An Inspiration . . . A Warning

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Pete

There’s something sad about someone who starts well and finishes not so well. They get out of the starting blocks quickly . . . they’re running a strong race — if not leading the pack, they are certainly at the front. But then, they get distracted . . . they lose interest in the finish line . . . they lose sight of the prize . . . their focus shifts somewhere else — perhaps to watching themselves on the jumbotron . . . and eventually they trip up . . . crash and burn. Good start . . . not so good finish . . . kind of sad . . and, kind of a warning.

Gideon was such a man. Best remembered for going into battle against the Midianites with just 300 men (Judges 7), Gideon was a man who had encountered the LORD . . . a man who stood for the LORD . . . a man who was used mightily of the LORD . . . and yet a man who, it would seem, lost sight of the LORD.

His race starts with an unmistakable calling (Judges 6). Visited by the angel of the LORD, he encounters God “face to face” . . . and, as would seem appropriate, builds an altar and worships the God. He is instructed by the LORD to tear down an altar build to Baal by his father and replace it with an altar to the LORD. And Gideon obeys . . . not a popular move . . . not without risk . . . but one which establishes Gideon clearly on the LORD’s side.

And God’s man, of God’s calling, is told that he will deliver God’s people. Clothed with the Spirit of the LORD, Gideon starts to rally the troops (6:33-35). But it’s a big job . . . and Gideon knows he’s not that big of man (6:15) . . . and so he seeks confirmation from the LORD with his fleece tests (6:36-40). And there’s a certain humility as he engages the LORD . . . not wrestling with God as did Jacob . . . but honestly bring his fears before the LORD, that the LORD might encourage and strengthen him with evidence of His presence.

Race is going well . . . Gideon doesn’t waver as God whittles down His initial army of 32,000 men to just 300. The battle is fought . . . the victory is won. Gideon defeats the Midianites . . . God get’s the glory. Well, most of it . . . and this is where mighty Gideon starts to fade in the backstretch.

As I read Judges 8 this morning, Gideon, the humble servant of God, is shown as Gideon, the somewhat arrogant commander of the army, who extracts personal vengeance on those who would not cooperate with his clean up efforts (8:1-21). And then I encounter Gideon, once the idol destroyer, now as the counterfeit creator.

And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.
(Judges 8:27 ESV)

He who had been invited into the presence and counsels of God, now presumed upon it as he built himself his own priestly garment. He who had been favored . . . and had known God’s faithfulness . . . now faltered. Though he left behind a legacy of of deliverance and rest for land of 40 years, he also left behind an idol that would become a snare and a trap that would be used to foster another kind of bondage . . .

Gideon . . . an inspiration . . . a warning.

O’ to run well . . . and to finish well . . . by God’s grace . . . for God’s glory.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us . . .     (Hebrews 12:1 ESV)

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The Lady Could Sing Too!

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Pete

A note in my study Bible has me thinking about Deborah as I sit back from my morning readings. The note says, “Deborah distinguishes herself as the most godly of all the judges . . .” And, from what is revealed of the various judges, I’m thinking that’s true. Some we don’t have a lot of information to go on . . . but others, with extended stories like Deborah’s, would bear out this observation. If Samson, son of Manoah, a womanizer, a judge of Israel, is at one end of the “godly continuum” . . . then Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, a prophetess, another judge of Israel, is at the other . . . and Gideon, you might put somewhere in the middle. And while God is able to use those with “minimum qualifications” to fulfill His purposes, there is something inspiring and encouraging about encountering those in Scriptures who were, by the grace of God, the full-meal deal.

She was married, yet she had a “career” as well. In addition to being “one flesh” with a man as “a helper fit for him” (Gen. 2:18, 24), she had also been raised up to be a prominent part of a great nation as judge to direct them and save them from their enemies (Judges 2:16, 4:4). Must have made for some pretty interesting conversations around the dinner table at night . . . “So, Deb, how did it go today at the office?” . . . “Oh, Lap, you wouldn’t believe some of the stuff I had to deal with today!”

