One of These Things Is Not Like the Other . . . Or Is It?

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Pete

Been a lot of years since I’ve had occasion to watch Sesame Street (it’s still on, right?) But one of its segments came to mind as I was reading the nineteenth psalm this morning. Go figure . . . not laying that one at the Holy Spirit’s feet . . . just the way my mind works . . . or, some might contend, sorta’ works.

Anyway, as I read through and the psalm, at first, it seemed to have three somewhat unrelated sections to it. The first about the heavens, the second about the law, the third about the avoidance of sin. But as I tried to “step back,” I think I saw a flow. God makes Himself known. Known through the handiwork of His creation and through the hearing of His word. His glory is declared by His ways, the magnificence of the heavens. And His glory is declared by His will, the revelation of His word. The first resulting in eyes turned upward, blessing God as we declare His glory. The second, turning our eyes inward, recognizing our benefits as we take in His word.

And the result of such revelation? It is the discerning of error. The acknowledgement of sin. The need to plead for God’s gracious intervention . . . “declare me innocent” . . . keep me back from arrogant sin . . . let not such iniquity rule over me . .. by Your grace and power, make me blameless and innocent “of great transgression.”

So I think the song flows . . . each “verse” builds on the previous. Behold the glory of God . . . ingest the word of God . . . know the mind of God as it relates to our sin . . . and cast yourself upon God to work the work of grace that declares you blameless.

Ok . . . but where’s the Sesame Street thing? It’s in the portion concerning God’s word. See if you can find it . . .

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.  (Psalm 19:7-11 ESV)

That this section is talking about God’s word is clear. It is sweeter than honey for those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. It is to be desired more than gold for those who wish to lay up treasure in heaven. And it’s benefits are many. It revives the soul, makes wise the simple, rejoices the heart, and warns God’s servant.

And as the poet pens this tribute to the word, the Spirit moves Him to use a number of synonyms. But one of these, at first, doesn’t seem like the others. God’s word is referred to as the law, the testimony, the precepts, the commandment, the rules or judgments, and the fear. The fear? How often have I ever thought of God’s word as “the fear?” Doesn’t seem to fit. Or does it?

I like what Spurgeon says, “The doctrine of truth is here described by its spiritual effect, viz., inward piety, or the fear of the Lord; this is clean in itself, and cleanses out the love of sin, sanctifying the heart in which it reigns.”

The word of God is a “fear generator” . . . an “awe factory” . . . a reverence producer. True? As we encounter the God of the word through the word of God, as His mind and His way is illuminated to us by His Spirit, is there not a holy fear that often prevails over our meditation? Is there not a cleansing action that occurs as we bow ourselves to Him who shows through His word that He is holy, holy, holy? Is there not reverent awe as, through His word, we experience an encounter of the divine kind with very One whose glory is declared by the heavens? I’m thinkin’. Maybe we do well to refer to our Bibles as “The Fear” more often.

. . . the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever . . .

Because of His grace . . . for His glory.

 

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His Will and His Word

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Pete

I’m reading in the first part of Matthew 8 this morning. Accounts of Jesus’ interaction with two men. Two very different men. One, a nobody, a leper. The other, kind of a somebody, a centurion. But both the same. First, they both came to Jesus in humility. The leper “knelt before Him” . . . the centurion came “appealing to Him.” Both came with a certain desperation. One was done with being unclean the other interceded for a servant who was done with being unable to walk. And both came with a measure of faith . . . one expressing faith in Jesus’ will, the other expressing faith in Jesus’ word.

When [Jesus] came down from the mountain, great crowds followed Him. And behold, a leper came to Him and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You will, You can make me clean.” (Matthew 8:1-2 ESV)

When He entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to Him, appealing to Him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And He said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.” (Matthew 8:5-8 ESV)

The leper was convinced that, if Jesus wanted to cleanse him from his disease, He could. The centurion was equally convinced that, in order for his servant to be healed, all Jesus had to do was say the word. And it’s got me thinking this morning about the power of the Christ and how that power is manifest in His will and His word.

The Son of Man did not come into the world to condemn it, but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:17). That’s His will. And Jesus invites all those who are weary and heavy laden with the guilt and baggage of sin to come to Him and He will give them rest . . . rest for their souls (Matt. 11:28-29). That’s His word.

