Where Were You? . . . There You Are!

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Pete

I’m probably pushing the boundaries of “rightly dividing the word” this morning as two somewhat random thoughts from two very opposite readings come together to form one awe-invoking meditation.

First thought . . . book of Job . . . chapter 38 . . . Yes! I read the book of Job to get to chapter 38. That part of the drama where God holds His silence no more . . . where He ends the debate between Job and his not-so-much comforters . . . their dialogue giving way to a monologue from heaven’s throne itself . . . God revealing Himself in all His might, power, and wisdom. And, out of the gate, God asks Job a question . . .a question which echoes through the ages for all who have ears to hear . . . a question spoken to me . . . where were you?

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to Me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? . . . ”   (Job 38:1-4 ESV)

It’s the question that causes complacent familiarity with the Divine to flee. The question that reminds me that, though I enjoy an intimate relationship with the God of heaven and earth, I should not presume upon Him as I would a mortal friend, nor think that I can debate Him as I would a peer. That in His willingness to be known, I should guard against any arrogance which thinks I fully know Him and thus contend with Him when His ways mis-align with mine. That though He, in His grace, allows me to call Him, “Abba Father,” I should never lose sight that He is the God of the universe, nor utter His name with inappropriate carelessness.

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Not there.

But then I’m reading in Revelation 17. The kings of the earth are gathering to make war on the Lamb. Despite the bowls of God’s wrath poured out on a world in rebellion, men refuse to repent . . . continue to curse . . . and, under the deceiving leadership of the beast, the nations of earth come to make war on the Creator of the earth. And what catches my attention are those who are with the Lamb . . .

They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with Him are called and chosen and faithful.   (Revelation 17:14 ESV)

While none of us who would be born again into the family of God were there in the beginning, it is evident that members of His blood bought bride will be present in the end. The Word who was in the beginning . . . the Word who was with God . . . the Word who was God . . . He who was in the beginning . . . through Whom all things were made . . . and “without Him was not any thing made that was made” . . . that same Jesus will, at the end of time, be revealed as the Lord of lords and King of kings. And with Him will be those who are the called . . . and the chosen . . . and the faithful. There you are!

I don’t know if Revelation 17 speaks specifically of those martyred during the great tribulation . . . or whether those who accompany Jesus will be a representative sample of those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb through the ages. Regardless, as a part of that body of believers, there is a sense in which all who have placed their faith in Christ’s atoning work on the cross will one day join Him in His final victory over His enemies . . . and over death . . . and over sin.

Where were you? . . . There you are!

In the presence of the Creator . . . in relationship with the King.

By His grace, called, chosen, and faithful. For His glory!

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No Loose Ends

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Pete

Sometimes I think I don’t do a very good job of staying on top of this time of year. Nothing’s taken off “the plate” . . . but lots gets added . . . and the challenge is to keep it all going. The calendar gets a bit busier . . . the to do list gets a bit longer . . . and time seems to fly by much faster. Invariably, I find myself with things mostly done . . . but not quite. At any given time, there always seems to be a number of loose ends to tie up. I tend to find myself in a scramble trying to “get it all together” as the celebration of Christ’s birth approaches. Maybe that’s why I’m struck afresh by the completeness of Christ’s work as I read of His death this morning. In Jesus . . . there are no loose ends.

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to His mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished,” and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
(John 19:28-30 ESV)

“It is finished!” Are there three more assuring words?

When it comes to the foundation of our salvation, there are no loose ends. It is finished.

The gospel of grace is the good news of a finished work. He who knew no sin becoming sin for us . . . the Lamb of God offered once for all as the atoning sacrifice for all sin, for all time . . . the wages of sin born fully by Him in those hours of darkness on the cross, . . . that all who would believe, might know the reality of the rest found in “no condemnation” (Rom. 8:1). Done! No loose ends.

Oh, we have an enemy who would cause us to doubt the efficacy of Christ’s work on the cross . . . wanting us to live under the bondage of a lie that some of salvation is yet dependent on our ability to earn God’s favor. Wanting us to buy into the lie that there are still pieces to be put in place when it comes to Christ’s redeeming work. That, apart from our ability to step it up or enter into a deeper blessing, something is lacking . . . something is left undone by Christ through the cross.

But, declare the Scriptures, Christ did not bow His head, nor did He give up His spirit, until He knew “that all was now finished.” All. . . . Finished. . . . No loose ends.