But she’s distinguished as much by her personal life as she is by her public office . . . she was a prophetess. Direct line to heaven . . . Spirit-wired for supernatural insight and understanding . . . accustomed to encounters of the divine kind . . . in tune with God to such a degree that God would determine to speak through her.

So while she’s got it pretty good at home . . . and a powerful position at work . . . and a personal connection to the “bigger picture” . . . this woman is no prima donna! She’s willing to roll-up her sleeves to say the tough things and do the hard work.

She reveals to a military type, Barak, that God has called him to lead an army against Israel’s oppressors . . . to take 10,000 men into battle . . . to know that God has declared that “I will give him into your hand” (4:6-7). Barak’s not so sure . . . and he says to Deborah, “If you will go with me I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go” (4:8). And Deborah’s response is immediate, “I will surely go with you.” This lady is courageous too!

Her personal piety . . . her powerful position . . . is under-girded by her unwavering confidence in the God of her calling. And so, she also takes on the role of “executive coach” as she marches into battle with Barak and his men. Gotta like this lady.

And one more think about her . . . something close to my heart . . . the lady could sing too!

Judges 5 is the record of the song that Deborah and Barak sang on the day of victory. And I’m pretty sure it was “Deborah and Barak” . . . that she was taking the lead here too.

Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: “That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the LORD! Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the LORD I will sing; I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel.    (Judges 5:1-3 ESV)

It was Deborah who judged Israel . . . Deborah who heard the call of God for Israel to shake off her oppressor . . . Deborah who revealed the plan to the army commander . . . Deborah who agreed to “hold his hand” into battle . . . and Deborah who delighted that the leaders took the lead and that the people offered themselves willing . . . Deborah, who would not sing about Deborah, but would sing to the LORD . . . and make melody to the LORD . . . and bless the LORD.

Yup, Deborah, judge of Israel, was the full meal deal . . . and she could sing too!

O’ that by God’s grace, His people were like Deborah. That we would also walk in a manner worthy of our calling . . . and be faithful and courageous in battle . . . and would give Him the glory . . . amen?

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Drive Them Out!

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Pete

“This town ain’t big enough for the both of us!” So goes the old western movie cliche. So sets up the confrontation at high noon. If one ain’t leavin’ peaceably like, then the other’s gonna make him git! So what’s got me thinking of old western re-runs? . . . or was it a Bugs Bunny cartoon? . . . whatever. It’s the opening chapter of Judges and the ominous foreshadowing of a phrase repeated nine times. The land wasn’t big enough for the Israelites and the Canaanites . . . but the Israelites did not “drive them out.”

Through Moses, God had made the game plan clear. He was going to give them the land He had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob . . . they were to go up in the power of His might and possess the land . . . and they were to rid the land of its previous inhabitants . . . completely. The warning was clear . . . “if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell” (Num. 33:55). Any Canaanite remnant would tempt the Israelites away from their God . . . their worship would contaminate true worship . . . their world-view would obscure heaven’s view. And so the charge was clear, “Drive them out!”

Looking at the original word, it looks like it has the idea of possessing or inheriting by the means of dispossessing or impoverishing. Moving into the promised land of God was dependent on completely evicting the previous owners. But they did not completely drive out the inhabitants of the land . . . they allowed them to live among them or they pressed them into forced labor. Bottom line is that God said they needed to be gone . . . and the people settled for “mostly gone” or “kinda’ gone”.

And Judges 2 says that within just a few decades the result was disastrous. Within a generation, “the people did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals” (Judges 2:11). These pagan nations left to live among them became a snare to them in subsequent generations . . . in particular, their gods and pagan religions became an alluring trap. The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua. But as the next generation grew up, those who didn’t have this first hand knowledge, they started being attracted to other gods. And our God, who is a jealous God and will not share His glory with another, dealt with this infidelity quickly and harshly. Thus the vicious cycle of Judges . . . the people serve other gods . . . God judges them by allowing the nations around them to oppress them . . . the people cry out to God for deliverance . . . God raises up a judge to deliver the people . . . there’s a time of peace . . . and then the people slip back into serving other gods . . . and so it goes.

And so the warning is pretty clear to me . . . Drive them out!

