At the Feet of My Redeemer

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Pete

To be sure, it’s not a custom that I know a lot about. But there’s something about the manner in which Ruth communicates her desire to be redeemed by Boaz that is intuitive. While Naomi’s instructions to Ruth might have been well understood in that day and in Jewish culture, even in it’s obscurity today there is a picture painted of how someone might approach their redeemer. And it’s got me thinking about laying at the feet of my Redeemer.

So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”   (Ruth 3:1-3 ESV)

Naomi’s people had become Ruth’s people . . . Naomi’s God was owned by Ruth as her God (1:16). And this foreigner, once ” alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and stranger to the covenants of promise” (Eph. 2:12), now sought refuge according to the word of God. The Law of Moses required that when a man died childless, a close relative should marry the widow in order to perpetuate his name and retain his inheritance within his tribe (Deut. 25:5-10). And so, under Naomi’s guidance, Ruth appeals to Boaz, as a close relative, to be her redeemer . . . to willingly pay the price for her protection . . . to take her to himself as his bride. And in that day, and in that culture, it involved coming and laying at his feet.

Kind of a risky proposition. Talk about stepping out — and laying down — in faith. Ruth had to trust in Naomi . . . had to trust in the provision made in God’s word . . . and had to trust the one who she looked to as her kinsman-redeemer. What if Naomi had it wrong . . . what if God’s word couldn’t be trusted . . . what if Boaz wasn’t all that he seemed to be? Laying at his feet was putting it all on the line. Humbling herself . . . submitting herself . . . laying her very life at his feet . . . she was all in.

And I can’t help but find here a picture of another foreigner? Someone from outside the traditions of good religious people and absolutely ignorant as to the ways of God and His kingdom. A picture of a person who, like Ruth, was instructed in the ways of redemption from God’s word. Someone who was told of Another who had already paid the price for all who would seek refuge under His wings. Someone introduced to a Kinsman-Redeemer who is willing to take all who believe as His Bride. That someone is me. That Kinsman-Redeemer is Christ. And, in a sense, all that I had to do was lay at His feet.

To lay at His feet thus declaring, by faith, that I trust His finished work for my redemption and that my striving has ceased. To humble myself before Him in contrite submission desiring that His will be my will and His ways be my ways. To bow before Him in awe-filled adoration as I consider that He would long to share His riches with me and make His inheritance mine. To know that, unlike Boaz who could pay the price from his abundance, my Redeemer had to empty Himself completely . . . shedding His own blood as the price for my redemption . . . giving His own life as the wages for mine.

Laying at the feet of Jesus, my Redeemer. No safer place . . . no sweeter place.

Marveling afresh at His amazing grace . . . and at my wondrous redemption.

All for His eternal glory.

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No Middle Ground

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Pete

It seems there was no middle ground. Though there’s no doubt as to the purity of Peter’s motive, he was, nevertheless, staking his flag on enemy territory. Even though what Jesus said was so out there, it seems that if you weren’t “out there” with Him, then you were pretty much setting yourself up against Him. And it all came down to Peter’s thinking, whether he was thinking on the things of God or on the things of man.

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And He said this plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”   (Mark 8:31-33 ESV)

Mark 8:31 signals a shift in the ministry of Jesus. Having established Himself beyond doubt with His disciples that He was the Christ (8:30), the promised One of God, He now reveals to them plainly — also beyond doubt — what lies ahead for the Son of Man. And it’s not what they expected. It wasn’t on their radar because they weren’t looking for a suffering Messiah. And it wasn’t on their radar because they had authentically fallen in love with the Man from Galilee. A rejected, abused, and murdered Christ didn’t line up with what they envisioned concerning Messiah or what they wanted for their Master and Friend. And so, in classic Peter way, having declared in one breath, “You are the Christ,” almost with the next breath he pulls Jesus aside and says, “You are mistaken. No way, Lord!”

