That’s Beautiful!

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Pete

That the Lord is slow to anger is found throughout Scripture. The first mention of this truth is found in Exodus where God reveals Himself to Moses . . . descending in a cloud . . . proclaiming His Name . . . revealing His glory (Ex. 34:5-7). And in doing so, one facet of His glorious character revealed, is His patience and longsuffering. And what does one do when one is shown the glory of God? Well, Moses bowed his head and worshiped (34:8). But what does God say when His children imitate Him in His glory? That’s beautiful!

Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.   (Proverbs 19:11 ESV)

Slow to anger . . . it’s a recurring theme in Proverbs . . . this is my fourth encounter with it . . . “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding (14:29) . . . “he who is slow to anger quiets contention” (15:18) . . . “whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty” (16:32). Great understanding . . . puts the lid on a quarrel . . . demonstrates a subtle but evident power and strength . . . such, says Wisdom, is the case with those who are slow to anger. And this morning Wisdom says as well, “Beautiful!”

It is to a person’s glory to overlook an offense . . . to let pass a transgression against themself. That word glory has the idea of beauty and splendor . . . used of fine garments or jewelry. In Wisdom’s estimation, in God’s economy, it’s not those who exact retribution, though it be just, who are regarded with honor . . . but those who are slow to anger and willingly let the wrong simply become a non-issue. Why? Because, I think, it reflects something of the glory of God.

In Isaiah I encountered the following, as well, this morning . . .

In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious . . .   (Isaiah 4:2 ESV)

Messiah, the Branch, is beautiful and glorious . . . Jesus is beautiful and glorious . . . and when we heed Wisdom’s advice, and imitate Jesus, we too are esteemed as beautiful.

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly.   (1Peter 2:21-23 ESV)

Slow to anger, letting the transgression pass, forgiving others . . . it’s the heart of the Son . . . it’s the glory of the Father . . . it’s evidence of the working of Spirit in our lives . . . and it, says my God, is splendor!

O’, in grace, to overlook an offense . . . to be an imitator of God . . . to, in some small way, reflect something of His magnificent glory . . . yeah, that’s beautiful!

Posted in Proverbs | Leave a comment

The Highs and Lowly

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Pete

No messing around with greetings . . . no words wasted on customary introductions . . . the writer to Hebrews just gets at it. There is an anticipation every time I enter this book . . . a looking forward to the writer’s masterful arguments concerning the supremacy of Christ and the life of faith it evokes in those with ears to hear and eyes to see. What grabs me this morning, as I read these opening verses, is how one of the attributes of the Son, in a sense, stands out in stark contrast to the rest. Amidst that which describes Him in all His deity, is that what which reminds me of His humanity . . . against the backdrop of that which speaks of His mighty strength, is that which speaks of His meekness . . . in these opening verses are the highs and the lowly.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.  
(Hebrews 1:1-4 ESV)

Chew on those words and be lifted up to the consider the high and lofty. God has, in these latter days, spoken to us by His Son. The Son who is appointed heir of all, not just some, but all things . . . the same Son through whom God created everything about us . . . the Son who radiates God’s glory . . . the Son who embodies the very nature of God Almighty . . . the Son who, through the very power of His word, bears all the workings of the universe–yes, the universe. He is the Son who is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high . . . the Son, who being God, very God, is superior to angels . . . having been given the Name above all names.

Talk about grandeur . . . talk about greatness and power . . . talk about nothing coming close to comparing . . . those are the mountain springs the writer wants us to drink deeply of . . . the highs of the Son we are to consider.

But amidst them is this phrase, “after making purification of sins.” The Son made purification of sins. If you didn’t know the rest of the story, you might think that He might have commanded it into reality . . . that, perhaps, He had planned it and had others make it happen. If you didn’t know the rest of the story you’d never guess that the mighty, majestic, Son of God, as the NKJV translates it, “had by Himself purged our sins.”

By Himself He made purification for sins.

