Father, May I Present to You . . .

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Pete

Hands down . . . it is a glorious passage. That it is sometimes avoided, being considered controversial, is tragic. First, because the “controversy” surrounds God’s plan for marriage . . . second, because, by avoiding the passage, the insight it gives concerning “the mystery” isn’t savored. The passage is like a kaleidoscope. You can look at the kaleidoscope itself and not be too impressed . . . kind of plain shaped . . . maybe dressed up a bit in some wrapping paper . . . so what? But look THROUGH the kaleidoscope . . . and that’s when the jazz factor kicks in . . . behold the multi-faceted pattern . . . take in the splendor of the all the color that is seen through the instrument. Marriage is kind of like a kaleidoscope . . . in looking through it we see the glorious beauty of a Savior, a Sanctifier, and a Presenter.

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, His body, and is Himself its Savior. . . . Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.   (Ephesians 5:22-27 ESV)

Paul lays out the dynamics of a marriage that will be manifest in those who are “filled with the Spirit” (5:18) . . . these dynamics being founded and fueled after the demonstration of God’s amazing grace and awesome love. And in doing so, Paul invites us to look through the lens of marriage in order to behold the beauty of Christ, our Lord.

He is Savior . . . having given Himself as the once for all sacrifice for our sin. He is the atonement for our transgression, His work on the cross being a finished work . . . His resurrection from the dead being the assurance of victory over sin and death . . . His way into the holy of holies being an open way for all who believe.

He is Sanctifier . . . having redeemed a people, He begins a work to renew a people. Set apart for His glory, through the washing of the word, and the renewal of the mind, He transforms us . . . and conforms us . . . to His own blessed nature. The righteousness that is imputed, or credited to us, through salvation is then imparted, or made more and more real in us, through sanctification.

Glorious Savior . . . Wonderful Sanctifier . . . but what really grabbed me this morning is that my Lord . . . my Head . . . is a Faithful Presenter.

When I first believed, Christ presented me to the Father as a new born child of God in Him . . . I was taken from the mire and seated in heavenly places in Him . . . I was ushered into the very holy presence of God, my sin-stained garments having been covered in His robe of righteousness. Father, He says, may I present to You my blood-bought brother . . .

As I stumble along this pilgrim path, Jesus continues to present me before the throne as He determines to “save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25). He intercedes through my trials . . . He entreats through my temptations . . . He advocates when I trip up, confess, and once again plead the cleansing blood of Christ. Father, may I present to You my work-in-progress follower . . .

And one glorious day . . . when faith gives way to sight . . . when all the saints are gathered as one . . . the risen Christ will again present me as part of splendorous body, without spot . . . without wrinkle . . . holy and without blemish. Father, may I present to You my beautiful bride!

To be sure, much in the passage to take to heart concerning my marriage. But looking beyond the pattern, might I see the Person . . . looking beyond the earthly dynamics of a God ordained relationship, might I have eyes to see into the portals of heaven itself and see my God sent Redeemer . . .

Father, may I present to You . . .

Posted in Ephesians | Leave a comment

Figuring Out the Details

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Pete

For all that the Bible is, it is not a prescriptive, step-by-step, manual on how to navigate every circumstance of life. For all that the Holy Spirit is, His is not to “call an audible” in every situation with a choice, nor to act as a perpetual GPS voice telling us when to turn left . . . when to turn right . . . when to make a u-turn. Now to be sure, God has, through His Word and through His Spirit, given us everything we need for living a godly life (2Peter 1:3-4) . . . and, to be sure again, God works in us both to will and to do His good pleasure (Php. 2:13) . . . but in that, we still need to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling” (Php. 2:12) . . . we still need to figure out the details.

. . . and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:10 ESV)

It’s often said that “God has a plan for your life” . . . true enough. But it’s not like that plan is delivered to us in some script . . . our lines aren’t written out for us . . . we don’t really get to read ahead and know how the plot turns out . . . and there certainly isn’t some dude sitting in a director’s chair bellowing at us when to “enter stage left” and “exit stage right”. We know there’s a plan . . . we know generally how to “get in character” . . . on some matters we have some pretty explicit “thou shalls and thou shalt nots” . . . but beyond that, we need to discern what’s pleasing to the Lord.