Okay . . . are we really going to judge Peter. Pretty understandable reaction. I’m guessing his mind was turned so upside down by “suffer . . . rejected . . . and be killed” that Peter never really heard the “rise again” part. Even if he did, why would God’s Anointed even be put in a situation where resurrection was necessary? You’d think that Jesus would have cut him a bit of slack. But He doesn’t. I can’t imagine a more harsh rebuke. But then again, perhaps I need to focus on the dramatic shift in mindset that had occurred within Peter.

“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 16:17). Jesus had commended Peter’s declaration that He was the Christ. And it had not been because Peter was so smart or such a quick-study, but because Peter has been so blessed, the Father having illuminated his understanding. He had seen the works of Christ and heard the words of Christ, just as many others who rejected Jesus had, and yet, having set his mind on the things of God, he saw Jesus as the promised One. But when it came to the tough truth of His rejection . . . that Jesus would die . . . Peter ran it through a mind set on the things of man. And in so doing, he set himself in opposition to the Savior. Though unwittingly and unintentionally, by rejecting the plain truth from the Word of God, he took sides with the enemy.

There was no middle ground. Either take God’s word as it is plainly revealed and stand for the kingdom, or filter God’s word through “the things of man” and stand against the kingdom. And there’s a lot of “things of man” going on in our world. Our increasingly “enlightened” world is redefining, at an alarming rate, that which is moral and even that which is natural. And many, even in the church, are shifting from what God said to what they want to believe God meant. In effect saying, “Not so, Lord!”

Jesus came not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him (John 3:17). And that would involve Him going to the cross, though it wasn’t a popular thought. It also involves, I think, standing for truth even though that truth might run contrary with modern day opinion polls. Standing for truth not that the world might be judged but that they would know their desperate need for a Savior. A Savior who is a Son . . . sent of the Father . . . to suffer, be rejected, and killed that sin might be fully atoned for. A Savior who would rise again on the third day . . . in accordance with His word . . . that He might conquer sin and death.  And, in so doing, would testify to the truthfulness of His Word, His entire Word.

That God’s people would stand, by God grace, for God’s truth. For the rescue of many . . . for the glory of God.

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Those Who See His Salvation

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Pete

Since retiring from “corporate life” and going full-time at my church, Mondays have become one of the most appreciated benefits of the transition. They are my down day . . . the day Sue and I know we are going to get some “quality time” together. Mondays are the day I sleep in . . . the day I just accept I’m going to move at a slower pace . . . the day devo’s happen sometime before noon . . . and, most often, the day when I can take a little longer to hover over the Word of God and let it sink in. This morning, Psalm 91 did some sinkin’ . . . and I’m doing a bit of thinkin’ . . . about those who see His salvation.

Because he holds fast to Me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows My name. When he calls to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation.    (Psalm 91:14-16 ESV)

Those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty . . . so begins the songwriter’s song. It’s a song to those who “have made the LORD your dwelling place” (v.9) and what they might expect as they live in “His shadow.” And it’s not the absence of struggles, trials, and battles. There will still be terror in the night . . . arrows that are shot at them by day . . . pestilence stalking in the darkness . . . and destruction laying waste at noonday (v.5-6). Nope, it’s not necessarily a danger free or easy place in the shadow of the Almighty, but it is a safe place. It is salvation’s place.

During small group last night, we talked again about the nature of our salvation. The salvation we’ve known in the past, the deliverance from the penalty of sin. The salvation we are waiting for, that day when faith gives way to sight and we are delivered from the presence of sin. And of the salvation we are experiencing right now.

The salvation that God works day in and day out in us and around us. The rescue that battles the power of sin. Whether that sin is from within, the old man doing war with the Spirit abiding in us. Or the sin that is around us, used of the enemy to persecute and oppose us . . . seeking to make us a little less “salty” and wanting to dim our light. Or the general effects of sin in our fallen world which assault us . . . discouraging us . . . causing us to doubt. That’s today’s battle. And that is the present day salvation God is working out in our lives . . . victory over the power of sin. And it’s that salvation that I imagine being sung of in this song.