Wrapped up in that simple phrase is the miracle of the incarnation, God become flesh, the Son relinquishing His eternal glory to enter this world in the form of a man . . . His kingly authority exchanged, for a time, for the very nature of servant. In making purification for sins by Himself, the Son of God willingly became the Lamb of God . . . the once for all sacrifice for the sins of mankind. In order to declare men righteousness, He who knew no sin, became sin for us (2Cor. 5:21).

He left heaven’s splendor in order to bear a Roman cross up a hostile road to a hill called Calvary. He who had been exalted by angels, willingly allowed Himself to be nailed upon that cross and lifted up for men to deride and mock. He who, in the beginning, spoke the created world into being would, in the apparent last hours of His life, cried to heaven, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). He who was with the Father from eternity past would know a separation beyond what we could comprehend . . . “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46). The high and holy Son of God became the meek and lowly Jesus that He, by Himself, might make purification for sins.

O’ what a Savior! Blessed be His Name . . . His high and holy Name!

Posted in Hebrews | Leave a comment

The Reverse Occurred

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Pete

A 2011 “remix” . . .

Have been reading through Esther this week. Always enjoy this read. Always intrigued by the absolute absence of any mention of God. How creative is my God? . . .Esther is a God-breathed, forever God preserved, piece of holy writing that never mentions God . . . unreal! And, I’m always thrilled to see God all over the “circumstances” and “coincidences” of this story. But this morning, what grabbed me were three words that popped off the page. Three words that capture the “big idea” behind the events of the story of Esther. Three words that sum up the ways of God . . . three words that speak of the essence of redemption.

Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s command and edict were about to be carried out, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them.
.                                                                                          (Esther 9:1 ESV)

“The reverse occurred” . . . three words in the ESV. Three words in the NKJV, “the opposite occurred.” Four words in the NIV, “the tables were turned.” That, in a nutshell, is the story of Esther and the Jews’ salvation from their enemies. And, isn’t that also a fitting tag line capturing the implications of the story of our salvation, as well?

Esther, aka Hadassah, an orphan of Jewish exiles . . . destined to live as a nobody . . . but the reverse occurred and she becomes queen. Haman, on a meteoric rise to the top ranks of the Persian government . . . a man of great influence . . . a man of great pride . . . a sworn enemy of Mordecai, the Jew . . . builder of a gallows, seven stories high, to hang Mordecai upon, to make Mordecai an example . . . but the opposite occurred and, instead, Haman is brought low and then strung up for all to see. The thirteenth day of the twelfth month set as the day of destruction for all Jews . . . an edict of the king of Persia which could not be revoked . . . a day to be the last day of the children of the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob . . . but the tables were turned . . . the Jews were given power to rise up against their enemies . . . defeating those who had determined to destroy them. Rather than a day of defeat, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month had become a day of great victory and celebration. The reverse occurred.

Ok . . . so run with that . . . tell me that isn’t the story of my redemption. A nobody . . . a sinner . . . separated from the promises of God . . . excluded from the kingdom of heaven . . . with no thought or hope of every entering it’s gates . . . but the reverse occurred and now I am a child of God . . . a co-heir with Christ . . . raised up and seated with Him in the heavenly places. I was hounded by an enemy . . . a being of great power and pride . . . determined to destroy body and soul–for the wages of sin is death . . . but the opposite occurred and, instead, the enemy was defeated . . . the price paid in full for my transgressions . . . death conquered . . . the victory won through the resurrection of the Son of God.

And the tables are turned again and again. Once I was blind, but now I see. Once I was mastered by flesh, but now I am led by the Spirit. Once I was an enemy of God, but now, in His blessed Son, I am called a friend. Once I was without hope in the world, but now I have a confident expectation that the best is yet to come. Once I was without power, but now I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And the list can go on and on. Right?

The story of Esther embodies the story of the believer. Praise God for tables turned . . . for nobodies made part of the King’s court . . . for sinners made saints . . . for death turned into life . . . for defeat turned into victory.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.    (2Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

By His amazing grace and through His sovereign purposes, the reverse occurred . . . for the benefit of men . . . and for the glory of God!