We need to take the Bible’s principles for life and map them to the specifics of life. Through the help of the Spirit, we need to test, examine, and scrutinize, the paths before us and seek to recognize the way well pleasing to the Lord. Though God is Sovereign, we are to be circumspect . . . “looking carefully how we walk” . . . seeking to walk as wise and not as the foolish (Eph. 5:15).

How tragic when believers are doing life on auto-pilot . . . handing over the controls to whatever “feels good” . . . or merging onto the world’s “express lanes” and going with the flow in order to make good time.

Instead, we are to be discerners . . . we are to test our choices . . . we are to examine the forks in the road before us . . . and seek, through the Word of God in front of us and by the mind of Christ inside of us, to ascertain the best choice and to take the right road and so, “walk in a manner worthy of our calling” (Eph. 4:1).

It’s kind of exciting, actually (maybe exciting like an extreme roller-coaster sometimes) . . . to consciously submit our wills to His . . . to purposefully seek to have His mind be ours . . . to engage in the walk and the work He has prepared in advance for us . . . experiencing the reality of a living Word . . . hearing the inner voice of an ever-present Holy Spirit. Being discerning is interacting with the divine.

May not always get it right, but that’s when we trust in a Father who will bring us back to paths of righteousness for His name’s sake (Ps. 23:3).

Figuring out the details . . . by His grace . . . for His glory . . .

Amen?

Posted in Ephesians | Leave a comment

Dispensers of Grace

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Pete

Grace. When we talk about grace, we often speak about amazing grace . . . and all-sufficient grace. We think about grace abundant enough to cover our sins . . . about receiving grace when we deserved wrath. The well of grace is deep . . . and I, for one, love drinking of its waters. By default, I’m thinking, when we think of grace we think of how grace has been shown to us . . . we glory in being recipients of God’s unmerited favor. But what about being dispensers of grace?

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (Ephesians 4:29 ESV)

Paul has shifted in his letter to the Ephesians from the doctrinal to the practical. After three glorious chapters of revealing who we are in Christ, he changes gears to exhort the believer to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (4:1). And, if I’m picking up some of what he’s laying down, then part of “walking in a manner worthy” is to be a dispenser of grace.

That the Scriptures recognize the power of the mouth is evident . . . that I so often am not mindful of the impact of words is, unfortunately, also all too evident.

James says that, though the tongue is a “small member,” yet it can set forests ablaze . . . stir up a world of unrighteousness . . . stain the whole body . . . spew deadly poison. It is a small member that no human can tame . . . and with it we “bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.” “My brothers,” he says, “these things ought not to be so” (James 3:5-10).

Jesus says the mouth is a window into the heart . . . “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34) . . . that “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart” (Matt. 15:18).

So, according to James, we need a regenerated tongue . . . what man cannot tame, the Spirit of God can. For those who have believed the gospel message . . . who have been redeemed . . . who have been born again . . . operation “Tame the Tongue” has begun. And according to Jesus, if now, as objects of God’s great love, we have come to be filled with overflowing grace . . . if our hearts have become cisterns collecting the living water of heaven poured out into our lives . . . shouldn’t what comes out of mouths reflect some of that living water . . . some of that amazing grace . . . some of that all-sufficient grace?

So easy to be mindful of being recipients and dull concerning being dispensers. So natural to lift our faces heavenward, open our mouths wide, and invite the rain of heaven to fill and refresh us anew . . . and not think twice about the privilege and opportunity we have to serve up some of that heavenly refreshment such that others might be built up and encouraged, as well.

To be a dispenser of grace . . . to speak words that reflect the compassion of Christ and the heart of God . . . to take a pass on “brutal honesty” and instead draw alongside with gentle encouragement.

That, by the grace of God, we might impart the grace of God . . . for the benefit of His people . . . for the glory of His Name. Amen?

