Not Letting Go

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Pete

He’s one of my heroes. One of a couple of guys in the Scripture that, for some reason, there has been a lifelong connection with (my Christian “lifelong”, that is). Though I am inspired by Paul’s persistent pursuit of the prize . . . though I identify way too much with Peter’s “ready-fire-aim” approach . . . it’s a couple of Old Testament guys who continually draw me in with a desire to model them. One of those guys is Daniel. Lived in a foreign land . . . purposed not to defile himself with the king’s meats . . . entrusted himself to God in all things . . . God’s hand upon him as he was promoted within the courts of various kings . . . made a difference in his world. The other guy . . . the hero I’m thinking about this morning . . . is Job. By God’s own repeated testimony, he was a man who was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (1:1, 1:8, 2:3). And, he was a man who was not letting go.

And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to destroy him without reason.”   (Job 2:3 ESV)

It was a battle of cosmic and epic proportions. Holy God vs. fallen angel of light . . . the adversary . . . the accuser. The battlefield? A faithful family man . . . a hard-working and successful businessman . . . a guy on earth who becomes the focal of heaven. Take away what he has, says the accuser to God, take away the wealth, . . . take away the toys, . . . take away his family, . . . take away the hedge, . . .and he will curse You to Your face. You’re on, says God, do it and see what happens.

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”    (Job 1:20-21 ESV)

Chapter 2 . . . Round 2 . . . Skin for skin, says the destroyer, let me touch his body, then see him curse You to Your face. Go for it, says the Father. And I’m thinking that Job, if he had known what was going on, might have said, respectfully, Could you two please talk about someone else!

Can’t relate to the pain Job felt . . . can’t imagine what he looked like that his friends didn’t recognize him at first and could only tear their clothes and weep. For his wife, it was the straw (a really big, awful, and heavy straw) that broke the camel’s back, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” But Job held fast . . . he was a man who was not letting go.

Integrity . . . that which drives what we do when no one else is looking. Literally, a man or woman’s “completeness” . . . who they are at their core. In the original language, apparently, it also has the idea of simplicity. You don’t sense Job being a theologian . . . or a man of complex nuances . . . or a believer who had to define himself with a multiplicity of adjectives describing what type of follower of God he was. Nope . . . just a simple guy . . . who believed God was God. That, as God, He could give . . . as God, He could take away. And, as God, He was to be worshiped . . . as God, His name was to be blessed . . . as God, He could be trusted in all things.

” . . . Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.    (Job 2:10 ESV)

Not saying I want Job’s circumstance . . . but so want to model his faith . . . to also be a man who holds fast his integrity . . . a man who, by God’s grace, and for God’s glory, is not letting go.

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Making An Entrance

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Pete

While many might be invited . . . not all will be admitted. And though there will be many who are admitted . . . not everyone will enter the same way. I think that’s a true statement concerning the kingdom of heaven.

“For God so loved the world” (John 3:16) . . . giving His Son as the atoning sacrifice for all mankind (John 1:29) . . . inviting all to believe and receive the gift of eternal life and to occupy a place He is preparing from them in His very presence (John 14:1-3). But though provision has been made for all . . . only some will be admitted . . . for others will refuse the invitation.

For those who are admitted, not all will make the same entrance. Paul says that each “admitted one” is building on a sure foundation, but that not all will build diligently. Some will build with gold, silver, and precious stones . . . others with wood, hay, and straw. And on the Day we “admitted ones” stand before the Master Builder, that which we’ve built will be tested by fire. “If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” So, Paul says, “Let each one take care how he builds upon it.” (1Cor.3:10-14). Peter echoes that sentiment this morning as he encourages his readers to be focused on making an entrance.

Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.    (2Peter 1:10-11 ESV)

In Peter’s second letter he is quick to remind his readers that God has given to His own–to those who have believed the gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of salvation for all who believe (Rom. 1:16)–that He has given to His own “all things that pertain to life and godliness,” that we “may become partakers of the divine nature” (1:3-4). All believers have all the tools necessary to become increasingly practically what He has declared us to be eternally positionally . . . righteous. Believers are declared to be righteous in Christ . . . and through the sanctifying dynamic of the Spirit indwelling us, He has begun a work in us to conform us to the image and nature of His Son that we might exhibit His righteousness in and through us. Ours is to invite this work in our lives . . . to submit to this work . . . to engage in this work . . . and in doing this, Peter says, we are preparing to make an entrance.