Posted in Esther | Leave a comment

The Way of the Crucible

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Pete

It is the way of the kingdom of heaven . . . it is a dynamic which those who seek the kingdom can expect to encounter. It’s not fun . . . but it’s profitable. We’d rather avoid it . . . but then we would lose its benefit. It is the way of the crucible . . .

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts.   (Proverbs 17:3 ESV)

There’s something about turning up the heat that burns off impurities and makes precious metals all that more precious. So, says wisdom, is it with the heart. Turning up the heat on sliver brings the dross to the surface that it might be skimmed off . . . melting down solid gold to a liquid results in purer gold . . . and, allowing His children to enter trials results in children who look a bit more like His blessed Son.

It would be nice if sanctification were kind of like pixie dust. Just sprinkle some on and, presto change-o, we’re done. The old man’s heart of stone . . . that which is deceitful above all things, desperately sick, and beyond understanding (Jer. 17:9) . . . by the waving of some magic wand, is instantly and fully transformed into the heart of flesh promised those who have known regeneration through faith in Christ. But that’s not how it works.

The new heart, given us at rebirth, develops as it is tested and tried by the LORD. The new heart becoming more of a reality as we endure the stuff of life by faith in the One who promised to never leave or forsake us (Heb. 13:5) . . . the new heart becoming more of a reality as we experience the truth of the promise that we can endure all things through Christ who strengthens us (Php. 4:13).

It’s in the trials where we discover how much pride, self-sufficiency, impatience, and unbelief are still part of the new creations we are in Christ. It’s in turning up the heat on our lives where pride gives way to humility . . . where self-sufficiency is revealed for what it is and we move more towards trusting God with all our hearts, desperate for Him to direct our paths . . . where impatience rises to the surface as the impurity it is and we get to practice resting in the Lord . . . where unbelief is revealed by the fire and we cry out in desperation, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!”

I’m not looking for crucibles or furnaces . . . but to the degree that God desires to test and refine my heart through them . . . to the degree that He wants me to be more and more conformed to the image of His Son through them . . . then, by the grace of God, I desire to be found faithful in the fire and to submit to the flames purifying work in me.

Peter puts it into context . . .

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith–more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire–may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.    (1Peter 1:6-7 ESV)

Life’s trials . . . my testing . . . faith more precious than precious gold . . . resulting in praise and glory and honor at His coming . . . not my praise, but His alone.

It’s the way of the kingdom . . . it’s the way of the crucible . . . by His grace, for His glory.

Posted in Proverbs | Leave a comment

Words of Grace

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Pete

Black cherry ice cream from Tillamook Country Creamery . . . just typing the words evokes a “mmmm” from my lips. I probably do it too often . . . but there’s nothing like wrapping up supper with a bit of Tillamook black cherry ice cream . . . mmmm! It’s what came to mind as I noodled on these words of wisdom . . .

Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.    (Proverbs 16:22 ESV)

I don’t know that I’ve ever eaten honeycomb . . . but I’ve done my fair share of honey over the years . . . both for pleasure and for “medicinal purposes.” Whether as a natural sweetener or as a means to soothe a soar throat, not unusual for honey to find its way into a cup of tea for me. According to one of my online commentaries, “Honey took its place not only among the luxuries, but among the medicines of the Israelites” (Barnes) . . . and so it brought sweetness and it brought health. Kind of like my ice cream . . . pleasurable to taste . . . and, though it might not be technically health food, it always makes me feel pretty good!

Such are gracious words.

Other translations refer to them as “pleasant words.” The original word has the idea of something that is pleasant, beautiful, sweet, or delightful. They are words that are suitable or favorable . . . words that radiate splendor or grace. And these words are sweet to the soul and energizing for the body.

And I think the primary understanding of this proverb concerns our speech . . . along the lines of Paul’s exhortation to “let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (Col. 4:6). Words that add flavor . . . words that by their very nature have a preserving quality. Throughout Proverbs, wise use of our words is repeatedly counseled.