Might be a bit more scrambling still to be done as I prepare to celebrate His birth . . . but no more to be done to secure my salvation as I rest in the finished work of His once for all sacrifice . . . and in the assurance of the promise’s fulfillment given through His resurrection.

No loose ends when it comes to my salvation.

To God be all the glory! Amen?

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Woman, Behold Your Son!

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Pete

I don’t know how many of them we have spread through the house . . . probably seven or eight. Come Christmas, the various nativity scenes are brought out and put on display at the Corak’s house. They vary in number of pieces . . . in size . . . in intricacy or simplicity . . . but they all have one thing in common . . . front and center a baby . . . and right next to the child, a doting mother. That she who had been visited by the angel and declared to be the “favored one” (Luke 1:28-31) should share center stage with God’s great gift is appropriate. It was through her that God would become flesh. Chosen to have the Holy Spirit come upon her . . . to have the power of the Most High overshadow her . . . she would give birth to a child . . . and she would name Him Jesus . . . “for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). No one was nearer to the giving of God’s great gift. So, there she is prominently placed in each manger scene . . . looking upon the babe in the manger. Woman, behold, your Son!

After the angel’s revelation of her favored calling, her soul would magnify the Lord . . . and her spirit rejoice in God her Savior (Luke 1:47). After the shepherds’ visit to her stable nursery . . . after hearing them testify of their close encounter of the divine kind, of an angels visitation, of the glory of God shone around them (Luke 2:9-10), she “treasured up all these things” and pondered these happenings in her heart (Luke 2:19) . . . trying to bring it all together in her mind. What Child is this? . . . what plans does God have for His Anointed? Woman, behold, your Son!

This is something of the juxtaposition that came to mind as I read in John 19 this morning. There, the angel is gone . . . Pilate instead is the one who testifies of Jesus’ innocence. The animals of the stable are replaced with the animals of the Roman guard . . . delighting in flogging, beating, and mocking the meek and lowly Jesus who, “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, . . . opened not His mouth” (Isa. 53.7). And the shepherds, who gave glory to God in the highest, are displaced with the Sanhedrin and their cries of, “We have no king but Caesar! Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him! (John 19:15). And, while no longer front and center with her boy . . . yet not far away . . . is His mother. Woman, behold, your Son!

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took His garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. . . . So the soldiers did these things, but standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”
(John 19:23-26 ESV)

Standing by the cross of Jesus was His mother. She who knelt beside the manger looking down upon the radiance of God’s delight and favor, now stood next to an instrument of death looking up at Him who had been forsaken of men . . . and would be soon forsaken of God . . . as He who knew no sin was to be made sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2Cor. 5:21). Her Son was born to die . . . come to give His life as a ransom for many.

And while I love taking a few moments to focus on one of the many nativity scenes lying around our house . . . while I delight in trying to enter into the awe and wonder of that night . . . as I try, with Mary, to treasure up these things and ponder them in my heart, as well . . . in their shadow is a cross . . . and, praise God, that cross is in the shadow of an empty tomb! O how the world needs to behold the Son.

And O, that I might not lose sight of the full picture of the wonder of Immanuel. That I might, afresh, behold the Son. Not just the Child asleep on the hay . . . but the Christ nailed to the cross . . . and the King coming again in glory.

O come let us adore Him . . . Christ the Lord!

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Not of This World

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Pete

Caught in the middle . . . that’s where we are . . . in the middle. God foretold through Micah the prophet that from Bethlehem “shall come forth for Me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2). Done! The birth of the Christ child accomplished . . . the gifting of the Savior revealed to shepherds in their fields . . . the birth of the King of the Jews made known to wise men. Done! But Micah also prophecies that this Ruler from Bethlehem “shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God” (5:4). Uh . . . not done . . . kinda’. That there is a day coming when the King will reign from the holy hill is clear. That His kingdom will be established on earth seems apparent from the prophetic voices of the Old Testament. But until that day we’re kind of caught in the middle. I say “kind of” because even now there is a kingdom . . . one in which Christ rules . . . but one which is not of this world.

So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about Me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”   
(John 18:33-36 ESV)

My kingdom is not of this world.

Though He will one day return to stand on the earth in glorious majesty and to visibly reign, the essence of His kingdom is not dependent on His physical presence . . . rather, it is established upon precious promises. The promise of the Sovereign come to be a Shepherd . . . of a Lion submitting Himself to the Father’s will as a Lamb . . . of the Creator giving His life for the creation. The promise of rescue and redemption for all who would believe . . . of purchase from sin’s slave market, that men might live in true freedom — free from sin’s dominion, free from the fear of sin’s wage, death. The promise of being brought into a family . . . of being formed into a body . . . of being ushered into a kingdom . . . a kingdom not of this world.

