Korah’s Trap

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Pete

Numbers 16. It was a power play . . . pure and simple. They wanted in . . . literally. Korah & Co. wanted in to the holy of holies. This son of Levi was ambitious and so he rose up in rebellion seeking to force his way into the priesthood. And though it was Moses they confronted, it was really the LORD they were challenging (16:11). Though it was Aaron they sought to usurp, it was really the LORD they were challenging (16:30). And it didn’t turn out well. They got swallowed up in their arrogance . . . again, literally. As they offered their proposal of a new priesthood before the LORD, “the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods” (16:32). Bad move on the part of Korah & Co.

But where did it come from? Why did this son of Levi seek to elevate himself? A clue might be found in Moses’ question to Korah . . .

And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the LORD and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, and that He has brought you near Him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also?”    (Numbers 16:8-10 ESV)

It seems that Korah failed to grasp the nature and privilege of his calling. He was so focused on being “second class” to Aaron and sons that he lost sight of the fact that God esteemed him better than the firstborn of Israel (Num. 3:12) . . . that God had chosen his tribe as His own special possession . . . that God had ordained for his people the privilege of service in the tabernacle.

I wonder if Korah had got to the point of being dissatisfied that he HAD TO do service in the tabernacle rather than being jazzed that he GOT TO minister at the place where the glory of God dwelled. If he had become so accustomed to the day-in-day-out routine that he failed to appreciate the divine . . . the high and holy calling . . . the sacred privilege to be brought near to God. Service in the tabernacle shouldn’t have been a job . . . it should have been a joy. Ministering among the holy things should have been viewed as divine privilege rather than as dutiful performance.

And so, he coveted more . . . wanted to climb the ladder . . . want to lift himself up. Instead, he ended up with nothing . . . was humiliated before the people . . . and was taken down into the earth. All because he failed to value what he GOT TO DO.

I’m not thinking many of us are in danger of being swallowed up live by the earth . . . but I do wonder if sometimes we might fall into Korah’s trap.

The trap of feeling like our calling is but a duty to discharge . . . a burden to bear . . . a routine to remain faithful to. The trap of being discontent . . . and perhaps tempted to stand up for ourselves . . . making something of ourselves . . . and move beyond being what God has called us to be and doing what God has desired us to do.

Instead, if we were again captured by the privilege that is ours . . . of being brought near to God Himself at the high cost of His Son’s sacrifice . . . of being blessed to be part of His living temple through the Spirit . . . of being privileged to minister in that temple with the gifts He’s given us . . . of being mindful that not only do we walk on holy ground but that in Christ we possess holy ground . . . of being jazzed that we GET TO be followers of Christ . . . then, what dynamic would that create as we head into our routine days . . . and as we gather in our routine ways on Sunday. I’m thinking it changes everything!

By God’s grace may we not fall into Korah’s trap. Instead, by God’s Spirit in us, might we grow in appreciation of the privilege that is ours as God’s people . . . that we GET TO serve Him.

By His grace . . . for His glory.

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His Promises . . . His Glory

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Pete

The dynamics at play in Numbers 13 and 14 are many. A pivotal account of a generation on the border (literally) of God’s blessing and the fulfillment of promise . . . and they come up short . . . but not as short as they could have come up . . . had it not been for one man’s encounter with God.

The story’s pretty familiar . . . the nation of Israel arrives at the edge of Canaan . . . God says, “Send out 12 men to check out your new homeland which I am giving to the children of Israel (Num. 13:1).” It was never intended to be a “pro / con” analysis . . . or a “realistic assessment” of how their armies might fair against the armies of the Canaanites . . . instead, they were to get an understanding of what God was about to deliver into their hands and to confirm that, indeed, it was a land flowing with milk and honey. But, after 40 days spying out the land, things go south in a real bad way.