By the abiding grace of God and the indwelling power of His Spirit, I need to put away that which is temptation and can become a snare . . . I need to renounce that which is of the world and would fester as a thorn. As much as lies in me, I need to leave no fuel to feed the old nature’s fire . . . I need to dispossess the things of the old man and the old way . . . that I might fully possess that which God has promised for the believer.

By His grace . . . for His glory . . . drive them out!

This town ain’t big enough for the both of us!

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Who Is This?

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Pete

As well as you think you might know someone, sometimes they surprise you. My wife surprised me this past week. For the Good Friday service at our church, she was asked to share a word of testimony . . . and she did! Wasn’t going to at first . . . so not her thing. But a Sunday morning sermon on Abraham, Faith 101, and hearing the call to leave your comfort zone. . . mixed with a bit of Holy Spirit prompting . . . and bam! . . . there she is . . . up behind a pulpit . . . in front of a ton of people . . . doing what’s known as public speaking . . . and doing it quite well. Calm, collected, even mixing in a bit of humor (at my expense, however . . . did anyone catch the license number of that bus that I was thrown under? . . . whatever). And I’m thinking, “Who is this?” Pretty cool when you can be surprised by someone you’ve known for over 30 years.

They had probably been hanging out with Jesus for over a year before that day they stepped into the boat. His disciples had been drawn to Him, believing that He was more than a run-of-the-mill rabbi . . . sensing that He was a man of God unlike any man of God they had ever encountered. They had been with Him long enough to start processing His teaching . . . they had been given ears to hear the things of the kingdom explained in parables . . . they had witnessed His power to heal and to cast out demons . . . they had heard His claim, and witnessed the proof, that He, like God, had authority to forgive sin. After a year they were starting to get to know this One they called Master. But that night when He called them to get into the boat with Him and go to the other side, they had no clue as to what else they would learn about Him.

They’re sailing . . . the Master is sleeping . . . and then, the wind starts howling around them . . . the waves begin breaking on top of them . . . panic eventually overflows within them. And they wake Jesus, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

And He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey Him?”
 (Mark 4:39-41 ESV)

Who is this?!? . . . even the wind and sea obey Him?

I wonder if we’re prone toward getting too familiar with Jesus. By His grace, He’s allowed us to “hang out” with Him for years . . . some of us, since we were just little kids. We’ve heard the stories . . . read the Bible . . . know the lingo . . . and the path becomes a little predictable . . . the walk becomes a little stale . . . the relationship shifts to auto-pilot.

And then He does something . . . like inviting us into a boat about to head into a storm . . . and there shows Himself in a way we’ve never seen . . . displays His power in a way that causes us to say, “Wow!” . . . reveals His faithfulness to His promises in a way that causes us to bow and confess, “Unworthy!” . . . makes known His abiding presence in a manner that compels us to whisper, “Who is this?”

Crazy to think that we could be in relationship with the risen Son of God and not, from time to time, experience some “wow” factor . . . that awe would not sneak up and grab us periodically as He reveals Himself to us. If I’m not asking, “Who is this?” from time to time then maybe I need to check myself.

30+ years with my wife . . . still being surprised. 35+ years with Jesus . . . may I not cease to be in awe and wonder . . . by His grace . . . for His glory.

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Turn Us

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Pete

Backsliding . . . from my experience, not a word the church uses much anymore. Not that it ranked among the “top ten” of most frequently used term, but it seems to me that years ago the word found it’s way into conversation more often . . . used when talking about a brother or sister who was not walking with the Lord . . . used as a warning concerning the danger of allowing our passion and pursuit for the things of the kingdom to wane . . . and sometimes used jokingly of those who chose to sit in the back row at church — we’d quip that these “back-seaters” were in danger of “backsliding”. Maybe the reason I don’t hear the word much anymore is because we have replaced it with a more contemporary word . . . or maybe it’s because the pilgrim path has become so wide, and the “walk that is worthy” has become so diluted, that backsliding is a thing of the past.

But reading Psalm 80 this morning, the word came to mind as I read the psalmist’s thrice repeated plea to the Lord . . .

