Bad News, Good News

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Pete

I’m kind of a happy ending type of person. If you tell me you’ve got good news for me, and you’ve got bad news for me, and ask which I want to hear first . . . bring on the bad news first. Start me low . . . finish me high. Maybe that’s why Romans 3 causes me to soar! It starts off bad . . . but oh, it ends so good! I got bad news . . . and I got good news.

I probably would agree with those who contend that many in the church today have lost touch with the gospel. Not its message per se . . . but its magnificence. Not that you need the gospel to be saved . . . but that you can’t get over the gospel now that you are saved. Not that it was “our ticket to heaven” . . . but that it is the living dynamic by which we can know heaven on earth. I wonder if part of the reason we’ve lost the awe of the good news is that we have lost the “oh no!” of the bad news.

. . . as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”    (Romans 3:10-12 ESV)

Ok . . . I said give me the bad news first . . . but did it have to be so bad? Pretty much! Not much wiggle room with “none” . . . “not one” . . . “not even one.” How much righteousness do we bring to the table in and of ourselves? Zero . . . zip . . . zilch . . . nada . . . not a thing. And who are we talking about again? Everyone . . . all have turned aside . . . all, declares the inspired Word of God, have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).

Sit back and noodle on it for a bit. Think back to that time when, by God’s grace and through His Spirit, you became aware of the depths of your need and the hopelessness of your situation. Though eternity had been placed in your heart (Eccl. 3:11), the realization that you had no chance of attaining eternity was crushing. Think back as the convicting work of the Spirit brought understanding as to the depths of your sin . . . and started to dimension the degree of separation from a holy God. Bad news!

But . . . O’ glorious three-letter word . . . BUT!!!!

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it–the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. . . . and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith.    (Romans 3:21-22, 25a ESV)

That’s what I’m talking about! Kill the lament music . . . bring on the praise . . . bring on the wonder . . . bring on the worship. Now that’s good news!

A righteousness of God has been revealed . . . the gift of justification has been graced . . . the redemption of sin stained souls has been made possible through the atoning blood of God’s precious Son . . . and it has been made available to all who will believe it and receive it by faith. Not of works, lest any person should boast.

And this good news isn’t just a past headline . . . it is the banner under which I enter into the day. It is the hope I have of not completely crashing and burning in defeat to the old man which continues to war within me . . . it is the joy of knowing that in Christ I can again this day boldly approach the blessed throne of God within the very holy of holies and know a communion which is, literally, out of this world . . . it is the foundation upon which I have any aspiration of walking in a manner worthy of my calling such that He might be glorified in and through me.

Yeah . . . the bad news is really bad . . . may I never forget the “bondage of Egypt.” But oh, the good news is so good . . . and, by God’s grace, may I not lose touch with the wonder of my deliverance . . . and the glorious beauty of my Deliverer.

Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!    (2Corinthians 9:15 ESV)

Amen?

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Show Me Your Salvation!

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Pete

As I have been taking my Sunday School class through Galatians, a repeated theme is that our salvation is not just an historical event. It’s not something that happened when we “prayed the prayer” and now we can move on with our lives. Instead, it is our life. Not only have we, in the past, BEEN SAVED from the PENALTY OF SIN, but now, in the present, we are BEING SAVED from the POWER OF SIN. And there is coming a day, praise God, when we WILL BE SAVED from the very PRESENCE OF SIN. Salvation is not an “entrance event” and now we do the Christian thing . . . salvation IS the event. This thought again came to mind as I concluded Asaph’s song known as Psalm 50.

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies Me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!     (Psalm 50:23 ESV)

In my coloring scheme, that’s a shaded orange verse . . . a promise to claim. Mixed in is some brown underlining (praise) . . . and purple underlining (obedience) . . . and red underlining (salvation). And it’s the staring at the red, in the context of the orange, which kind of jazzes me . . . the thought of God promising to reveal to His own the multi-faceted aspect of His wondrous salvation.