But as I think more about gracious words, I’m also considering the words of grace that have been spoken to me through God’s word by God’s Spirit. These are the words of grace spoken through the gospel. Surely it could also be said, “The gospel is like a honeycomb . . . it is sweetness to the soul . . . it is health to the body.”

How sweet is it to digest again the truth that in Christ we have been blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” . . . that God has chosen us “before the foundation of the world” to be “holy and blameless before Him” through the finished work of His Son . . . that He so loves us that He has adopted as sons and daughters . . . that it might all be “to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:3-6)? Pretty sweet!

When the accuser dredges up our past . . . reminds us of our transgressions . . . how pleasant are the words that “in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us” (Eph. 1:7-8a)? So pleasant!

And when we trip up . . . when we fail and fall and it makes us sick to our stomachs . . . what kind of medicine is it to hear the Spirit remind us that “there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” . . . that we have been “set free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” . . . that “God has done what the law could not do” . . . that God sent His beloved Son “that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us”? Very powerful medicine . . . reviving the inner man . . . restoring the strength, power, and resolve to keep on keepin’ on.

Praise God for words of grace. Sweet to the soul . . . healing for our very being.

Better than black cherry ice cream . . .

Posted in Proverbs | 1 Comment

The Reno

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Pete

The gospel is multi-faceted. Not that there are many gospels . . . there’s only one “good news” needed to be believed and received by a lost world. But in that good news there are many dimensions. Christ Jesus came to save sinners (1Tim. 1:15) . . . the good news of the incarnation, Immanuel, God with us. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1John 1:7) . . . the good news of the atonement . . . the price for iniquity paid in full . . . the basis for God declaring the believer justified. And through that blood, we have access into the Holy of Holies (Heb. 10:19) . . . invited into communion with the Most Holy God in a most intimate way. And the list goes. But the aspect of the gospel which is blessing my heart this morning is the reminder that there is the good news of a renovation in progress.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.  
.                                                                                          (Titus 3:4-7 ESV)

Tucked in the middle of those glorious verses is the phrase that captured me . . . “renewal of the Holy Spirit.”

Not by my works, but through His mercy and grace, He saved me . . . through the cleansing of the new birth — me becoming a new creation in Christ (2Cor. 5:17) . . . and through the renewal that comes through the Spirit of God poured abundantly upon me through the Son of God.

That word “renewal” could also be translated “renovation” . . . having the idea of a complete change for the better. In short, I’m a reno!

Someone has said that, when God saves someone, he doesn’t put new clothes on the man, but puts a new man in the clothes. What begins as a positional reality, my righteousness in Christ, God undertakes to make a practical reality as He begins a work in me to conform me into the likeness of His blessed Son (Rom. 8:29).

A reno project was started the moment I believed . . . and, the Spirit who given as a deposit guaranteeing my inheritance (Eph. 1:13-14), began a work, the work of sanctification. Leading me into all truth through Word . . . making fellowship with the Godhead a reality . . . transforming my thinking by imparting the mind of Christ . . . enabling the dynamic of Christ living in me and through me . . . rewiring my spiritual DNA . . . setting my internal GPS toward the kingdom . . . making this child of God a bit more like the Father he so adores and wants to imitate.

It’s a reno that God has promised to undertake to completion (Php. 1:6). Sometimes it can be pretty painful . . . ripping out the old in order that it might be replaced with the new. Sometimes it seems to be going pretty slow . . . the new not “taking” as quickly as I would like. Nevertheless, His work of salvation will be completed through the renewal of the Holy Spirit.

Mine is to cooperate as much as lies in me . . . through the abundant grace available to me . . . in order that the Master Builder might be glorified through me.

Praise God for the reno!

Amen?

Posted in Titus | Leave a comment

Door Wide Open

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Pete

Privacy doesn’t really exist. Alone time doesn’t either. Even in the most secret place, the door is wide open. So I’ve been reminded this morning by a couple of verses in Proverbs 15.

