Kind of Gospel-Like

Posted on December 6, 2024 by Pete

Trying to hear what the kid has to say this morning. Elihu has listened long enough to the back-and-forth of the grey-heads, now it’s his turn.

Job has already had his “drop the mic” moment (Job 31:40), and now the younger and respectful Elihu, burning with anger (32:2-3), is compelled to grab the mic from Job’s miserable comforters to try and set some things straight. First, he addresses Job’s three friends (32:11-22). Then, the kid turns his attention to Job.

As I read Elihu’s opening discourse, what grabs me is how gospel-like it sounds.

” . . . man prays to God, and He accepts him;
He sees His face with a shout of joy, and He restores to man His righteousness.

He sings before men and says:
‘I sinned and perverted what was right, and it was not repaid to me.
He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit, and my life shall look upon the light.’

“Behold, God does all these things, twice, three times, with a man . . . ”

(Job 33:26-29a ESV)

Read it again with Peterson’s words . . .

“Fall on your knees and pray — to God’s delight! You’ll see God’s smile and celebrate, finding yourself set right with God.

You’ll sing God’s praises to everyone you meet, testifying, ‘I messed up my life — and let me tell you, it wasn’t worth it. But God stepped in and saved me from certain death. I’m alive again! Once more I see the light!’

“This is the way God works. Over and over again . . . ”

(Job 33:26-29a MSG)

Sounds pretty New Testament to me, how about you? Maybe God really is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Elihu get’s to this gospel summary by first pointing out that God, though greater than man (33:12), condescends to speak to man, even when man might think he is as great as God. And that God has a couple of ways to “turn man aside from his deeds”, to “rebuke man”(33:19a, 23b). God can speak to man through revelation so that man might hear the words of God (33:15-16), or God may use pain and suffering so that a man might feel his way to God (33:19). Either way, it is so that God might show man “what is right for him” (33:23b). And what is right is that God longs to be merciful, and seeks to deliver, and can do so because He has “found a ransom” (33:24).

And why does Elihu try and get all this through to Job?

“Pay attention, O Job, listen to me; be silent, and I will speak. If you have any words, answer me; speak, for I desire to justify you.”

(Job 33:31-32 ESV)

I desire to justify you . . .

Job, you’ve been trying so hard to justify yourself. Listen, I want to justify you. I want your name cleared as much as you do. I want your righteousness, too. But it’s not found in your clinging to your self-righteousness nor in your feeble demands to stand before God in order to justify yourself.

It’s found in a merciful God who longs to keep your soul from the pit and your life from perishing (33:18). It’s found not in you trying to convince Him of your own righteousness, but in a God who has Himself has provided a ransom for you. It’s found in redemption. It’s found in restoration. It’s found in another who wants to justify you. Then, will you know the light of life.

And how does God want to bring you to that realization, and ultimately to rest, Job? Through your pain.

How might He graciously work to bring His longing for you to remembrance? Through your suffering.

How will you stand justified? Only by Him, and in Him, as He alone can be your justifier.

Yeah, sounds kind of gospel-like to me. Maybe the kid knows a thing or two.

About God’s grace. For God’s glory.

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Sheltered, Shepherded, Soothed

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Pete

Hovering over a great multitude this morning. A great multitude that can’t be numbered. A multitude from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. All standing together. Clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands. And with a loud voice worshiping together (Rev. 7:9-10). And I worship through them, at my desk. And I wait to one day worship with them, before the throne.

And the thing I’m mulling over this morning is that, in that day and place when all those who have made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb (7:14) are before the throne of God, they will be sheltered, shepherded, and soothed.

“Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve Him day and night in His temple;
and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and He will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

(Revelation 7:15-17 ESV)

Sheltered with His presence. Shepherded and guided to springs of living waters. Soothed as every tear is wiped away from their eyes. Chew on that for a bit.

What will the security of heaven be like? What safety? What shalom? I can only imagine what it will be like in that day to be sheltered with His visible glory.

But the journey doesn’t end at the throne. We’ll be guided to springs of living water by the Lamb who is our great and good Shepherd. We’ll drink deep an ocean’s fullness of eternal refreshment and revitalization.