The vote is 10 to 2 . . . “No way, no how. Too big, too strong. Too dangerous, too impossible.” So, the majority party wins . . . and the people lose . . . and God’s pretty much done with them, “And the LORD said to Moses, ‘How long will these people treat Me with contempt? Will they never believe Me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!’ ” (Num. 14:11-12 NLT).

They had cried out to God in Egypt . . . and they had repeatedly complained since leaving Egypt. Despite God’s obvious hand upon them . . . besides the miracles they had seen . . . besides the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night . . . somehow, in every new challenge, they couldn’t help but focus on themselves . . . and, in so doing, they rejected God and showed contempt for His ability to deliver on what He had promised. They wouldn’t hear the voice of the minority, the voice of Joshua and Caleb, “The land is a good land . . . If God delights in us, He will bring us into the land and give it to us . . . Only do not rebel against the LORD . . . for the LORD is with us” (Num. 14:8-9). Through unbelief they reject God . . . and God is about to reject them . . . enter the mediator Moses.

So Moses steps into the breach . . . the people’s advocate . . . but he doesn’t plead their case from a perspective of their worthiness . . . instead he pleads from a protectiveness of God’s glory . . . and he bases his plea on what he knows to be true of the character of God,

“And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as You have promised, saying, ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of Your steadfast love, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.” (Num. 14:17-19 ESV)

I recognize those words . . . they are the same words revealed to Moses back in Exodus 34 when Moses was huddled in the cleft of the rock and allowed to see the glory of God pass by . . . the glory intimately associated with God’s name and God’s character. Moses’ intercession on behalf of a rebellious people is based on what he had experienced concerning the nature of God. Had it not been for Moses’ mediation, God might have started over with a new “chosen people.” “But,” Moses said, “Lord, You can’t . . . for by Your very nature You are longsuffering, abundant in mercy, and forgiving.” And so the people of God remain the people of God . . . though they’ll have a 40 year detour in the desert before they inherit the land of promise.

Joshua and Caleb knew their God . . . and so believed that what He had promised He was able to deliver. Moses knew His God . . . and so was able to intercede for the people based on the character of God. And I’m thinking, that pursuing an intimate, experiential, knowledge of God is kind of important for the Christian. Pursuing Him through His revelation of Himself in the Word of God . . . pursuing Him through His revelation of Himself as I yield control of my life and trust Him to direct my paths . . . taking me into the land . . . despite the giants around me.

O’ that I might know Him more deeply . . . that I might believe His promises more unreservedly . . . that I might behold His glory more fully. Amen?

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Fully Convinced

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Pete

He may not have known how it was gonna happen . . . but he knew it was gonna. To be sure, the timing became a bit of stumbling block. A promise of children when you’re seventy-five and your wife is sixty-five . . . you gotta think it has to happen pretty quick. Apparently not . . . twenty-five years they waited. And I know, that because of the waiting, they came up with an alternative way to “make it happen.” But the divine commentary of Scripture would seem to indicate that it was a plan born not so much out of a lack of faith in the promise, but of a confusion as to how it could happen within their barren circumstance. In fact, says the divine commentary of Romans 4, Abraham was fully convinced.

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”
(Romans 4:19-22 ESV)

Approaching a hundred years old . . . a son and a maidservant reminding him of a “plan B” that kind of went south . . . a wife whose womb is more barren now than it was twenty-five years earlier when they had first received the promise . . . but, so says the Spirit through Paul’s writing, though Abraham was out of options and, naturally speaking, out of seed, he still trusted. In fact, though he had no idea how it could happen, Abraham was fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised He’d do.

It says that he grew strong in faith. Maybe that’s what happens when you’ve tried everything you can think of and still nothing. When you’ve exhausted your bag of tricks, maybe then all you can do is believe that He who made the promise will be the One to fulfill the promise. Makes sense that if you’re going to keep on keepin’ on when you don’t know how . . . or for how long . . . all that you have left to draw on is faith in the One who is ever faithful to His word.

Fully convinced . . . fully persuaded . . . most surely believed.