Posted in Ephesians | Leave a comment

Man Made Worship

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Pete

It seems it began as a political move more than anything else. Less about rejecting God than about securing an “electorate.” Jeroboam was king . . . at least over most of Israel . . . he had been made king of the ten northern tribes. It had been determined of God (1Kings 11:9-11) . . . revealed by God (11:31-39) . . . and, enabled by God (12:15). And then Jeroboam . . . well, he forgot God. And that led to man made worship.

Jeroboam established his newly acquired throne in Shechem. It was the kingdom promised to him by God . . . and delivered to him by God. You’d think that worshiping God might be a natural response. Actually, worshiping God would seem to be a supernatural response. For now that Jeroboam had the kingdom, he was more concerned with how to hold onto the kingdom than with how to give thanks for the kingdom.

He reasoned that if people continued to travel to the temple in Jerusalem, the capital of that other king in the southern kingdom, to offer sacrifices and pay tithes, then eventually their hearts would turn again to him and Jeroboam would lose his grip on power. So, he had to do something . . . make a political move that would secure his position . . . ignoring the promise of God that God would build Jeroboam a “sure house” if Jeroboam would walk in His ways (11:38). Solution? An alternative to Jerusalem . . . a northern kingdom relevant system of sacrifice . . . a replica . . . a counterfeit . . . man made worship.

And so, “he made.”

Jeroboam made two calves of gold . . . “Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt” (12:28). What!?! That’s not true . . . but it was politically expedient. And so “he made” more stuff. He made a temple on high places . . . and he made a priesthood of non-Levites (12:31). He made an altar for sacrifices . . . and he made feasts to rival the feasts of Jehovah (12:32-33). And these things, the Holy Spirit records, were “devised from his own heart” (12:33b).

And I’m thinking how quickly the northern kingdom went south . . . how fast the promises of God were forgotten and the political will of a king was enacted . . . how quickly the ways of God were abandoned for the works of man. A man made worship concerned less with the object of worship than the benefits of keeping it local . . . concerned less with authentic worship than with maintaining control and power . . . concerned less with the holiness of the sacrifice than with the expediency of self-realization.

And while few of us have the power to enact such sweeping “reform,” we are all able to make a call on how to worship God in a way that seems convenient . . . in a manner that “meets my needs” . . . choosing the form that suits my agenda the best . . . “devising from our own hearts” the way that seems right to us.

Just as “he made” . . . we can make too. Maybe not golden calves . . . but perhaps a God made after our own image . . . our own liking . . . our own preferences . . . best suiting our own desires. A system of worship aligned to our priorities and our schedules. Just enough sacrifice to fulfill the intent but not to really have to sacrifice.

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” — Jesus (John 4:23-24 ESV)

May it be so of His people . . . no man made worship here . . . but worship which is in spirit and truth. By His grace . . . for His glory . . .

Posted in 1Kings | Leave a comment

Old Men & Other Gods

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Pete

So . . . was it a mid-life crisis? Did it come upon him suddenly or had it been building for years? I’m guessing it wasn’t a conscious decision . . . that one morning, he’s doing his devos and decides, “Hey, time to start checking out other gods!” Whatever it was, as I noodle on it this morning, it’s a little bit disconcerting . . . a warning that if he could do it, why couldn’t I . . . a reminder that the work which began by a work of the Spirit is to be completed by the Spirit, and I need to guard against that which would quiet the Spirit’s voice. This morning, Solomon’s got me thinking about old men and other gods.

For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.    (1Kings 11:4 ESV)

The thought of wanting to finish well is not a new one. The apostle Paul was mindful of running the race in order to win . . . of being diligent to, by the grace of God, do what he could to ensure no disqualification on the homestretch. And Solomon himself provides adequate warning about someone who had it all but then lost his way . . . “remember also your Creator in the days of your youth . . . fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Eccl. 12:1, 13).

But what hit me this morning is that it was when Solomon was old that his heart went flirting after other gods . . . that it was when the wisest man of all time should have been at his wisest, that he kind of went goofy. A couple of commentaries I briefly checked out put him between 50 and 60 years of age when he started being more “open minded” concerning “other ways.” Yikes! That’s my age!