Restore us, O God; let Your face shine, that we may be saved! . . .
Restore us, O God of hosts; let Your face shine, that we may be saved! . . .
Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let Your face shine, that we may be saved!
(Psalm 80:3, 7, 19 ESV)

Psalm 80 is a lament. Things are not going well for Israel. God is angry with their prayers . . . and is feeding them a steady diet of tears (v.4-5). The Vinedresser who transplanted His vine out of Egypt and nurtured it’s growth into that of a mighty nation, has allowed the walls to broken down about the vine . . . and the vine is being pillaged by passerbys and ravaged by wild beasts (v.12-13). And so, the songwriter cries out to the Shepherd of Israel . . . pleads with Him who is enthroned upon the cherubim . . . that He would shine forth . . . stir up His might . . . and “come to save us” (v.1-2).

And three times, each time with growing intensity, the songwriter pens the refrain, “Restore us, O God . . . O God of hosts . . . O LORD God of hosts . . . let Your face shine, that we may be saved!”

That term “restore us” is translated “turn us” in both the original King James Version and in the more modern New Living Translation. The sense being not just “turn our situation” but start by “turning us.”

In their prosperity, God’s people had become loose with the things of God . . . in their blessings, they had grown to presume on the favor of God . . . in their freedom, they had chosen to stray from faithfulness to God . . . they had backslidden. They weren’t where they should have been . . . they weren’t being who they were called to be . . . and so the psalmist pleads, “Restore us, God. Turn us again to Yourself.”

And while the trial may have gotten their attention, their restoration would come only as God allowed His face to shine upon them. Only as God, in His grace, made His presence known among them . . . only as the Almighty condescended to manifest Himself among them . . . only as they again tasted of divine communion . . . indulged in His abundant love . . . and received His unmerited favor . . . would they be turned again towards Him. And in that, would their rescue be known.

O’ that I might not need the walls broken down around me to recognize my waywardness . . . might I not need the discipline of God heavy upon me before realizing I have become cold, callous, or careless. But that I might be sensitive to know when my heart is distracted . . . when my soul is diluted . . . when I am backsliding. And then, that I might look to Him who is enthroned among the cherubim to shine His face upon me . . . not because I deserve it . . . but because, in His grace and love, He desires it.

And then, would this backsliding heart turn again toward His shining face. By His grace . . . for His glory.

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Not My Own

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Pete

Salvation is a free gift . . . but it will cost you everything. I heard a preacher state that years and years ago. It came to mind this morning as I hovered over the latter part of 1Corinthians 6. At first, such a statement sounds counter-intuitive, if not out and out contradictory. We want to assume that if something is a free gift then, after we receive it, it should be ours to do with as we please. But what if the gift itself is about being invited into eternal relationship with the God of Creation . . . what if the blessing goes beyond what one has been saved from but what they have been saved to, participation in the divine nature . . . what if that which we received is so much more than what we now possess and more about who possesses us?

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.     (1Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV)

It would seem that at least some in the Corinth church were viewing the gift of salvation as an add-on to their lives. They walked into church still wearing their popular logo’d t-shirts . . . “All things are lawful for me” printed on the front . . . “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food” printed on the back. And Paul says, “Yeah, maybe lawful technically, but not helpful” (6:12-13).

In fact, the implications of being washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of Christ, and by the Spirit of God (6:11) were that, not only were their souls being saved, but their lives had been re-claimed by the One who made them for His glory in the first place. Just as God had raised Christ from the dead (He is risen indeed!) so will He also raise up in power those who are Christ’s (6:14) . . . and thus there is this eternal link between the risen body of Christ and the to-be-risen bodies of His people. The bodies of believers having become members of Christ (6:15) . . . those joined to the Lord having become one in spirit with Him (6:17). The free gift resulting in a new relationship with the free gift Giver . . . and thus, there being implications which impacts what we do with these bodies until that time they are raised into His very presence.

We gladly receive the gift of God’s abiding Spirit . . . but what of the responsibility which goes with the privilege of housing God’s divine nature within us? We rejoice in redemption . . . but what of the implications of having had the price paid for our sin? We desire to praise and worship our Savior . . . so what does that mean for us when we leave the building on Sunday mornings?

