Watching with My Eyes Closed

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Pete

A friend sent me an e-mail asking me to pray for him and his wife as they prepare to work at a youth camp in a couple of weeks. I hesitated before responding. Not because I don’t think they need prayer . . . but because I do . . . and I didn’t want to commit to something that I wasn’t sure I could fulfill. Way to easy for me to say, “I’ll pray” . . . and then don’t. Not that I’m not being sincere with my desire to lift up someone’s request before the throne, but that I can so easily forget . . . it’s one of those “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” things. Way too easy to add an item to the end of my list and rattle off a few words before saying, “In Jesus Name, amen” rather than actually mediating for someone . . . rather than asking the Spirit to provide the intercession that I seem so feeble at (Rom. 8:26-27) . . . rather than believing that “going into my closet” and petitioning the God who “sees in secret” will make a difference (Matt. 6:6) . . . rather than, as Paul reminds me this morning, watching with my eyes closed.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.  
.                                                                          (Colossians 4:2 ESV)

Paul wraps up his letter to the believers at Colosse with three pointed exhortations . . . continue in prayer . . . walk in wisdom . . . be gracious in speech. It’s the first one that really grabbed me this morning. Maybe because, while I may not always be too wise, I can walk pretty good . . . and, although sometimes it lacks some “grace seasoning,” I can talk pretty good . . . but pray, that can be a struggle for me.

I know some say that, for the Christian, praying should be like breathing . . . if that’s true then sometimes I feel like I have asthma . . . I’m so often short of breath . . . struggling to maintain a regular breathing pattern. But this morning I’m reminded to “continue steadfastly” . . . to “devote” myself (NIV) . . . to “continue earnestly” (NKJV) . . . to “pray diligently” (MSG). And so, even though sometimes I think I need a spiritual ventilator (is that the Holy Spirit?), I try to keep on keepin’ on in prayer.

But beyond persevering in prayer, I’m also told to be “watchful in it.” The NKJV says I’m to be “vigilant” . . . the NASB says I’m to be “alert.”

As I pray for my friend, far from it being an auto-pilot activity, my head should be in the game. When talking with the God of heaven I should be aware that . . . well, that I’m talking with the God heaven. As I bring my petitions on behalf of others before His throne I need to be give attention to what I’m asking for and why . . . I need to be mindful that the battle isn’t with flesh and blood . . . I need to be awake to the reality of what’s at stake. As I close my eyes to pray . . . I need to be watchful in it.

Paul also reminds me that I need to guard against just “placing an order” and asking God to fill it. Instead I need to always be mindful of the privilege of boldly approaching the throne of grace to find help in time of need (Heb. 4:16) and, as such, be thankful. To be able to bow before His footstool and bring before Him needs, petitions, and intercessions is grace overflowing in and of itself . . . and I need to be full of gratitude for such access.

I replied to my friend that I would pray him as he gets ready for camp and would continue through the week he and his wife are at camp. Not that I’m a “prayer warrior” or anything . . . not that I hold any great influence in heaven . . . but that I pray to a great God . . . that I petition a Mighty Sovereign . . . that I close my eyes and bow my head before a Gracious King.

O’, that by His grace I would be vigilant . . . that through His Spirit I’d be engaged and alert . . . that for His glory I would be watching with my eyes closed.

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All The People Said, “Amen!”

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Pete

They finally got ‘er done. The first attempt at transporting the ark to a home in Jerusalem had gone very badly . . . one dead . . . many distraught . . . the king disillusioned (2Samuel 6:1-11). But David figured it out. They had been careless . . . they hadn’t ensured that the right people transported the ark in the right way . . . they had been careless with God’s ways and God’s word. But not this time (1Chronicles 15). This time they nailed it! Hundreds of consecrated Levites present to accompany the place where the glory dwells in a manner befitting the glory of God. Nothing common place about this moving plan. And surrounding the “carrying Levites,” King David assigned the singing and instrument-playing Levites. The entry of the ark into Jerusalem was to be a joyous occasion . . . there would be dancing and celebrating as the horns blared, the cymbals clanged, the lyres were strummed, and the Levites sang. And all the people would say, “Amen!”