You’d think that maybe after having sought to follow faithfully for the past 35 years that I’d be “safe.” That after three and a half decades of experiencing the reality of the grace of God . . . the reality of promises fulfilled as He has patiently been working to completion the work begun in me . . . the reality of the blood of Christ being sufficient and of God’s faithfulness being constant in forgiving my sin . . . the reality of the Spirit’s active agency in my life . . . that after all that, at some point, you can coast through the latter season with few worries of absolutely going AWOL on the kingdom of God. Evidently not! . . . if Solomon’s an indicator.

To be sure, it wasn’t an overnight thing with David’s son. I’m guessing it takes a while to engage with 700 wives and 300 concubines. And to be sure, he must have known that he was playing with fire as he pursued loving “many foreign women” (1Kings 11:1, 2b). God’s word was clear, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods” (1Kings 11:2, Ex. 34:16). But Solomon did . . . over-the-top did! But what’s also worth noting is that it didn’t seem to get in his way, at first . . . the “fruit” of scattering these seeds of disobedience wasn’t manifest until later in life . . . but then, when it did, it was with crash-n-burn results . . . his heart gone astray . . . his kingdom to be divided . . . his legacy to be one of “mixed reviews” . . . “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Gal. 6:7).

Old men and other gods. Hmmm . . .

How I need to beware that the race is still being run . . . that the flesh is still in opposition . . . that the enemy is still seeking to devour . . . and that God’s grace is my only foundation . . . the blood of His Son my only plea . . . the power of His Spirit my only strength. And I bring to the table but a holy determination to be found faithful.

O’ that I would keep on keepin’ on . . . by His grace . . . for His glory.

Posted in 1Kings | Leave a comment

A Wide Place

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Pete

Maybe they won’t out-and-out say it, but I sense that some within the church view obedience as the “price to pay” for salvation. That if you want to get to heaven you have to give up something on earth . . . that if you want to inherit eternal riches you need to take a pass on present rewards. And, to be sure, the Christian is called to “count the cost” (Luke 14:28) . . . to “enter by the narrow gate” (Matt. 7:13) . . . to not live for that which “moth and rust destroys” (Matt. 6:19). But something I read in Psalm 119 this morning reminded that these “restrictions” are in fact “redirections” toward true freedom . . . that instead of giving something up, we are, in fact, gaining life . . . abundant life . . . life to the full (John 10:10).

I will keep Your law continually,
        forever and ever,
   and I shall walk in a wide place,
      for I have sought Your precepts. (Psalm 119:44-45 ESV)

“I shall walk in a wide place” . . . that’s the phrase that caused me to pause and consider.

Other translations render “wide place” as “freedom” or “liberty.” The Young’s Literal Translation renders it a “broad place” . . . because, well, that’s literally what the Hebrew word means . . . large, broad, or wide.

So to observe His law continually . . . to inquire of His precepts diligently . . . is to walk in a wide place . . . to live in freedom. Far from being bound by God’s word, to desire to align ourselves to the revealed will of God is to be emancipated from the cruel taskmaster of the flesh . . . and to be redeemed from the oppressive ways of this world. Far from “paying a price” for salvation, obedience is the fruit of eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that have, by the grace of God through the gospel, been made alive to the things of heaven. The holy determination to walk in heaven’s way, by the power of God through the gospel,  is to be “free indeed” (John 8:36).

Having been given the mind of Christ . . . having had His laws written on our hearts . . . having been given the Spirit of God to lead us . . . is then to freely tread on the wide open plains of God’s goodness . . . to know the unrestricted reality of His presence . . . to sow with great latitude, confident of the harvest of His blessing. It is the old man, who would try and convince us otherwise . . . the old nature who would entertain a voice sent to deceive us into thinking that freedom is found in subjecting ourselves to our own fleshly desires or to the “enlightened” thinking of this world.

“For freedom Christ has set us free,” Paul writes to the Galatians, “stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1)

It is by faith, in the good news of the person of Christ . . . in the good news of the work of Christ on our behalf, . . . that we were set free. By believing the word of grace and promise, we were rescued from the slave shop of sin. Why wouldn’t we also believe that same word . . . that same “power of God for salvation” . . . to be the way to true freedom . . . to be the context for living life in a wide place?