That’s where we need to be as we wait for God . . . as we try and make sense of circumstances which make no sense . . . as we imagine a future that we’re not sure how to navigate. Fully convinced.

If we’re walking in the way we believe the Father has led and it becomes cluttered with unforeseen distractions . . . or obscured by unpredictable circumstances . . . or a detour appears where we never it saw it coming . . . what’s left but to be fully convinced? As we walk with the Lord . . . as we look back and see His hand of leading . . . and yet find ourselves in a place that makes no sense . . . or things taking longer than we ever expected . . . or complications arising that we never imagined . . . what else is there to do but give glory to God and to be fully convinced that He is able to do what we believe He’s said He will do? Answer: Nothing.

O’ for the grace to be fully convinced. For every failure and “plan B” that doesn’t work to propel us to a place where we can do nothing but believe in the God of promise.

Fully convinced . . . by His grace . . . for His glory.

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Of Walls and Worship

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Pete

Never really paused over the last couple of verses of Psalm 51 before. Kind of an interesting way for David to wrap up his song of repentance, confession, and plea for restoration. It’s a song written after Nathan the prophet has exposed the king’s sin with Bathsheba and his sin against her husband Uriah. The song is a plea for mercy . . . as the guilt-stricken songwriter confesses that his sin is against God and God alone.

In the song there’s a recognition that apart from God’s merciful and gracious willingness to wash and cleanse the errant king of his transgression, there is no basis upon which David might hope to know again His presence. A recognition that unless God undertakes a holy and divine cleansing of the kings dark heart, there would be no place for the Spirit to reside. A recognition that unless God restores the fallen king and opens his lips, there is no song to sing . . . no praise to offer.

And then David concludes his psalm this way . . .

Do good to Zion in Your good pleasure;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem;
 then will You delight in right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on Your altar.   (Psalm 51:18-19 ESV)

And at first, I’m kind of taken aback. Why the focus on the city? Why the plea for walls?

I wonder if David isn’t concerned about the detrimental impact his failure as king might have on his people. If David isn’t now invoking his shepherd’s heart and crying out for his sheep. Or perhaps, it’s David the worshiper concerned about the glory of God . . . that his iniquity would derail his desire to see a temple built by which God might dwell in the midst of his people . . . a place where the people might rise up in worship of their great God.

Regardless, as I hover over these petitions of the repentant king for a few minutes, I find they are very consistent with the “big idea” of the rest of the song. God, if in Your good pleasure . . . if, in Your sovereign determination, because of Your love, and by Your grace . . . if You will build up Jerusalem, then there will be worship. Right worship . . . holy worship . . . worship from those who have been washed thoroughly of their iniquity . . . praise from those who have been purged with hyssop and cleansed whiter than snow . . . adoration from those in whom You have created a new heart and fueled with Your Holy Spirit. You build the walls, and worship will follow.

Our natural inclination is that if we sacrifice, then God will do good and build the walls. David, in his brokenness, saw clearer than perhaps he had ever seen before, that only as God, in His grace, first acts and pours out His pleasure upon a people in need of washing . . . then, will offerings be made by those who have been recipients of such undeserved favor. Our sacrifices are not a prerequisite to blessing, but a response to His goodness and grace.

Where God builds the walls, there will be worship.

O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare Your praise. (Psalm 51:15 ESV)

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A Matter of the Heart

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Pete

Reading in Numbers 6 this morning . . . the details concerning those who sign up for the vow of a Nazirite. This “special vow” is essentially a determination by a man or a woman, for a self-determined period of time, to “separate himself to the LORD.” It is a vow in which the individual consecrates themselves wholly to the LORD . . . ordering their lives in a sacred separation as a display of devotion to God. For the duration of the vow, it will impact what they eat and drink, how they groom themselves, and what they can come in contact with. And, it is is costly, not only in terms of self sacrifice, but also in terms of material goods. At the end of this voluntary separation, the cart is loaded up with animals, bread, grain, and drink to be offered at the tent of meeting. This, writes Moses, is the law of the Nazirite.