1Chronicles 16 is the “hidden psalm.” Every time I stumble upon it in my reading plan I’m pleasantly surprised . . . and, as I recall from past encounters, wonderfully blessed. This is David at his best . . . David the undisputed king of all Israel . . . a man after God’s own heart . . . a worshipper in truth and spirit. So, after ensuring the ark is settled on God’s holy mount . . . after offering to God the offerings befitting His holy Name . . . after blessing the people who had been present for the ark’s return . . . David the worshipper then appoints “some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the LORD, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel” (1Chron. 16:1-4).

And then he writes them a song to sing (16:8-36a) . . . my “hidden psalm” . . . a song of thanksgiving. It’s a call to the people of God to glory in His name . . . for those who hearts seek Him, to rejoice. “Seek His presence continually” the lyrics exhort . . . remember His promises . . . recall His faithful protection. Sing to the LORD . . . tell of His salvation every day . . . declare His marvelous works among the people . . . for “great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised!” Ascribe to LORD glory and strength . . . give Him the glory due His Name . . . worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness.

And the song goes on . . . and the spirit rises . . . and the soul soars . . .

Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD.
.                                                                (1Chronicles 16:36b ESV)

Amen . . . what an overused yet under-utilized word. We use it like punctuation to end a prayer. We’ll attach such ascent to almost anything. But this morning, as I accompanied the ark into Jerusalem with the rest of God’s people . . . as I took in the cacophony of praise and worship . . . as I digested the words of the song David wrote for the occasion . . . I was ready to participate . . . ready to join in . . . ready to add my voice to the sounds of praise . . . then all the people said, “Amen!”

Me too!

God is good . . . amen! His works are wondrous . . . truly! His promises are sure . . . verily! He is to be worshipped in splendor and holiness . . . so be it. There is no God like our God . . . that’s the truth!

A simple, two-syllable word . . . but a word, I imagine, which brings my God pleasure when it is spoken thoughtfully . . . when it is uttered heartily . . . when it is offered in the context of extolling the greatness of our God . . . when it is sounded forth as part of the giving of thanks and praise.

O’ that all God’s people would say, “Amen!” . . . by His all enabling grace . . . for His all surpassing glory!

Amen?

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Debt Free!

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Pete

It’s the sort of stuff you wouldn’t want to have posted on your Facebook page. It’s the list that you’d just as soon had never been written . . . but you know it has. It’s fuel for the fire the “accuser of the brethren” wants to fan into flame. It’s the stuff you’d rather not think about . . . the stuff you’d just as soon forget. It’s the ways of the flesh . . . the deeds of shame . . . the acts of rebellion. It demands a reckoning . . . it requires a price to be paid . . . it results in a debt we owe. And this morning, I am moved as I am reminded that the debt has been paid in full . . . that I am debt free.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross.    (Colossians 2:13-14 ESV)

I accumulated debt for 19 years. Though I “believed” there was probably a God, in my arrogance I reasoned that if I left Him alone, He’d leave me alone . . . and that we’d “work it out” when the time came. By the world’s standard, I was considered a “good kid.” But by the holy standard of the One who created me for for His glory, my “goodness” was like “a polluted garment” (Isa. 64:6) . . . my self-righteousness was worthless . . . and my arrogant bargaining with God was like “an open grave” (Rom. 3:13).

I didn’t know I was accumulating debt . . . dead men walking aren’t able to reason such things . . . but I was.