His will is to do the Father’s will (John 6:38) . . . and His word is the Father’s word (John 12:49-50). That will is that none should perish (2Pet. 3:9), and so His word from the cross, “Father forgive them for know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). That will is that we would be with Him and see His glory (John 17:24). And so, He intercedes on our behalf with words that apply His blood to the cleansing of our sin, and again affirms that we have been covered with His righteousness. And He speaks the word to our hearts through His Spirit, calling us back to the Father, making known to us the Father’s abiding love and grace.

And in that will, and in that word, is power. The power to save and to save to the full (Heb. 7:25). The power to rescue and redeem. The power to reclaim and restore. The power to renew and revive.

Mine, whether I am great in the sight of man or invisible to other men, is to come in humility and, by faith, affirm, “Lord if You will . . . just say the word.”

O the power of Jesus Name. The power of His will . . . the power of His word.

All by His grace . . . all for His glory.

 

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A Song Within A Song

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Pete

While reading Psalm 18 this morning, I encountered something which, at first glance, just didn’t seem right. It was kind of like I was “listening” to a song when all of a sudden someone hit a bad chord. The notes didn’t quite line up. The melody took a weird turn. But I’m wondering if it isn’t because I am “listening” to a song within a song.

David wrote the Eighteenth Psalm for the choirmaster’s collection. It is a song of deliverance . . . a song of victory . . . a song composed on the occasion of the LORD rescuing him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. It is a song which starts big . . .

I love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.  (Psalm 18:1-3 ESV)

The victor in this passage is LORD. The conqueror is the Rock. The “hero” is the Deliverer. And David can’t help but respond with praise and adoration.

The songwriter extols the might of heaven’s great Warrior. Of the LORD’s fierce intervention on the songwriter’s behalf. The earth reels as the LORD thunders in the heavens and rides on the cherub to battle on behalf of His beloved on earth. And the LORD rescues him . . . draws him “out of many waters” . . . brings him into “a broad place.” Why? Because the LORD delights in him (18:19).

Good so far. Love the melody. God’s greatness. God’s glory. Acting on behalf of a man he delights in because of God’s grace. I’m groovin’ with the tune!

But then there’s the bad chord . . .

The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, . . . I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt. So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.   (Psalm 18:20-24 ESV)

Twang!!!! Wait a minute. Back the bus up. That doesn’t sound right. There is none righteous, no not one. All our righteousness is as filthy rags. What’s this about?

What if, at least in part, the explanation lies in the fact that this is a song within a song. A song about David, but one about the Greater David. One about the king of Israel, but one that also speaks of his offspring, the Anointed, the King of Kings? What if a second battle is in view in this song, one that occurs on a cross centuries into the future. What if the One being delivered is Christ, the Righteous One? What if the Holy Spirit worked through David to write a song within a song?

What if the song within the song is a prophetic song foreshadowing One who, though tempted in all ways as we are, was yet without sin (Heb. 4:15)? One who could truly say He was blameless and kept Himself from guilt? And that the song is about heaven’s war against the enemies from hell who thought they had won the battle on Calvary’s cross, but in fact were defeated as He was drawn from the depths and raised in victorious, resurrected, eternal life.

And what if the song is hints at our own deliverance from the enemy because we have been credited with the righteousness of Another?

For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing to Your name. Great salvation He brings to His king, and shows steadfast love to His anointed (the Christ) to David (the Greater David) and His offspring (those born of the Spirit) forever.     (Psalm 18:49-50 ESV with a little PV, Pete’s Version, added in)

What a sweet, sweet song within a song!

 

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A Slice of Life? . . . Or the Whole Thing!?!

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Pete

Psalm 17 is another one of David’s “Help!” psalms. The exact nature of the opposition or attack is not clear, but the songwriter is seeking vindication from the LORD, looking to His God to deliver his soul from the wicked. “Give ear to my prayer,” cries the psalmist, “incline Your ear to me; hear my words.” And what’s particularly grabbed me this morning is the difference David highlights between him and his enemies. They are satisfied with a slice of life, while David looks forward to the whole thing!

Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by Your sword, from men by Your hand, O LORD, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants. As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with Your likeness.
(Psalm 17:13-15 ESV)

There are those “whose portion is in this life.” Their territory, their share, their reward, all defined and realized, as Solomon might say, “under the sun.” It’s the slice of life defined by the material and the physical that determines their degree of “success.” But, in the end, as in the end of life, “they leave their abundance to their infants.” Great legacy for their children. But at best, all they can hope for is that someone will remember their “success” and what they left to their kids. But really, memories run short . . . as do the lives of those who might carry such memories.