I find my delight in Your commandments,
     which I love.
  I will lift up my hands toward Your commandments, which I love,
     and I will meditate on Your statutes. (Psalm 119:47-48 ESV)

Posted in Psalms | Leave a comment

A Great Journey

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Pete

Last night, me and my buds wrapped up a journey. Getting together once a week, we have spent 18 of the past 21 months doing, what we’ve called, an Old Testament “fly by.” The first nine months we “sampled” the historical books . . . getting a big picture sense of God’s workings among men and, in particular, with a chosen people, Israel . . . noting the prominent place of promise in God’s purposes . . . marveling at the rag-tag bunch of less-than-perfect people God determines to accomplish His purposes through. After a 3 month break, we then continued for the last 9 months on “touching down” on every other book in the Old Testament. From Moses’ writings on the sacrifices and feasts and, on the blessings and curses conditional upon the obedience of the people rescued from Egypt . . . to the wisdom literature — the story of Job, the song book of David, the proverbs and poetry of Solomon, and then to the prophets . . . lots and lots of prophets.

So why do it? Why would a bunch of non-Jewish guys sitting in Washington State in the 21st Century spend time considering the ancient texts and happenings of the descendants of Jacob? My reading in Ephesians 3 gives insight as to why . . .

When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.   (Ephesians 3:4-6 ESV)

Our interest in studying the history and heritage of Israel is because we have been grafted into that history and heritage through the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Our desire to comprehend more the incomprehensible God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is driven by the reality that He is our God . . . and we have have been graced into the body of His chosen people, into the riches of His special treasure. We have been made part of the mystery woven throughout the Old Testament, the mystery of how God would bless all nations through Abraham . . . of how David would have an heir to the throne forever . . . of how men with hearts of stone would be given hearts of flesh that they might know God. The mystery which is revealed in Christ Jesus . . . the fulfillment of the law . . . the once-for-all atoning sacrifice for all men’s sins . . . all the promises of God being “Yes” and “Amen” in Him. And, by God’s grace, we too are “in Him.”

And so, this eclectic group of men, sitting around the table Wednesday night after Wednesday night, desired to noodle through these ancient texts because we are “fellow heirs” . . . “members of the same body” . . . “partakers of the promise” . . . “in Christ Jesus” . . . “through the gospel.”

We who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Jesus (Eph. 2:13) . . . and by the active agency of the Spirit working in us, we long to draw nearer. Being fellow heirs we want to understand something of our heritage and the promised inheritance. As members of the body we want to better know our exalted Head and the privileges and responsibilities associated with being part of the body. As partakers of the promise, we desire to know, more deeply, the Promise-Giver . . . to worship, more fully, the Promise-Fulfiller.

It’s been a great journey. Not because we have a few more facts to store in the old brain (and, for some of us, it is getting to be an old brain) . . . but because, through the illumination of our heaven-sent Teacher, we know Him a bit better . . . we love Him a bit more . . . the manifold, multifaceted wisdom of God is a bit clearer . . . by His grace, the work of conforming us to the image of His Son is a bit further along . . . and, the gospel becomes that much greater.

Looking forward to the fall brothers . . .

Posted in Ephesians | Leave a comment

The Temple

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Pete

I read about the construction of Solomon’s temple this morning (1Kings 6, 7). It took seven years. Seven years for Solomon to build a house for the Lord . . . a magnificent structure where the glory of God might dwell. The best cedars . . . the most carefully and accurately hewn stone . . . ornate designs . . . walls and furniture overlaid in gold . . . grand bronze structures. It was big . . . and it was beautiful. And what would it have been like to enter the Most Holy Place? . . . to lay eyes upon the golden cherubim that overshadowed the ark . . . to behold the massive, 15 foot high, hand crafted creatures depicting life from another place . . . to gaze up at their 15 foot wing spans touching wall to wall, overshadowing the place where glory dwells? Was the temple Impressive? I’m guessing. Costly to build? By any standard. Does it pale in significance to the temple being built today? Pretty much. I read about that one too, this morning . . .

