Just Grace

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Pete

You don’t need to wait until Black Friday or Cyber Monday in order to take advantage of this offer. Doesn’t matter what time of year you’re ready to purchase, the deals the same. Anyway, it’s not really a matter of how much you can pay . . . it’s already been paid for. The currency is grace . . . no limit on the card . . . no minimum monthly payments . . . just grace.

I’m reading the last letter to the seven churches in Revelation . . . the letter to the church of Laodicea. Perhaps the best known of the seven churches . . . seems that the picture of vomiting has a way of sticking with people. The Laodicean’s were the lukewarm church . . . the neither hot nor cold assembly . . . the “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing” congregation of the self-righteous. Enough to look the part . . . measuring up to their own standard . . . pretty content in who they were and what they had done. Barf!

But what strikes me this morning is that “the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of God’s creation” (3:14) doesn’t just spew them out and walk away. Rather He professes His love for them (3:19) . . . and then, He offers them a deal . . .

I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.    (Revelation 3:18 ESV)

They could buy gold refined by fire . . . the Calvary tried gold of the cross . . . the Founder of their salvation made perfect through suffering that many might be brought to glory (Heb. 2:10) . . . He who possessed the riches of eternity becoming poor for our sake, that we “by His poverty might become rich” (2Cor. 8:9). They could buy white garments to cover their nakedness . . . robe themselves in the imputed righteousness of Christ . . . clothe themselves in His purity and spotlessness . . . stand sure in His merit. And, they could buy salve that would open blind eyes . . . the revealed Word of God illuminated through the active agency of the Spirit of God . . . given insight which transcends their self-centered view of the world . . . possessing the mind of Christ . . . understanding something of the mysteries of heaven.

That’s the offer Jesus makes to those worthy only of being spit out of His mouth. And the currency to make such purchases?  Grace . . . just grace.

It’s wan’t about earning the dough in order to buy the goods . . . but about opening the door in order to dine with God . . .

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to Him and eat with him, and he with Me.    (Revelation 3:20 ESV)

It wasn’t about doing more . . . actually, they had done enough. It was about receiving more . . . about grace, abundant grace. No need to desperately search for Him, He’s standing at the door. No need to frantically plead with Him to enter . . . He’s knocking, He wants in. Just opening the door . . . and letting Him come in . . . and reclining in intimate fellowship with Him at the table.

That’s the deal . . . no standing in line all night to get it . . . just opening the door. No need to work harder . . . to earn enough . . . to save up more . . . in order to afford it. Because it’s of grace . . . just grace.

O’ thank God for His amazing grace!

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He Knows

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Pete

The rhythm of Revelation chapters two and three is pretty evident. Seven letters to seven churches. The churches are described as seven lampstands . . . they are represented by seven angels . . . and in their midst is He who has the seven spirits of God. And the letters are patterned the same. Addressed to the angel of the church, they begin with a brief description of some attribute of the Author. There is then an assessment of their works. For most of the churches, but not all, there is commendation for faithfulness. And, for some of the churches, there is rebuke and a call to return to being the church that Christ intended. Finally there is a promise for “the one who conquers” followed by a final exhortation to “he who has an ear” to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Pretty recognizable pattern. The cadence is clear. The rhythm reverberates.

But what’s caught my attention is the foundational beat of the rhythm . . . the reality behind each of these letters . . . the source of each commendation . . . the source of each correction. Jesus, the One in the midst of the lampstands, knows what’s going on within His church.

Seven letters and seven times Jesus says, “I know.” To the churches at Ephesus, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodecia, Jesus says, “I know your works.” To the church in Smyrna, “I know your tribulation and your poverty and the slander.” To Pergamum He says, “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.” In every letter Jesus reminds His church, He knows.

Regardless of what church government structure a local body of believers might adopt, I’m thinking it can be easy to forget who’s really in charge. Whether our organization structure tops out at the pastor . . . or at a body of elders . . . or at a bishop, or such, over many congregations . . . the rhythm of Revelation reminds me that Jesus is the Head of the Church . . . and that He knows.

God has appointed Him as head over the body (Eph. 1:22-23). As head over the body, He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, “that in everything He might be preeminent” (Col. 1:18). And the expectation is that “we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ” (Eph. 4:15). And so, while we might focus on our polices and practices and programming, we need to do so keeping in mind that the Head of our church knows His church and seeks to direct His church.

That’s why everything we do needs to be submitted to His will for the church.

