Shout!

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Pete

This past resurrection Sunday was great! Not just because it was a nice day . . . or because we were able to chill out with some friends over dinner. But it was the gathering of God’s people to celebrate the empty tomb that made it great. More people in our gathering than usual . . . songs celebrating the truth and implications of the risen Christ . . . God’s word preached on the difference a living Christ makes. Yeah, it was great! Added bonus? Our kids sang with the worship team for a couple of songs. About twenty, from 5 to 5th grade, singing at the top of their lungs “He arose! He arose! Hallelujah, Christ arose!” And then they sang a song they had been working on for our Easter service, Sing and Shout by Matt Redman. So how come we don’t shout more?

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD;
    let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation!
Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving;
    let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!
For the LORD is a great God,
    and a great King above all gods.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!       (Psalm 95:1-3, 6 ESV)

Twice the songwriter exhorts, “Make a joyful noise!” Both the NASB and NKJV translate it “Shout joyfully!” Literally . . . raise a sound . . . give a blast . . . cry aloud. Figuratively . . . it has the idea of “to split the ears.” Sounds like shouting to me.

So how come we don’t shout more? Why don’t we view it as a command to obey? To read the Psalms you’d think it was a normal reaction to the greatness of God . . . so, why don’t we shout more?

I know that we’re all wired differently . . . some more emotional, some less . . . some more comfortable with “letting go”, some who naturally keep things pretty subdued . . . I understand all that. But shouldn’t there be times when being in the presence of a supernatural God trumps our natural tendencies? I know that we are to do things “decently and in order” but, from time to time, doesn’t that “order” demand that we sing to the Lord, and “raise a sound” . . . that we should “give a blast” joyfully to the Rock of our salvation . . . that we should strain our voices and lift them to their max volume capacity in order to “split an ear” with His praise? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Maybe the issue isn’t so much about what comes natural to us . . . but the degree to which we pursue and enter the supernatural presence of God . . . the degree to which we truly quiet ourselves and remove the distractions and work at considering Him. Maybe the issue is that we really can’t stop focusing on ourselves and what we’re comfortable with . . . instead of being totally captivated with the LORD’s grandeur, greatness, and glory.

Now don’t get me wrong . . . I’m not advocating an “anything goes free-for-all” . . . just a bit of joyful shouting once in awhile. Not manufactured . . . not staged . . . not Sunday-in-and-Sunday-out . . . but birthed in the depths of souls freshly touched by the great King who is above all gods . . . freshly aware of the One who declares His glory through creation . . . freshly blessed by Him who continues to shower amazing grace through the blood of Jesus. Shouldn’t this be enough to garner a bit of shouting?

Ok . . . so maybe this doesn’t cut it with you . . . “I’m not the shouting type,” you say. So, why don’t we bow down? . . . why don’t we kneel? . . . why don’t we do something that physically indicates our pleasure in worshiping Him . . . something that demonstrates how blown away we are by our indescribably great God? After all . . . it’s biblical . . . and don’t we want to be biblical?

Anyway . . . this little “rant” isn’t intended to judge anybody . . . really more questions to myself as I read Psalm 95 this morning. Oh, that I would view my singing . . . my worship . . . my praise . . . less about what I’m comfortable doing and more about what He is worthy to receive. That I would be so consumed with His magnificent presence that thanksgiving would overflow . . . that worship would be the only “natural” response . . . that I’d refuse to let the rocks have the pleasure (Luke 19:37-40) . . . that my voice would be compelled, from time to time, to lift up with joyful shouts of praise . . . that the song would be as if it were the first time sung . . . that the ears of God would be my target . . . that He would be worshiped in a manner worthy of His majesty.

“We will sing and shout, yeah, sing and shout . . . Open up our hearts and pour Your praises out!” (Matt Redman)

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Scandalous Grace

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Pete

Such is the nature of the Scriptures . . . that they can be a “quick meal” in the morning to fire up one’s “spiritual metabolism” for the day or, they can be a feast of such sustenance that they can be consumed and chewed on over hours and hours of instruction, exploration, and meditation. Such is the case with the book of Ruth.