But not before every tear is wiped from our eyes. The sorrow for sin, the suffering from sickness, the sobbing over death, all erased . . . blotted away . . . obliterated . . . remembered no more.

What a day that will be . . . I can’t wait!

But as I noodle on it, I realize afresh that I don’t need to wait for “that day” to be sheltered, shepherded, and soothed. Though not yet, that day is yet now.

The presence of God known through the Spirit given as a guarantee. Shelter available.

The guidance of God available through the Son who lives in me and His word before me. The Lord is (as in right now) my shepherd.

The comfort of God available through the “Father of mercies and God of all comfort who comforts us in all our affliction” (2Cor. 1:3-4). Our souls soothed even as He knows and collects our tears (Ps. 56:8) for that day when they are forever removed.

What a day today can be . . . No waiting needed!

By His grace. For His glory.

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Time to Speak Up

Posted on December 4, 2024 by Pete

Up to this point, he was content to observe the back and forth between Job and his so-called “friends.” For 28 chapters he’s eavesdropped on their debate. After all, he’s just the kid in the crowd, thus considering it all propriety to yield the floor to the supposedly more-learned grey-heads. But after Job’s final soliloquy of self-justification, and after Job’s panel of exasperated critics falls silent, enough’s enough. Time to get in the game! Time to speak up.

Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God. He burned with anger also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong. Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he burned with anger.

(Job 32:2-5 ESV)

If repetition is exclamation in the Scriptures, then the Spirit is downright shouting out something he wants to make sure we get; that Elihu “burned with anger!” Literally, “his nose (aka his face) became hot!” As we used to say, he was “ticked off.” Annoyed. Irritated. Enraged. Furious. Incensed. Livid. Chew on that phrase a bit, and you gotta ask yourself, “How come?”

Glad you asked, says the Spirit.

Elihu’s anger burned at Job because Job was willing to throw God under the bus, as it were, “pitting his righteousness against God’s” (MSG). To be sure, Job was a man whose life was marked by being “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1, 1:8, 2:3) — that too, repeated for emphasis. Blameless, that was Job. He knew it. God knew it too. But in trying to reconcile being blameless before God with being blasted by God, Job wants a word with the Almighty because the Almighty must be doing something wrong. And accusing the Holy One of somehow not really being wholly holy? Well, that’s enough to make you mad.

Elihu’s anger burned at Job’s three friends because in there “either / or” world, there was no place for “both / and.” You were either good as evidenced by blessing on your life, or you were bad as evidenced by boils on your body (Job 2:7). There was no way one could be upright and yet still be laid low. No place for being God fearing and yet God disciplined. No world in which those who turn from evil are yet touched by evil (Job 2:7 again). And where’s there’s no place for “both / and” then there’s every manner of judgment of men where judgment is unwarranted, and reduction of God even though God can’t be reduced — His ways higher than our ways, His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isa. 55:8-9). In a world with no “both / and” the best one can muster up is mixed up theology and empty platitudes. And how does that sit? Well, it’s infuriating.

Elihu burned with anger as Job crossed a line in questioning God and as his friends crossed a line in simplifying God. And so, it was time to speak up.

Did a bit of extra reading this morning on Elihu’s enraged response and it seems that, among commentators, the jury’s split on how Elihu is to be seen and how his words are to be understood. Split as to whether he’s to be commended for jumping in or castigated for adding to the confusion. (What we do know, however, is that while God addresses Job and rebukes Job’s friends, God says nothing about Elihu). But while what is about to come in Job 32 through 37 may be up for some debate, it’s clear that we are to know that Elihu was angry — like, really angry. And, that we are to know why. So, I can’t help but wonder if there’s not something here for us to be warned of, as well.

When it comes to questioning the character of God, don’t do it. Tempted to lower God down a bit in order to lift yourself up? Yeah, don’t do that either. Wanting to put your ways and wisdom above God’s? Nope, stay away from that, too.

Let God be true though every one were a liar . . .