Each local body of believers is unique . . . God having brought into fellowship a sovereignly determined mix of blood-bought, Spirit-enabled, gifted body parts. Each individual called to do their part . . . each congregation called to ministry in the context of their location and their situation. And among each of these local gatherings of His people, He is in their midst . . . and He knows.

And so, ours needs to be to align ourselves to, and evaluate ourselves against, His Word. Ours needs to be to seek His leading and submit our planning to His Spirit in prayer. Ours needs to be to remember that He knows . . . and that He cares . . . and that He is building His church.

Our is to have ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches . . . by His grace . . . for His glory.

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Let Righteousness Rain

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Pete

God’s covenant people, planted as a vine to bear much fruit, instead emptied themselves into the altars of false gods . . . and, as such, became a dead vine . . . a vine laid waste. Planted through the promise of abundant blessing in a fertile place, they had become a dry land . . . a dry and barren land. The ground had become hard. Seed, sown through the word of God and the evidence of His presence, was blown away by the winds of rebellion and infidelity. Though they thought they were living, they were dead. And as I continue reading in the prophets, God’s just-ness compels Him to warn of judgment. But God’s love, compassion, and grace, propel Him to continue to offer a way of escape. This morning I hear the Father’s plea, Let righteousness rain!

Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that He may come and rain righteousness upon you.    (Hosea 10:12 ESV)

It’s time to seek the LORD . . . that He may come and rain righteousness upon you.

A much needed plea for a withered vine which has spent itself in pursuit of false lovers . . . a much needed reminder for a sinner saved by grace with a heart prone to wander.

There is a righteousness available to be poured out upon the people of God. They sow the seed of righteousness . . . they prime the pump of the outpouring . . . by faith. But the righteousness is not their own. It is that of Another. It is not earned . . . it is gifted. It is not of merit . . . it is of grace. And mine is seek the LORD that the righteousness might rain.

I was also reading in John 15:1-8 this morning. Jesus identifies Himself as “the true vine” . . . the Father as the vinedresser . . . and His own as branches intended to bear fruit. Kind of like His ancient people Israel, huh?

He says that a branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine . . . neither can a follower of Christ bear fruit unless he remains, or continues, in fellowship with the risen Savior. He says that fruit bearing is an evidence of discipleship. And He says, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit.”

So I’m thinking how much I don’t want to be barren . . . how much I long to avoid becoming like dry and hardened land . . . how regretful I’d be if I became unable to bear fruit because my heart sought another.

O that I might continue to seek the Lord . . . the His righteousness would continue to rain down upon me. That I might continually break up the fallow ground . . . that His grace would pour out upon me . . . that I might abide in Him . . . that His life, through His blessed Holy Spirit, might flow through me.

Let righteousness rain . . . that fruit might be born . . . that others might know we are His disciples . . . that God might receive all the glory.

Amen?

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Wondering at the Fringes . . . Desiring the Fullness

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Pete

I think it’s pretty easy to fall into a mindset that puts us at the center of life. After all, by the very nature of perspective, things are viewed in terms of where we stand . . . encountered in the context of what we have experienced . . . processed against the body of knowledge we have acquired. I’m just thinking that it’s kind of natural to see the universe as it relates to me rather than see me as it relates to the ways of this universe. Reading in Job this morning kind of upset that all too natural apple cart . . . shifted the paradigm . . . put me, as it were, in my place. And it’s left me wondering at the fringes . . . and desiring the fullness.

He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing. He binds up the waters in His thick clouds, and the cloud is not split open under them. He covers the face of the full moon and spreads over it His cloud. He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters at the boundary between light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble and are astounded at His rebuke. By His power He stilled the sea; by His understanding He shattered Rahab. By His wind the heavens were made fair: His hand pierced the fleeing serpent. Behold, these are but the outskirts of His ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?   (Job 26:7-14 ESV)

Behold the outskirts of His ways . . . the NKJV says that “Indeed these are the mere edges” . . . the NLT, “just the beginning of all He does” . . . the NIV and NASB translates it as “the fringes.” And when I remove myself from the center . . . and realize I am but on the outskirts . . . I wonder at the fringes . . . and I desire the fullness.

I don’t know exactly how Job knows all he knows . . . given that he lived in “ancient times” without all the scientific breakthroughs we know today (or, are they just repeat breakthroughs?) . . . but there’s some pretty sophisticated understanding of creation’s marvelous structure. Job knows that God stretches the northern sky over a vast empty space . . . and that He hangs the earth on nothing . . . that clouds are filled with water yet do not break under the weight of it (Job never lived in Seattle) . . . that there’s a circular horizon over the water, at the place where light meets darkness (doesn’t sound like Job thought the world was flat). Job recognizes that God stirs up the sea . . . breaks up the storm . . . and dresses up the heavens. Wow!

