now invites us to invite Him in for a meal. A meal of His provision . . . a meal which will result in eternal fellowship with the King of kings.  If we open the door, He will come in and eat.

Amazing grace . . . for the glory of God.

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The New Selfie

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Pete

I don’t know why we still call them phones. For most of us, that little (or, in more and more cases, not so little) device we carry with us 24/7 is probably used the least as a phone. It connects us with the Internet . . . it plays our music . . . is used as our Daytimer (who remembers those?) . . . tracks how many steps we’ve taken today . . . allows us to communicate with our thumbs. But I guess we call it a phone because “personal computer” has already been taken. And the reason I’m thinking about this is that for everything our phones do, for more and more people, it has also become the camera of choice. Cue the selfie.

I don’t know if it’s an official new word . . . but it shows up in Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. Even if it’s not an official word, pretty much everyone knows it . . . and, it seems, everyone’s doing it. All you need is a phone, your arm, and your face . . . or your face and as many faces as you can cram next to your face. And for the exceptionally well prepared and advanced student, you’re carrying a selfie-stick with you wherever you go. Extends the arm . . . allows more faces to be crammed together or more of the background to be captured. Crazy!

Ok . . . so two paragraphs in and you’re wondering, “Where’s this going?” What could he possibly be reading in the Bible that gets him thinking about phones that aren’t really phones and this new craze in self-portraits. Well, here it is. As I’m reading in Ephesians this morning it occurs to me that every time a child of God takes a pic of themselves with their phone, it’s either of the old-selfie or the new-selfie.

. . . put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, . . . be renewed in the spirit of your minds, . . . put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24 ESV)

After three glorious chapters of inventorying all that is the believer’s “in Christ,” Paul shifts to the practical implications of this divine reality. And so he says, “You must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds” (4:17). Don’t do it, he says. Don’t go around living like the person you used to be . . . don’t do life after the natural man, the man governed by the sinful nature. Don’t give yourself up to hardness of heart . . . to living to fulfill your lusts . . . to unbridled, impure living. Because that’s your old self. The one who was crucified with Christ. The nature that was in rebellion to kingdom. It’s gone. Don’t live like it isn’t.

Instead, says Paul, put on the new self. Note that it’s not, “work your way up” to the new self. It’s “put it on.” By the renewing of the mind — through the pursuit of God’s word and way through the power of God’s Spirit — you “slip into” those robes of righteousness that are yours in Christ. The new self isn’t some self-improvement program, it’s a reality to wear. In Christ, the believer has been re-created after the likeness of God. Because of the nature of Christ imputed to them, that is, credited to their account, the believer possesses “true righteousness and holiness.” The work is finished . . . His holiness has been woven into us . . . it’s who we are in Christ through the Spirit. The task for us is to put it on. That’s the new self.

So every time I pause to take inventory of how I’m choosing to live my life . . . every time I take a moment to look in the mirror . . . every time I whip out the phone and take a selfie, it’s a picture which captures me either living like the old self . . . or of me living in the truth of the new self. It’s either an old-selfie or a new-selfie.

Might be interesting some time to go back over those tons of photo’s sitting in our phones, and reflect, “Old-selfie or new-selfie?”

New-selfies. That’s what you want, says Paul (kinda). Living as who we are in Christ and not as who we once were when we were “darkened in our understanding.”

Here’s to phones throughout the church which are packed with pictures of the new-selfie.

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

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God’s Body Building Program

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Pete

Show me a follower of Christ who has stalled and I’ll show you a follower who’s not connected to a fellowship of other followers. Tell me about someone who was tracking well with the Lord and then just kind of went into a slow drift, and I’d be interested to know if that coincided with when they were too busy, or too disinterested, or too put-off, to keep gathering with the Lord’s people in a meaningful and regular manner. I know God is not to be put in a box . . . and that with God all things are possible–even a believer growing apart from fellowship with other believers . . . but I also know that God has prescribed a normative way for His children to grow and mature in the faith. And that’s through God’s body building program.

And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
(Ephesians 4:11-16 ESV emphasis added)

The church wasn’t our idea. Calling it the body of Christ wasn’t some quaint term we came up with. The Son of God said He would build His church. And the Spirit of God has said that it is His body. A body for which He provides gifted men and women to equip the saints for building up of the body of Christ. He intent is that we grow up . . . becoming more and more like Jesus . . . becoming conformed to the image of God’s Son (Rom. 8:29). And the dynamic He has set in motion is that of the body of Christ, individual members joined together, gifted, and equipped, when it’s working as it should, builds itself up. The body works to together to grow and mature. Such is God’s body building program.