I am not my own. I have been bought with a price.

While I have been gifted with eternal life, Another has placed a call on that life. While I have freedom in Christ, Another has laid claim on that freedom. I need to lose the t-shirts and popular logo’s of this world and pursue the abundant life that comes from being joined together with Christ.

Therefore, glorify God in your body . . .

Not my own . . . but His alone . . . by grace alone.

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The Foundation

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Pete

In the church, bad behavior often is the result of bad understanding. We’ve been talking about this in my Teen’s Sunday School as we’re going through Galatians . . . if I think I have to do stuff in order to be accepted by God it creates a very different church then if I desire to do stuff because I am already fully accepted by God in Christ. If I’m not fully convinced that Christ’s work on the cross is truly “Finished!” . . . then I’m inclined to try and finish it for Him — to add my best efforts, that my salvation might be secure . . . resulting in a “look over your shoulder” fearful Christianity rather than a “march triumphantly” victorious Christianity. Or, if I think that spirituality is somehow tied to a leader, or a special teacher, then the danger is that the One Body of Christ becomes fractured as it lines up under the banners of different men . . . such was the case in Corinth.

Paul had received a report that the church of Corinth was splitting into different camps based on who people thought was the “most anointed” of the evangelists and teachers who had helped establish the church in Corinth. Some followed Paul . . . some followed Apollos . . . some followed Cephas . . . some said they simply followed Christ . . . and this varied follower-ship was leading to division and strife within the Body (1Cor. 1:10-12). Somehow their faith had become associated with their favorite . . . their standing before God was dependent on the speaker they liked the best . . . their holiness became tied to who they deemed to be the most gifted. And so, Paul tries to redirect their focus from the pulpit and to the Person . . . he seeks to break their preoccupation with the sermonizer and remind them again of the Savior . . . he downplays the flash and instead lifts up the Foundation.

For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.    (1Corinthians 3:11 ESV)

Paul was simply a tradesman . . . sub-contracted by the the One who declared, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). His job was to lay the foundation . . . others, such as Apollo or Cephas, where “brought in” to build upon that foundation. The beauty of the building wasn’t determined by its workers but by its Architect. And the strength of the building . . . the utility of the building . . . the durability of the building . . . rested not on the workers, but on the foundation.

How much bad behavior in the church today is because of bad understanding concerning the church’s foundation?

On this Good Friday, as so many of us will focus afresh on the work of the cross, might we remember and rejoice in the foundation. Might we check every thought . . . might we arrest every behavior . . . that declares we are trying to supplement that which is already laid and set. There is nothing to be added to the work of Christ . . . nothing to be mixed into the foundation. The work is finished . . . His grace is sufficient . . .

We build not to be better . . . for we are righteous . . . we are fully accepted . . . we are more than conquerors . . . in and through the blessed Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. Instead, we build in order to bless . . . not ourselves, but to bless Him who alone is worthy of blessing.

We are God’s building (1:9b) . . . we are God’s holy temple (1:16-17) . . . built upon God’s foundation, which is Jesus Christ.

To Him be allegiance alone . . . to Him be glory alone . . .

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Resting in the Power of God

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Pete

K.I.S.S. . . . Keep It Simple Saint . . . sometimes I’d do well to do just that. So easy to complicate things . . . anything . . . everything . . . including my Christianity. There’s Scripture to rightly divide . . . doctrinal positions to settle on . . . grey areas to be worked through. Then there’s the self-evaluation . . . am I walking in a manner worthy . . . am I being a faithful steward of the material stuff I control . . . is my spiritual gifting being used within the Body of Christ? Not saying that any of this is bad . . . not at all. Just that sometimes it can make for a complex faith. But as I ‘m reading in 1Corinthians this morning I’m reminded that I need to be careful about straying very far from the basics . . . that I need to remain grounded in the foundations . . . that, rather than worrying about having it all together, I need instead to be resting in the power of God.