The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.   (Proverbs 15:3 ESV)

Reminded this morning of the omnipresence of God. His eyes are in every place. He sees it all . . . nothing gets by my God. Whether evil or good, it is registered by a God who is capable of noticing it all. Think about it!!! Not an action . . . not a word . . . not a thought escapes Jehovah, the “Existing One.” Just spend a couple of seconds thinking about that kind of evokes a couple of responses . . . first, “Awesome!!!” . . . then, “Yikes!!!”

Just how big is my God? Way big!!! It’s so easy to just skim over a Scripture like this without at least trying to take it in and comprehend something of what it says about our God. Nothing is beyond His awareness . . . I don’t need to “let God in” on what’s happening with me . . . I can’t hide from God . . . His eyes are in every place. These are the sort of reminders that keep us from “downsizing” our God . . . from fitting Him into a box of our own making . . . from somehow thinking He’s “manageable.” No,our God is beyond comprehension . . . His capacity for knowledge and understanding doesn’t even register on any scale we can imagine . . . God is God — nothing less . . . Awesome!

And when, by faith, I really start to grasp this, then the second response starts to kick in . . . “Yikes!! He watches everything I do? He knows every thought I think?” . . . Yup!!! A little later in Proverbs 15 Solomon writes this,

Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD; how much more the hearts of the children of man!    (Proverbs 15:11 ESV)

If the very depths and dark recesses of Hell and Destruction are splayed before the Lord, then knowing the inner workings of men’s hearts is a “gimme” for God. So . . . now it starts to get a bit personal. I’m okay with God knowing everything about everyone else . . . but me? His eyes are keeping watch on my actions? . . . He knows all about my good . . . and about my evil? Yikes! I find myself saying with the Psalmist . . .

You hem me in, behind and before, and lay Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.   (Psalm 139:5-6 ESV)

Do I fully comprehend it? No. But do I believe it? Absolutely! And so what does God do with such awareness and knowledge?

Jesus says He stands at the door of my heart and knocks and asks to be let in (Rev. 3:20). He stands outside the door and asks to be let in but that doesn’t mean that what’s behind that door is a secret to Him. According to these Proverbs insights, He knows all that’s going on inside there . . . and yet, despite what He knows and sees, He still knocks . . . still desires to come in . . . and respectfully awaits the invitation. Oh the love of God!!! The grace of God!!! The desire of God to receive my invitation for Him to come into what He already knows exists and do some house cleaning by His blessed Spirit.

The reminder of His all seeing eyes certainly creates within this heart “the fear of the Lord” . . . but not a fear that cowers . . . or tries to run . . . or somehow thinks it can hide from those all-knowing eyes. But a fear that bows the knee . . . acknowledges the greatness of my God . . . and praises the love and grace of a God who wants to interact with what He sees . . . and invites Him in!!!

The door’s wide open . . . He see’s everything. The door’s wide open . . . as I ask Him into it all . . . to redeem and restore it by His grace and through the blood of Christ. To Him be all glory . . . from doors wide open.

Posted in Proverbs | Leave a comment

Fan Into Flame

Posted on August 2, 2013 by Pete

I’m reminded this morning of the relationship between the divine and the determined. That God’s sovereign will has been intertwined with man’s simple ways . . . that God’s eternal purposes have been linked to man’s earthly powers . . . that while God will act, He does so through those who are available.

It came up repeatedly this morning as I continued reading in Nehemiah. Here are some examples . . . God had put it into the heart of Nehemiah to rebuild the walls at Jerusalem (Neh. 2:11) . . . but “the people had a mind to work” (4:6). When opposing forces gathered to fight against Jerusalem and disrupt the rebuilding project, “we prayed to our God AND set a guard as protection” (4:9, emphasis added) . . . Nehemiah encouraged the people to “remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, AND fight for your brothers” (4:14, emphasis added again) . . . and, while Nehemiah believed with all his heart that “our God will fight for us,” he also called the people to rally, with sword in hand, when they heard the sound of the trumpet (4:20).