But then, by His grace alone, God made me alive together in His Son. Through the active agency of His Holy Spirit, God began the process of raising me from the dead . . . first catching my attention with a reminder of my mortality . . . then opening my eyes to see a God with whom I was in no position to barter and debate . . . gently softening my heart to the reality of my transgressions against the God of the universe . . . patiently imparting an understanding of the magnitude of my debt . . . and then revealing the reality of that debt having been paid in full by His Son.

He canceled the record of debt that stood against me . . . He set it aside . . . He nailed it to the cross.

When He who knew no sin was made sin for us (2Cor. 5:21) that list of stuff I’d just as soon never existed was nailed to the cross with Him. He bore the reproach . . . He suffered the consequences . . . He paid the price in full . . . so that “in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2Cor. 5:21). The debt has been canceled.

And now, in a sense, I’m on the “pre-paid plan.” Not that I presume upon the blood of Christ or the grace of God . . . not that I purpose to continue to transgress the God who so wondrously saved me, knowing that He “has it covered.” But the reality is that I still do stuff . . . think stuff . . . respond to stuff . . . in a way that I wouldn’t want written “on my wall” . . . stuff I regret . . . stuff the accuser will still try and use. But that stuff too was nailed to the cross . . . and I know that if I confess my sin He is faithful and just to forgive me my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1John 1:9) . . . the cleansing blood of Christ having been applied to all my sin — past, present, and future . . . the price paid in full such that I am no longer accumulating debt.

O’ what a wondrous salvation . . . what a wonderful Savior!

Debt free . . . by His grace alone . . . for His glory alone!

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Love Much?

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Pete

There was nothing conventional about it. If there was a rule book, she ignored it . . . if there was protocol, she rewrote it. If she was trying to make up for the host’s lack of etiquette in welcoming his Guest for dinner, she got it all wrong.

The host should have washed the young Rabbi’s feet with water . . . he should have welcomed the One he had asked to eat with him with a kiss on the cheek . . . he should have offered to refresh his dining Companion by anointing His head with oil . . . but he did none of those things. Instead, this woman who crashed the party, took it upon herself to honor the Guest. But, if she had meant to make up for the hosts lack of good graces, she got it all wrong . . . she never got beyond the Visitor’s feet. She began to weep at His feet . . . taking those tears and wetting His feet . . . taking her glory, her hair, and using it to wipe and clean the dust from His feet . . . and then she kissed His feet and anointed them with ointment. She never got beyond the feet. Her presence there was unprecedented . . . her worship there was unconventional. How come? Because she loved much.

Then turning toward the woman [Jesus] said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she has anointed My feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven–for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”   (Luke 7:44-47 ESV)

She didn’t mean to be “over the top” . . . had no intention to create a scene . . . but she was . . . and she did. And you sense it was because she was compelled to respond . . . that she was driven to worship. The desire to exalt the Savior by humbling herself was so primal that nothing could hold her back . . . not the fact that she was a sinner unwelcomed in a Pharisee’s house . . . not the fact that she would make a spectacle of herself as she humbled herself at the Teacher’s feet . . . not the fact that she would fill that place with an aroma that overshadowed the smell of the meal on the table and draw all attention to her place at the Master’s feet. I don’t think she had any intention of drawing attention to herself . . . but that her desire was only for the Forgiver of Her Sins. But attention she did draw . . . the attention of the Son of God . . . He saw to that . . . because she loved much.

And I can’t help but reflect on the fact that how I worship is a mirror reflecting how much I know I’m forgiven. The more righteous I think I am . . . the less right my worship is. The less I think the cross was fully for me . . . the more I’ll be complacent towards bowing before Him. To the degree to which I think I’m pretty good . . . will be the degree to which I consider paying homage to Him pretty optional.

But to be a sinner . . . is to pursue a Savior. To acknowledge the depths of darkness that once enveloped me . . . is to adore the One who gave Himself that I might be translated into marvelous light. To weigh afresh the debt I once owed before a holy God and the bankrupt account I had upon which to draw . . . is to worship anew at the feet of Him who paid the price in full. To be forgiven much . . . is to love much. To love little . . . well, that’s simply misguided and out of touch with reality.