“I will deliver . . . I will protect . . . I will answer . . . I will be with . . . I will rescue . . . I will honor . . . I will satisfy . . . I will show my salvation!” Thus says the LORD to him who lives in the shadow of the Almighty.

And what does living in the shadow look like? I see three things in this closing stanza of the song. Those who live in the shadow: 1) hold fast to God in love; 2) they know the name of God; 3) and, they call to God in time of trouble. And to those, He shows His salvation . . . the very real, day in and day out commanding of His angels (v.11) to assist in the battle and provide victory over the power of sin in and around us.

No promise the battles will cease this side of glory, but assurance that for those who cling to Him and have set their love wholeheartedly towards Him, there will be “air cover.” That for those who set their face to know the Name which is above all names and pursue intimate communion with Him who makes Himself known to His creation, there will be protection and they will see “the recompense of the wicked” (v.8). That for those who, by God’s grace, do not lose heart and continue to call upon His name in the time of trouble believing that in His time and according to His perfect will He will answer, they will see His blessed salvation.

Wondrous life in the shadow . . . glorious hope in the Beloved! O that I, by the grace of God, might be among those who hold fast, know the Name, and call upon the God who desires to show His salvation.

That I might know victory . . . that He might receive all glory!

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Was It Something I Said?

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Pete

He tried to get away for a bit. Needed some down time. So Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon, entered a house and hoped no one would notice. Yet, writes Mark, “He could not be hidden” (7:24). Ministry for the man Jesus was ramping up. His mighty works were being spoken of widely and many were wanting to know personal healing through His miraculous power. And though He came first to His own people, the nation of Israel, those outside “the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12), also heard of Him and some were even so bold as to reach out to this Man who claimed to be Israel’s Messiah.

Enter a Gentile woman, a Syrophoenician by birth. She walked into the house, fell down at Jesus’ feet, and pleaded with Him. Not for herself, but for her daughter who had “an unclean spirit” . . . “and she begged Him to cast the demon out of her daughter” (7:25-26).

And while the interaction between the Savior and this seeker seems a bit awkward to us, I’m thinking it was quite remarkable to those who observed their interaction. First, Jews did not acknowledge Gentiles very favorably. Second, men did not engage women who were not their wives — much less Gentile women. Third, Jesus came first “to His own” (John 1:11) — His primary mission was to the nation of Israel. But Jesus engages the woman, and in this encounter hints that the Bread of Life which He came to give, though offered to the twelve tribes initially, would be offered to all.

But the encounter comes off a bit harsh. Jesus, it seems, rebuffs her. He says that the children, Israel, should be filled first and that the food for them should not be thrown to the dogs. Ouch, that’s kind of an unexpected thing for Jesus to call a woman in such need. While it may have been a common term of contempt used by Jews for Gentiles, somehow it doesn’t feel right coming from Jesus. Some have said that Jesus uses a “softer term” . . . that by referring to her as “a little dog” (NKJV), or puppy, there is a compassion conveyed by Jesus. Regardless, that it was meant to test her is clear. And it sets up an amazing response by this desperate woman kneeling at the feet of Jesus.

But she answered Him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the childrens crumbs.”   (Mark 7:28 ESV)

“Yes Lord, I’m only a little Gentile dog,” she says, “but I know that even puppies can benefit from the crumbs dropped by children from the table. That’s all I’m asking for, just a few crumbs. Your power is so great, that just the afterglow of it will meet my need. Your grace so life giving, that just a drop will satisfy my longing. That’s all I’m asking for, just a few leftover crumbs from the food of your ministry to the Jews.”

And He said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.   (Mark 7:29-30 ESV)

It was how she responded . . . it was something she said that made the difference. Not that it was the words themselves but the humble, repentant, faith-filled heart behind the words. Just a few crumbs . . . though I don’t deserve even that, that’s all I need, Jesus. And because of that utterance, Jesus says, her petition was granted and her daughter was healed.