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.      (1Corinthians 2:1-5 ESV)

I’ve read 1Corinthians a few times before . . . I know what’s coming. They were, to say the least, a complex, and somewhat conflicted, church. Amazingly saved . . . wondrously gifted . . . and, it would seem, increasingly dysfunctional. Paul will need to address matters of internal politicking and divisions . . . of sexual immorality in the church . . . of saints suing saints . . of food offered to idols . . . of believers exerting “their personal rights” . . . of spiritual gifts misused . . . of drunkenness and gluttony at the Lord’s Supper . . . and of Body basics out of whack. As Paul addresses the many issues in this church, you sense this local testimony of believers is, to some degree, coming off the rails. Time to get back to the basics . . . time to rest in the power of God.

In wanting to do all the right things with all the right stuff God had blessed them with, these Corinthians, it would seem, were leaning heavy to their own understanding . . . and working out their salvation according to their own wisdom and, I suspect, their own power. So Paul begins his letter with Salvation 101 . . . Christ and Him crucified.

Christ the Messiah . . . the Son of God . . . the Lamb of God given for the sin of the world . . . He who knew no sin made the curse of sin on our behalf as He hung on Calvary’s cruel cross. The perfect spotless once-for-all sacrifice able to atone fully for the sins of all who believe. The Son of Man, come not to serve, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. Salvation starts with Christ . . . it continues in Christ . . . it will be brought to full and perfect completion through Christ. The risen Christ . . . having conquered sin and death . . . now living in the lives of the sheep of His pasture . . . now being formed within the very fabric of those who have bowed the knee and owned Him as Savior and Lord. Christ, the love of God made known . . . wanting to be manifest today in His bride, the church.

Salvation past, deliverance from the penalty of sin . . . salvation present, deliverance from the power of sin . . . salvation future, deliverance from the presence of sin . . . all of grace . . . all of unmerited favor . . . all of Christ and Him crucified.

While I need to divide the Word rightly . . . and need to walk in a manner worthy . . . and need to serve in a way faithfully . . . I need to recognize the power to do so is only through Christ and Him crucified.

And when it’s about Him alone . . . His blessed person . . . His finished work . . . His unfailing promises . . . then debating the Word in our wisdom becomes discovering the Word through the Spirit’s illumination . . . and the dysfunction gives way to direction . . . and the division evaporates into submission . . . and the spotlight shifts from us and the glory is God’s alone. And our striving ceases . . . our abiding increases . . . and we rest in the power of God.

Even so, Lord Jesus, may I never lose sight of You . . . and You crucified . . . and You risen. All by Your grace . . . all for Your glory . . . amen!

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In Heaven . . . On Earth

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Pete

To some degree, I get where Asaph is coming from in Psalm 73. What is going on around here?!? How can the way of the wicked be gaining such momentum? How can that which is so counter God be becoming so mainstream? If the way of those who scoff at Deity prospers, is it really worth it to keep trying to swim upstream . . . a stream which seems to be growing into a river with class 6 whitewater rapids? The “prosperity of the wicked” almost made Asaph’s feet to stumble, his steps to nearly slip (v.2) . . . until he entered into the sanctuary of God . . . and there, he put what was happening on earth into the context of who is in heaven.

Nevertheless, I am continually with You; You hold my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You.
                                                                                       (Psalm 73:23-25 ESV)

Sometimes I need to remind myself to stop looking around and return to looking up . . . I need to try and stop figuring out what’s going down on earth and refocus on what the Scriptures reveal of what’s happening in heaven . . . I need to guard against the deepening darkness of this world from obscuring the marvelous light of glory . . . I need to resist the temptation to walk by sight and return to walking by faith.

And entering into the sanctuary (vv. 16-17) . . . purposefully going to that holy place where God’s people gather for worship . . . is a great place to regain perspective of what I possess in heaven and the implications that should have on earth.

Worship has a way of reviving the heart. In the course of singing His praise, there is often a renewal of His power. In declaring the mighty works of God there is frequently an overwhelming sense of being a “trophy of His grace” . . . the fruit of His labor . . . the object of His affection. Though it’s not about me, raising up in song . . . meditating on His word . . . being still and knowing that He is God . . . can’t help but have an impact on me.