Talk about gutting out a display of holiness. Talk about doing everything in one’s power to separate oneself to God. Talk about cutting away that which would defile in order to maintain a sacred separation to the God you love. Talk about a great effort . . . but one that, apart from an inner working of the heart, would be just that . . . a great effort.

I then read in Romans 2. There, the end of the chapter deals with another Old Testament practice intended to indicate separation unto God. Circumcision. But here Paul reveals the powerlessness of a great effort apart from an inward dynamic.

For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.   (Romans 2:28-29 ESV)

Less about a great effort . . . more about a matter of the heart. You can cut away flesh . . . abstain from certain foods and drink as unto the Lord . . . offer a boat load of offerings . . . but if it’s just going through outward motions without an inward motivation, then it’s just a great effort with no real meaning or value. “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly.”

Rather, the pursuit of holiness and sacred separation is a matter of the heart. And the heart is not changed by “the letter” . . . not molded by vows and rules of conduct. Instead, the heart is revived by the active agency of the Holy Spirit.

That’s the separation we, as believers, desire. To have been declared holy in Christ . . . and then to be made holy by the sanctifying work of the Spirit.

Our determination to abstain from certain things, to put on other things, and in all things be His and His alone, coming not from a law which prescribes the external, but from the Spirit which transforms a person from the inside out. Our separation being not just a matter of a great effort, but of an obedience born from a gracious God who has begun a work in us which He will bring to completion.

It’s a matter of the heart. A “great effort” in the power of a great Savior and for the glory of a great God.

Amen?

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My Team

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Pete

As I think back . . . for the most part, when I was a kid, I did ok in those lines. You know those lines where everybody was against the wall while “second captain, first pick” and “first captain, second pick” selected individuals for their teams? For a lot of kids those lines could be pretty stressful . . . “please, don’t let me be on that team!” . . . or “please, don’t let me be picked last!” But I did ok . . . not very often was I among the top picks . . . but I don’t recall being last very often either . . . kinda’ middle of the pack . . . and that was ok. But as I’m reading in Numbers this morning, I’m thinking about the team He’s picked me for.

What’s got me thinking about this “being picked thing” is that in the first two chapters of Numbers the census has to do with counting all males, one by one, who are twenty years old and above and able to go to war (Num. 1:3) . . . let’s call them “The Warriors.” And so all the tribes are counted . . . except for one . . . the tribe of Levi. Instead a different census is taken of the Levite males . . . actually a couple of counts.

The first, in chapter 3, is the count of every male from a month old and above (Num. 3:14). The purpose of this count was so that God could claim the Levites as the redemption price for all the firstborn in Israel. Then, in Numbers 4, another count is taken . . . all males from the tribe of Levi who are between 30 years old and 50 years old, all those who could “come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting” (Num. 4:3). We’ll call this team, “The Worshipers.” Doesn’t sound as exciting as the first team, does it?

And so the males are counted . . . the teams are picked. On this side, numbering six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty, dressed in battle gear, “The Warriors” . . . and, on that side, numbering eight thousand five hundred and fifty, clothed in white tunics, “The Worshipers.” There they stand . . . 603,550 to 8,550 . . . the warriors looking over at the worshipers . . . the relatively few white tunic guys looking over at the hoard of grunting men in armor. And I’m thinking, “If I was there, what team would I have wanted to be picked for?”

Certainly the more “popular” team was the army . . . that’s where the majority were . . . more action . . . more macho. But as I think of what it meant to be a Levite . . . to be picked of God for service in the tent of meeting . . . the place where men were brought to God . . . the place where God determined to dwell with men . . . I think of what a privilege it was to be part of the tribe that was chosen for the service of God. A special people . . . with access to a special working place . . . with a special set of duties . . . the kind of work which, if any one else where to do it, they would die (Num. 1:51).