Faith often is known by how we respond and by what we say. What we believe is confessed with the mouth. We declare our dependence. We acknowledge His grace and power. And without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6).

O to be people who continually abide in the life-giving provision of the Bread of Life because of something we said.

By His grace . . . and for His glory.

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A Sad Song

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Pete

Honestly . . . not quite sure what to make of Psalm 88. The Psalm’s title says it’s a song . . . but what a sad song. Written by Heman the Ezrahite, a son of Korah, it was given to the choirmaster. I can only imagine how much fun (not) it was to practice this dirge. I’m guessing the basses got a lot of work and that there was a lot of brushing up on minor chord harmonizing. But no matter how you carried the melody, no joy. Just a sad song.

Assuming that he’s writing out of firsthand experience, the songwriter says that his soul “is full of troubles” (v.3). That he was a man of “no strength,” like one who was nearing death (v.4-5). His companions shun him (v.8) . . . his eyes grow dim with sorrow (v. 9a). He feels the crushing hand of God’s displeasure and wrath upon himself (v.7), and feels that God has cast his soul way, hiding His eyes from looking upon His servant (v. 14).

Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer Your terrors; I am helpless. Your wrath has swept over me; Your dreadful assaults destroy me. (Psalm 88:15-16 ESV)

Heavy sigh! Whatever it is this composer was remembering or relating to, it was absolutely miserable. And you read all 18 verses and it doesn’t get better. No happy ending. So what’s the deal?

Here’s the deal, the lyrics are a prayer. A prayer to the living God. A prayer founded on the belief that this God hears and that He acts upon what He hears. This is not a lament intended to be sung into an empty room, the words echoing hopelessly off the walls, the sentiments expressed with no thought that they will go beyond the ceiling. Instead, it is written with the intent it will reach into heaven itself. Written for a choir, but directed to an Audience of One who is enthroned in Majestic glory and intimately aware of, and interested in, the affairs of His people. Sung to One who is able to deliver.

O LORD, God of my salvation; I cry out day and night before You. Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry!   (Psalm 88:1-2 ESV)

Repeatedly this sad song comes back to the chorus of crying out.

Every day I call upon You, O LORD; I spread out my hands to You . . .
But I, O LORD, cry to You; in the morning my prayer comes before You.
 (Psalm 88:9b, 13 ESV)

No resolution found in this sad song . . . no joy realized . . . no happy ending in sight. Just a faith driven determination to bring his situation, and his sadness, before the God in whom he trusts. And sometimes, I’m thinking, that’s all you can do with a circumstance that makes no sense and hurts so much. It brings to mind something I read years ago by Chuck Swindoll. When the landing gear won’t come down, and the plane has been readied for a crash landing, . . . when final descent begins, “If you believe in God you should commence prayer (click here to see the full article).

Prayer . . . it’s what the sad song demands . . . it’s the only response warranted by a desperate situation. Reminds us of a God who’s in control. A God who is love. A God, though His ways and thoughts are beyond our understanding, has determined to intricately weave Himself into our world through His Son. A God, who invites us to confidently draw near to His throne of grace that we might know the abundance of His mercy “and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

Sometimes you just gotta keep on believing . . . and keep on singing . . . even when it’s a sad song.

Sung by His grace . . . sung for His glory.

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When We Come Together

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Pete

Five times. Five times in eighteen verses. Three-hundred-ninety-eight words in this passage and twenty of those words are the same four word phrase repeated five times. While the subject of the passage is appropriate conduct at the Lord’s table, the context of the passage is clear. It’s all about what happens when you come together.

But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse . . . when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you . . . When you come together, it is not the Lords supper that you eat. . . . So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another . . . so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. . . .    (1Corinthians 11:17, 18, 20, 33, 34 ESV)

Come together. That’s what the people of God are to do. We don’t GO TO church. We COME TOGETHER as the church. And it’s not IF we come together, but WHEN we come together. Since the birth of the church, it has been the understood normative practice. The New Testament really doesn’t know much about not coming together except to warn against it . . . “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 10:25).