While the work of salvation is finished on the cross, the reality of salvation is born out when we are “diligent to make your calling and election sure.” Peter says to make every effort to supplement your faith (1:5) . . . and when we do, it will keep us from falling . . . it will enable us to participate in that divine nature He has equipped us with . . . our imputed righteousness will be shown in a measure of practical godliness . . . and eventually “there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom.”

Who doesn’t want to make an entrance when they are ushered into the presence of the King? Who doesn’t want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant?” Who wouldn’t want to receive a “crown of righteousness” (2Tim. 4:8) . . . or a “crown of life” (James 1:12) . . . in order that they might lay such rewards at the feet of Him who alone is worthy of all honor and praise? Though it’s not about us, shouldn’t we want to make an entrance for His glory? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Might God’s people not be content with simply being admitted into His eternal kingdom . . . but might we make every effort towards ensuring that one day we will be making an entrance.

By His grace . . . for His glory.

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Lion’s Food

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Pete

Met with a buddy for lunch yesterday. Main topic of discussion? Being lion’s food. Well, not quite phrased that way . . . but reading 1Peter this morning, I’m kind of thinking that’s what we were talking about.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, . . .
(1Peter 5:6-9a ESV)

At lunch we traded stories of times we sensed we were under spiritual attack. Not the suffering and overt persecution that the brothers and sisters Peter wrote to were enduring . . . but the in your head . . . when you’re all alone . . . beating up you can take. Those times when you’re dressed down by some drill sergeant in your imagination . . . your failures highlighted . . . your performance evaluated and deemed as coming up short. And, you feel like a loser . . . a joke . . . wondering that, if you really believed what you said you believed, you’d do better . . . know more power . . . hear His voice more audibly. But the question has to be, where’s that voice coming from?

Is it the voice of conviction . . . dealing with true sin . . . leading to godly sorrow . . . heartfelt repentance . . . and blood-bought restoration? Or is it the voice of accusation . . . dealing with apparent levels of performance . . . comparing ourselves to others who seem to have it all together . . . leading to depression . . . hopeless brokenness . . . and a sense of separation? I’m thinking, if it’s the latter, then we’re being lion’s food.

Our adversary, the devil, is on the prowl . . . stealthily moving about . . . looking for believers to swallow. In the case of Peter’s audience, it was through overt attack and physical oppression. Sometimes, he’s more subtle . . . it being the battleground of the mind and thoughts where he seeks to take down his prey. The battle can take the form of drawing the mind into a world the Christian mind has no place being and, choking out the life of the Spirit through temptation to sensuality (anything which appeals to any one of our senses) and a spurring on towards the pursuit of pleasure. Or, the skirmish can be taking the mind to a place of self doubt . . . not purifying self reflection, led by the inner probing of the Spirit . . . but a doubt concerning your ability to perform as you should as a Christian. This is the voice of the accuser (Rev. 12:10) . . . this is being gnawed on, if not devoured by, the lion . . . lion’s food.

By abiding in Christ . . . that is: faithfully feeding on His Word; continually communing with Him in prayer; frequently participating in His Body through fellowship with other believers . . . by abiding in Christ, through the inner presence of the Spirit, and by the grace of God, we can recognize the source of the voice . . . discern between conviction of the Spirit and accusation by the enemy . . . knowing when we’re being lion’s food . . . and then, resist him by standing firm in our faith.

While there certainly should be fruit evidencing the reality of God’s sanctifying work in our lives, we don’t stand on the basis of our fruit, but we stand by faith in the power of His finished work and eternal call on our lives. We stand firm in our faith, believing that He who began a good work in us will complete it (Php. 1:6) . . . knowing that apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5) . . . confessing our sin, knowing that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin because of the shed blood of the Lamb of God (1John 1:9) . . . and, by His Spirit in us, we take our heads out of the lion’s mouth . . . knowing that greater is He who lives in us than he who stalks us in world (1John 1:4).