The idea is that of God allowing us to look intently at . . . to behold . . . to gaze at the beauty of all that His salvation entails.

It is a divine work whereby that which we took possession of by faith increasingly takes possession of us as the Spirit leads us into fuller appreciation and enjoyment of what God has accomplished on our behalf and of the work He is doing in us for His glory. To be shown the salvation of God is not a once-and-done action . . . but a continuing act of grace whereby, as we “work out our salvation”, we are led to further understanding of WHAT IT WAS for the Son to deliver us . . . and WHAT IT IS for the Spirit to sanctify us . . . and WHAT IT WILL BE for the Father, one day, to bring us home. Far from being just the “old, old story”, being shown our salvation is to revel in it anew every day.

And the songwriter indicates that there’s a couple of dimensions active in believer’s life which provide fertile ground for being shown the salvation of God.

First, there is the giving of thanksgiving as a sacrifice. The praise of our lips given as an offering to the Provider of our salvation. A heart that desires to lift up the Name . . . to declare His great works . . . so that He might receive glory. Those who are sacrificers of praise are those who are shown the salvation of God.

The second dimension identified is that of ordering our way rightly . . . of seeking to keep on the path . . . of, as much as lies within us, desiring to honor the God of or calling by walking in a manner worthy of our calling. The promise is that, for those who “order their conduct aright” (NKJV), the God of their salvation will continually reveal the wonder of the fullness of their salvation.

For those who worship afresh . . . for those who seek to walk aright . . . there is the wonder anew.

O that our salvation might not just be a date in the past . . . but a delight in our present. That we might not think of it just as a prayer prayed which delivered us from death to life . . . but that we might also experience it as a power played out daily which increasingly leads us from darkness into the pleasure of His glorious light.

Show me Your salvation, Lord. By Your grace . . . for Your glory . . .

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Named

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Pete

By and large, I don’t think people like anonymity. I get that not everyone is a socialite or schmoozer . . . but I do think that everyone wants to be noticed by someone. That they didn’t feel anonymous has been repeatedly cited as a reason for those who have visited our fellowship deciding to hang out and become part of our fellowship. We have a number of warm-hearted saints who are very intentional about seeking out the “stranger” . . . who take it as a personal challenge to find out their name, and then, to remember their name next week. Yeah, there’s something about someone knowing your name that connects you.

The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel . . . And there shall be with you a man from each tribe . . . . And these are the names of the men who shall assist you . . . ” Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named . . .      (Numbers 1:1-17 ESV)

You read ahead a bit and you know that there are over 600,000 men over the age of 20 in Israel. Take whatever multiplication factor you like, to account for women and children, and it’s pretty easy to get to 2.5 to 3.5 million souls camped around the tent of meeting, the tabernacle, the visible representation of God in their midst.

And almost matter-of-fact-ly, Moses records that the LORD spoke to him and said . . . Count the people. Take one man, the head of each tribe to help you. Here are their names. Take “My God is Rock” and “Friend of God” along with “Enchanter.” Go get “Given of God” and “God is father” to help you. Give a call to “My God has Heard” and to “Reward of God.” I also want “My Father is Judge”, “My Brother is Help”, and “Event of God” to be involved. And don’t forget “God has Added” and “My Brother is Evil.”

And Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named.

Men who had been named by God! Men known by God. Men who were not anonymous.

The Holy One of Heaven . . . He who sits enthroned above the galaxies . . . He knew these guys’ names . . . and He called them by name.

God knew the names of the 2.5 to 3.5 million . . . and He named the names of 12 individuals.

And I’m sitting here this morning in wonder at the thought of being named . . . of being called out . . . by the God of Creation. He knows my name. He knows all that’s behind my name. And in His love, and because of His abounding grace, He calls me by name.

And it’s not just my name He knows . . . not just my name He calls. But my God knows all names . . . and desires that all names would know His Name. And His call is to all who have ears to hear. And for those who hear Him call their name . . . and respond in faith to the Caller-of-Names . . . anonymity disappears . . . purposelessness vanishes . . . living in the shadow gives way to living in the light.