And while I’m no Greek expert, my Greek lexicon indicates the original words have in mind something much more than just being in the same place with other people. But that it has the idea of a coherence, that those who are with each other are intimately connected. That’s what the church — aka the people, not the building — is . . . intimately connected people.

Connected by a common experience of cleansing . . . the blood of Christ applied to our sin . . . forgiveness received by faith in the finished work of the cross. Connected by a encounter with the living God through His Spirit . . . born again by the Holy Spirit . . . sealed by the Spirit given as a guarantee of the hope that awaits us . . . being transformed by the Spirit of Christ living in us and through us as He works to conform us into the likeness of the holy Son of God. Connected by a common calling . . . to be the body of Christ and each of us members of it.

What is more natural for a body than that it comes together. That it is 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” (Eph. 4:21). If we just go to church then we’re but individuals with personal agendas just attending another event. But, when we come together as the church, we are a body looking out for the interests of others before our own, aware that we have a function and purpose and role in making this body whole.

How I lament what so often seems to be an increasing attitude of convenience when it comes to “going to church.” That somehow it’s just another activity to do . . . another place to go . . . when it fits in with our already overloaded calendars. That so often it’s just about showing up and not about intentionally seeking intimate connection. That’s it’s about re-charging our batteries, or appeasing our consciences, rather than that of serving and building up one another through community.

O that the church might be the church when we come together.

By His grace . . . for His glory.

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A United Heart

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Pete

I think it began as more of a computer term. The breakthrough capability of processing machines to go beyond “single thread” computing to “multitasking.” It was a game changer when computers could not only do calculations at lightning speeds, but could also execute more than one program simultaneously. And while the thought in the beginning was that these computers would give back time to their human operators, in fact what we’ve found is that we’ve wanted to become more like the machines. And so we started talking about multitasking as an attribute of a highly effective person.

We praise those who can “keep many balls in the air.” We marvel at those who can “time slice” their lives and sustain progress on many fronts. But it’s also what causes many to pursue something called “work / life balance” . . . and can often result in someone “burning out.”

Something I read in Psalm 86 has me rethinking the value of multitasking. Maybe we need to be more like David. A guy who also had “a lot on his plate” yet desired a united heart.

For You are great and do wondrous things;
You alone are God.
Teach me Your way, O LORD,
that I may walk in Your truth;
unite my heart to fear Your name.     (Psalm 86:10-11 ESV)

Psalm 86 is a prayer of David. It seems, one of those 911 types of prayer that are fired heavenward in times of trouble. But a prayer which is liberally seasoned with praise. The wonder of God not overshadowed by the worry of the situation. The grace of God not lost in the grind of the trial. The steadfast love of God not forgotten under the suppressing load of the burden. And within this prayer is a petition for a united heart.

Teach me Your ways, O LORD . . . not that I might just gain head knowledge, but that I might walk in the light of the truth. And Lord, not only teach me that I might walk, but unite my heart that I might fear. That I would honor and respect Your name . . . that I might know holy reverence as I reflect on who You are.

Unite my heart . . . cease the multitasking and let it wholly and fully become focused toward this one great purpose, that I would stand in awe of You.

Multitasking might be valuable in many areas of life, but not so much when it comes to worship. Whatever productivity we think we might gain by splitting our hearts affections, is no gain at all. Though we might think that the more we can keep going, the better life will be, it’s not true if it is to the detriment of a heart united by a single purpose — that of knowing, and responding, to the God who created us and then gave His Son that He might redeem us.

Multitasking. Great for computers. Maybe not so great for human hearts.

Unite my heart, O Lord, to fear Your name.

By Your grace . . . for Your glory.