May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.   (Colossians 1:11-14 ESV)

Every blood bought believer has been delivered and transferred. Removed from darkness . . . conveyed into the kingdom of light. A kingdom not of this world . . . but a kingdom “of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

A righteousness not our own, but found in Him . . . and imputed to all who “put on Christ” (Gal. 3:7) on the basis of His perfect life and substitutionary death. A peace that the world is incapable of giving . . . known only in His kingdom . . . peace with God through the once for all atoning work of the Crucified and through the on-going ministry of the risen Savior as our faithful High Priest. And joy . . . a joy unspeakable as we possess a hope founded on the very nature of a God whose purposes are unchanging (Heb. 6:17-18). A joy that transcends circumstance because of the reality of a kingdom not of this world . . . one established in our hearts and souls through the abiding active agency of the Holy Spirit.

Kind of caught in the middle . . . between His first advent . . . and the one soon to be introduced by a trumpet’s blast. Remembering a King born in a manger . . . anticipating the return of that same King in all His glory. Caught in the middle . . . kind of . . . yet caught up into a kingdom not of this world.

To Him be all glory . . .

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God’s Fine Motor Skills

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Pete

When reading Jonah, I used to be almost solely focused on the prophet gone prodigal and the lessons that I could learn from him . . . the “what not to do’s”. But over the past few years, when I engage with this book as part of my reading plan, God, and what He does, captures more and more of the center stage for me. In addition to His interaction with Jonah . . . and His lack of intervention with the Ninevites. . ., I am a bit blown away by God’s interplay with nature. I take note of His interplay with the weather . . . with the sea and creatures in the sea . . . with plant life . . . and, yes, with even a worm. I wonder if sometimes I might think about God as being so big that He only interacts with this world at a macro level. Kind of that “His fingers” are so big that I don’t expect Him to be able to exercise “fine motor skills” here on earth.

God is extremely active in the account of Jonah . . He does a lot of stuff in this little book. Check out this very brief summary . . . “The word of the LORD came to Jonah” (1:1) . . . “the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea” (1:4) . . . “the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah” (1:17) . . . “the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon dry land” (2:10) . . . “the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time” (3:1) . . . “God saw how they (the Ninevites) turned from their evil way . . . God relented . . . God did not do it [bring disaster on them]” (3:10) . . . “the LORD God appointed a plant” (4:6) . . . “God appointed a worm” (4:7) . . . “God appointed a scorching east wind” (4:8) . . . and then God spoke to Jonah again (4:9-11).

I’m in awe of all the “dials” God turned in order to direct one stubborn called-of-God prophet. Everything from stirring the elements . . . to commanding a fish, “Ok . . . that dudes had enough–time to upchuck him” . . . to moving a worm to have an elephant’s appetite. How awesome is our God?

And it makes me wonder, how many earthly “dials” God is adjusting around me in order to teach me what I need to learn. To pause and consider where, with His fingertips, He is ordering the details about me such that He might direct me to a place where I might humble myself before His throne. Of what He’s “tweaking” in order to help me to have “ears to hear” what the Spirit desires to say to me?

I fear that, for the most part, on a daily basis I am absolutely oblivious to the possibility of God working in the fine details and circumstances of my world. But if God is the “the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17) . . . and He is . . . why wouldn’t I at least entertain the possibility that He can be just as active in the day-to-day stuff around me today as He was with Jonah way back then?

God is awesome in power . . . and mighty in deed. And it’s not just in the parting of seas or creating of tempests or setting afire scorching winds, but its also in growing a plant, directing a fish, and prompting a worm to go on a binge-fest.

I’m amazed at the thought of how involved God is in our world . . . and at the most detailed and intricate of levels. I don’t need to see Him working . . . I don’t need to understand every cause and effect ordained by Him . . . but my desire is to hear His voice and recognize His presence as it pleases Him to reveal Himself in the small things.

O that I might know and expect that He still works with “fine motor skills” to shape this lump of clay for His glory.