How great is our God? Pretty!!!

O’ to be named!

By His grace . . . For His glory . . .

Amen?

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Great Thoughts of a Great God

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Pete

There was something about the great city that primed the pump for great thoughts. Something about the structures that stimulated the imagination. Something about the activities that reached into the depths of remembrance. God’s people . . . coming to God’s place . . . to consider the wonder of God’s person . . . all for the glory of God’s praise.

Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. Within her citadels God has made Himself known as a fortress. . . . We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple.   (Psalm 48:1-3, 9 ESV)

Verse 9 is what grabbed me this morning as I hovered over Psalm 48 . . . “we have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple.”

The temple was the place of sacrifice . . . it housed the holy of holies . . . it was the place where God’s glory rested . . . it was the reminder of God in the midst. And with the activity of sacrifice . . . and the ability to cast an eye toward the holy dwelling place . . . came remembrance . . . came meditation . . . came reflection . . . came consideration anew of the steadfast love of God.

Sure they could have stayed at home and worshiped . . . to a degree. They could remember God’s wondrous work in the isolation of their own four walls. But there is something about going where God’s people are gathered . . . something about going to where God’s presence is promised . . . something about participating where God’s program is practiced . . . that lifts the soul and stirs the mind to know anew the depths of God’s unfailing love.

And it’s this remembrance . . . this reflection . . . this re-acquaintance . . . that renews and restores and revives the soul.

God has always intended for His people to assembly unto His name . . . to come together for the purpose of sacrifice . . . to make the effort to gather regularly at the holy place where His presence dwells. In the time of David and for the people of Israel it was the physical temple on the holy hill in the city of the great King. For today’s covenant people, it is not one location but any location where the people of God are gathered . . . forming in themselves “a holy temple in the Lord . . . a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:21-22).

It is the place where we come together . . . where we engage in the sacrificial activities of praise and worship (Heb. 13:15) . . . where we quiet ourselves and receive humbly the word which is able to save our souls (James 1:21) . . . where we seek to build up one another in our most holy faith. It’s in that place . . . doing those things . . . knowing that He is in the midst . . . that thoughts of His steadfast love are rekindled . . . and the fragrance of unfailing grace is replenished again within our souls.

May God’s people not neglect meeting together (Heb. 10:24-25) . . . and, as such, miss the opportunity to be stimulated afresh to think great thoughts of a great God and His great and unfailing love.

By His grace . . . for His glory.

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Brothers

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Pete

There are brothers . . . and then there are brothers. There are those whom we are tied to through a bloodline . . . there are those who we are linked to through a common heritage . . . and then there are those with whom are souls are knitted . . . kindred spirits . . . iron that sharpens our iron . . . V.I.P.s (very invigorating people). I don’t know why, but as I’m reading in Acts 28 this morning, the brothers jump out at me.

There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.    (Acts 28:14-15 ESV)

Paul had been on a Mediterranean cruise. Not the “Royal Princess” kind . . . but the “S.S. Minnow” kind . . . an anything but routine “3 hour cruise” to Rome. Out of control seas . . . attempted mutiny . . . destroyed ship . . . “swim for your life!” . . . only to go ashore and be “welcomed” by a poisonous snake . . . stranded on the island of Malta for three months. And what lay ahead? . . . a trial in Rome. Not exactly Paul’s “easy season.”

But Dr. Luke, the author of Acts, is prompted by the Holy Spirit to record that as they neared Rome, Paul found a bit of an oasis. Brothers.

Not gonna lie to ya’ . . . (not that I would) . . . but I’m a bit partial to the NKJV rendering, “we found brethren” . . . as the NLT makes clear, they encountered “believers”. Brothers and sisters in Christ. Those of like precious faith. Fellow adoptees into the family of God. Kin reborn of the same Spirit. Fellow heirs anticipating the same imperishable, undefiled, and unfading inheritance laid up for them in heaven. Literally, blood relatives — the blood of Jesus.