It was a good lunch . . . a bit of iron sharpening iron (Prov. 27:17) . . . and we weren’t the food.

By God’s grace . . . for God’s glory . . .

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The Lord Is My Portion

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Pete

Quite literally it’s a bit of color amidst prevailing black and white . . . and grey . . . so very much grey. I’m in Lamentations . . . not a particularly inviting title . . . not a particularly invigorating subject matter . . . this it not a “pick me up” sort of book. The writer, probably Jeremiah, is overwhelmed as he replays the destruction of Jerusalem . . . the utter decimation of God’s beloved Zion. “The LORD has done what He purposed; He has carried out His word” (Lam. 2:17) . . . judging the adulteress daughter of His calling . . . raising up Jacob’s enemies to extract the price for Jacob’s unfaithfulness. And, as the dust settles . . . and the ravages of judgment replay, again and again, in his mind, . . . the prophet is overcome with grief . . . “my eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns; my bile is poured out to the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people” (2:11).

Then, in chapter 3, it gets personal. Not only is his beloved homeland in ruins . . . but he too is beat up and so very alone. He had been the voice of God declaring the judgment of God to come. And, as such, he had become the enemy of the people. Though faithful to the call of God, his personal suffering was multiplied upon that which his people experienced. And so, he weeps too for himself . . . he laments his own wasting away . . . his soul crushed by his own suffering.

So, as one who colors his Bible, for the better part of two and a half chapters, I haven’t had much to highlight . . . pretty grey . . . pretty barren. But then some color comes onto the pages of my Bible . . . the color of God’s love and faithfulness . . . the color of God’s promises . . . color which infuses inner strength into those who know lament . . .

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”    (Lamentations 3:21-24 ESV)

By the gracious moving hand of the Spirit of God, the prophet averts his eyes off himself and onto the LORD. The dark clouds of his circumstance clear and he calls to mind that which again gives him hope. Fact . . . the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases. Fact . . . His mercies never come to an end. Fact . . . our God is a faithful God. Reality . . . the LORD is my portion. Result . . . therefore I will hope in Him.

The LORD is my portion. He is the inheritance . . . He is the reward . . . He is the end game.

Despite all the loss in the prophets life . . . despite the destruction he had witnessed . . . the pain he had bore . . . hope is revived when He is able to see in the LORD His portion . . . His purpose . . . His prize.  Or, as another has penned . . . Turn your eyes upon Jesus . . . look full in His wonderful face . . . and the things of earth will grow strangely dim . . . in the light of His glory and grace (Helen H. Lemmel, 1922).

Sometimes, when you’re at the bottom, it’s good to consider the bottom line. And for the believer that bottom line is that the Lord is our portion.

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ . . .   
(Philippians 3:8 ESV)

That’s the color on the page . . . that’s the color, ultimately, in our lives . . . that we may gain Christ . . . that we may know afresh Him as our portion. Then hope is renewed . . . the song is revived . . . the glory is God’s.

Amen?

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No Help At All!

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Pete

They were only words . . . but they had created a huge stumbling block. Ideas and concepts that were serving to cause some to say, “Whoa! Too weird! I’m outta’ here!” And at the heart of it, I think, was the fact that He was talking to them of things that were literally out of this world . . . things beyond physical realities . . . things concerning spiritual dynamics.

Many in this crowd had eaten the bread and the fish of His miraculous feeding of the 5,000. And so, they signed up . . . they’d follow Him . . . even crossing over the sea in pursuit of Him. But then Jesus started talking about another kind of food . . . food that endured to eternal life . . . a bread from heaven unlike anything ever mentioned by Moses. Jesus saying that He, Himself, was that bread from heaven, the Bread of Life. And, at that, some of the religious elite in the crowd could no longer contain themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (John 6:52).