“As for me,” says the psalmist. On the other hand . . . in contrast . . . looking at another definition of a successful life . . . “when I awake, I shall be satisfied with Your likeness.”

For David, his portion was the whole thing. It was in this life but, more importantly, it would be in the life after this life. The life that commenced with an awakening after the sleep of death had been entered. The life that offers more than a portion of temporal goods which much be distributed by a last will and testament. But one that offers a portion which satisfies eternally. The word for satisfy has the idea of being stuffed, or sated, with food. The appetite for life is satisfied to the full. The treasure is beyond what could be desired. The abundance, far from being left behind, just starting to be realized in its overwhelming fullness. Bet ya’ can’t eat the whole thing! Yes I can, says David.

“I shall behold Your face in righteousness . . . I shall be satisfied with Your likeness.”

That’s life . . . and life to the full. To behold the face of the Creator. To enter into the holy, holy, holy presence of God Almighty. To gaze upon His glory and upon a beauty incomparable to any beauty we’ve known this side of heaven.

And to do so in righteousness. Not our own righteousness, but the righteousness of Another. To look upon Him who sits on the throne and see before that throne the Lamb “as though it had been slain” (Rev. 5:6). Knowing the wounds were born for my sin . . . wondering afresh that not only was His death my death, but that His risen life is my life, and that His righteousness is my righteousness.

What a contrast. To labor and toil for the temporal hoping, at best, to impress our friends and leave something for our kids. Or to labor and toil for the eternal and behold the beauty of our LORD. To lay up treasures in heaven in anticipation of our waking up to glory. Of hungering and thirsting here and now, knowing that we shall be fully satisfied there and then. Satisfied with His likeness . . . our portion being His presence. The slice of life now, being just a sampler of the whole thing in that day.

To Him be glory . . .

 

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Don’t Worry, Be Faithful

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Pete

If repetition in Scripture is God’s megaphone, then God is shouting this morning. Three times in ten short verses God’s Son repeats the same exhortation to His disciples. Do you think He’s trying to get something across to them? Three times my Resident Teacher, through the God-breathed Scriptures, echoes the same command to me. Do I think the Father is trying to get something through to me? I’m thinkin’ . . .

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? . . . Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ . . . Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” ~Jesus (Matthew 6:25, 31, 34 ESV)

Do not be anxious . . . do not worry . . . do not be troubled with cares.

Easy to say, perhaps. Harder to do.

Not that I shouldn’t care. Not that I shouldn’t seek to be responsible. Not that I shouldn’t work to provide for my family and their needs. But that I shouldn’t be troubled with cares. I shouldn’t think it’s about an earthly legacy. I shouldn’t think that it’s all up to me. I shouldn’t fret in a way that reflects a belief that, if I don’t look after things, who will?

It seems that if there is a secret to “don’t worry,” it’s not just to “be happy,” but it’s about focus, beliefs, and priorities.

If this earth is the end game, . . . if that’s the prize . . . if that’s the finish line, then I should go for it, laying up as much treasure for myself as I can. Working to afford the finer things, to enjoy the good life, and get as much as I can while I can. And if that’s my focus, then that’s where my heart will be. But, if my eyes are set on things above, if my heart is focused on a city not made by hands, then I’m investing in the future. I’m getting ready for eternity, I’m laying up treasures in heaven. And I know that I don’t have the capital in and of myself to build that account. That treasure only comes through abiding and obeying. Investing through the One who saved me, and remade me, and enables me to make heavenly deposits.

And, it’s about what I believe concerning my heavenly Father. Will not the One who feeds the birds of the air, and clothes the grass of the field, not also ensure His children’s needs are met? Does my Father know what I have need of, or not? Does He care, or not? If He does know, and He does . . . and if He does care, and He does . . . then mine is not to wring my hands but to rest in His.

Finally, it’s about where my priorities lie. If day in and day out I’m focused on what I need to eat and what I need to wear and how I’m going to build up my bank account and how I’m going to get through my bucket list, then I’m going to be anxious, I’m going to worry. That, I’m thinking, is what some call the rat race. But if, by God’s grace and the transforming work of the Spirit, I instead seek first the kingdom of God, then my Sponsor for that kind of race will insure I have all that I need. He is faithful . . . His mercies new every morning . . .

O’, that I would earnestly desire treasure in heaven above treasure on earth. That I would truly believe my Father desires to meet the needs of His children. That my over-arching passion would be for the things of His kingdom.