And what comes to mind is that I too have been “picked” to be part of a “team” . . . a team that not only enters into the holy place, but is itself being made into a holy place . . .

As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.   (1Peter 2:4-5 ESV)

Now, I know that, in Numbers, the Warriors and the Worshipers were all from God’s chosen people. And that, in a sense, I’m called to both be a warrior, or at least a wrestler (Eph. 6:12), as well as a worshiper. But as a worshiper of God, in the world we live, I also know that I’m not part of the most popular team. It’s not the biggest team . . . not the team that so many around me want to be part of. And, while it may not be considered the most exciting side to be on, by His grace and through His Son, I’ve been numbered by God to be on a very, very special team. A team that is allowed access into the Holy of Holies . . . a team that is privileged to serve the God of Creation . . . a team which competes for a prize which, literally, is out of this world.

Why me? I really don’t know. That He would have called my name from the line . . . that I would have heard His voice and responded in faith . . . all a work of His wonderful grace. But here I am . . . on the “few-are-chosen-and-narrow-is-the way” team . . . The Worshipers . . . in service to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And it kind of puts a smile on face . . . and gratitude in my heart . . . and praise on my lips!

Believer, thank God for the wonderful call He has placed on our lives. Thank Him for giving us ears to hear and a new heart to respond. May we never look at the “other team” with longing . . . but let us be satisfied, content, and committed to this team . . . The Worshipers . . . for the glory of God . . . amen!

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Power on the Shelf?

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Pete

To noodle on the idea of power is one thing . . . to meditate on the power of God takes it to a whole next level. You might consider the power of God as exerted in Creation. The world spoken into existence. Or you might consider His power displayed in Egypt as He delivered His people from heart-hardened Pharaoh. Commander of the elements . . . Protector of His people. From staffs turned into serpents . . . to hailstones called down only on certain geographic locations . . . to an angel of death directed to pass over those covered by the blood . . . to the Red Sea being parted for the people to pass . . . the presence of God was known through magnificent, awe-inspiring power. And this morning, as I start into Romans, I am reminded of perhaps the greatest portrayal of the the power of God . . . the gospel.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”   (Romans 1:16-17 ESV)

The original word is dunamis . . . referring to something with “inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its very nature.” The gospel of God (1:1), by it’s very nature, is power. The gospel of His Son (1:9), at its very essence, possesses a mighty dynamic. It is power manifest in a righteousness made known to those who are unrighteous . . . who, in their own strength, are incapable, or powerless, of being righteous. Thus, their just standing before a holy God is no standing at all. Dead in sins apart from God’s power . . . enslaved by the passions of the flesh unless delivered by a stronger master . . . they are without hope. But the dunamis of the gospel, a righteousness through faith, makes alive the dead and frees those in bondage.

It is a power sourced in the substitutionary work of Another. A might found in the abundant grace of a God who loved the world to such an extent that He offered His Son as the once-for-all atoning sacrifice for our sin. And it is the power of God for salvation. And yet I wonder how often we leave power on the shelf.

I think it’s because often we have such a limited view of salvation. A view of it being a once-and-done decision that occurs in the past of the Christian. Having received Him by faith, we were saved by the power of the gospel. Having secured eternal life we move on from the gospel. But what if our salvation is something more than a past event? What if it is an on-going dynamic? Then isn’t the gospel the power of God for those aspects of salvation as well? I’m thinkin’ . . .

If, just as we WERE saved from the penalty of sin, we are now BEING saved from the power of sin through the Spirit’s active work of conforming in us the image of the Son, isn’t the gospel the power of God for that too? Isn’t it the dunamis, available by God’s overflowing grace through faith, for us pilgrims seeking to walk the walk worthy of our calling? And, isn’t there a sense in which we WILL BE saved from the presence of sin when we meet the Lord? And isn’t our hope, as His Bride, that the Bridegroom will present us to Himself without wrinkle and spot through the power of the gospel. Through the might of His finished work . . . through His Sovereign determination . . . a determination founded on a risen Savior, mediated by a forever High Priest . . . the God who loves us and has called us to be saints will, one day, bring us to Himself? Again, I’m thinkin’ . . .