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.    (Ephesians 2:19-22 ESV)

Solomon’s structure was built in seven years . . . today’s dwelling place has been a work-in-progress for over 2,000 years. Solomon used only the finest materials . . . the house being built now is being constructed out of “recycled” materials . . . people once dead in their sins now newly created as living stones (1Peter 2:5).

The facilities to enable sacrifice in Solomon’s structure were plenty . . . blood would flow . . . animal parts cleaned . . . sacrifices offered by fire . . . the sweet smelling aroma ascending toward heaven. Sacrifice is a little different in today’s temple. No more blood . . . the blood of God’s provided Lamb having atoned for sins once for all. Today the sacrifices are not those of lambs and goats but of praise and worship, the fruit of lips adoring their Savior . . . and of lives laid down as living offerings upon the altar of grace (Romans 12:1).

But the two temples are similar in this aspect . . . both built to be a dwelling place for God . . . both intended as a holy temple. Both constructed that God might dwell upon the earth. Both designed that they might be filled with the presence of Him who inhabits the throne of heaven. In the one, that glory evidenced by a descending cloud . . . the other, the glory known by His abiding Spirit.

One other difference . . . Solomon’s temple is gone . . . destroyed . . . razed . . . dust where once was glory. Though it was built with the best materials earth had to offer . . . though it was erected upon the strongest of foundations man could form . . . though it was overlaid with precious metals . . . it’s gone.

But the other temple . . . the temple still being built today . . . that temple is Jesus’ work. The Father is the designer . . . the Spirit is the active agency of construction . . . and the Son is the contractor and sub-contractor . . . having determined that He would build His church . . . and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). And its longevity is not because of the materials used . . . not because of their inherent properties of strength or that they’ve been covered in gold . . . but because they are being built upon Christ Jesus Himself, the cornerstone.

He is the beginning and end of the structure . . . He is the source of the tensile strength of the born again materials used in this dwelling place of God . . . He is the covering, His enveloping blood and His imputed righteousness, being better than gold . . . He is the image into which the building is being conformed.

To have seen the temple of Solomon’s day would have been amazing. But to be the Temple of God’s making today . . . well, that’s just awesome! Amen?

To Him be all glory . . .

Posted in 1Kings, Ephesians | Leave a comment

Body, Soul, and Spirit

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Pete

Hovering over a single declaration this morning. Two verses . . . one glorious declaration. A song, of sorts, which not only calls me to enter into the speaker’s experience . . . but a pronouncement that invites me to participate, as well . . . an assertion which connects me and prompts me to join the chorus. The singer? Mary . . . a young woman betrothed to Joseph . . . a virgin with child from the Holy Spirit . . . a lowly creature favored of the Creator . . . engaged in a mini worship meeting with her cousin, Elizabeth. The song? Referred to as The Magnificat. The theme? God my Savior. The instrument? Mary’s entire being . . . body, soul, and spirit.

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior . . .    (Luke 1:46-47 ESV)

It seems to me that Mary’s song is a model for worship in so many ways. The focus of her words is the Lord . . . His person . . . and His power. He is the “God my Savior” . . . able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to Him (Heb. 7:25). He is the one who sees the humble estate of His servants . . . He is mighty and He is holy . . . and He is merciful. He shows Himself strong . . . scattering the proud, bringing down the mighty from their thrones, sending away the rich empty . . . exalting those of lowly estate, filling the hungry, a present help to His people . . . all in faithful remembrance of His promises. (Luke 1:48-55)

And how do you attempt to worship such a God? With body, soul, and spirit.

Mary speaks the words. Her body engages . . . her jaws move . . . her mouth forms words . . . her vocal chords are activated. I imagine she lifts her eyes (or maybe even her hands!) . . . or, perhaps, she bows her head. Her lungs take in air . . . her diaphragm works to expel it . . . becoming the fuel behind the sounds of thanksgiving. That which she tries to comprehend in her brain, can’t help but be expressed through her body.

And it is with her soul that she magnifies the Lord. The essence of who she is . . . her feelings, desires, affections, fears, are awakened and intent on one thing . . . to make great her God. Not that God’s greatness is somehow dependent on her . . . but that it is declared . . . it is lauded . . . it is celebrated . . . it is brought into focus through her expression of gratitude, awe, and wonder. All that is within her focused on one thing . . . to bring Him into greater focus . . . to ascribe glory and praise to her God of wonders.