Forgiven much? Love much?

She was . . . and she did . . . might I be more like her. By His grace . . . for His glory . . .

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Christ In You!

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Pete

You just don’t put big, big things in small, small packages. Big things kind of demand big packaging . . . or so you’d think. But this morning, I’m noodling over a mystery . . . a mystery once concealed but now revealed . . . a mystery, which at its essence, is about something really, really big . . . and awesome . . . and magnificent . . . residing in something that’s really, really small . . . and pretty ordinary . . . and ain’t much to look at. I’m trying to get my head around “Christ in you.”

The latter half of the first chapter of Colossians has got to be one of the preeminent passages concerning the Preeminent One. Preeminent . . . love that word . . . to be first . . . to hold first place . . . to be at the top of the list . . . to be above everything else . . . such is the beloved Son of God . . .

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell . . .    (Colossians 1:15-19 ESV)

Is that big, or what? Check out the term “all things” . . . by Him all things were created . . . He is before all things . . . in Him all things hold together. Every time you look at new pictures of deep space . . . every time you are reminded of the marvels of the workings of an atom . . . every time you are captured with the beauty of the creation about us . . . every time you pause to think of how all things work together . . . it’s reminder of Him who created all things . . . of Him who holds together all things . . . of Him who is above all things. How big is that? Pretty!

And, beyond His relationship to all things created . . . in Him all the fullness of God is pleased to dwell. Really? Yup! Think the grandest thoughts concerning God your puny mind and drum up . . . and that’s Christ. Let go and imagine the most majestic images of His glory you can . . . and that’s the Son. Go as lofty and as high as you’re able to you . . . and that’s Jesus. . . . and so much more! Big? I’m thinkin’ . . .

And then, consider the mystery now revealed through the gospel . . .

. . . the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to His saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
(Colossians 1:26-27 ESV)

I don’t know about you . . . but if I consider the “you” that is me . . . then the reaction to the reality of “Christ in you” is almost inexpressible. Big, big magnificent being . . . in a small, small, way less than magnificent package.

But that is the reality that is ours. For those who have been brought to recognize their need as a result of sin . . . for those who have believed that, through Christ, God has been pleased “to reconcile to Himself all things” and make “peace by the blood of His cross” (Col. 1:20) . . . for those who have confessed their need and received the gift of salvation . . . the wonder of the mystery is “Christ in you.”

Fully understand it? No. Fully believe it? Absolutely. Fully aware of it? More and more so . . . by His grace.

So maybe you do put big, big things in small, small packages. To Him be all glory in all things! Amen?

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Fully Pleasing to Him

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Pete

Is Paul just praying big? Does he really, really think it can happen? Is it one of those shoot-for-the-moon-and-maybe-you-might-get-off-the-ground sort of requests?

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.    (Colossians 1:9-10 ESV)

It’s that phrase “fully pleasing to Him” which seems a bit ambitious . . . a little over the top. Really?

Paul prays that these believers would walk in a manner worthy . . . bear fruit in every good work . . . increase in the knowledge of God . . . and be fully pleasing to Him. I get setting my feet on the pilgrim pathway and seeking to keep in step with the Spirit . . . I get fruit-bearing as the Spirit works through us . . . I get the “work in progress” of coming to a greater experiential knowledge of God . . . but to be fully pleasing? . . . pleasing in everything? . . . pleasing in all aspects? Not sure I can do that. Exactly!!!

In fact Paul goes on to say that He’s done it all already . . .

. . . giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.    (Colossians 1:12-14 ESV)

Qualified . . . Delivered . . . Transferred. We have been made sufficient and rendered fit for the inheritance reserved for God’s people . . . we have been rescued from the power of darkness . . . and we have been “translated” (KJV) into a new world . . . the world of the light of the kingdom of God’s Son. By His work alone . . . by His grace alone . . . we were qualified for, delivered from, and transferred into the kingdom. Nothing more we can do to attain any higher standing.