The book of Ruth as been part of my “morning meal” for two days now . . . two short readings yesterday and today, amidst three other readings as part of my reading plan. Reading Ruth, but for just a few minutes, has again captured my imagination and provided a glimpse into the sovereign workings of God. But my daughter has been studying Ruth for weeks now as part of her course work at university. This past Saturday we sat at the table and, with contagious enthusiasm, she poured out just a small sampling of what she’s been discovering as her professor plumbs the depths of this short love story with her and her class. Talk about drinking out of a fire hose!

And so, I know that what has caught my attention this morning, is but a scratch on the surface of all that is contained in this portion of Holy Writ . . . and that it is of such an elementary nature when compared to what’s been going down in my daughter’s class. But again, such is the Word of God, even as a “taste test” it nourishes the soul. And this morning it reminded me of God’s scandalous grace.

Love that term . . . not my term . . . encountered it in the notes of my Bible. Not my term . . . oh, but my reality.

As part of Boaz redeeming Ruth and taking her to be his wife, he calls upon those gathered at the gate of the city to be his witnesses. And after expressing his intentions, the witnesses respond:

Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman.”    (Ruth 4:11-12 ESV)

Tamar! That’s the name that seemed out of place in this idyllic love story. You read her name and the sordid details of Judah impregnating his widowed daughter-in-law, as she disguised herself and sold herself to him as a harlot, comes to mind (Genesis 38). But from that “one night stand” were born twins . . . one of those being Perez . . . through whose lineage was born Ruth’s kinsman-redeemer, Boaz.

At first her name seems out of place . . . but then you realize how appropriate her mention is here. Tamar knew scandalous grace and, through the son she bore, it begat more scandalous grace. Eventually in the line would be born Salmon . . . who would marry not a “one night” harlot, but a career prostitute, Rahab (Matt. 1:5), who, by faith, hid the spies that she might be associated with God’s covenant people (Heb. 11:31). And of Salmon and Rahab was born Boaz . . . the one who would redeem a Moabite woman . . . a woman of a nation historically at enmity with God’s people . . . a woman who, by faith, desired the God of Israel as her God . . . and God’s people as her people.

And then, of Boaz and Ruth would be born Jesse . . . and of Jesse, David . . . and through the kingly line of David, and by the sovereign determination of God, and according to the eternal promises of Him who so loved the world, God determined to provide the greatest of all redemptions through another Redeemer, Jesus the Christ.

That’s the nature of grace . . . calling the foreigner into the family . . . wooing the sinner towards the sanctuary . . . drawing enemies into eternity . . . sending a Redeemer to pay the price for our sin, inviting us to be counted among the righteous of God, through the finished work of the cross.

O praise God for scandalous grace!

Amen?

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It Makes a Big Difference!

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Pete

What we believe should impact how we behave. Thus, we seek to “rightly divide the word” so that we can rightly navigate the world . . . we commit to sound doctrine, not to boast in what we know, but to bring glory to God in all that we do. So, as part of my reading, I’m on the look out for the “so what?” So what does this portion of Scripture mean for how I live? So what are the implications or this truth on how I do life? So what’s the impact of this teaching on my values, my priorities, my pursuits? Sometimes you need to dig a bit . . . or noodle a while . . . before the “so what” becomes evident. Other times, as in one of my readings this morning, it’s kind of delivered to you a on silver platter.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.   (1Corinthians 15:58 ESV)

It doesn’t get much better than the fifteenth chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. I read the first half of the chapter on Friday . . . finished it this morning . . . what a great way to “bookend” Easter weekend.

Christ is risen! As such, the Scriptures are fulfilled . . . our preaching is not in vain . . . our faith is not futile . . . and our hope extends beyond the few years we live on this terrestrial ball. Christ is risen! And thus, He is the firstfruits of others who will be raised to immortality . . . raised imperishable . . . raised in glory . . . raised in power . . . raised a spiritual body (15:42-44). Christ is risen! And now waits for the day when He will deliver His kingdom to the God the Father . . . the day when He rules and puts every enemy under His feet . . . the day when all things will become subject to Him . . . that God may be all in all (15:24-28).

Christ is risen! So we are sure of that day when “shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?'” Because of the resurrection we give thanks to God as we’ve been given “the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:54-57).

So what does all this mean on the Monday morning after the Sunday before? After such a glorious celebration yesterday, what about today? As I think about what’s ahead of me this week, what difference does it make that I know what’s ahead of me for eternity? It makes a big difference!