You think Jesus might have backed off a bit at that point . . . and if not, at least sought to qualify His statements in some manner . . . but nope!

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.  – Jesus     (John 6:53-56 ESV)

Only words . . . but words unlike anything they had heard any rabbi or teacher speak . . . words beyond their comprehension . . . words that caused many of those who followed Him to say, “This is a hard saying: who can listen to it?” (6:60) . . . meaning, “This is rough . . . this is offensive . . . this is intolerable . . . who can deal with it?” They couldn’t. And so, they didn’t . . . and “many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him” (6:66). But for the Twelve, though they too were stretched by this flesh eating, blood drinking teaching, they continued to affirm their belief in Him as “the Holy One of God”, the One who had “the words of eternal life” (6:68-69). So what made the difference between those who left and those who stayed? Glad you asked . . .

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 
– Jesus     (John 6:63 ESV)

The difference? The secret sauce? The X-Factor? The Holy Spirit of God . . . the flesh is no help at all.

Apart from an awakening work of the Spirit . . . without hearts softened and ears unstopped by the wind-like moving of the Third Person of the Holy Trinity . . . Jesus’ words concerning a dynamic, of which spiritually dead people have no means of connecting with, becomes just too hard to deal with. And the flesh . . . my intellect . . . my logical reasoning . . . my powers of assimilating facts and data . . . are of no help at all. Spiritual truths are imparted by spiritual means through the illuminating work of the Spirit Himself. The flesh is no help at all.

What begun through the Spirit will be completed through the Spirit. I was born again of the Spirit (John 3:5-8) . . . and it would be foolish to think that what was begun by the Spirit could, somehow, be perfected in the flesh (Gal. 3:3). It is the Spirit who gives life . . . the Spirit who is a deposit and guarantor sustaining life . . . the Spirit who intercedes with my spirit allowing me to continually feed on the Son . . . and to abide in Him and with Him. My discipline . . . my effort . . . my will . . . my flesh are no help at all. My pride, my self-sufficient nature, might not like that reality . . . O’ death be to my pride!

Some stumble at His words . . . others find in them the words of eternal life. The difference . . . the Spirit . . . and spirits that are yielded to Him through faith.

To God be the glory . . .

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The God of Recompense

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Pete

Reminded this morning of one of those lesser spoken of characteristics of God. God is love . . . God is grace . . . God is mercy. But mercy and grace come into play because of this other attribute of God stated so clearly in Jeremiah’s prophecy . . .

For the LORD is laying Babylon waste and stilling her mighty voice. Their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is raised, for a destroyer has come upon her, upon Babylon; her warriors are taken; their bows are broken in pieces, for the LORD is a God of recompense; He will surely repay.   (Jeremiah 51:55-56 ESV)

The LORD is a God of recompense . . . He will surely repay.

Babylon has been permitted to rise in power and strength . . . this “bitter and hasty nation” . . . who scoff at kings and laugh at rulers . . . whose “justice and dignity go forth from themselves” . . . whose “own might is their god” . . . whose driving purpose is violence and conquest (Hab. 1:6-11). And, in His sovereign purposes, God has determined to leverage this out-of-control nation of marauders to judge the sin of His people. In order to purify His called out tribe . . . in order to bring them to their senses . . . in order to turn their adulteress hearts away from idols and back to the God of their fathers . . . God allows His enemies to do His bidding in order to refine His people. But my God is a God of recompense . . . and His enemies, He will surely repay.

And as I linger over this attribute of God . . . that He is a God of retribution . . . that He is a God who repays . . . that He will deal with those who have determined to oppose Him . . . that a just reward awaits those just want to defy Him, . . . I can’t help but recall that once, I too was an enemy of God . . . that once, I was on the path to knowing the God of recompense.

While I acknowledged that there must be a God, I refused to believe that He had any claim or desire to be my God. Though I did not hesitate to use His name in vain . . . in ways that make me shudder to recall . . . I refused to call upon that Name or recognize any allegiance to that Name. Though I might have intuitively thought that if God is God He would have a purpose and will for me life (if I had spent time thinking of God at all), instead, I was more interested in leading my own life . . . my own will and abilities being god enough for me. Walking as a enemy of God . . . not even considering that there might be a day of reckoning . . . with no thought or fear of the God of recompense.