What we see of God . . . what we understand to be true of God . . . what the Spirit has made known to us concerning the Person and work of God . . . they are just the beginning . . . a mere whisper. Or, to coin a less eloquent phrase, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”

Yes, I have been born into this world. Yes, by the grace of God and through the finished work of the cross, I have been born again into His kingdom. Yes, I abide in Christ and Christ lives in me through the Holy Spirit. Yes, I have access into the very holy presence of God through the blood of Christ. But as much as all this is . . . I can’t help but think I ain’t seen nothn’ yet.

What has been revealed is only the tip of the iceberg. To think that what I know of God is to fully know Him, is to not know Him at all. It’s but a taste . . . a teaser of things yet to come. Far from satisfying my hunger it should inflame a desire for more. While His living water quenches my thirst, it should leave such a taste as to want to seek out the Source of such a life-giving flow in all its fullness.

The marvels of Creation . . . the wonders of salvation . . . the on-going work of sanctification . . . all of it should prime the pump of wanting the realities of a deeper relationship with Him who we have but encountered a whisper of. He, whose power is beyond understanding, is not beyond pursuing.

O’, that I would not be satisfied with just the mere edges . . . that the outskirts would not be enough to satisfy my longing. But that I would worship at the extremities and press on after the essence . . . that I would wonder at the fringes and desire the fullness.

Praise God for the mere edges . . . but I ain’t seen nothin’ yet . . . can’t wait to know Him more.

. . . by His grace . . . for His glory!

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Partners

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Pete

He was on the island called Patmos. Not on vacation but in exile. Not because he purchased an all-inclusive package at some resort but because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Not because he had bought a ticket but because he had been banished as a criminal. But though his circumstance as he was given the Revelation of Jesus Christ was very different than mine, I hear him, through the inspired word of God, call me his partner.

I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
(Revelation 1:9-10a ESV)

The way I read this, John identifies three realities he is experiencing “in Christ” as he does life on Patmos . . . the tribulation . . . the kingdom . . . and the patient endurance. And in these, he acknowledges he is not alone . . . but that he is a companion of others who know the same realities “in Christ.” And that’s the hook for me.

I know John wrote TO a specific audience at that time, but I also know that he wrote FOR those who would also be “in Christ” for all time. So while John’s words might not be specifically to TO me they are FOR me . . . and to that degree, we’re partners. Partners in Christ.

Now I’m all in when it comes to being blessed in Christ . . . and seated together with Him in heavenly places, in Christ . . . and shown the immeasurable riches of His grace, in Christ (check out Ephesians 1). But being a co-participant in the tribulation that is in Christ? Yeah . . . that too . . . we’re partners.

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)

While I am in Christ . . . I am in also in the world . . . and in the world, stuff happens. Not just the “natural” stuff . . . the trials of health gone bad, or tragedy come by surprise . . . but also the spiritual stuff . . . a world system at odds with our calling . . . a world ruler at war with our Master. And so we are partners with those who know the tribulation that is in Jesus. To be sure, the price I pay is not to be compared with what others suffer for the name of Christ. But I shouldn’t be surprised if I don’t quite fit in . . . if I’m not quite understood . . . if I’m not really accepted . . .  if I feel like I’m living a bit on an island because of the world’s hostility towards Christ. Partners.

Partners in tribulation because I am also a partner in the possession and pursuit of another kingdom. Living as though in a foreign land . . . living as though in a temporary dwelling . . . looking forward to “the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10). Seeking first the kingdom of God . . . desiring more the prize of a future reality than the supposed success of this reality. In Christ, I’m part of the kingdom of heaven . . . experiencing it by faith today . . . looking forward to entering into fully on that day.

And,in that we pursue the kingdom that is ours in Christ, . . . and in that we experience the associated tribulations that are ours in Christ, . . . we also realize the patient endurance that becomes ours in Christ. It is an endurance enabled by minds set on things above . . . a steadfastness fueled by the power of the Spirit within. It is a hopeful constancy built upon the promises of God . . . a persistent perseverance known because of the abiding presence of God. And so, we’re partners.

Partners in Christ . . . by His grace . . . for His glory.