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Blessed Anticipation

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Pete

For many, it is a season of anticipation. The anticipation of giving gifts . . . the anticipation of receiving gifts. The anticipation of family gatherings . . . the anticipation of making more memories. For some, it is the anticipation of the happiest time of the year . . . and sadly, for some, the dread of the loneliest time of the year. But at the core of it all, there should be a reliving of the anticipation of the arrival of the promised Child. He who was to be born of a virgin . . . whose name was to be called Jesus . . . who was to come to save people from their sin. We meditate on the wonders of His birth . . . the glory of angels praising God . . . the awe of no name shepherds standing before a manger. This is a time of anticipation.

Two of my readings this morning broadened that realm of anticipation . . .

After spending some quality one-on-one time with His disciples, Jesus and His disciples withdrew to the garden (John 18:1). A place they had been before . . . a place of prayer . . . soon to be a place of betrayal . . . a place, John says, of anticipation.

Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to Him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” . . .    (John 18:4-5a ESV)

That phrase pounds in my head . . . “knowing all that would happen to Him.” Jesus knew how these next hours would play out. The arrest . . . the bogus trial . . . the beatings . . . the mocking. He would stand before the elite of Israel and before the representative of Rome . . . only to be sacrificed for their personal agenda’s. He would be led to a hill . . . He would be nailed to a cross . . . forsaken of the Father . . . wounded for our transgressions . . . crushed for our iniquities. He knew all that would happen to Him. O, the dread anticipation of the cross.

I’m thinking that the anticipation that is ours during this season cannot be allowed to occur in isolation. But that it needs to be enveloped in the reality that He was born to die . . . that the Son of God was given that He might be the Lamb of God . . . that Immanuel became flesh that He might pour out His lifeblood for the remission of sin and the redemption of many. O, what bittersweet anticipation.

Then I read in Revelation of another facet of the anticipation . . .

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.”
(Revelation 11:15 ESV)

John, in his vision of things to come, enters into the anticipation of a King coming fully into His kingdom. That day when He who was born “king of the Jews” (Matt. 2:2) will be shown to all to be the King of Kings. Heaven holds its breath as the final trumpet is blown . . . as the beginning of the end of the age is initiated . . . as the final countdown is initiated which will culminate with the Christ child reigning forever and ever.

And I’m also thinking that the anticipation of Christmas day should cause us to look beyond the season and towards a day yet to come when He will return in all His glory. That the manger, after giving away to the cross, will soon give way to a throne. That He is not just a babe to be cooed over, but a Sovereign to bow before and pledge our allegiance to. O holy night when Christ was born . . . O glorious day when Christ will return to reign!

What blessed anticipation! Amen?

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An Answer to the Savior’s Prayer

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Pete

It was a bit weird as our small group connected that following Sunday. The last time we had been together, as is our custom after our study, we had prayed. In particular, one of the people we prayed for was a brother’s grandmother. She was in her 90’s . . . suffering from dementia . . . isolated further by deafness . . . and had recently had a bad fall. We had been asked to pray that, if it was the Father’s will, that He might take her home. Seemed to be the merciful thing to do . . . our brother knowing that it was the desire of his grandmother’s heart. A few days later she was promoted into glory. That Sunday, as we came together after hearing of her passing, we found it kind of weird to acknowledge that our prayer had been answered because this elderly saint was no long among the living . . . at least, not among the living on earth. But something I read in John 17 this morning caused me to remember that her departure was also an answer to the Savior’s prayer.

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.   (John 17:24 ESV)

WWJW? What would Jesus want? That those precious souls given Him by the Father would be with Him . . . that His sheep might come into His pasture . . . that His bride might come to their Bridegroom . . . that the redeemed would be with their Redeemer. Jesus wants His people to be with Him. Even now He is preparing a place for His own . . . “that where I am you may be also” (John 14:1-3). And every time a saint graduates from this scene, it’s an answer to the Savior’s prayer.

Being in His presence, though, is only the beginning. The ultimate prize being the blessing of seeing the glory given the Son by the Father. To be in His presence is to behold His glory. That which we have but a foretaste of through the illuminating work of the Spirit will give way to attentive gazes with immortal eyes. Not some passing glance, but an awe-induced fixed stare . . . an intensive focus set on discerning that which will take away our breathes . . . trying to take in every detail and nuance of His manifested majesty. Beholding the glory of the Son . . . it’s an answer to the Savior’s prayer.

And in being in His presence . . . through beholding His glory . . . we will enter into a depth of communion of which we cannot imagine . . . the very essence of the communion found in the Triune nature of the eternal God. Before the foundation of the world, the Father was loving the Son in the Spirit. God is love and, within the community of His own Triune being, He has been loving since before the earth was formed. Creation then, in a sense, being the product of His desire to love. Redemption then, being driven by the very nature of God to love . . . for God so loved the world. And, on that day, when faith gives way to sight . . . when this tent is shed for our heavenly dwelling . . . we will enter into the depths of fellowship known by God Himself within Himself. This too, being an answer to the Savior’s prayer.