So I don’t think that being fully pleasing is about fully performing. But I think it is linked to fully pursuing . . .

How is “Home” programmed on my internal GPS . . what is my heart set on? Where are my eyes focused . . . on things above or things on earth? Is my greatest desire to see my will be done or to be filled with the knowledge of His will? Am I in the drivers seat, leaning to my own understanding and relying on my own smarts and wisdom . . . or am I trusting in the Lord and seeking the mind of Christ as made accessible by the Spirit of God?

I think of King of David . . . not a perfect man, but one who was pleasing to the Lord, the one who God calls “a man after My heart, who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22). Not that everything David did was God’s will . . . had more than one “swing-and-a-miss” during the course of his life . . . can anyone say, “Bathsheba?” But one thing David did do was purpose to follow the Lord, if not flawlessly, than, as much as lied within him, faithfully.

The Father has done the work . . . ours is to determine to do the walk. He has secured our redemption . . . ours is to share with Him our failings and know that the blood of Christ is all sufficient to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1John 1:9). He has transferred into the kingdom of light . . . ours is to take Him at His word believing that the work He has begun in us He will complete in us (Php. 1:6).

Fully pleasing to Him . . . O’ that I might pray big too . . . by His grace alone . . . for His glory alone . . .

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Jehovah’s Place

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Pete

You sense an anticipation . . . an excitement. It was an invitation that evoked a joyful response. Of all the things he could be asked to do, you kind of think this was one of his favorites. It was less about beholding the place than it was about encountering the Person . . . not so much about what they might get as about the thought of having the privilege to again give . . . less about who they might encounter on the way but all about Who they would worship when they got there. They were going to Jehovah’s place.

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”
                                                                                           (Psalm 122:1 ESV)

The psalmist was glad when he was asked to go to the place where the tabernacle resided . . . as his feet stood within the gates of Jerusalem (v.2), his heart might have raced at the thought of drawing near to the place which housed the holy of holies. Though he could not encounter it by sight, I wonder if he imagined the cherubim overshadowing the ark upon which the presence of God fell. As he drew near, bringing his offering, I imagine he might have rejoiced at once again having the opportunity to worship the God who is worthy of all worship. The psalmist was going to Jehovah’s place . . . and he was pumped!

The house of the Lord . . . don’t hear the term used a lot in my circles . . . not sure of the last time I heard someone say something like, “Last Sunday, I went to the house of the Lord.” Most often we say church . . . whaddya’ doing on Sunday? . . . going to church . . . what time is the first service at church? . . . 8:30 a.m. Not that it’s a really big deal . . . but I think we might do ourselves a bit of disservice by assigning the designation for the people of God, the church, to a building . . . and not talking about the building as a place where we expect to encounter the glory of God.

But what if we were more conscious of that building where we gather on Sunday mornings as being the house of the Lord? Not because the four walls contain a big room where we meet and a pulpit . . . not because there’s a big cross hanging on the outside of the building . . . but because, when the people of God come together, the church, the presence of God is expected.

The body of Christ coming together in that building is what makes it the house of the Lord. Blood bought and redeemed, each member is joined together such that when they come together they comprise a “holy temple in the Lord” . . . “being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:20-21). It’s not the building, it’s the Body . . . it’s not the place, it’s the people . . . it’s not the service, it’s encountering the Savior . . . it’s not just a program, it’s Jehovah’s place!

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”

I have often thought, when gathered together with the church . . . when meeting with brothers and sisters in Christ . . . that there is a dynamic available to us, at that time and in that place, that is only available when we come together. We become the place where His glory dwells . . . as He inhabits the praise of His people . . . as His Spirit is unleashed on hearts and souls set on inviting Him to meet with them . . . as minds are transformed by His God-breathed Word . . . as body members are building up one another, and being built up by each other, as we encourage one another in the Lord.