As Asaph reminded himself of the promises of God . . . that God had brought Asaph into eternal covenantal relationship . . . that Asaph was always with the God who had promised to always be with him . . . that he walked as with God holding his right hand . . . that he maneuvered through life with the guidance of Divine counsel . . . and that a day was coming when faith would give way to sight . . . reminding himself of all this, Asaph knew afresh of what He possessed in heaven . . . and of Who possessed him . . . even on crazy old earth. Heavenly context has a way of shaping earthly reality.

The practice of worship . . . the promise of heaven . . . drives a perspective on earth . . .

Doesn’t change the nightly news . . . but puts it into an eternal reality . . . and ignites a daily focus . . . and there is nothing on earth I desire besides You.

Time to enter the sanctuary . . . by His grace . . . for His glory . . .

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Dwells Between His Shoulders

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Pete

He was the mama’s boy that mama never knew. Rachel literally gave her life in giving him his. As he left the womb, she left this world. In those last moments she named him Ben-Oni, son of my sorrows . . . but his father would name him Benjamin, son of the right hand . . . my boy of favor (Gen. 35:16-18). He was the youngest . . . after Joseph was thought lost, he was the favored and protected . . . he was baby brother Benjamin. And as I’m reading Moses’ final blessings on the tribes of Israel, it’s what’s said of precious Benjamin that grabs me this morning.

Of Benjamin he said, “The beloved of the LORD dwells in safety. The High God surrounds him all day long, and dwells between his shoulders.”
                                                                           (Deuteronomy 33:12 ESV)

One of those verses that causes one to pause . . . and, at least in my case, causes me to have an initial reaction of, “Huh? God dwells between his shoulders? Don’t know exactly what it means . . . but it sounds right . . . whatever it is, it sounds like something a favored son might know.”

I do a bit of digging and see that other translations say that “he dwells between his shoulders” (NASB) opening up an interpretation that it is Benjamin who dwells, or rests, between the shoulders of God . . . as in, is carried on His shoulders . . . which is where the NIV translators land with it . . . “and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.”

Could be . . . makes sense. That the children of favor are carried between the shoulders of their God and Redeemer is born out in Scripture . . . and in the child of God’s experience.

But the more literal translation in the ESV doesn’t leave open the ambiguity . . . instead it lands on the side that the High God will dwell between Benjamin’s shoulders.

Quickly reading a couple of commentaries, this rendering would suggest an interpretation of where the temple of God would rest . . . if not in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin, then at least on it’s borders. Moses foretelling that the glory of God would tabernacle in the midst of Benjamin . . . would dwell between his shoulders.

And now I’m thinking of the place where God dwells . . . the place where He determines to let His glory tabernacle . . . and I’m thinking the church . . . and how the church can be seen, to some degree, in Benjamin.

The son of sorrows . . the church birthed through the death of the Man of Sorrows (what a Name!). The blood of Jesus shed, the life of Jesus given, that those born of the Spirit might be given new life . . . His life . . . through justification by faith in His finished work . . . and through the sanctification by the active agency of His Spirit.

And isn’t the church also, the son, and the daughters, of His right hand? Adopted as children of God . . . joint heirs with Christ . . . raised up to a place of favor . . . seated together in the heavenlies with God’s Son . . . hidden in Him . . . Who, even now, is at the right hand of the Majesty on High. Christ’s bride . . . God’s children . . . a people of favor . . . the apple of His eye. How special are we in Him? Pretty!!!

And, as the beloved of the LORD, we dwell in safety . . . safe in Him. Eternally secure . . . and presently supported . . . our feet on the Rock . . . our hope in the One who has gone to prepare a place for us. Even more, just as was promised of Benjamin, the High God surrounds us all day long . . . sealed with His precious Holy Spirit . . . indwelt by deity . . . empowered by Him who raised Christ from the dead.

And lastly, He tabernacles between our shoulders. His glory resting in our midst. His presence graciously resting upon the “building” He is constructing out of living stones . . . and inhabiting by His Spirit.

Mama’s boy . . . Abba’s delight . . . and He dwells between his shoulders.

Even so, Father, dwell . . .

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