(Romans 3:4 ESV)

Wisdom is found in looking at life from what we know to be true about God, not discerning what must be true about God from how we look at life.

When man becomes the arbiter of God, when man becomes the judge of other men, well, it’s time for a bit righteous anger. Time to speak up.

By God’s grace. For God’s glory.

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More to Come

Posted on December 3, 2024 by Pete

There was more they needed to know, but this night wasn’t the night.

Though Jesus had given His disciples the full gospel, the implications of that gospel were yet to be fully realized — and that would have to wait until another time. At this time, their hearts were troubled (John 14:1, 27). For though He had said He would come again, they were still wrestling with understanding why He had to leave them in the first place. Though He promised them a peace unlike anything the world could give, at least right now, they weren’t feeling it. So, while there was more they needed to know, this night was not the night. And this morning, I’m chewing on the thought that what was true for them might just be true for me, as well.

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” ~ Jesus

(John 16:12 ESV)

So much more to learn about the Law of the Spirit in relation to the Law of Moses. So much to learn about walls of hostility coming down between Jew and Gentile. So much to learn about faith and works and the relationship between the two.

So much more to know about walking in the Way. So much more to understand about following Jesus. So much more to grasp of what it means to bear one’s cross. So much more to realize just how slow sanctification can be. So much more to internalize the unbelievable nature of overflowing, abundant grace.

So much more . . . but not right now. ‘Cause right now, it would be too much more. More than could be taken in. More than could be carried forward. More than they could bear.

Thus, there would be more to come.

A principle well applied, I think, regardless of how long one has been following Jesus. That, regardless of how long we’ve been talking the talk and walking the walk, while we might know some things — maybe even a lot of things — we don’t know everything. In fact, there’s many things our Lord still needs to say to us. But not right now, for right now we cannot bear them.

Wouldn’t actualizing this principle save us from a lot? A lot of pride? A lot of judgment? A lot of misdirected zeal? I’m thinkin’ . . .

No, as I pause and reflect back over the years, I’m knowin’ . . .

There’s been more than a few of these “many things” said to me over the past few years in particular. So many, that it’s been kind of humbling. Yet so many that it has also been kind of exhilarating. Exhilarating because hearing these “many things” has meant repeated encounters of the divine kind.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth . . . ”

(John 16:13a ESV)

I’ve often referred to the lessons learned over these past several years as points of “clarity.” But this morning, I know they are more the active agency of illumination — Spirit-communicated lucidity. Lights going on. Dots being connected. Depths being revealed. Old truths appreciated to a new level.

I’m thinking that if anyone should be a “lifelong learner” it’s the believer. That if anyone should be prepared to be surprised by realizing how little they’ve known about what they think they’ve known really well, it’s the mere mortal indwelt with the eternal, all-knowing Spirit of truth.

So, I’m pretty sure there’s more to come. I’m thinking there’s still many things He needs to say to me.

Lord, give me ears to hear what You, through the Spirit, have yet to say to me. Set my heart towards being guided into all truth.

By Your grace. For Your glory.

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The Bow Undone

Posted on December 2, 2024 by Pete

Read Job 29 and 30 together and it’s a dickens of a contrast — the best of times and the worst of times.

Chapter 29 is Job at his best, a force to be reckoned with. In his prime (29:4), people deferred when in his presence (29:7-10). He was a champion of the poor and fatherless, the widow’s ray of joy (29:12-13). He was a crusader for justice for the under-classed (29:14-17). He was the E.F. Hutton of the ancient world, “When Job talks, people listen” (29:21-22).

Yessir, those were the days. The days when “the friendship of God” was on his tent (29:4). His glory days, days of power when, as Job declares, “my bow [was] ever new in my hand” (29:20). Those were the best of times.

And then, those ominous words which open chapter 30 . . . “But now . . . ”

Now, for whatever reason, because of the collapse of his material empire, because of the calamity of losing all his children, because of a countenance so diminished by physical compromise, the world that once so respected him, now derided him. They laughed at him (30:1). They then recoiled from him and kept their distance from him. If by chance they should look upon him, it was only to spit at him (30:10). They blindsided him, tripped him up, and jumped on him, though he was already down. They threw every form of obstacle in his way, determined to ruin him, unwilling to lift a finger to help him (30:12-13 MSG).