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Him Who Loves Us

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Pete

I get that some might avoid the Revelation because it can be pretty hard to wade through. But this morning, as I start in on this final part of my reading plan, I’m thinking that the journey is worth it if only for the opening chapter of this book. While the majority of what was given to John to record are visions of unseen realities that stretch the limits of human description, there are some parts of the letter that are crystal clear . . . among them, these opening verses I’ve just finished reading. Oh, how the heart is stirred as I read of Him who loves us.

John, to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.    (Revelation 1:4-6 ESV)

For whatever difficulties in interpretation lie ahead in trying to understand this book, at this point, here’s what’s beyond second guessing . . .

A grace has been poured out from the very portals of heaven which allows defiled sinners on earth to know a peace and rest with the triune holy God of heaven. This grace is sourced from the God of eternity, He who is, has always been, and will ever be. It is a grace which flows through the all-knowing, ever-present, perfect Spirit of God . . . a grace realized through the Faithful Witness, the conqueror of death, the One who will one day rule over all the earth. It is grace which, by its very nature, is poured out not because it is earned or deserve . . . but flows abundant only because of Him who loves us.

Because of His great love for us, He freed us from our sins by His blood. The King of Heaven took on the flesh of man that He might be presented as the Lamb of God to offer His life as an atoning sacrifice for our rebellion and transgression. He who knew no sin . . . became sin for us. He who was rich . . . became poor of our sake. He who ordained that life would be in the blood, poured out His own blood that we might be released from sin’s tyranny.

Because of His great love for us He enlisted us in His kingdom . . . ordaining us as priests to His God and Father. Those who were once enemies of God have been made into a royal priesthood . . . a people of His own calling . . . witnesses after the Faithful Witness . . . in order that we might proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness and into marvelous light (1Peter 2:9).

A grace that pours out holy blood . . . a grace that purchases from slavery . . . a grace that produces a holy priesthood out of ordinary people . . . all because of Him who loves us.

To fathom the depths of the love of God toward us in Jesus Christ is impossible. It’s breadth and length and height and depth surpasses knowledge (Eph. 3:18-19). But, while it can’t be fully known, it should be fully entered into. Though we may never reach the depths of full understanding, we should, nevertheless, dive deep . . . and meditate long . . . and consider earnestly . . . Him who love us.

. . . to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

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To Him Who Is Able

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Pete

We have a pretty amazing men’s group at our fellowship. Probably one of the things that surprises me the most is the degree of candor that exists within this group of men. Not that we get all touchy-feely . . . but that there is just a willingness to be open and to talk about things that . . . well, quite frankly, would be just as easy not to talk about and leave in the basement of the past or bury in the benign things of the present. Interestingly, one of the residual effects, for some, of hearing these stories of guys having gone through a tempest . . . of those who have, admittedly by God’s grace, come out of the other side of the storm . . . is a kind of fear. It’s a fear that wonders, “If I were to find myself in the same situation, would I prevail as well? Would I stand the test as they did? Or would I falter, and thus dishonor the Name of the One who saved me?” And I get the question . . . I can relate to the uncertainty . . . you don’t really know how you’ll respond in a situation until you’re there.

But this morning, wrapping up the tiny letter of Jude, there’s a promise that alleviates the fear . . . a word that eases the worry. And it really isn’t about whether or not we think we’ll be able to run any gauntlet that life throws our way . . . instead it’s all about Him who is able.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.    Jude 24-25

True statement . . . we don’t know what tomorrow (or even today) holds. Equally true statement . . . He is able to keep us from stumbling.

The fear of the trial is that somehow it might cause us to question our faith . . . that questioning might lead to unbelief . . . that unbelief would result in disobedience . . . that disobedience would end in a failure to uphold the Name or, in a falling away from the pursuit of the kingdom. But the Spirit, through Jude, assures the child of God that our God is able to keep us from stumbling.

The stories we hear around that men’s table . . . the testimonies we hear at our men’s breakfast . . . so often testify of a grace that kicks in . . . of a presence known as clearly as it has ever been known . . . of an abiding strength that keeps men keepin’ on. The stories tell of the fulfillment of the promise . . . He is able to keep you from stumbling.

Enough are the cares for the day . . . I don’t need to worry about what lies around the corner or if I’ll be able to stand firm amidst it . . . He is able. This morning I enter the fray fully convinced of His saving power . . . His all sufficient grace . . . and His sanctifying presence. I don’t need to spend time wondering if something’s going to come up that causes my faith to falter . . . for He is able. I can look back on the altars built along the way, recalling His presence in past storms, remembering His strength in previous times of weakness, reflecting on the renewal of the inner man when my outer world was faltering . . . and I know He is able.