With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for Him is a waste of time or effort.
(1Corinthians 15:58 MSG)

I head to work this morning as a follower of the risen Christ first and as an employee of my Company second. Today, my work is not just another day of “working for the man” but another opportunity to stand firm and seek to glorify the Master. It’s believing that my nine-to-five job is not the main event, but the means by which my real work, my labor for the Lord, is made possible. A labor which is not in vain . . . but is tied to the very purposes of the kingdom of God itself.

Christ is risen! And because He lives I can head into another routine day with anything but routine expectations.

By His grace, steadfast . . . by His abiding presence, immovable . . . by His power, always abounding in the work of the LORD.

For His glory alone! Amen?

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His Blessed Appearance

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Pete

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
     to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
to declare Your steadfast love in the morning,
     and Your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
     to the melody of the lyre.
For You, O LORD, have made me glad by Your work;
     at the works of Your hands I sing for joy.                     (Psalm 92:1-4 ESV)

It is good to give thanks to the LORD . . . so pens the psalmist . . . to make music with gladness and sing with joy at the works of His hands.

And is there any more magnificent work than the work we remember and celebrate this weekend? I think not! So let’s give thanks . . . let’s be glad and make music . . . let’s sing with joy to God Most High.

Reading in 1Corinthians this morning, I was captivated by the reminder of His blessed appearance.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared also to me.   (1Corinthians 15:3-8 ESV)

Tonight, our fellowship of believers will gather to reflect on His death and the power of what was accomplished through His work on the cross. It will be somewhat somber as we remember that our Good Friday was His day of great shame and pain. He who knew no sin, became sin for us. He who knew intimate Triune fellowship with the Father and the Spirit would be forsaken of God for us. He who is the Beginning and Sustainer of all things would cry, “It is Finished!” . . . for us.  And we will reflect . . . and we will remember Him as we take of the bread and of the cup. But under-girding our remembrance will be the knowledge that Sunday’s coming!

I anticipate that on Sunday we will “sing and shout!” That we will proclaim, “He arose, hallelujah Christ arose!” . . . that we will affirm that because He lives as conqueror over sin and death, that we too are “more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37). And we will sing for joy at His works . . . evidenced by an empty tomb. We will celebrate the stone rolled away . . . we will gasp in fresh amazement at the empty grave clothes . . . and we will rejoice that “He is not here, for He has risen” (Matt. 28:6).

But I’m reminded that we will do all this because He appeared to men. The power of the cross has no power at all lest we meet Him who suffered on the cross. The sure hope of the empty tomb is not sure at all without encountering Him who was in the grave three days and then rose victorious. Oh, that He should appear to men . . . that He should appear to me . . . what amazing grace!

To be sure, I have not seen Him (yet) as did Cephas . . . nor observed Him as did the five hundred. I have not physically been one-on-one with the risen Christ as was James . . . nor was I blinded by Him as He stood before me on the road to Damascus as was Paul. Yet, He has appeared to me.

Introduced first to me through the Scriptures . . . shadowed in the believers who testified to me of the Light of the world . . . and then revealed to my heart and soul by the blessed Spirit of God. At first my blind eyes saw but faint images of the risen Christ . . . but as seeds of faith took root, the active agency of the Spirit of God opened my eyes, by faith, to know His appearance. O’ what a blessed appearance!

Saint, let us rejoice this weekend. He who died to redeem the lost is alive! He is risen! And, in His wonderful grace, He has appeared!

To Him be all glory . . . now and forevermore . . . amen!

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The Purpose of Our Gathering

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Pete

Little is the time I spend these days trying to come up with the definitive position on whether or not the spiritual gift of tongues is for today. But there was a time when I was on the verge of obsession as I sought to wrestle this topic of some controversy to the ground. Those days come to mind as I read the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth. Seems back then, as I wrestled with the place of sign gifts in the church, I found myself more often than not in chapter 13 trying to figure out what “the perfect” was that would cause “the partial” to pass away (1Cor. 13:10). But I really should have been spending more time in chapter 14 . . . focusing less on the practices of our gathering and more on the purpose of our gathering.