And how come? What conclusion is Job left to draw? God has turned on him (30:21). And the bow that once was ever new in his hand, is now undone.

“They abhor me; they keep aloof from me; they do not hesitate to spit at the sight of me. Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me, they have cast off restraint in my presence.” ~ Job

(Job 30:10-11 ESV)

Because God has loosed my cord . . . That’s the phrase that strikes me this morning.

God’s unstrung my bow. He’s slackened the string and so has rendered my weapon and its arrows useless. My vigor is gone, my defenses are removed. My power a thing of the past. And because God has disarmed me, those around me “cast off restraint in my presence.”

The end result? God has humbled me.

Suffering has a way of doing that, of humbling a person. Seemingly uncontrollable and unjust circumstances have a way of hamstringing our ability to justify ourselves. The evaporation of authority and ability — the emptying of the quiver of self-sufficiency — has a way of compelling us to want to hear from the only One who can make any sense of seemingly senseless situation. But even then, sometimes all we get from the Almighty is silence and a blank stare (30:20).

As I chew on Job’s lament — his before and after heartbreak — I know that through it God has Job exactly where He wants Job.

God has . . . humbled me . . .

For blessed are the poor in spirit, because their’s is the kingdom (Matt. 5:3), and they are never more ready to see the King than when they are at the end of themselves. For He whose name is Holy, who dwells in the high and holy place, also abides with those “of a contrite and lowly spirit”, and will, in His perfect time and according to His perfect purpose, revive the low spirited and give new life to the crushed heart (Isa. 57:15).

Not that I’d choose the way of Job, not that I’d want to live the contrast he had to live. But also, not that I would change anything I have endured which has “loosed my cord and humbled me.” For it is when our bow is undone — when our self-sufficiency is no longer enough — it is then that we experience the all-sufficiency of His grace, and we experientially know that His power really is manifest in our weakness (2Cor. 2:9). It is when we are humbled that we are primed and ready to be lifted up (1Peter 5:6); to see the God who has for so long seemed to be unseeable; to hear the God who, for too long, had seemed to be silent.

I will extol you, O LORD, for You have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. . . . O LORD, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. . . . Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

(Psalm 30:1, 3, 5 ESV)

When the cord is loosed, when the bow is undone, get ready. For God will be known in a way He’s never been known before. (Just read the rest of Job)

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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Betrothed!

Posted on November 29, 2024 by Pete

Reading in Hosea this morning and some repeated words hit me in a fresh way, waves of wonder crashing over me as I not only chew on them but hear them whispered to me again . . .

“I will betroth you to Me . . . “

If you know Hosea’s story, you know it’s not your conventional Hallmark love story. It’s not guy meets the girl of his dreams, guy and girl fall in love, guy and girl live happily every after. No, this is guy marries girl “of the streets”, guy and girl have kids (maybe not all his), girl leaves guy to go back to the streets, yet guy still shows his love for the girl by redeeming her from her enslaving lifestyle choices. Kind of an unbelievable love story, actually.

And yet, I’m reminded this morning of how much it is my love story. And no, I’m not the guy in the story. I’m the girl. Jesus is the guy. And why does He keep drawing on the price paid once-for-all on Calvary’s cross in order to repeatedly rescue me from myself? It’s because of those repeated words . . .

“I will betroth you to Me forever. I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD.”

(Hosea 2:19-20 ESV)

Like the star-struck Shulammite of Solomon’s Song, this morning I hear the voice of my Beloved (Song 6:13, 2:8a), “I will betroth you to Me” — words He’s been whispering since I first started understanding the implications of my feeble yet faith-fueled “I do” to Him over 40 years ago.

I didn’t choose Him, He betrothed Me to Himself. I didn’t pick Him, He in sovereign grace decided to propose to me. And that we’re “still together” after more than four decades isn’t so much a testament to my faithfulness as it is to His and His abounding grace and the enduring atonement made for my propensity towards waywardness — all of it, past, present, and future. And how come? Because He has purposed, “I will betroth you to Me.”