We have not been given a spirit of fear (2Tim. 1:7) . . . instead, we have been given a promise. He who begun the work will complete the work . . . He who called us will deliver us . . . He who cleansed us will present us before Himself spotless. Not because of who we are, but because of who He is . . . not because of what we’ll do, but because of what He has done . . . not because we are able . . . but because He is able.

. . . to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen?

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Love One Another

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Pete

I’m not really one for “cool Christian t-shirts.” Not judging anyone who likes to wear “God puts the AWE in awesome” on their chest . . . not saying anything about those who sport a big flexed bicep on their back for “God’s Gym” . . . it’s just not me. Though I do recall once having a t-shirt with a couple of empty high top runners on it . . . smoke kind of rising from them . . . a couple of feet in the top of the picture, having been sucked out of the runners, obviously on their way up to somewhere . . . with the caption, “In the twinkling of an eye . . . 1Cor. 15:52 ” Ok, so maybe I might wear a t-shirt if it was cool like that. But normally, that’s not my preferred method of declaring my allegiance to Christ. This morning I’m reminded of another way to witness . . . another means of declaring I’m His . . . .another way of letting people know I’m a follower of Christ.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”   – Jesus       (John 13:34-35)

I love the church . . . not some building . . . but the assembly of God’s people. While God, in His grace, used a friend and the Word to save me, it was being welcomed into a small gathering of believers that, in many ways, sealed the deal. Though I was first grabbed by the simplicity of sitting around the Lord’s table to enjoy the Lord’s supper together . . . though the text on the wall, “Be Still and Know that I am God,” seemed to penetrate my being and invite me into a place I knew little about . . . it was the authentic care and love of the people around the table that would evidence for me that this new found faith was real. Not any who were necessarily “wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth” (1Cor. 1:26) . . . but people who really seemed to love the Lord and to love another.

Before I left for college, brother Bob invited me over to his place for a chat. While I vaguely recall some of what was said in his office, the one thing that rings as clear today as the day I heard it . . . the words I’m still able to quote from that conversation with that man of God some 35 years later . . . the exhortation that continues to ring like a clarion bell for me was, “Pete, love the people of God.”

A new commandment I give to you, that you love another.

The body of believers I now gather with take the banner, “A Family Growing Together” . . . and we are. Now I know that some come from such a dysfunctional upbringing that the idea of a family is far from an inviting idea . . . but the concept of a family should bring to mind a safe place . . . a place where there is acceptance . . . a place to grow through nurturing . . . a place to go when you’re feeling a bit beat up and just need a hug. And there’s something about a group of people who are not blood-relatives loving one another as though they were that causes others to take note.

All people will know you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

The love of believers one for another . . . the reality of the family of God behaving like a family . . . what a powerful witness to a lost world.

Let us heed the call. Let us so love the people of God that outsiders will know we’re followers . . . not because of the clothes we wear, but because of the way we care.

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

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Fuel Still in the Fire!

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Pete

Some slightly re-worked thoughts from 2008 . . . still my desire . . .

As I encounter the last few chapters of Daniel chapters I’m reminded that they are written by someone who is “getting up there” in age. Beyond the visions he saw . . . and the prophetic truth he received . . . I’m kind of in awe of the passion that Daniel still exhibits during his “twilight season” of life. To quote an old southern gospel singer, “Just ’cause thar’s snow on the roof don’t mean thar ain’t still fuel in the fire!”

Based on a little bit of fact finding, it seems the timing of Daniel 9 is about a year before the Persian king Cyrus permits the Jews to return from exile . . . so it’s 69 years after Daniel was taken into captivity. Now Daniel was a young man (Daniel 1:4) when he was brought to Babylon . . . let’s say between 15 and 20 years old . . . so that puts him in his mid to late 80’s when we find him studying the prophecy of Jeremiah in chapter 9.

Ok . . . so he had a pretty consistent devotional life . . . that’s good.

Yeah . . . but it goes a lot deeper then just a life-long habit of reading his Bible every morning. As he understands the implications of Jeremiah’s prophesied “70 years” he is stirred to pray. And as you read his prayer in chapter 9 you just pick up on the depth of his pursuit of God . . . and his passion for God’s people . . . and his persistence to see the glory of God manifest.