I kind of hear God shouting this morning, “Don’t worry, be faithful.”

By His grace . . . for His glory.

 

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The LORD Looks Down

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Pete

It’s becoming an annual event. That morning when I get to that place in my reading plan which reminds me anew of the connectedness of heaven to earth. When I realize afresh that my “private life” is anything but private, and that what I do isn’t just my business and nobody else’s. When I pause and reflect on the glass floor which exists beneath God’s throne, providing a panoramic view as to the affairs of this world and the hearts of all men. When I consider again the implications that the LORD looks down.

The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. (Psalm 14:2 ESV)

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. . . . But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. . . . But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:3-4, 6, 17-18 ESV)

Though the contexts are totally different, my readings in Psalm 14 and Matthew 6 this morning carried a powerful “one-two punch.”

The LORD looks down from heaven. The Father sees in secret. Stop there. Noodle on that for a bit.

And His primary focus is less about our actions and more about our attitudes. He looks down to see if there are any who understand. He’s on the watch for any who seek after God. And, says the psalmist, there is none (Ps. 14:1). Apart from God’s intervention, without His calling and work of regeneration through rebirth, “there is none who does good, not even one” . . . “for they have all turned aside” (Ps. 14:3).

But God does intervene. In sending His Son to be the Lamb, He paid the price for man’s corruption and “abominable deeds.” What’s more, to all who confess and repent of their corruption and receive the forgiveness offered through the cross, He credits to their account the very righteousness of His Son. Salvation has indeed come out of Zion (Ps. 14:7).

And God continues to look down from heaven. The God who sees in secret is keenly aware of, and interested in, what is done in secret.

He is not impressed with those who hand over their checks (cheques, for my Canadian friends) on stage and in front of the camera’s. Waxing eloquent in heaven-directed oratory before a crowd, so that others may take note of obvious spirituality, garners nothing more than a yawn from heaven. Groaning before all who will listen as to how hard it is to go without our Starbucks for a few days in order to seek the kingdom does nothing to lay up treasure in heaven.

But give in secret, pray in your closet, fast such that no one else can tell, and “your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

As another has coined the thought so well, we play to an Audience of One. To Him who looks down from heaven and sees in secret. To Him who weighs the heart and rewards the righteous.

Righteous through the power of the Spirit. Righteous because of abundant, overflowing grace. Righteous for His glory, and His glory alone.

 

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If He Had Not Been On My Side . . .

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Pete

You gotta admit that Jacob and kin make the Kardashians look like the Waltons. Consider again the family through whom God has chosen to bless all the nations of the earth . . .

Jacobs, scams the birthright from his brother, Easu. Isaac, Jacob’s dad, though God has told him His plans for his son, determines to give his blessing to Esau because he likes Esau’s cooking. So mom gets in on the act and we see which gene pool fed Jacob’s scheming tendencies. Rebekah masterminds a plot for Jacob to receive Esau’s blessing . . . and then Jacob out and out lies to his father, Isaac, to get the blessing. Enter Esau . . . and he’s so ticked that he determines to kill his brother. Thus, Jacob runs off to uncle Laban’s place . . . falls in love with his cousin, Rachel . . . and works 7 years for her hand in marriage.

But Laban, so obviously Rebekah’s brother and cut from the same cloth, secretly slips the older sister, Leah, into the marriage bed on night Jacob was to marry Rachel . . . and then he makes Jacob work another seven years for Rachel. So now Jacob has two feuding sisters for wives along with their two handmaids. Then, through an on-going battle of jealousy over who can bear the most children, the sisters start swapping themselves, and their handmaids, in and out of the marriage bed so that Jacob’s fathering children by four women. And after years of that and building up his flocks from cousin Laban, Jacob determines he has to flee because it’s generating resentment from Laban’s other kids. And so Jacob and his two wives and their two handmaids and their myriad of kids and flocks take off. But, just for good measure, and to make sure she gets all that she is due, Rachel steals the idols from her dad’s place. And then Laban comes after them in hot pursuit . . . and he’s ticked with Jacob . . . and Rachel sits on the idols so they won’t be found . . . and . . . aaaahhhh!!!! . . . crazy! Behold, God’s chosen family!

But, if you can look past the dysfunction of the family, you see the faithfulness of God. Through all this craziness, God is working in Jacob. The independent, self-made schemer realizes, more and more, that the God he met at Bethel has been the God who has watched over him, protected him, and prospered him while he has lived next to Laban. And one of the clearest indications of this, for me, is how Jacob responds to being confronted by his father-in-law.