So why would we leave power on the shelf? Why wouldn’t I read Romans this morning and embrace the power of the gospel for working out my salvation today as much as I clung to it when I secured salvation (or when salvation secured me) in the past?

The gospel is the power of God for salvation . . . yesterday, today, and forever. Off the shelf . . . into myself.

For His glory . . .

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From the Crowd to the Kids

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Pete

Hear the word “Hosanna” and most of us will go immediately to Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Cloaks spread on the road . . . branches cut from trees and laid before this One coming to them humbly, mounted on a donkey — the coming king foretold by Zechariah (9:9) and the other prophets. The crowds surrounding Him . . . shouting at the top of their lungs, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matt. 21:9). But as I was reading in Matthew this morning, I was surprised at a second mention of those crying “Hosanna.” The din of the crowds having died off, there was still a small group who continued the “Hosanna” rhythm after He entered the temple area. A small group as in a short group. The kids continued to cry out . . .

And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise’?”   (Matthew 21:14-16 ESV)

You can imagine that those who had been singing the song outside the temple were losing the tune when they started seeing Jesus turn the place upside down . . . literally. He’s overturning tables and flipping over chairs. Change is bouncing off the pavement . . . animals are bleating in excitement . . . pigeons are in a flap. You imagine a bit of chaos in this place of unholy commerce. And then there’s the disapproving presence of the priests and scribes . . . casting a steely glance at this Jesus of Nazareth . . . already determined to find a way to put him to death, you can just see in their hardened faces that they are done with Him. So, I’m guessing the crowd has stopped singing . . . that they’ve stopped proclaiming, “Hosanna.” But not the kids.

The children, having seen His display of authority . . . the young ‘uns, having taken note of His healing of the blind and lame . . . take up the song the adults have determined is no longer politically correct. Amidst the chaos of the cleansing of the temple . . . despite the coldness of the condemning eyes of the religious leaders . . . even though the crowd has gone silent . . . the kids keep singing, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” There is this undertone of praise . . . ordained of God . . . prepared for the kids.

I imagine they cried out with joy and excitement. The same way you hear a kid crying out, “Again!” as you push them on a swing or give them some other ride . . . “Again!” In this case though, the children are not asking to receive something more . . . but instead delight in giving adoration to the One who is worthy of all adoration. They desire to declare the Name of Him whose name is Wonderful, Counselor, Prince of Peace. Their joy is in offering the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of their lips . . . a sweet smelling aroma offered to heaven’s portal. All out of the mouths of babes.

Undistracted by the activity . . . undaunted by the animosity . . . though the crowds have gone quite . . . the song is continued by the kids.

O’ that I might be such a kid. The song fresh despite the circumstance. The voice determined regardless of disapproval. The praise prepared for me to deliver, offered wholeheartedly.

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

Amen?

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Fruitful Praise

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Pete

A certain word jumped off the page as I was reading this morning. Don’t think I’ve ever noticed it before when reading here. No, didn’t expect to find that word in Leviticus. Not too surprising that I wasn’t expecting it . . . it only occurs once in the whole book of Leviticus. Amidst the instructions for the various sacrifices . . . amidst the many commands to be obeyed by a people separated unto Himself by their God . . . amidst the repeated declaration that God’s people are to be holy, because the LORD is holy . . . it just kind of popped out.

Praise. That’s the word that caught my eye. And a principle . . . that’s what’s got me thinking . . . a principle of fruitful praise.