But God saves enemies . . . God reconciles those who, otherwise, He would demand recompense . . .

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.     (Romans 8:9-11 ESV)

As I meditate on the God of recompense this morning . . . I am mesmerized by the One who is also the God of reconciliation. As I think on the wages that were mine to pay as a result of my sin, I marvel afresh that not only has my debt been canceled through the finished work of the cross, but that I have also been made a joint heir with Christ awaiting an inheritance “that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1Peter 1:4). Just recompense having given way to abundant grace.

The God of recompense . . . the God of reconciliation . . . the God to whom is due all glory! Amen?

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Seeking Jesus

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Pete

It says that they went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus (John 6:24b). It was the morning after the day before . . . the day when Jesus had fed thousands with five barley loaves and two fish (6:1-14). As the food had been doled out that day, so too the word spread among the people that the hand of the Teacher was multiplying the meager offering of a young boy . . . that they were, literally, eating because of a miracle. There was wonder . . . there was awe. But on the morning after the day before, there was also hunger again . . . and so, it says, they went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

Jesus knew their motives for getting into their boats and crossing over the sea to pursue Him. It wasn’t because they desired to follow Him . . . it wasn’t even because they were in pursuit of more signs . . . it was because they had eaten their fill yesterday, and they were looking to see if there might not be a “miracle meal – part II” (6:26). They were driven by the most base of motivations . . . to satisfy a growling stomach. But Jesus said, There’s more . . .

Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on Him God the Father has set His seal. . . I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.    (John 6:27, 35 ESV)

They ate the food, but failed to see the banqueting table . . . they were glad to receive from His hand, but couldn’t imagine more . . . He was the means to an end, but He wanted them to see that He was the end, itself. That He was not just the Giver of bread from heaven . . . but that He was, in fact, the Bread from heaven . . . the very Bread which gives life to the world (6:33).

And I can’t help but think how often I might seek Jesus solely to satisfy temporary needs . . . how often I might be content to engage Him on the lowest of levels. Not to say that Jesus isn’t interested in my day-to-day needs. or my day-to-day trials and struggles . . . just to say that there’s more.

Jesus invites us to come to Him anticipating that He can address our deepest hunger and is able to satisfy our most longing thirst. That, far beyond receiving from His hand our daily bread, we can receive through Him that which meets our eternal need.

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day.   (John 6:40 ESV)

And it’s not a “one and done” offer. Not like we come . . . believe . . . say the prayer . . . receive the gift . . . and then we’re on our own until we meet one day in the sky or in the sweet by and by. But the same Bread from heaven which gives eternal life, also fuels eternal life. Communion with the Savior continuing to satisfy the hunger and thirst of the sinner saved by grace.

Jesus’ invitation to “come to Me” is a continual invitation. Jesus’ call to believe in the One the Father sent from heaven is an ongoing call. Mine is to seek Jesus. Yes, for the needs of the day . . . but also to seek Jesus believing there’s more . . . seeking Jesus because He is  Jesus . . . the Bread of Life.

So let me seek . . . by His grace . . . for His glory . . .

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The Moabites’ Sin and Neutralizing the Scriptures

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Pete

A couple of my readings came together in a way I hadn’t expected this morning. An interesting blend of the Old Testament and the New. Jeremiah and John dove-tailing to serve as a bit of a warning for those who might go through the right actions but for the wrong reasons. A heads up as to how a mis-tuned heart corrupts the pure water of the word. This morning I’m thinking about the Moabites’ sin and how it can neutralize the Scriptures.

Jeremiah 48 records the prophet’s word of judgment against the nation of Moab. Moab, the nation born of Lot’s oldest daughter, conceived when she and her sister got their father drunk and lay with him in order that they might have children after their husbands were destroyed in God’s judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:30-38). Moab, the nation perpetually opposed to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob . . . whose king retained Balaam, prophet for hire, to curse the descendants of Jacob and denounce Israel (Numbers 22).