“These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”
 (Genesis 31:41-42 ESV)

The God of Abraham . . . the Fear of Isaac . . . If He had not been on my side . . .

Jacob, the independent deceiver, is being transformed into Jacob the indebted worshiper. Jacob, the self-made man, is recognizing that he is Jacob, the God-protected man. Jacob, the haughty, is becoming Jacob the humble. And his God is the Fear of Isaac. The One to tremble before . . . the One to revere . . . the One to bow before in utter awe. The man chosen by God is being made into a man of God.

God, in His patient and purposeful grace, works amidst all the dysfunction to complete the work He has begun in Jacob that He might fulfill the promise He has determined through Jacob.

Behold our God.

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus . . .
 (1Corinthians 1:26-30a ESV)

What abundant grace. To Him be all glory!

 

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A Warning

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Pete

It wasn’t spoken to me . . . but I know that it was spoken for me. As I read Stephen’s defense before the high priest and “the council,” I can’t help but think I shouldn’t disassociate myself from this passage . . . that I shouldn’t be too much of a casual spectator and, “from the stands,” applaud Stephen’s courage. That, instead, I should place myself within the story and identify with characters. And, while I’d like to be Stephen in this drama, it’s the warning to the council that hits me this morning.

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.” (Acts 7:51a ESV)

Stephen recounts God’s determination to bless His people and their propensity to try and frustrate that blessing along the way. God makes a promise to Abraham. A promise of land and offspring. Abraham fathers Isaac, and Isaac, Jacob. Jacob gives birth to the twelve patriarchs, Joseph being the son of God’s favor. “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt” (7:9). But God was with Joseph, and through him brought His people to Egypt during great famine that there, they might grow into the nation God had foretold (7:6-7).

And so the LORD God raises up a deliverer. Sends Moses to be “both ruler and redeemer” (7:35). But him too, the people of God reject. Though God intended to give them salvation from their bondage by Moses’ hand, they didn’t understand (7:25). They failed to recognize him when he was among them in Egypt. They refused to submit to him after he had led them out of Egypt with wonders and signs. And as he stood on Mt. Sinai, receiving the living oracles of God from the living God, they “refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt” (7:39) . . . and they built for themselves a calf as the object of their worship.

But God in His faithfulness and pursuit of His people continued to “move in.” From the holy ground of the mount, He determined to dwell among them in a “tent of witness” in their midst. And so the tabernacle was made, exactly as God had submitted the floor plans. Joshua brought the tent into the land when they dispossessed the nations. David desired to “upgrade” the tent into a magnificent temple. God granted David that desire through David’s son, Solomon. And God again, graciously moved in . . . His glory fell upon the place . . . and His presence was among the people.

But even then, the people made God to be a God after their own imagination and liking. He became, in their minds, a God who dwells in the places they made by their hands. They forgot that the Most High dwells in a reality where heaven is His throne and the earth is His footstool. And so, as the prophets remind us, they made Him but one of many gods they would follow. Rejecting His very presence as they did Joseph and Moses.

And now, before the council, Stephen says, “As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it” (7: 51b-53). They rejected the Righteous One . . . they cast out God’s Anointed.

And at the root of their rebellion, at the heart of their rejection were stiff necks . . . and uncircumcised hearts and ears . . . and resistance of the Holy Spirit. They had become stubborn, headstrong, and obstinate. Choosing their own wisdom, and their own ways, over His. They had not cut off the flesh and put on the fear of the Lord. They had not removed the call of self so that they might hear the call of the gospel. And they refused the wooing of the Spirit . . . ignored His convicting agency . . . giving Him, instead, their back and not their face.

And I can’t help but think that those who have been called to be God’s people . . . aka me . . . need to heed the warning of subtly falling into a place where we too become headstrong . . . and our hearts are drawn back to the world and it’s call to the old man . . . and our backs are given to the Spirit and not our faces. And we too, like the fathers, refuse, more and more, the Redeemer in our midst.

O’ to be faithful. To be “soft-necked” . . . and circumcised of heart and ears . . . and desiring the Spirit’s leading above all things.

By His grace . . . for His glory.

 

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There Is A Ladder

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Pete

Jacob’s on the lam. He’s crossed the line with his brother Esau. Extorting Esau’s birthright was one thing . . . but fraudulently securing their father’s blessing, well, he would pay for that with his life as soon as dad was dead. So, under the pretense of finding a wife, his mother quickly arranges for Jacob’s departure to Paddan-aram . . . to the house of her brother.