Finally, with her spirit she rejoices in her Savior. That which enlivens the soul . . . that which sets eternity within the hearts of men and women . . . that which connects with the Spirit of God . . . that which takes the things of faith and makes them the objects of joy and exaltation. With her spirit she is exceedingly glad as it bears witness to the inner testimony of a reality beyond her reality.

I’m not doing any justice done in trying to describe it . . . but for any who have experienced it . . . the inner moving of one’s spirit in response to the things of God . . . the welling up of soul as the fountains of living water fill it . . . the “joyful noise” created by a body desiring to call out to Him who formed it from the dust of the earth. It’s . . . it’s . . . well, it’s magnificent!

O’ the privilege to be able to magnify our God . . . to feebly attempt to extol His Name . . . to earnestly desire to declare the wonder of His works . . . to do so with body, soul, and spirit.

By His grace . . . for His glory!

Amen?

Posted in Luke | Leave a comment

His Glorious Inheritance

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Pete

It’s a list I take note of every time I’m in Ephesians 1. Three things that Paul prayed the Ephesians would know . . . really know . . . fully get . . . comprehend at the deepest level of their beings. Three things that I always pause over, meditate on, wanting to “get it”, too. But this morning, thanks to a note in my study Bible, one of these things has taken on another facet of meaning. This morning the awe factor is multiplied as I consider His glorious inheritance.

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe . . .                (Ephesians 1:16-19 ESV)

That God would give us the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation . . . that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened . . . that we might know, perceive, discern . . . three things. The hope . . . the riches . . . the power. And I’ve always viewed these as three things which are the graced possession of the believers. The hope of our calling . . . the riches of our inheritance . . . the power made available to us. But a note in my Bible “upset my apple cart” on one of these this morning. That perhaps what the apostle wants the children of God to know is not so much about their inheritance but about His glorious inheritance.

To be sure there is a rich inheritance stored up for all who are called to be saints. Paul has already said that “in Him we have obtained an inheritance” (Eph. 1:11) . . . and that the believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit who is “the guarantee of our inheritance” (Eph. 1:14). Peter reminds us, also, that we have been “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you . . . ” (1Peter 1:3-4). That we have an inheritance is clear . . . that it should be part of what helps set our eyes on “things above” is evident.

But the other way to understand this is that Paul wants us to fathom that we are, in fact, the inheritance being spoken of . . . a rich, glorious inheritance . . . God’s rich and glorious inheritance . . . an inheritance which He possesses “in the saints.”

That the mercy and grace of God would move the Father to redeem His lost creation at the cost of His beloved Son is more than enough to evoke awe and wonder. But to then think that He would so delight in redeemed ones as to view them as the riches of a glorious inheritance . . . well, that kind of takes your breath away.

What wonder in considering that God would view us as His glorious inheritance . . . that He would count those bought by the blood of the Lamb as “a people for His own possession” (1Peter 2:9) . . . that He looks forward to us being with Him as much as we do . . . that we, in some manner, are His prize. Unreal!

It brought to mind an old hymn that I have not sung in long, long while. A hymn based on the KJV rendering of a verse in Malachi.

“They shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts, “On the day that I make them My jewels.”    (Malachi 3:17 NKJV)

We are His jewels . . . His riches . . . His precious treasure. In the saints, He who is All in All, has found His glorious inheritance. To Him be all glory and praise!

When He cometh, when He cometh,
To make up His jewels,
All His jewels, precious jewels,
His loved and His own.

Refrain:
Like the stars of the morning,
His bright crown adorning,
They shall shine in their beauty,
Bright gems for His crown.

He will gather, He will gather
The gems for His kingdom,
All the pure ones, all the bright ones,
His loved and His own.

Little children, little children,
Who love their Redeemer,
Are the jewels, precious jewels,
His loved and His own.

(William O. Cushing, 1856, Public Domain)

Posted in Ephesians | Leave a comment