So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.   . . . What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.   (1Corinthians 14:12, 26 ESV)

In chapter 14, Paul’s breaks down the relative merits of one who speaks in a tongue vs. one who prophesies . . . of one who speaks in an unintelligible language (v.9) and one who declares “some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching” (v.6) . . . of one who utters “an indistinct sound” (v.8) with their spirit for their own benefit (v.4) and one who clearly speaks, if only “five words,” with their mind “in order to instruct others” (v.19).

And the “rhythm section” of this mini opus . . . the underlying back beat of Paul’s argument, is that the purpose of our gathering is for edification . . . the building up of each other.

If repetition is the Scriptures megaphone . . . if recurrence is the Spirit’s way of saying, “Listen up!” . . . then, if there’s anything definitive I take away from my reading today, it’s that the church is to come together for building up. Six times Paul says that when we come together it should be for edification . . . for the building upon of a foundation . . . for promoting “another’s growth in Christian wisdom, piety, happiness, and holiness” (from my online Greek dictionary).

The “what’s” of our church practices are less important than the “why’s.” Let all things be done for building up.

Everything we do, when we come together as the family of God, should be run through this filter. How easy it is to program for program sake . . . to put things in place to satisfy individual preferences . . . rather than purposefully practice that which our local gatherings of believers are uniquely equipped for so that our local gatherings might result in believers maturing in their most holy faith . . . so that our church bodies might grow up into our exalted Head (Eph. 4:15).

And we aspire to such not so we can be like those professional body builders who develop muscle for the sole purpose of parading themselves. But we desire “muscle” so that “the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known” (Eph. 3:10) . . . we desire built up bodies so that a lost world might be drawn to a loving Savior.

But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.     (1Corinthians 14:24-25 ESV)

Tongues or no tongues? I don’t think that’s really the question. But is God really among you? Isn’t that the desire for our gathering? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Might our churches be body builders in all we do together . . . by His grace . . . for His glory!

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Heat in the Heart

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Pete

In many ways, he had it all. If there was ever a child of privilege . . . a man of heavenly calling . . . someone who had been given all the tools to succeed, then it was him. But in the end, his life was pretty much a train wreck.

Though he was announced by the angel of the LORD at his birth, called to be a child of promise and destiny . . . he concluded his life mocked by Philistines, an object of trite entertainment. Though he was raised in the context of a vow of dedication and consecration . . . the allure of the world was what ultimately compelled him and eventually consumed him. Though he had the strength of a dozen men . . . though he could take out a battalion of men with but the jawbone of a donkey . . . he could not stand against a lone woman. Though he was blessed of God from birth . . . he died blind and in bondage.

And as I noodle on the life of Samson this morning, I can’t help but ask again, “What went wrong?”

Sure God’s purposes concerning the Philistines were accomplished through Samson . . . but you gotta know this wasn’t “Plan A.” Not saying that God was caught off guard and had to figure out a way to make lemonade from the lemons of Samson’s life . . . God is sovereign, knowing the end from the beginning. But I have to wonder how the story might have played out if Samon’s Nazirite vow had come down to something more than just the hair on his head . . . if, instead, it had been more of a heat in his heart.

And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.” . . . And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”   (Judges 16:15, 17)

When Samson finally revealed his heart to the persistent and treacherous Delilah, he talked about his head. When pressed to declare his inner soul, he confessed a strength dependent upon his hair. That’s what the vow had essentially become for Samson . . . a set of rules manifest in outward appearance. Hair on his head . . . but no heat in his heart.

And it causes me to praise God for the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I too am a child of promise . . . a man with a heavenly calling. Blessed with every blessing in heavenly places, I too have been given all the tools to participate in the divine nature. But apart from a dynamic which goes beyond a head knowledge of these things, blindness and bondage are just as likely an outcome for me as it was for Samson. Apart from a new heart as a result of rebirth . . . apart from an inner heat generated by the life giving power of the Spirit . . . I’m just as likely to embrace the enemies of the world around me . . . just as prone to follow the lustful drive of the flesh . . . just as likely to end up blind and in bondage.

But in the gospel there is power because it goes beyond what I know in my head and is manifest in what God has done in my heart. It is the power to overcome the world . . . to finish well . . . to stand with eyes wide open in freedom as we anticipate resurrection victory. It is the power of One who has defeated sin and death . . . a power not found in head knowledge but in changed hearts . . . a power not manifest in the external, but evident in what compels the inner man.