Betrothed forever. Betrothed in righteousness — His righteousness. Betrothed in justice — the priced paid in full. Betrothed in steadfast love. Betrothed in mercy. Betrothed in faithfulness — not mine, but His.

Oh, the wonder of being the bride of Christ. To be His delight. To anticipate standing before Him in all the splendor and beauty and perfection He has purposed for us. The righteousness imputed to us. The righteousness imparted to us as, over a lifetime, He has made us more like Himself through the sanctifying work of the Spirit. And more than once through that time, He has rescued us from ourselves and our tendencies to want to go back and live like we used to.

“I will betroth you to Me . . .”

Thank you, Lord.

For Your grace. To you be the glory.

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Go Your Way

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Pete

Gonna rerun some thoughts from 2018, thoughts on the last verse of Daniel — the verse by which God is speaking to me this morning.

Lot of details in these last chapters of Daniel. I know that a lot of it maps to history, but not a lot really maps for me. That is, until I get to the last verse.

“But go your way till the end.” (Daniel 12:13a ESV)

As I chew on these last chapters of Daniel, I’m struck that it’s not necessarily about “getting it”, but about “doing it” — go your way.

It’s about remaining on the path God has placed before me, even when so many around me seem to be in a panic. About being faithful, even when so much about me is frantic. About seeking first His heavenly kingdom, even when the earthly rule I currently live under seems so chaotic.

It’s a command to obey . . . it’s the way of the follower . . . “Go your way.”

Till the end . . . Whether that be the end when I end, or the end when He returns. Either end, keep on keepin’ on.

Go your way.

Here’s how I processed it six years ago . . .

He understood the prophetic word he heard. He got the vision that was revealed.

That’s what it says of Daniel, in the opening verse of Daniel 10, about the revelation he received in the third year of Cyrus king of Persia. And why shouldn’t he have understood? That’s what Daniel did.

From a youth, as a rookie in training in the king’s court, God had blessed him with “understanding in all visions and dreams” (1:17). Throughout his political career he received notoriety as he repeatedly had been called on to be the conduit through which the “God in heaven who reveals mysteries” (2:28) would speak to rulers on earth who really knew nothing.

Then, toward the end of his life, it was Daniel who was having the dreams. Daniel who was troubled by terrifying mind pictures. And God Himself, through heavenly emissaries, who revealed things yet to come.

But as I read these final chapters of Daniel which began with, “he understood the word and had understanding of the vision”, I notice it concludes with Daniel’s self-admission, “I heard, but I did not understand” (12:8). Daniel understood . . . but only mostly. He knew it . . . but just in part. He got it . . . except for the stuff he didn’t.

Isn’t that the way it is with things concerning the end times? For as much as we think we know, when it comes to Jesus’ return, there is still much shrouded in mystery. A lot we don’t know. A lot left for debate. Maybe that’s why the closing verse of Daniel’s prophecy grabs me this morning. Why it is such an encouragement and comfort as I chew on the command and the promise.

“But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.”

(Daniel 12:13 ESV)

To this senior saint, one who had served many kings well, and had served the King of kings faithfully, the command is given, “Go to the end.” Forget about hangin’ up a shingle on your life’s door that might read, “Closed, Gone Fishing.” But keep on keepin’ on.

Go your way. Be about your business. Walk in the paths I have for you yet to walk in. The paths I will show you, just as I have faithfully shown you over the decades.

Don’t be distracted by visions and mysteries partially revealed. But live according to the revelation you have received.

Don’t be entangled in the affairs of the kingdoms about you, but set your mind and heart fully on the kingdom yet to come.

And this because of the promise. You shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days. Whenever the end times occur, however the last days might play out, “you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you” (NLT).

What is now seen imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, what is now but partial and incomplete knowledge, will one day–perhaps soon and very soon–be seen with clarity and known completely. What is now by faith, one day, will be face to face.