And when this mini family reunion occurred between these who had never met, Paul thanked God. Though Paul knew the Lord’s presence through all circumstance, here was a bit of God “with skin on.” Where these two or three gathered together, He was in the midst. Something about the child of God hanging out with the people of God that invites the presence of God . . . and that’s reason enough to praise God.

Not only was there thanksgiving in meeting together with those of like mind and experience . . . but there was a renewing of the inner man. Paul took courage . . . he was emboldened . . . communion with these saints was the real “5 Hour Power Drink” . . . through them flowed living waters. Eyes brightened . . . resolve increased. Not necessarily because of anything they had to say to Paul, but because of what the living Christ said through them . . . ” I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18) . . . the work I have begun I will complete until the day I return (Php. 1:6).

The family of God is a living object lesson reminding us of the faithfulness of God. The people of God testify to the promises of God. Brothers, and sisters, just make things better.

I know these thoughts lie in contrast to the little tongue-in-cheek poem that is sometimes quoted and often related to . . . To dwell above with saints we love, won’t that be glory. But to live below with saints we know, now that’s a different story . . . However, I want to suggest that Paul’s experience entering Rome should be our normative experience when entering the assembly of God’s people. That when we see the brothers . . . and the sisters . . . we should thank God . . . and be encouraged.

Thank God for the brethren . . . praise Him for brothers and sisters . . .

. . .to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.    (Ephesians 3:21 ESV)

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Blind Guys Seeing

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Pete

As they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed Jesus. His ministry was at its apex. The authority of His teaching, mixed with the signs and wonders performed almost everywhere He went, had many abuzz. He wasn’t quite like any Rabbi they had encountered before. Certainly He didn’t fit in with the normative religious establishment of the day. Who was this Man? That was the 64 million dollar question. And often it was the least likely who had insight into the answer.

And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed Him. And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”
                                                                              (Matthew 20:29-30 ESV)

Son of David . . . that’s how the blind men addressed Him. A reference to royalty. A reminder of the promise of God that the line of David would continue forever. A response of those in desperate need of deliverance by the Messiah. That was Matthew’s overriding intention in writing his gospel . . . “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David . . . ” (Matt. 1:1) . . . that he might identify Jesus as the Son of the David . . . that he might present King Jesus. And these blind men saw it.

What they saw, even before their optic nerves were refurbished, many of “able body” were clueless to. Some in the crowd were there because of idle curiosity . . some were waiting for the next display of miracles . . . some may have hung out waiting to see what sparks would fly when He arrived in Jerusalem. And then there were these blind guys seeing at the side of the road.

Not to be silenced . . . not to be denied access . . . because of what “they saw” in Him . . . well aware of the depths of their need . . . they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”

And I marvel afresh that God gives sight to the blind . . . sometimes even before He heals their eyes.

Matthew records that “Jesus in pity touched their eyes” . . . but I’m thinking, even before that, that God in His amazing grace brought light to their dark hearts that they might recognize in this Carpenter from Nazareth the King of Heaven. That even before they saw again the beauty of the natural world around them, that they started to behold something of the majesty of the Son of God before them. That prior to laying renewed eyes upon Jesus and following Him, He had already revealed something of Himself to them and had called them to Himself.

That’s kind of what Jesus does . . . He makes blind guys seeing. What manner of world opens up to those who are given eyes to see . . . even before their eyes see.

Son of David. O blessed title of the One who “came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for man” (Matt. 20:28).

King Jesus. King of kings . . . Lord of lords . . . Sovereign of heaven . . . and by glorious grace, ascended to the throne of all who have been given eyes to see the Son of David and, in faith, have cried out for mercy.

. . . and immediately they recovered their sight and followed Him.
                                                                         (Matthew 20:33b ESV)

All praise be to the Son of David . . .

Amen?