And as I’m reading Jeremiah’s “thus says the Lord” of judgment against Moab I come across a twice repeated phrase that, I think, hits at the core of their sin . . . “he magnified himself against the Lord” (48:26, 42) . . . which is further expanded upon in verse 29 . . .

We have heard of the pride of Moab–he is very proud–of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance, and the haughtiness of his heart.   (Jeremiah 48:29 ESV)

Bottom line . . . this nation, born out of the self-seeking, self-preserving, desires of a girl who would drug and sleep with her father in order to have a child, continued to be all about itself . . . growing to systemically oppose the things of God in order to preserve itself. End result . . . God wins . . . they lose.

Fast forward to John’s gospel . . . Jesus is speaking to Jews seeking to kill him, “because not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God” (John 5:18). Now, get this indictment . . . this “thus says the Lord” from the incarnate Word of God . . .

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life. . . I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?   (John 5:39-44 ESV)

BAM! . . . how can you believe when you are seeking glory for yourself, or, as Jeremiah says, when you are about magnifying yourself?  They were searching the Scriptures . . . good deal! They were wanting to find eternal life . . . yeah, press on! But, at the center of it all, was their glory . . . their greatness . . . they wanted to magnify themselves, even if it meant opposing the Lord.

And I can’t help but think there’s a warning here. If we read the Scriptures with ourselves at its center . . . if it’s about what it means for me . . . if we seek to understand and apply the Word in order to magnify ourselves . . . then we neutralize the Scriptures. But when God is the central theme . . . when it’s about Him . . . when we desire to know His glory through His revealed Word . . . then, we find eternal life . . . we find abundant life . . . we find life to full. When the glory we seek is God’s glory . . . then we see Jesus . . . then we come to Jesus . . . then we are conformed to the image of Jesus. When it’s about Him . . . He will do His work in us . . . that it might be for His glory.

Makes sense?

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To Know the Taste

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Pete

“Betcha can’t eat just one!” Remember that ad? I think it was a Frito Lay advertisement for their potato chips. But I can think of any number of foods which, for me, it’s hard just to have one. You get that first bite . . . or finish that first piece . . . and the taste buds have come alive . . . and the pleasure sensors are screaming, “More! More!” So what’s this got to do with my morning readings? Well . . . in a way . . . Peter says the same thing . . .

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation–if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.   (1Peter 2:2-3 ESV)

Far from being a chore . . . or a discipline . . . pursuing the things of Christ should be a craving . . . a craving driven by having tasted of the Lord’s goodness. If we’ve tasted of the Lord, then . . . betcha’ can’t eat just one. You will crave more of Him . . . and He will provide all you’re able to consume . . . and much, much more. His table is full . . . the feast is eternal . . . all that’s required is we come with bibs tucked under our chin ready to “chow down!”

So why is it a chore sometimes? Why can there be periods where we never go to the table . . . or, if we do, it feels like so much work? I think because, at times, we’ve lost the taste.

That taste we had when we were first saved . . . or, that taste we sampled when we saw God’s hand on our lives through an answered prayer . . . or, that bit of flavor we experienced when God graced us with an unexpected blessing . . . or, that savor on our lips from that portion of God’s Word that seemed to just burn in our hearts . . . or, that indescribable sensation when we actually knew we had heard the Holy Spirit’s voice or were keenly aware of Him prompting our spirits.

All believers can think back to those times when they experienced “the flavor” of the living Lord . . . those times when they encountered God . . . when they partook of His presence . . . when they enjoyed sweet communion inside the veil with the gracious God of eternity. That’s the taste . . . the flavor . . . the reality . . . which propels us to seek Him more. Those are the experiences that constitute that “first bite” and so drives us to heaven’s door with our dishes in our hands crying, “Please Sir, can I have some more!”