God’s work . . . the peoples willingness to engage in it. God as architect . . . the returned remnant, the laborers. God the Commander-in-Chief of the army, wanna be wall-builders enlisted as His army. And as this was running through my mind, I encountered the following in another of my readings this morning . . . boy was I set up . . .

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands . . .    (2Timothy 1:6 ESV)

As our congregation has been reminded repeatedly from the pulpit over the last several months, though the Scriptures may have been written to someone else, they were written for us. And so, when I come to the first part of Paul’s second letter to Timothy and come across this charge to the young man of God, I can’t help but apply it to myself. And, apply it in the context of what I’ve just read in Nehemiah . . . God’s gifting . . . my fanning into flame.

That God, through the Spirit, gifts His children as He determines, is clearly taught in Scripture. Grace has been given to each one of us as Christ has apportioned it (Eph. 4:7) . . . each believer has been given “the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” and they have been gifted for service in the body by “the one and same Spirit” who distributes gifts to everyone as He determines (1Cor. 12:4-7, 11). But, while the Triune God is the Determiner and the Giver of these giftings, I am to be actively engaged in fanning into flame the spark which God has set.

The King James translates it, “stir up the the gift of God which is in you.” Not as in stirring up a cake mix . . . but as in stirring up embers in a fire that are in need of re-kindling that they might burst again into flame, producing a productive heat rather than just a warm glow.

I am not the source of any gifting, but I am to be a steward. I can’t, in and of myself, generate any power, but the power within me will not be unleashed without my cooperation. The wall won’t be rebuilt because of who I am or what I can do . . . the battle won’t be won because of my strength and strategy . . . God is the builder of the wall . . . the battle belongs to the Lord. But, in His Sovereign determination, He has enlisted me to work on a part of the wall . . . He has drafted me to fight the fight in selected battles . . . and mine is to purpose with a willing heart to engage in the building . . . mine is to freely offer my feeble efforts in the fight . . . that He might, through me, accomplish His purposes.

Fan into the flame . . . the all-sufficient grace bestowed . . . the faltering faith seeded . . . the gifting which has been given . . . all for His glory. Amen?

Posted in 2Timothy | Leave a comment

Get A Firm Grip

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Pete

Last week my team got creamed. My company hosted a picnic for the employees . . . food, fun, relay races, and a tug-of-war competition. What was I thinking? Talk about allowing peer pressure to put you in situations you wouldn’t otherwise sign up for . . . ok, maybe it was more like boss pressure. But, again, what was I thinking? What were the 8 of us thinking? We had formed a team for the relay races in order to be “good sports” and participate . . . but agreeing to compete in the tug-of-war eliminations? Brother! We went out . . . or should I say down . . . in the first round. A number of us lost our footing (we think it’s because they had us lined up where we had just run the Crisco’d watermelon roll relay . . . but that’s another story) . . . others of us just lost our grip. No contest. Better luck next year . . . don’t think so.

Ok . . . so why the flashback? It’s Paul’s closing words in his first letter to Timothy that have me thinking about the importance of making sure I get a firm grip . . .

But as for you, O man of God . . . Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.    (1Timothy 6:11-12 ESV)

I fear that for some, they view their “decision for Christ” as the final step in “their journey.” That they’ve “found it” and now they’re done with searching for it. That the sinner’s prayer has been prayed . . . the ticket punched . . . eternity secured . . . done and won . . . now they can get on with life. That for some, being saved means they’ve reached the finish line . . . that they’ve dealt with the question of eternity and their soul and so it’s all done . . all that’s left is to keep the “saved” button visible so that when Jesus comes He’ll know who said the prayer. But far from that, the moment I believed was just the beginning. Salvation is less about making a decision and more about entering a race . . . and not just a sprint, but a marathon. The faith that was but a mustard seed when I first believed the gospel call, is the faith that I am to attend to and grow in. It’s the faith I am to pursue . . . the faith I am to live out . . . the faith worthy of fighting the good fight for. The eternal life I received when I first believed is the eternal life upon which I am to get a firm grip.