“Let us go to the house of the LORD!”

Does it bring some excitement to your soul . . . a smile to your face . . . gladness to your spirit? I’m thinkin’ it should . . .

Because of His grace . . . to encounter His glory . . .

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Starting With the Heart

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Pete

It really is a pretty impressive list . . . but it came up short. There was no king like him in terms of his shear effort to try and power revival throughout Judah. If it was pagan . . . it was gone. If it was a high place it was torn down. If it went contrary to the Word of God, it was destroyed. The Word had become a mirror of his sin and the sin of the people he reigned over. And so, Josiah did everything he could, by the power vested in him as king, to reclaim the temple . . . to reclaim the city . . . to reclaim the land . . . to reclaim the people which God had claimed for Himself. Yup . . . 2Kings 22 and 23 is a pretty impressive read . . . but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide. How come?

Because, for all that King Josiah could do in terms of cleaning out the temple . . . for all the power he had to tear down altars to pagan deities . . . for all the resources he could invest in forcing compliance to the ways of the Law of Moses . . . there was one area he could not touch . . . one realm he could not influence . . . one thing he was powerless to fix. Josiah the house cleaner . . . Josiah the reformer . . . could not affect people’s hearts. And true revival starts with the heart.

Josiah did what Josiah did because the Word of God had touched his heart . . .

Before [Josiah] there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.    2Kings 23:25

Josiah’s personal revival started in his heart. With all his heart he turned to the Lord . . . and it invaded his soul . . . and then was manifest through his might.

When Josiah read the word of God, the Spirit of God did heart surgery within the king . . . his hearts was tenderized (NKJV) and made soft towards the things of God . . . and he who sat on the throne in Jerusalem humbled himself before Him who sits on the throne of heaven . . . Josiah tore his royal robe and wept royal tears (2Kings 2:19). The living Word of God had been taken in the hands of the Spirit of God and, like a two-edged sword, had splayed open the inner most being of the king . . . unveiling the thoughts and intentions of the heart . . . revealing the holiness and righteousness of the God who had called him. It began with a new heart . . . it spread throughout his entire being . . . and it was put into action by all his efforts to clean house throughout the land.

But in the end, all the might at the king’s command made no difference because it could not impact the hearts of men and women unfaithful to their God. That, is a work of God alone.

Apart from God providing a remedy for sin . . . apart from God taking hearts of stone and replacing them with hearts of flesh . . . apart from God infusing His life transforming Word within the soul’s of men . . . apart from God giving men and women a new spirit through the regenerating agency of His Spirit . . . external revival is but a flash in the pan.

You can remove all the altars you want . . . you can tear down the high places until there’s nowhere else to go but to the temple . . . you can legislate and mandate compliance all you want . . . but loving God with all your might before loving Him with all your heart and soul, will come up short every time.

O’ that God would work true revival among His people . . . starting with the heart . . .

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

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Written Down

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Pete

Why bring it up here? The issue at hand isn’t doctrinal . . . it’s personal . . . fact is, there’s some tension. Don’t know why they aren’t getting along . . . just that they aren’t . . . and it seems to be a big deal . . . big enough for the Spirit of God to move the apostle Paul to exhort these ladies to work it out and get aligned together in the Lord. But in the context of exhorting these ladies to get their act together, Paul mentions something . . . the Holy Spirit prompts Paul to include 8 words describing a characteristic of these ladies, and their fellow-workers . . . God breaths into His eternal Word a reminder of who these people are . . . and He does it right here. How come?