Praise God for heat in the heart.

It is found in Him alone . . . through Him alone . . . and by His grace alone.

To Him be all glory . . .

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Lessons From A Sad Song

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Pete

Despondent. No other word better describes the tone of the psalm written by Heman the Ezrahite. I don’t think this song went to the “top of the charts” . . . thinkin’ that it wasn’t played incessantly on NT Radio . . . wasn’t gonna be on anyone’s workout playlist. But these desperate lyrics of spiritual depression were taken and added to the Psalter . . . the sons of Korah engaged the choirmaster and thus this tune of apparent abandonment was added to the songs of God’s people. That it is part of the canon of Scripture indicates that, though the reality was Heman’s, the words were breathed of God Himself as the Spirit of God moved the anguished songwriter to put emotion to paper. And, as such, Psalm 88 was written for me.

So what do I glean from a song birthed from a soul full of troubles? What’s the purpose of entering the darkened world of a man who has no strength . . . who feels as though the wrath of God lies heavy on him . . . who is overwhelmed by the waves of trouble he experiences? Where’s the “building up” in the dirge of a man shunned by his friend . . . and preyed upon by those who were once his companions? Why meditate on the story of one who feels as though the LORD has cast away his soul . . . as though God has hid His face from this guy in such desperate need? What are the lessons from this sad song?

Well, I guess a couple of things.

First, I notice that in this short song, if nothing else, the songwriter is determined to pray . . . to cry out to God 24/7.

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! . . . 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 88:1-2, 9, 13 ESV)

Though feeling like a man with one foot already in the grave, with whatever breath he has left, he will use it to cry out to His God. Day and night he seeks the LORD’s ear . . . a day not passing where, like a small child stretching out his hands to his mother as he cries, the songwriter so lifts his hands towards his heavenly Father in earnest desire of heaven’s embrace. Though his world is dark, by God’s grace he never stops seeking the light . . . though he feels near death, the life of faith remains strong as he continues to prevail upon the God of His salvation.

God’s people pray. Prayer is the evidence of Spirit generated faith . . . and “without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him” (Heb. 11:6).

And second, though you know that Heman is looking for reprieve from his enemies and for relief from his deteriorating condition, there’s a sense that, when all is said and done, it’s because he wants God to be glorified.

Do You work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
Is Your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Are Your wonders known in the darkness, or Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
(Psalm 88:10-12 ESV)

How the psalmist desires that his mourning would turn to dancing so that the God of deliverance might be praised for His wondrous works. It is the voice of those who have come through the storm which declares the steadfast love of an unfailing God. It is the testimony of the weak which attests to the power of sustaining grace . . . and of a faithful and righteous God. The songwriter prayed so that he might praise.

Yeah . . . not exactly a pick-me-up tune, this eighty-eighth psalm. But a song of encouragement nonetheless. My God hears the prayer of the afflicted (Ps. 10:17). My Savior entered our world of despondency . . . in the garden (Matt. 26:39) . . . and on the cross (Matt. 27:46) . . . that He might sympathize with our weakness (Heb. 4:15) . . . and mercifully and graciously intercede on our behalf (Heb. 7:25).

That in all things, He might receive the glory . . .

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Wait For One Another

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Pete

There are a number of them . . . commands we refer to as the “one anothers.” Love one another . . . forgive one another . . . admonish one another . . . encourage one another . . . stir up one another . . . pray for one another . . . serve one another . . . and the list goes on. I encountered another “one another” this morning. I’m going to suggest it’s among the lesser known “one anothers” . . . wait for one another.

So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another–if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home–so that when you come together it will not be for judgment.   (1Corinthians 11:33-34a ESV)

Context? The crazy mixed up world of the church in Corinth. “Those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (1:2) . . . those who “were enriched in Him in all speech and all knowledge . . . not lacking in any gift” (1:5-7). But those who had more than a few issues. Divisions in the church . . . misapplied grace to open and determined sin . . . lawsuits filed among themselves . . . confusion about eating food sacrificed to idols and dabbling with idolatry. And, as I read this morning, even issues arising from when they came together.