O’ to behold His glory! The glory given Him by the Father . . . the glory that drives all of heaven facedown in worship.

What an answer to prayer! All praise be to the Prayer!

Amen?

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Them

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Pete

I know who “them” is . . . both specifically and generally. “Them,” specifically, are those who, in the time of Jesus, believed in Jesus. Those who on the night before Jesus was betrayed listened as He gave His “going home” speech. They are those who had followed Him for the past three years and, while others fell away and stopped following, they hung in there . . . believing He was the Son of God . . . though not fully appreciating all that the Son of God would be asked of the Father to do. “Them” were kind of a rag tag bunch . . . mostly blue collar types . . . the “professional” among them being a tax collector. Not the elite of society . . . not so accomplished that they stood head and shoulders above the crowd . . . but “them” were those who believed. And since then, generally, “them” are those who have believed in the Christ and His saving work throughout the ages. And in them, He is glorified.

For I have given them the words that You gave Me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom You have given me, for they are Yours. All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.    — Jesus praying to the Father (John 17:8-10 ESV)

I like reading John 17 as if I’m kind of eavesdropping on Someone praying for me. My soul stirred . . . my spirit humbled . . . as I hear again that I have been given of the Father to the Son. That somehow in the horizon of eternity, the seemingly parallel railroad tracks of my choosing to believe and His choosing of Me come together in the fullness of the mystery of salvation. I chose Him . . . but He first chose Me. I love Him . . . because He first loved Me. I have received the gift of salvation . . . the Son has been given those who believe. Do I quite get how the whole dynamic fits together . . . not really. But that doesn’t keep me from liking the sound of the Savior praying for those given to Him by the Father.

Do I somehow think I merited such favor? . . . absolutely not . . . I know me better. Do I wonder at the grace and calling of God . . . pretty much! Do I like being prayed for by the Savior . . . music to the ears.

But what’s really pushed the awe-o-meter over the top is the declaration by the Creator of all things that in “them” He is glorified. Like I said . . . I know who “them” were. None of them would be able to stay awake and pray with Him on the night before He endured the cross . . .all of them would flee and abandon the Master . . . one of them would even deny, three times, that He even knew the Messiah. And yet Jesus says He would be glorified in them.

And I know who “them” is today . . . “them” be me. A sinner saved by grace still trying to fully figure out this pilgrim way. Though brought into marvelous light, continually battling that which would seek to draw me back into the darkness of this world. Though made a new creation in Christ, daily doing battle with the old man . . . the Spirit within me arm wrestling the flesh . . . often winning, but not always. And in the “them” that is me . . . Jesus says He would be glorified. Unreal!!!

O the grace of God! For not many of them “were wise according to the worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth” . . . but God chose them . . . that with mustard seed faith they might believe . . . and be grafted into Christ “who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption” . . . that in them He might be glorified. Therefore, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1Cor. 1:26-31).

Do I fully get it? . . . not yet, but one day. Do I fully desire it? . . . that He would be glorified in me?  Yes, Lord!

Be glorified in “them” . . . be glorified in me.

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Take Heart!

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Pete

Reading in Revelation this morning. Of John . . . in heaven . . . by the transport of the Spirit . . . weeping aloud. You don’t equate heaven with crying very much. But John weeps because heaven comes to a stop as a mighty angel with a loud voice asks a question, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” (Rev. 5:2) And heaven pauses . . . and looks around . . . and “no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look into it” (5:3). And in that hush . . . in that moment of divine silence . . . panic sets in . . . John’s brain does not compute. No one worthy to bring the church to final victory? No one suitable or deserving of fulfilling the hope of the ages? John weeps.

And then He appears. A Lamb amidst the throne . . . as though it had been slain yet shining forth in glory and power . . . identified as the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Root of David. Worthy to take the scroll . . . worthy of all heaven’s homage as those who had bowed and worshiped before the throne now fall before Him. Worthy, because He has “conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals” (5:5).

Before coming to this awe invoking scene I had been reading another of John’s writings, his gospel. Reading some of Jesus’ last words to His own before He would suffer on a cross . . . and be raised from the dead . . . and be taken back into heaven. And in those words was this promise . . .