But sometimes we lose the taste. The flavor becomes bland as we go through the routine . . . as we do the Christian thing just because that’s what we do. We open our Bibles . . . stare at them . . . maybe quickly read our devotional reading for the day . . . but we don’t really savor the food . . . we don’t linger over it to catch it’s subtle aroma . . . to taste the nuances that are detected only through the teaching ministry of the Spirit inside of us. Or, we go to church . . . we don’t go to meet with THE Church, the body of Christ, we just go to church. We walk in . . . take a seat . . . watch the show . . . maybe struggle with the worship team’s song selection or delivery of the songs . . . maybe critique the sermon . . . throw in a couple of bucks . . . eat a cookie . . . and walk out. We really have no expectation of encountering the One who said that He would be in the presence of His people and amid their praises. We’re not looking to “love on” one another . . . or for that fact, to be “loved on” by anyone else. No expectation that we’ll hear the voice of God from the pulpit. So . . . we don’t taste . . . and the craving subsides.

Oh, how we need to continually taste that the Lord is good. How we need to be still and know that He is God. How we need to count our every blessings, count them one by one. How we need to savor our salvation. And when we do . . . betcha’ can’t eat just one!

We will crave the things of God just like a newborn craves milk. Recapturing a little bit of the taste will result in a whole lot of desire for the the things of God — “Word of God speak!!!” Sampling again that flavor of heaven will ignite our spiritual senses to earnestly hunger and thirst after the things of His righteousness. No drive-thru, fast food meals here. Instead, it’s a lifetime of eating and savoring and digesting and growing . . . all the time tasting that the Lord is good . . . and then craving for more.

O’ to know the taste! To feed on Him deeply! To grow up into our salvation! By His grace . . . for His glory!

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Ransomed from Futility

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Pete

There are a lot of things to live for. Some live for the weekend . . . some live for the thrill . . . some live for the victory. We can live for our children . . . or we can live for our retirement. We can live for health . . . we can live for wealth . . . we can live for stealth (don’t know exactly what that last one means, but it rhymes). Some live for sport . . . some live for the arts . . . some live for academic pursuit. Some live for others . . . others live for themselves. Some live for tradition . . . and some live to be constantly “outside the box.” You get the idea . . . no end to what one can live for.

But, as I’ve been reminded repeatedly over the past several mornings by the Preacher, Solomon, if it’s “under the sun” it’s vanity or, as the NIV renders it, meaningless. That despite how focused we may become on our goals . . . or on pursuing our passions . . . that the reality is that “under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all” (Eccl. 9:11). What a trap . . . to live for that which ultimately has no profit . . . to expend ourselves for that which returns no lasting meaning . . . to spend our lives apart from a context which redeems our pursuits through a higher calling. But this morning, I’ve been reminded that we have been ransomed from futility.

And if you call on Him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.    (1Peter 1:17-19 ESV)

Peter’s audience were living in exile. I guess, for them, they lived to survive. But, even in that most basic of pursuits, Peter called upon his brothers and sisters in Christ to order their lives in light of a Father who judges impartially . . . in light of the God who created them for His glory. Even in being fish out of water . . . even in light of perhaps soon being “fried fish” . . . there was a context for living which transcended their situation. A context which gave a meaning and purpose to their “here and now” which would be fully realized in the “there and then.” A context purchased through the precious blood of Christ. A context beyond the vanity of living under the sun . . . available to those ransomed from futility.

A ransom has been paid that liberates people from the futile . . . a price tendered which releases our identities from that which ultimately has no gain or profit . . . a payment made by the sinless, spotless, risen Son of God that provides people on earth a faith and hope which are founded in the God of heaven.

I’m not saying that, as believers, we shouldn’t look forward to the weekend . . . or enjoy our kids . . . or plan for retirement . . . or give ourselves to the many other interests and desires which God has given man to enjoy under the sun. But when they become the prize . . . and they, like thorns, start to choke out the good seed (Luke 8:7, 14) and distract us from running the good race . . . and avert our hearts from things above . . . and compete for time spent abiding in Christ, and with His Word, and with His people . . . then, we’ve stepped back into the market place of futility from which Jesus ransomed us.

O’ that God’s people might live in the light of God’s purposes. That those “born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God” (1Peter 1:23) might, in all things, ultimately live for Him.

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

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