So much we have learned. So much we don’t know. So much we think we get. So little, sometimes, we think we understand. But this we do know, His grace has brought us safe thus far, and grace will lead us home.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

(Jude 24, 25 ESV)

I shall stand with Him on that day. That’s the promise to believe.

Until then, by His enabling, I will go till the end. That’s the command to obey.

By His grace. For His glory.

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The Keeping Keeps Keeping On

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Pete

Last Friday I reran a post from 2020 on the thought of being a “kept man.” This morning, as I finish up in Jude, the keeping keeps keeping on.

Jude would have liked to have written to those “called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ” (1:2) about their “common salvation” (1:3). Yet, among those who were “kept” had come those who had “crept” — ungodly people who perverted the grace of God (1:4). Thus, among the believers there were some pretty questionable behaviors.

Yeah, there it was . . . among the believers. In the church. The way of Cain, the error of Balaam, and the rebellion of Korah (1:11). Hidden reefs, waterless clouds, fruitless trees, wild waves, wandering stars (1:12). All within the church. Talk about your tares among the wheat (Mt. 13:36-43)!

And within that context, for the kept the keeping keeps keeping on.

But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. . . .

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

(Jude 1:20-21, 24-25 ESV)

Keep yourselves. God, our Savior, is able to keep you.

Guard yourself. He will guard you.

Watch yourself. He will keep watch over you.

Attend carefully to your steps with Jesus. He will attend carefully ensuring you stand firm in Jesus.

Me and He. That’s how the keeping keeps keeping on.

Though with flaky flesh without, and despite an obstinate old man within, I purpose with holy determination to pursue the kingdom in the King’s way by the King’s power. I keep myself in the love of God. But thank God it’s not left entirely to me.

For God, with steadfast love, new mercies every morning, and grace abounding also keeps an on me and is able to keep me from stumbling. Able to finish the work He begun in me (Php. 1:6). Able to present me to Himself as part of His glorious church “not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27).

I head into the day mindful of keeping myself. I head into the day confident of His ability to keep me until the day I see my Savior face to face. I head into the day resting in the reality that it’s not just up to me, but up to “we” . . . for it’s “no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). So, we will keep the keeping keeping on.

By His grace. For His glory.

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A Kept Man (2020 Rerun)

Posted on November 22, 2024 by Pete

Okay . . . honestly I’m a little unsure about that title. While it’s catchy and perhaps an appropriate play on words given what I’m chewing on this morning, the cultural idea of being “kept” is kind of shady. A “kept woman”, or “kept man” for that matter, is someone granted a certain lifestyle in exchange for certain “favors.” But the word “kept” is the word that’s in my Bible. And, not just in my ESV translation, but in every translation I referenced other than the KJV where it’s translated “preserved.” So, call me a bit of a risk taker, but I’m staying with the title, . . . and the thought, . . . and, I submit, with biblical language. This morning I’m noodling on the blessing of being a kept man.

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

(Jude 1-2 ESV)

Sometimes, when overwhelmed by the way things are, it’s prudent to pause, be still, and remember who you are. And this morning I’m taking such a pause, reflecting on the declaration of God’s word that I am called, beloved, and kept.

Called. Chosen in God the Son “before the foundation of the world”, that I “should be holy and blameless” before God the Father (Eph. 1:3-4). Not because of anything I would ever be and despite everything I would eventually do. But just because God, in His Sovereign purposes, determined to move in this sinner’s hard heart and redeem him through overflowing grace. Pause. Reflect. Worship.

Beloved in God the Father. Loved to the uttermost by the Creator. Sacrificially loved, as the Father sent His one and only Son to earth as a Lamb. A Lamb offered up once for all in payment for the debt of sin I could never pay. Wholly loved, as my rescue came also with an adoption, being made more than just a freed slave from sin, but brought into His house as a child of God and a joint heir with Christ. Patiently loved, as I stumble through the work He has begun in me, being transformed increasingly into the likeness of the Son while I battle daily with the flesh. A slow process to be sure. But the love of God has determined that I should be a child of God and so I am, and so shall I be.