As for the rich in this present age, charge them . . . They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. (1Timothy 6:17-19 ESV)

Timothy, Paul says, take hold of eternal life . . . seize it . . . and encourage others to do the same.

I am to get a firm grip on the things of righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness and gentleness. To submit to the sanctifying work of the Spirit in me and, by His all sufficient grace, cultivate character which imitates that of the Savior’s. And getting a firm grip on that “which is truly life” will involve where my treasures are as manifest in the way I conduct my life . . . being rich in good works . . . generous and ready to share . . . less concerned about my 401(k), or my RRSP for my Canadian brethren, than I am about storing up treasures as part of “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1Peter 1:4).

Pursue righteousness . . . fight the good fight . . . store up heavenly treasures. That’s the race I’m running . . . those are the “events” I’ve signed up for.

Take hold of eternal life . . . that which is truly life . . . that which Jesus calls abundant life (John 10:10). Get a firm grip . . . By His grace . . . for His glory.

Posted in 1Timothy | Leave a comment

Knowledge of the Holy One

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Pete

It is the key that unlocks the door . . . the puzzle piece that completes the picture . . . the switch that turns on the light. Without it, smart people can really be kind of dumb . . . simple things become complex . . . and complex things are rationalized away in simple-minded ways. It is available to all . . . but pursued by too few. It is the knowledge of the Holy One.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Proverbs 9:10 ESV)

For 9 chapters wisdom has been making her plea . . . calling out in the streets . . . crying out at the gates . . . claiming to offer returns better than jewels, gold, and silver (8:11, 19) . . . promising to be found by those who diligently seek her (8:17). And just as she started her plea (1:7) she concludes it . . . the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. But here she adds a bit of “color” to her claim. It is not some random reverence for an unknown God but, the key to wisdom . . . the “secret sauce” of insight and understanding . . . the great connector between that which is earthly and that which is of another realm . . . that key is knowledge of the Holy One.

The word, actually, is plural . . . literally it is “a knowledge of the Holy Ones.”

Insight . . . discernment . . . meaning . . . all are sourced in knowing the Triune God. Without knowing the Creator, creation is left to our puny minds to explain. Without knowing the Giver of life, the meaning of life is left up to our whims. Without believing that He has numbered our days and ordered our steps, we are left to aimlessly wander unaware of where we are going. But, by the grace of God, start to gain knowledge of the Holy Ones and things fall into place.

Know that a Triune God has made man “in our image” (Gen. 1:26) and desires communion with His creation and you understand the problem of sin, the need for atonement, and that which drives God’s pursuit of the sinner. Start to know something of the heart of a Heavenly Father and grasp the lengths to which He might go to make a way for a prodigal child to return. Comprehend something of the Son’s desire to do the Father’s will and make sense of why God became flesh . . . and of why the Son of God humbled Himself, becoming the Lamb of God, to offer Himself as a once-for-all sacrifice for sin and the way to reconciliation to the Father. Start to get the active agency of the Spirit of God living inside of born again believers and you have available resurrection power to transform lives as you become more adept at hearing His voice and being led in His ways.

And it’s not like we’re left on our own to “feel it out” . . . or form an intimacy with the divine through our own understanding. But I have this book in front of me. The God-breathed Scriptures . . . illuminated through the God given Spirit . . . designed that I might know something of the Holy Ones.

It’s not about knowledge for knowledge sake. It’s not about facts and data and mindless regurgitation as if it were about playing some trivia game. But it is understanding that bears the fruit of insight and discernment. It is perception which open up reality. It is awareness that produces fruitfulness. A knowledge which, in the end, pleases God.

Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:22-23 ESV)

Knowledge of the Holy One . . . for insight into the ways of this life and the one to come.

Might I hear afresh Wisdom’s call . . . and respond anew to Her invitation . . . and pursue at length the riches She offers. By God’s grace . . . for God’s glory.

Posted in Proverbs | Leave a comment