No sense that Daniel has coasted into retirement. No indicator that the “old, old, story” has somehow become “old hat.” Nothing that would show that after so many years of being in this foreign land that he has lost his edge for the things of God. Complacency setting in? If anything, the sense is that as he has grown older his energy for God’s will to be done is peaking.

When he prays he sets his face toward God . . . he stops eating as he seeks to be filled from food from heaven alone . . . he dresses in sackcloth and ashes as he humbles himself . . . identifying himself with sins of his people. He extols the greatness of God . . . and he confesses the iniquity of God’s people. He cries out to God, “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O, Lord pay attention and act!” (Daniel 9:19) with earnestness as he casts himself upon the grace of God: “For we do not present our pleas before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercy.” (Daniel 9:18)

And, even as an “old dude”, this faithful man of God moves heaven to action. While he’s praying the archangel Gabriel comes to him, “At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out and I have come.” (Daniel 9:23) In chapter 10 we find Daniel again in the midst of a 3 week fast as he mourns for the his people and seeks his God. And again it moves heaven to send a messenger who needs to do battle with demonic forces in order to reach him. How bad does heaven want to connect with Daniel? Pretty bad. Why? Because of the degree to which this aging, successful politician, has determined to connect with heaven.

And I can’t help but want to be like Daniel. To be marked by a lifetime of passionately pursuing the things of God. To running with just as much desire — though it may not be with just as much strength — at the end of the race as I was at the beginning. To know the reality of His mercies being new every morning . . . morning after morning . . . year after year. To still be seeking Him in His word after decades . . . and still finding Him . . . and still being jazzed by His awesome Person and work. To still have the faith of a child . . . and the experience of a lifetime that attests to His faithfulness. As I get older . . . and the return of Christ gets closer . . . may it fuel the fire of passion for my King.

O’ to be like Daniel . . . and like Paul . . . to be able, by the grace of God, to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2Tim. 4:7)

Not just to have run long, but to have run hard . . . with zeal . . . with excitement . . . with passion . . . with fuel still in the fire . . . for the glory of God . . .

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Present in the Pillar

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Pete

Sometimes I’m surprised by the verses that surprise me. Things that I know to be true somehow blind-side me when I come across them referred to in a certain manner in Scripture. Such was the case this morning as I read in Jude. I know about the Trinity . . . I know that in the beginning was God, the One who said, “Let US make man in OUR image” . . . that Father, Son, and Spirit are inseparable though spoken of as three distinct persons . . . that the Three are One. But as read the fifth verse of Jude’s letter I was taken aback a bit as I was reminded that Jesus was present in the pillar.

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.   (Jude 3-5 ESV)

Jude writes to contend for the faith. Among the flock of God’s people, there were wolves of error who were perverting grace and denying the deity of Christ. And so Jude reminds them, though they knew it, . . . like me . . . that Jesus saved a people out of Egypt and judged those who stood in opposition. And that’s what caught me this morning . . . Jesus saved a people out of Egypt.

Now other translations say “the Lord” delivered His people. Apparently there is ancient manuscript evidence for using “Jesus” . . . but beyond that, in the context of verse 4, where Jesus Christ is identified as Lord, it fits. Regardless, I know that it is true. Where God was present in the Old Testament, He was present in the fullness of His triune nature. When Moses was commissioned before the burning bush on the mount, he stood on holy ground before the glory of God’s triune presence . . . Jesus was there. When God closed the Red Sea upon the enemies of His people, He did so in fullness of His triune power . . . Jesus was there. And when He guided them after they had been released out of bondage via the cloud by day and fire by night, He did so as the triune pillar . . . Jesus being there . . . present in the pillar.

And beyond that, Jesus was there . . .

I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.    (1Corinthians 10:1-4 ESV)

And I realize how prone I am to placing Jesus in the context of time, as in, Jesus came into this earth some 2,000 years ago as a babe in the manger. He did, but it’s not like that was His first encounter or interaction with this world. He made the world . . . He has been active since the beginning of time . . . and He will bring an end to time. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and End (Rev. 1:8). I fear that sometimes I so focus on His humanity . . . the depths He went to in order to identify with His creation that He might become our faithful High Priest . . . that I lose sight of His deity . . . and the awe that goes with it.

God, fully God, that’s my Savior! The same, yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). That’s my Lord!

Now to Him who was present in the pillar of those led out of Egypt . . . and is present today in those who are in pursuit of their heavenly home . . . to Him be all glory and praise!

Amen?

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