When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD. But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the LORD your God.   (Leviticus 19:23-25 ESV)

I’m not much of a horticulturist . . . actually, not at all. Don’t know nothing about planting fruit trees. But I’m guessing that God, the Creator does, and so he tells His people to let them lie for the first three years after they’re planted. The Creator says to regard the fruit as “forbidden” . . . literally, as the NKJV renders it, regard it as uncircumcised. The circumcised were to stay away from the uncircumcised. For three years the people of God were to stay away from the fruit of the fledgling tree.

But in the fourth year . . . now things start happening. The tree is thriving . . . the blossoms are blooming . . . the fruit is abundantly growing. Time to chow down! Nope! Not yet.

In the fourth year all the fruit was to be harvested and given to the LORD . . . as an offering of praise. This, you might say, would be fruitful praise.

It’s the principle of the first fruits being applied to . . .well, to fruit. God is given the first harvest . . . He is presented with the inaugural returns.  After three years of waiting for the tree to bear good fruit, when it does so in the fourth year, it is to be given to the LORD. And says, the Holy Spirit, it is an offering of praise.

The idea of giving God the first fruits, whether that’s of our income . . . or of our time . . . or of anything else that has been graciously afforded us . . . is more than just giving God His rightful due . . . it should be offered as an act of praise. It’s a celebration of the bounty granted by His good grace . . . and acknowledgment that while we might have planted and watered, it is our God who gives the increase. It’s what makes the tithe an act of worship . . . morning devotions an offering of thanksgiving. The “discipline” to obey giving way to a “desire” to adore.

That which we can’t wait to enjoy, but is instead counted as holy to the LORD, becomes fruitful praise.

To Him be fruitful praise!

By His grace . . . for His glory.

Posted in Leviticus | Leave a comment

Investment Advice

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Pete

His heart was seeking . . . his question was sincere, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” (Matt. 19:16) This rich young man had lots of stuff, but he didn’t have everything — he didn’t have a grasp on eternal life. And so, he approached the One who seemed to have the inside track on knowing how this “kingdom of heaven” thing really worked.

And Jesus, directly yet gently, leads this seeking soul to the barrier standing between him and the kingdom. He had great possessions . . . he had great wealth . . . he owned much property . . . and, for the moment at least, his property was owning him. “You want to lay hold of eternal life,” Jesus said, “keep the commandments.” And the young man, with sincere heart responds that he has been a “commandment keeper” since his youth. Faithful, devout, obedient . . . undoubtedly offering the sacrifices required for those times when he came up short. But he knows that it has to be about something more than just the ten commandments for he persists and asks Jesus, “What do I still lack?” What’s holding me back? What’s keeping me from knowing that I am a possessor of eternal life? Where’s the gap?

Jesus then nails it . . .

“If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”   (Matthew 19:21 ESV)

And the young man’s response?

When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.    (Matthew 19:22 ESV)

Nope . . . too much . . . too high a cost. There’s a lot I’m willing to do, but I won’t do that. And so he walks away.

And what impresses me is that he walked away because he didn’t make the connection between what he possessed in the “here and now” and how that could be invested in the “there and then.” He had the opportunity to liquidate his assets and convert them into “treasure in heaven.” What seemed like giving up a lot for the sake of the kingdom was in reality one of the most lasting purchases he could make. The problem? It required faith to see and believe and act on the transaction. Is it any different today?

Even as a follower of Jesus, I can be possessed by my possessions such that, when I can examine my kingdom experience, I find it wanting. And I can come to Jesus and say, “Lord, what’s missing? How do I get a grasp on this ‘abundant life’ You’ve graciously called me to?” And I too might hear, “Give it up for Me, Pete. It’s keeping you from following Me wholeheartedly. You’re holding on too tight. Let it go. Invest it in the things of the kingdom . . . and believe the returns will be treasure beyond this world.”

Pretty sound investment advice. Not necessarily that we need to cash it all in . . . but that we need to be willing to. Not that we can’t have stuff . . . but that He owns it . . . and we are but stewards.

O for grace to follow after Him hard . . . and to hold to the trinkets of this world lightly.

Amen?

Posted in Matthew | 1 Comment