Divine perpetual motion.  That’s what it is.  Started with a few at Pentecost. Equipping itself . . . building itself up . . . each part engaged and contributing according to their gifting . . . and the body grows and builds itself up in love. First in Jerusalem . . . then Judea . . . then Samaria . . . and to the ends of the earth. Starting 2,000 years ago and continuing century after century. Set in motion by the Spirit of God . . . sustained in perpetual growth by the Spirit of God. It’s God’s normative way. What arrogance to think that we can accomplish God’s desired outcome for us to mature in Christ without engaging in His prescribed means for our development and growth.

If I was the sworn eternal enemy of God . . . opposed to all that which brings Him glory . . . if I couldn’t prevent people from believing in His Son . . . I would sure try and keep those people from growing up and being glory givers. I’d create a culture that seduced people into calendars too full to regularly meet with the body on Sundays. I’d work discord so that bad experiences would keep people from seeking out the dynamic God has ordained for His people’s spiritual growth. I’d sow seeds of complacency or resentment or discontentment within the church. I’d seek to misdirect popular opinion to conclude that doing community with God’s people is passé or irrelevant. And I’d do whatever else I could do to keep members of the body from connecting with the body so that they wouldn’t grow up through God’s body building program.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.   (Hebrews 13:23-25 ESV)

Oh that there would be revival among God’s people for God’s people. That, with a fresh sense of urgency and purpose, they might see the necessity of being all in with God’s prescribed way of growing their faith.

That we might no longer be children tossed to and fro . . . that we might mature to the measure given us of the fullness of Christ . . . that we might do so by His overflowing grace . . . that we might do so to His everlasting glory?

And God’s people said . . . ?

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The Unsearchable Riches of Christ

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Pete

After waking to eight verses in Psalm 119 . . . and chewing on Solomon’s great prayer of dedication at the just completed and glory-filled temple . . . and taking in Zechariah’s song of praise at the birth of his son and the prospect of his Messiah . . . like a good cup of coffee, I’m finishing with savoring the first part of Ephesians 3. To be sure it’s been a feast this morning. And the lingering after taste is awe, wonder, and worship as I consider the unsearchable riches of Christ.

For Paul, the gospel was a “stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you” (3:2). It was a treasure to be managed, shared, and directed as God willed. And, in that, was the mystery. The mystery of Christ given to Paul through revelation by the Spirit, “that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (3:6). Though very few of the twelve tribes saw it coming, it was always intended to be . . . “the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things” (3:9b). It’s what God meant when He promised Abraham, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). And that “eternal purpose” was realized in Christ Jesus our Lord (3:11).

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of Gods grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ . . .   (Ephesians 3:7-8 ESV)

The unsearchable riches of Christ. Unable to be fully tracked. Unable to be completely comprehended. But more than able to evoke awe and wonder.

Unsearchable in ITS EXISTENCE. Determined before the foundation of the world. Hidden for the ages. All of redemptive history pointing to it. Nothing done that was done by God without the determined purpose that it would culminate in Christ. Hinted at in the seed that would crush the serpents head. Pictured in the Passover Lamb. Foretold in Isaiah’s prophetic vision of a suffering servant. Promised as the Son of David who would sit on the throne forever. Go as far back as you can . . . and then some . . . and there you find the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Unsearchable in ITS REACH. Not just for the Jew, but for the Gentile as well. Not just for those who seek the Light, but for those so enveloped in darkness they don’t even know it. Not just for the saint but for the sinner. Reaching to the lowest hell . . . redeeming those that we might consider beyond redemption. It’s the nature grace . . . it’s the fruit of imputed righteousness . . . it’s the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Unsearchable in ITS BENEFIT. That the gospel was but an exemption from having to pay the wages our sin demanded, that would be a gift beyond expectation. But that it would be accompanied with “boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him” (3:12) is beyond measure. Not just rescued, but righteous. Not just saved, but sons. Not just excused from hell, but invited to dine at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits (Ps. 103:2) . . . the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Unsearchable in ITS INSTRUCTION.

. . . so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.   (Ephesians 3:10 ESV)

The mystery of Christ . . . the grace of the gospel . . . impacting not only creatures here on earth, but also leaving an eternal impression in heavenly realms. What does it sound like for an angel to gasp in disbelief as he witnesses an enemy of God willingly surrender before the cross? What is the nature of the thunderous voice that is raised around the throne when, in celebration, heaven rejoices over a lost one found? How is the church providing the fuel for eternal worship in the heavens? Don’t fully know. It’s unsearchable.

And, it’s unbelievable!

But it is also undeniable!

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

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