I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.  —  Jesus     (John 16:33 ESV)

Take heart . . . I have overcome the world.

The promise echoes beyond the chaos His disciples would experience that next day. The promise reverberates long after they witnessed the empty tomb and encountered the risen Christ. Pulsing beyond His ascension . . . and the price they would eventually pay for their witness to a world at war with its Creator. The flow of the promise pouring into a vast congregation throughout history who have known the reality of tribulation in this world and yet, a peace that passes understanding. Having taken heart . . . having been of good cheer . . . having been strengthened by divine comfort . . . because He has conquered.

I’m thinking that sometimes we experience on earth what John, in his vision, experienced in heaven. An apparently unsolvable question . . . a momentary pause of panic as we think, “What now?” Hearing the silence, we don’t know what to think . . . or what to do . . . save weep. It is then (for how many has this been the experience?) . . . it is then that He emerges from the confusion . . . that He shows Himself anew as the Lion . . . reveals Himself afresh as the King . . . reminds us again that He is the Lamb who has conquered . . . and our souls are flooded with an inexplicable calm. Nothing’s changed, except our focus . . . nothing’s different, but the Conqueror in our midst.

Able to take the scroll and, with might, to wrap up the age . . . but willing also, as He sympathizes with our weakness, to bear us up through the next few minutes . . . to draw near through the next few days or weeks or months . . . to whisper in our ears through His Spirit, “Take heart! I have overcome!”

And because He has overcome . . . because He has conquered . . . because the One who died–more than that, who was raised–who is at the right hand of God, is indeed is interceding for us . . . “in all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom. 8:34-37).

To Him be all glory!

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
(Revelation 5:13-14 ESV)

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An Open Door . . . A Loud Voice

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Pete

I’m a skipper. I skip ahead. I know what’s coming so I gloss over stuff until I get there. Some parts of God’s Word I read . . . some parts I speed read. Some verses I chew on . . . and others I barely taste. Such, I think, is the case most often with the opening verses of Revelation 4. I’m so excited to leave the things of earth, where the Son of Man walks amidst the churches, and be drawn into the happenings of heaven where the twenty-four elders go facedown before the throne of God. I’m so ready to leave the continual call for those who have ears, to hear, and move to the rhythm of heaven, where living creatures beyond imagination cry out, day and night without ceasing, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD God Almighty!” But in that anticipation, most often I miss the transition. But not this morning. For some reason (can anyone say Spirit of truth) I’m drawn to an open door and a loud voice.

After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the throne.   (Revelation 4:1-2 ESV)

That there should be a door standing open in heaven should be enough, in and of itself, to illicit great praise. That mortal men should have any access into eternal realms . . . that sinful man would possess any hope of passage into God’s holy presence . . . is a reminder of God’s over-the-top love . . . and Christ’s hold-nothing-back sacrifice.

The door is open because God the Father so loved the world. It is open because God the Son so humbled Himself . . . making “Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men . . . And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” The Lamb of God come to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29), shedding His blood as the once-for-all atoning sacrifice for man’s rebellion. And, having offered Himself on the altar of Calvary’s cruel cross, the work was finished . . . and the barrier to the Most Holy Place was torn from top to bottom . . . and a door into heaven was propped open.

But what good is an open door if no one knows about it? What good is sure passage if it’s obscured by the distractions of the storms of this life? Cue the loud voice!

John heard “the first voice” . . . a loud voice like a trumpet . . . the voice he had encountered back in chapter one . . . the voice of “One like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around His chest. . . . the hairs of His head were white like wool, as white as snow . . . His eyes were like a flame of fire, His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters” (Rev. 1:10-15). It is the voice of the King of Kings, Himself, to His redeemed people . . . the voice of the Shepherd to His lost-and-found sheep . . . the voice of the Bridegroom to His blood-bought Bride . . . the voice of the Son of God to those He calls brothers and sisters. It is the voice that says, “Come up here!”

O what grace that we have heard and responded to the voice that beckons to all people, “Believe in me!” What grace that we continue to hear the voice, through the active agency of the Spirit within us, inviting us into deeper and deeper relationship, “Abide with me!” What grace that, one day, we too will see the open door and hear His blessed voice, “Come up here! Behold, I will show you the fulfillment of your hope . . . the ultimate fruit of your faith.”

An open door . . . a loud voice . . . a guy sitting in his chair at his desk lingering over the wonder of it all . . . not a skipper today . . . by His grace . . . for His glory.

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