And it says that one night, in a certain place, Jacob lay down to sleep and had a dream . . .

And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. . . . ” (Genesis 28:12-13a ESV)

And in that vision, God reveals Himself to Jacob in an “up close” and personal way. “I am the LORD . . . I will give the land on which you lie to you and your offspring . . . I am with you and will keep you . . . I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (28:13-15).

And Jacob wakes up and is overwhelmed.

“Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it. . . . How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” (Genesis 28:16-17 ESV)

And what strikes me is that the ladder was put in place not that Jacob might come up . . . but that God might come down. “The LORD is in this place” . . . “How awesome is this place” . . . “This is none other than the house of God.”

When Solomon dedicated His magnificent temple (2Chron. 6) he asked this question, “But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth?” Answer? Yup!

Solomon asked his question as he wondered at a God who could not be contained by heaven dwelling in a house built by man. I’m in awe this morning that a God who is holy, holy, holy . . . would come down and reveal Himself to such a scoundrel as Jacob the deceiver. But there is a ladder.

It’s not a ladder built by man which reaches into heaven so that he might work his way up. But a ladder lowered from heaven in order that God might descend and lift him up. Jacob’s encounter of the divine kind at the place he would call Bethel, literally house of God, would be but the start of God’s work of grace in taking Jacob the deceiver and transforming him into Israel the father of God’s chosen people. There was a ladder for Jacob. And there is a ladder for me.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:51 ESV)

Jesus says, I am the Ladder. The heavens opened, the Son of Man sent down, that a bridge might be placed between heaven and earth. Not put in place for the righteous who think they have no need of it, but for the scoundrels . . . for the deceivers . . . for sinners like me. And by God’s grace, He opens sleeping eyes to see the Ladder, the Son of Man. And when we do, we cannot help but proclaim, “How awesome is this place!”

Pretty awesome!

Amen?

 

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The Pursuit of the Promise

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Pete

She was sixty-five years old when they decided to go for it. They would pursue the promise. A grand promise. A promise of land, offspring, and blessing (Genesis 12:1-3). Her husband had seen the vision . . . he had heard the Voice. They were to be going, even if not knowing. So Abram went, and she went with him. The adventure had begun. Though they were getting a bit beyond mid-life, this was no response to a mid-life crisis, this was the pursuit of the promise from God.

Fast forward some 62 years later (Genesis 23). Her lifeless body lays in a cave in the land of promise. Her husband mourns and weeps for her. And he reflects on the “return on investment” from their 60+ year pursuit of the promise. Land? Just the field where the cave was that now housed her still body. Offspring? One son . . . only one son. Blessing? Sure, they had accumulated some wealth along the way, but it wasn’t clear at all as to how, through them, all the families of the earth would be blessed.

Hmmm . . . Not much to show for over half a century of pursuing the promise.

So what was it that compelled Sarah to follow Abraham on such a hair-brained dream? And to keep following? To stick with it as year after year passed with no land to their name and no children in their house? As I noodle on it, God’s divine commentary on Sarah’s life comes to mind . . .

By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. (Hebrews 11:11 ESV)

It wasn’t her confidence in Abraham that propelled her to keep on keepin’ on . . . after all, how many times can a woman take being disguised as her husband’s sister. He was a good man . . . but he could get kinda’ flaky at times. Rather, it was her confidence in her God. She counted Him faithful. Even when it was hard to believe at times, she considered the Promiser worthy of a consecrated life even if the promise was yet to be fully realized.

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:13-16 ESV)

Though she had but one son when she breathed her last . . . though the only promised land she possessed was that possessed posthumously . . . she had considered Him faithful and responded in kind. She had continued to look to the homeland of His promise . . . had continued to believe that if He could enable a barren woman, way past child-bearing age, to give birth to a son, then He could raise up from that son a nation. Like her husband, I’m thinking she grew strong in faith, gave glory to God, “fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised” (Rom. 4:19-21).

I’m kind of inspired by Sarah this morning. Kind of encouraged as I look to continue my own pursuit of the promise in 2015. Realizing afresh that the reward is not always found in receiving all that is promised. But that the prize will be awarded for the pursuit . . . for the race well run . . . for the servant who hears, “Well done.”

O’ to be a Sarah . . .

By God’s grace . . . for God’s glory.

 

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