Called. Beloved. But it’s the thought of being kept that so captures this sinner’s saved heart.

Depending on the translation you’re reading, those who are called and beloved are either kept for Jesus Christ or kept by Jesus Christ. Both are true. But while the idea that I am being preserved by Christ evokes thanksgiving, to think that such divine effort would be made to carefully guard the new life I’ve been given for Christ lights up the awe-o-meter.

Mercy would rescue me and ensure my passage to a promised land. But it’s a love that I can’t fathom which would have a God who is all-sufficient in Himself desire me for Himself.

“Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory that You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” ~ Jesus

(John 17:24 ESV)

Kept for Jesus. That having been given to Him we would one day be with Him. Not that He needs us, but that He wants us. Not that we deserve Him, but that He desires us. Trophies of grace for His glory. Children through adoption for His delight.

I’m a kept man. Kept by Jesus. Kept for Jesus.

Kept in His steadfast, unfailing love. Kept by the Spirit, the power of God and the seal guaranteeing the promise.

Kept by His grace. Kept for His glory.

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The God Who Dwells with Flesh

Posted on November 21, 2024 by Pete

For those who partake of my morning meal regularly, you’re probably thinking I’ve been fasting lately. Not many meals shared over the last couple of weeks. Alas, life with two little boys in the house has been busier than usual lately and they too, apparently, are becoming, more and more, morning people. Thus, finding the time to type a few words after reading in the morning has been hard. So thankful that, for this morning at least, I get a few minutes to chew on some things.

A double reading in my reading plan this morning, so I covered the reign of Nebuchadnezzar according to Daniel (Daniel 1 thru 4) — a reign marked by bad dreams but some pretty good revelation. Lessons learned that would serve this pagan king well forever . . . and I do think “forever!”

Bad Dream No. 1 sets the stage for Nebuchadnezzar to encounter the God unlike any other god he had been familiar with or worshiped before — the God whose dwelling IS with flesh.

Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. . . . The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. . . . Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” . . . The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

(Daniel 2:2a, 5, 6b, 10-11 ESV)

The gods whose dwelling is not with flesh . . . that’s the phrase the popped.

Over the years, Nebuchadnezzar would, because of divine insomnia, come to know and worship Daniel’s God — the God and King of heaven (Dan. 2:18, 19, 37, 44; 4:37). And that because Daniel’s God, unlike the many gods of Babylon, had determined to dwell with flesh.

Until the exiles of Judah came into their midst, the gods of Babylon were, at best, the distant gods of nature — gods who were perceptible but not present. At worst, they were inert, unpredictable gods of wood and precious metal fashioned at the hands of every day, run of the mill craftsmen. Either way, they were unknowable gods to be feared and appeased and coerced into showing them favor, not a God of fellowship and adoration making Himself known in order to communicate His favor. So, when Nebuchadnezzar insists on being told only what the gods themselves could know, his wise men wisely say, “No way. That would take the gods. And those gods are not willing to dwell with flesh.”

Though they were charlatans for the most part, Nebuchadnezzar’s cohort were speaking truth in this instance — no one can reveal the mysteries birthed in heaven except the God of heaven, and only then if He purposes to be a God willing to touch down on earth. That’s what Daniel & Co. had brought with them. As pieces of the temple were transported into Babylon, as people faithful to the temple were assimilated into Babylonian culture, the God who had determined to be in the midst of His people had been imported too. The God who so loved the world had purposed to make known that love by being a God who would come into the Babylonian world — a God whose dwelling IS with flesh.

Cue Jesus.

Trigger thoughts of “Immanuel (which means, God with us)” (Matt. 1:23).

Ignite fresh wonder at a God of mysteries who has condescended to reveal mysteries to those who bear His image (Dan. 2:28), and to do so by being a God who would empty Himself (Php. 2:5-7) in order to come into our space and dwell among us (Jn. 1:14). To speak to us in these last days, and that by His Son (Heb. 1:2).

Worship the God of heaven, the God who dwells with flesh. By His Spirit. Through His Son.

O, what a Savior!

What grace!

Worthy is He to receive glory!

Amen?

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