Four times in this latter portion of 1Corinthians 11 I encountered the phrase, “when you come together.” That the understood practice of believers at the dawn of Christianity was to come together seems evident. That’s what the church does . . . the ekklesia, the called out people . . . the assembly . . . they assemble. And these brothers and sisters, when they came together as the church, it was “not for the better, but for the worse” (11:17-18).

Ouch! The Lord’s people . . . come together in the Lord’s way . . . to participate in the Lord’s table (11:20) . . . and it’s for the worse.

You get the sense it was a bit chaotic. You sense they came together only because they knew they should come together . . . and not to gather in a way that honored the Head of the church. Their coming together only gave occasion for the divisions among them to be manifest. At the love feast, which preceded the taking of the elements, each went about eating their own meal with no thought of each other. They loved to feast . . . but did not feast in love. One stuffed their face with all the food they brought, while another went hungry. Some got drunk on the abundance they had . . . others were humiliated as they arrived with nothing. Can any one say, “Gong show!?!”

They had come together, as they should, to proclaim the Lord’s death . . . to remember the body given for them . . . to recall the blood shed for them . . . but they did so in an unworthy manner. So much so, that the Lord’s hand of the discipline was on them . . . “that is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died” (11:27-30). Sobering stuff.

It’s not enough that the church go through the motions . . . we need to wait for one another. Literally, we are to “look for” one another, to “expect” one another. The original word being built off a root which indicates “taking another’s hand.”

I think it’s at least part of what Paul refers to when he says that they should be “discerning the body” when they take the bread and the cup. Beyond distinguishing the Lord’s Supper from their love feast . . . in addition to separating the food they brought from the sacraments they received . . . Paul wanted God’s people to recognize that, in their gathering, they were to come together as the Body of Christ for the purposes of lifting up their exalted Head. And, as such, they were to wait for one another.

Oh, that we might, as God’s called out ones, come together for the better and not for the worse. That, as we wait for one another, we would love on another, so that all people will know we are His disciples (John 13:35).

By His grace . . . for His glory . . .

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Fine Dining

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Pete

Our fellowship’s practice is to remember the LORD in the taking of the bread and the cup once a month. But this month will be a “three communion month” for me. As a church body we “proclaimed the Lord’s death” last Sunday as we customarily do on the first Sunday of the month. And next week, I will gather with believers to participate in the blood and body of Christ two more times. First, on Wednesday night with my men’s bible study group (every six weeks or so we pause from our study to gather for prayer and communion), and then on Good Friday when our church family comes together to reflect on the price paid for our redemption in anticipation of Easter’s resurrection victory.

For that reason, I may have hovered a little longer than usual over my reading in the latter part of 1Corinthians 10. And perhaps that’s why this post I did back in 2011 grabbed my attention.

Re-sharing my thoughts on fine dining.

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I’m not really one for fancy shmancy eating out . . . haven’t been to a lot of really “nice” restaurants . . . a few, but not very many or very often. Recently though, Sue and I went out for dinner with some friends to a nice restaurant. Not only was it nice because there was nothing on the menu you could “super size”, but because it was located up on bluff overlooking the city. And, while we didn’t reserve any particular table, we were seated at a table near the window . . . a table with a nice view of the cityscape below us. Not all tables had such a view . . . we could have just as easily been seated near the kitchen . . . or near the washrooms at the back of the restaurant. But we weren’t. And wouldn’t it have been kind of dumb to have said, “No” to the table with a view and instead asked to be seated at the back by the washrooms? I’m thinkin’ . . .

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? . . . You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.    (1Corinthians 10:16, 21 ESV)

Talk about your “fine dining” . . . talk about your “best seat in the house” . . . and you’re talking about the Lord’s table. Invited to pull up a seat with the Guest of Honor . . . no back row . . . no observing from afar . . . no hoping for leftovers . . . but given full access to participate in the “cup of blessing” and “the bread that we break.” Brought near, received onto holy ground, as we interact afresh with the life giving blood of the Savior. We, who were once on our own to wage war with sin and death, now made one body, identified eternally with the body of Christ. Oh, how easy it is to take such a seat for granted. How prone I can be to simply “go through the motions” during communion and never look up and behold the view . . . the view of the cross . . . the view of the empty tomb . . . the view of the land that awaits all those love His appearing.