I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.    (Philippians 4:2-3 ESV)

Euodia . . . Syntche . . . Paul . . . Paul’s “true companion” . . . Clement . . . the rest of Paul’s fellow workers . . . all of them, beyond being caught up in the drama at the church in Philippi, share something else in common. It’s something that you got to think should make a difference in the dynamic they are caught up in . . . it’s something that should put other things in context . . . it’s something that God, through His Spirit, through Paul, thinks is a factor in working through what’s going on between these warring women. That something? That their names are in the book of life . . . that their names are written down.

In Revelation it’s referred to as “the Lamb’s book of life” (Rev. 21:27). It is that heavenly document, written before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8), which contains the names of those called by God to be “a people for His own possession” (1Pet. 2:9). The book is not a just New Testament idea (note again, “before the foundation of the world”) . . . Moses knew about it (Exodus 32:32) . . . as did Isaiah (Isa. 4:3) and Daniel (Dan. 12:1). And in the context of this sister spat at Phillip, the Spirit felt it important that they be reminded of it, as well.

So easy for believers to focus on what’s different between them . . . to divide over minor doctrinal disputes . . . to pout and part because of preferences in practice . . . to develop a “righteous indignation” over things which have very little to do with righteousness.

And for those feuding family members, the Spirit says . . . Remember, your names are written down in the book of life . . . Refocus, on your eternal call . . . Recall the price paid for your redemption, the sacrifice made that you might know forgiveness . . . Rethink your position in light of Him who humbled Himself unto death, even death on a cross . . . all because your name is in the book of life . . . written in red by the blood of God the Son . . . sealed for eternity by the power of God the Spirit . . . determined before the world was formed to be loved by God the Father.

Rather than rag on one another, Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Php. 4:4). And the book reminds us that there is much to rejoice in . . .

Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.     – Jesus     (Luke 10:20 ESV)

It’s written down . . . my name is written down . . . in a book . . . in heaven . . . penned by the Father . . . owned by the Lamb . . . made real to us on the earth by the Spirit.

Has a way of putting a lot of things into context . . . doesn’t it?

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Waiting for a Savior

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Pete

It’s the difference between religion and relationship. It’s the “secret sauce” that infuses the reality of “the here and now” with the anticipation of the glory of “the there and then.” It takes the mundane and gives it meaning . . . it’s what allows us to go through every day with that “one day” in mind . . . and, it’s what causes us to look up . . . to look waaaayyyy up!

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:20-21 ESV)

We await a Savior. Jesus is coming again. He said He would. Perhaps today.

How easy it is to lose sight of His imminent return . . . to get focused on what I have to do this week . . . to think about planning for next week . . . to think about my future in terms of “long term planning” which will cover the next few decades. How easy it is to do life and not anticipate the Life-Giver fulfilling His promise to come again and take me to be Himself (John 14:3).

How prone am I to focusing on immediate goals to the exclusion of pressing on “toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Php. 3:14)? How easily can I be trapped into the earthly mindset of making sure I “plan for my future” and storing up enough for my retirement so that I grow slack in investing in my real future . . . laying up treasures in heaven that are eternal (Matt. 6:20) . . . storing up treasures that promote taking hold of “that which is truly life” (1Tim. 6:17-19)?

Awaiting a Savior has a way of keeping first things first.

The Judaizers had their minds “set on earthly things” . . . and so their bellies became their gods . . . their glory was found in themselves . . . and thus, they walked as enemies of the cross (Php. 3:18-19). And while, it might not lead me to become an enemy of the cross, allowing myself to be primarily driven by “earthly things” has a way of making dull the “abundant life” Jesus has graced me with. Getting too attached to this place, rather than recalling my citizenship is in heaven, can cause me to major on the minors . . . to spend too much energy on stuff that just won’t last . . . on setting priorities around things that just aren’t that important.

But, when I await a Savior . . . when I anticipate that day when I will be face to face . . . when I set my mind on things above and not on things of this earth . . . well, then it has a way of maximizing the meaning . . . of pursuing the promise . . . of realizing the reality . . . that I am not of this place.

What a day that will be . . . what a day today can be because of that day.

Amen?

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