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The Great Meeting

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Pete

Hovering over Psalm 85 this morning. A plea for revival. A cry for the God who has delivered to deliver again. Just as God had forgiven their iniquity and covered all their sin before, so the songwriter calls again for God’s indignation to be put away and His anger turned away from His frail and faltering people.

Will You not revive us again,
    that Your people may rejoice in You?
 Show us Your steadfast love, O LORD,
   and grant us Your salvation.     (Psalm 85:6-7 ESV)

Revive us again! That’s the cry of the repentant heart. Those are the words that form on the lips of a child of God who knows they have blown it . . . again! The distance caused by sin has become too great and so they set their face towards home. The desert entered because of drifting has created such a hunger and thirst for knowing again the abundant table of fellowship once enjoyed with the Lord, that the prodigal desires only the Father’s house.

That we may rejoice in You! No joy to be known like the joy of the LORD. No greater reason for the directing of our mental and emotional energy than to praising and worshiping the God of our salvation. No greater place to be found than in the land where His glory dwells.

So, on what basis does the songwriter pen such a petition? How can a people who have tripped up, slipped up, and crashed & burned repeatedly, even think to call upon their God . . . AGAIN . . . for such deliverance, restoration, and revival? Short answer: because of The Great Meeting.

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
    righteousness and peace kiss each other.
 Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
    and righteousness looks down from the sky.
 Yes, the LORD will give what is good,
    and our land will yield its increase.     (Psalm 85:10-11 ESV)

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet. His lovingkindness toward His people is reconciled with His just demand for payment for their transgression. God is love . . . and God is truth . . . and the two come together. God having made provision so that He might be faithful to His holy standard and still extend abundant mercy and grace to the people He has chosen to love for eternity. Reconciliation, Revival, and Restoration all possible because of The Great Meeting — that great meeting that is found in Jesus, the Christ.

And so the demands of God’s righteous nature are fully met and peace with God is again known. The two kiss. The blood of Christ sufficient for the forgiveness of all our sin — past, present, and future — and for the cleansing of all unrighteousness. For those who confess their need, as does the psalmist, there is revival. The ground springs forth with renewed knowledge of God’s faithfulness. The clouds of separation are dispelled as, in Christ, we know again that blessed access into the Holy of Holies and bask in the presence of His righteousness.

The promises of God being “Yes and Amen” in His Son. Knowing again that the LORD will give what is good. Feeding and drinking anew from the abundance of a land that yields it’s increase. All because steadfast love and faithfulness meet in Christ.

O praise God for The Great Meeting. The law came through Moses, but “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

To Him be all glory . . . amen.

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A Cast of Thousands

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Pete

After 20 years of cruel oppression, it was time. God had sold His people into the hands of their enemies because of His people’s unfaithfulness, and now they cried out to the LORD for deliverance (Judges 4:1-3). And God heard their cries. And God was ready to go to battle on behalf of His people and rescue them from their misery. But, as I read Judges 4 and 5 this morning, what hits me is that, while God could have turned the tables Himself, instead He determines to use a cast of thousands.

So often I read this passage and I focus on Deborah. Deborah, wife of Lappidoth. Deborah, judge of Israel. Deborah, prophetess of God. And I take note of her godly leadership. Or, I might focus on Barak the reluctant military leader. Willing only to go into battle if Deborah goes with him. And I relate to his fearful nature. And then there’s Jael, wife of a nomad whose tents just happened to be in the right place at the wrong time for Sisera, commander of the Canaanite army. Jael, the last person this mighty man of war suspected of being a threat to him. And so, he goes to bed and wakes up dead.

But as I hover over the account of the battle in chapter four and then reflect on the song of victory sung by Deborah and Barak in chapter five, I realize that the victory wasn’t the result of just one or two or three people. Instead, it was the collaborative effort of Almighty God with a cast of thousands.

Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: “That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the LORD!   (Judges 5:1-2 ESV)

Deborah has been raised up to be a “mother in Israel” (5:7). Barak has been prepared to lead an army into battle. Jael has picked up a thing or two on how to use tent pegs and a mallet. But when it’s time to sing of victory, it’s about leaders who are stepping up to lead and people who willingly offer themselves to the LORD.

Barak is told to take 10,000 men from Zebulun and Naphtali into battle. And so, after securing Deborah as his personal escort, he puts out the call. “And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him” (4:10). And they join with men from other tribes, as well. Men of Ephraim and Benjamin along with princes from Issachar (5:14-15a). Though others chose to stay at home rather than enter the battle (5:15b-17), there were many who “offered themselves willingly.” And that, according to Deborah the woman of God, was worth singing about. Bless the LORD!

And so, I think about a God who delivers. Willing to discipline . . . so that His people’s faces might be turned back to Him. Mighty to save . . . that the bondage of our enemies might be broken. But also a God who chooses, often, not to act unilaterally. But instead, calls into the battle a cast of thousands.

Women and men. Prophetesses and tent-dwelling wives. Reluctant commanders and volunteer armies. Though God doesn’t need them to win the war, He purposes to use them. To stir hearts, such that all, regardless of stature or position, offer themselves willingly. Perhaps, that is the greater victory won. Men and women free to choose whom they will follow and what they will worship, offering themselves in response to the call of God. Willing to lay their lives on the line in order to see their God route the enemy and win the victory. Bless the LORD!

A cast of thousands. A call to faithfulness.

All by the grace of God. All for the glory of God.

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A Costly Guest

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Pete

It’s somewhat incredible to me that they asked Him to leave. Talk about good seed being sown and then swept away.

For those who had been eyewitness to the showdown between the many demons known as Legion and Jesus, you would have thought they’d become followers of Jesus on the spot. Even for those who came afterward, you’d think that seeing the demons-possessed man — the one who lived among the tombs . . . the one who could not be bound by chains and shackles . . . the one who spent night and day crying out and cutting himself — you’d think, that once they saw him in his right mind, they’d want whatever or whoever had the power over such demonic forces to stick around for awhile. Nope! Instead they pleaded with Jesus to leave. How come?

And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. (Mark 5:15-17 ESV)

That they were afraid when they saw the former home to Legion cleaned up, dressed up, and having a rational conversation with Jesus & Co., makes some sense. Talk about a “before” and “after” picture. Raving, destructive, mighty lunatic before meeting Jesus . . . quiet, coherent, restful worshiper after meeting Jesus. That would be enough for those who knew him to be awestruck. I imagine them looking at the man with jaw-dropping wonder as they considered the magnitude of power owned by the One who had subdued and expelled Legion.

But it seems that when they heard about the pigs they decided, power or no power, this Jesus wasn’t good for the local economy.

Legion, knowing their days of residence in the man of the tombs were at an end, asked that they be allowed to go into a herd of pigs nearby. Jesus granted them permission. And as demons of destruction apparently are wont to do, they ran the pigs into the sea and drowned them. One man of the tombs miraculously delivered . . . a herd of 2,000 pigs destroyed. And it seems, the awe of demon deliverance gave way to dread of financial loss.

If Jesus hung around, what would be the cost of continued clean up?

And how many still ask Jesus to leave, even after seeing evidence of His power and willingness to save, because of fear of some perceived material or personal loss? How prone might we be, even as His people, to ask Jesus to leave because we value something more. Appreciative of the degree of deliverance we’ve known, but seeking to retain some material possession or imagined prestige, we declare ourselves “good enough” and tell Jesus we’ll take it from here?

Jesus, as someone has said, is a costly Guest.

But “what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself” (Luke 9:25)?

Might His people continue to invite His sanctifying presence in their lives regardless of the perceived temporal cost. Might we see His continued cleansing and refining in our lives as a work of grace. A work of such value, that any perceived cost on our behalf pales in comparison.

Might we continue to welcome this “costly Guest” for the glory of God.

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