And what’s worse is that not only can we fail to appreciate the table we’ve been called to, but often we’ll ask for a table at the “back of the restaurant.” We’ll chose to sit at the table with one leg shorter than the others . . . the one that’s dirty and not wiped clean after the previous patrons . . . the one that keeps getting bumped by the waiting staff as they rush in and out of the kitchen. And what’s more, we’ll settle for the “cheap meals” . . . we’ll ask to be served scraps with no lasting nutritional value. And, somehow, we’ll think we can jump back and forth between the table the Lord has set for us, and the one the world invites us to dine at.

Why would I give up a seat at the Lord’s table for a seat at the back? Why would I settle for the world’s junk food when I’ve been invited to participate in soul-filling fare of the Lord Himself? I don’t know . . . but sometimes I do . . . “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it . . . Prone to leave the God I love . . . Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, . . . Seal it for Thy courts above.”

Sometimes I need to be reminded of the privilege that is mine to have a seat at the table.

Reminded that the reservation was booked by God Himself, and that the tab was picked up by His Beloved Son. To not forget, when I’m at the table, to sit back and behold the view . . . considering afresh heaven’s love poured out that I might be redeemed . . . knowing again that my Savior lives and that I’m dining with Him . . . discerning the body of the Lord in the believer’s who surround me . . . appreciating anew the wonder of the fellowship that I have been grafted into. And, when I have known again the wonder of being invited to the table . . . and have been fed the food of heaven . . . then, by His grace, I will have no desire for the table set by the enemy . . . no hunger for the greasy offerings of the world.

A seat at the Lord’s table . . . now that’s fine dining . . . amen?

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Clothed

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Pete

The positioning of the verses caught my attention. Almost like something a fight night emcee might announce. “Ladies and gentlemen . . . welcome to tonight’s main event . . . the battle in the valley. In this corner weighing in at hoards of militia men, like locusts in abundance, with camels beyond number, the people of the East. And in that corner, there’s . . . um . . . well, 300 guys . . . led by some guy named Gideon . . . don’t really know what they’re thinking.” Well, not quite like that . . . here’s what I read . . here’s how the Scriptures announced the combatants . . .

Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him.   (Judges 6:33-34 ESV)

All the people of the East came together . . . but the Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon.

Game . . . set . . . match!

All that’s left are the fine details of how the victory would be won. Details that involved 32,000 men responding to Gideon’s call. Only to be reduced to 10,000 fighters when Gideon gave them a way out with the offer, “Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home” (7:3). But even 10,000 men were too many lest, says the LORD, “. . . lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me'” (7:2). So God filters the fighting force further . . . and Gideon ends up with an army of 300 men . . . 300 men with candles in empty jars and with trumpets . . . to fight against “all the people of the East.” Doesn’t seem like a fair fight does it? But Gideon is clothed with the Spirit of God.

Most of the other translations say that the Spirit “came upon” Gideon . . . the ESV goes with the more literal translation, that Gideon was “wrapped” in the Spirit . . . “arrayed” with the Third Person of the Triune God . . . that he was “clothed” with the Spirit of the LORD. That was the X-factor . . . three hundred men with cracked pots would rise up and defeat a hoard of fighting men with camels beyond number because their leader’s battle armor was the Spirit of the living God.

And I can’t help but think that Jesus was the “greater Gideon.” Fighting the greater battle . . . against greater forces . . . while clothed in the same Spirit.

He was one Man against “the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). The legions of angels He commanded as LORD of hosts, were sent home, as He came to earth divested of His heavenly glory. The enemy would possess the forces of hostile governments and vain, blind, religious leaders to do battle . . . Jesus would bring a cross. But the Spirit of the LORD clothed Jesus.

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”    (Matthew 3:16-17 ESV)

Gideon, clothed in the Spirit, won the battle providing freedom for the people of God for a season . . . until their defective hearts again led them astray from the living God and back into the bondage of their enemies. Jesus, one with the Spirit, secured a victory providing freedom for all who believe for eternity . . . their hearts of stone recast as hearts of flesh . . . their only master being the risen Christ . . . their only desire, to bring Him glory as they boast in His finished work.

We’re approaching our Easter remembrance. O that we might glory in the Promises of the Father . . . the Person of the Son . . . and the Power of the Spirit.

If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.   (Romans 8:11 ESV)

Clothed . . . by His grace . . . for His glory . . .

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