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Hope In God

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Pete

I don’t know if David had a problem with depression the way we think about it today . . . but you don’t have to read very far in the psalms before noticing that David knew what it was to battle despair. I did a “double reading” this morning . . . Psalm 42 and 43 . . . and three times in those two psalms David records this dialogue he has with himself . . .

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.
                                                                      (Psalm 42:5, 11; 43:5 ESV)

A cast down soul . . . even if you can’t quite describe it, who can’t identify with it? The inner man is bowed down . . . not in reverence of worship but in submission to worry. There is a weight on the chest . . . a weight pressing on the outside but which is sourced in the depths of the inside. The oppressiveness of being cast down permeates all aspects of the being . . . thinking is clouded . . . breathing labored . . . sighing accelerated . . . eyes dimmed. And, most often there a longing . . . a longing for a better time . . . a longing for a different situation. The disquieted soul is bombarded with “if only’s” . . . the troubled heart with “why me’s.” And the “why’s” of a cast down soul can sometimes be so illusive . . . don’t know how come . . . just know it is.

I’m not really a “Bible formula” guy . . . but in this thrice repeated, Holy Spirit inspired, conversation between David and his soul there is, at the very least, a principle worth noting for those times when we find ourselves in the mire of despondency and despair. Simple to say . . . certainly harder to do . . . but, no doubt, effective for those who, by God’s grace and power, try. Hope in God.

Hope in God . . . believe that joy will come again and the song of praise will be restored to the lips . . . look to Him, and Him alone, as the Source of salvation . . . of MY salvation . . . know that He is MY God.

What is hope but waiting with assurance? As such, David’s soul would pant for God as a deer pants for flowing streams . . . his soul would thirst for the living God . . . his anticipation was that of being in the very presence of God (Ps. 42:1). Not so much about, “What do I do?” as about, “Where shall I go? . . . To Whom shall I turn?” Hope in God.

And faith is the substance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1). David believed the promises of God . . . as such, he would seek to take refuge in the God of the promise. At the end of the day (and the beginning . . . and in the middle), God was his salvation . . . the Father of Lights was his strength . . . the Creator of all things was the rock of sustaining grace. David’s part was to continue to trust . . . to determine to rest in the assurance of hope . . . and to relentlessly pursue Him who has declared to never leave, nor forsake, His own.

Send out Your light and Your truth;
      let them lead me;
  let them bring me to Your holy hill
      and to Your dwelling!
Then I will go to the altar of God,
      to God my exceeding joy,
  and I will praise You with the lyre,
      O God, my God.    (Psalm 43:3-4 ESV)

The disquieted soul is served poorly by my efforts to climb out of the pit. But to take firm hold of the lifeline of light and truth . . . to look to the Scriputres as my guide . . . to hear His voice through his God-breathed Word by the intercessory work of the Spirit . . . that’s what will lead me to His holy hill . . . that’s what will usher me into His abiding presence . . . that’s what will again prime the pump of praise and worship.

Be still my soul . . . the Lord is on thy side . . .

Hope in God. Amen?

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An Open Ear

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Pete

Most often, when I think about the “surgery” God has done through the dynamics of salvation, I think about what God’s done to the heart. Through Ezekiel, we’re told that, through the regenerating work of salvation, God performs a heart transplant . . . that He replaces the old heart with a new heart . . . that He removes the heart of stone and upgrades it with a heart of flesh. The new heart is a heart that can respond to the things of God . . . a heart attuned to the sound of His voice. But reading in Psalm 40, I discover that in order for the heart to respond . . . in order for it to pick up on the Spirit’s voice . . . that there’s another “procedure” required . . .

Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, but You have given me an open ear.   (Psalm 40:6 ESV)

When Jesus was preaching and teaching, often He would conclude with “He who has an ear to hear, let him hear.” In Revelation 2 and 3, when the Lord of the Church, through John, writes His letters to His people, He concludes each of them with, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” So where did the ear to hear come from?

But You have given me an open ear.

Apparently, the word for “open” literally means to dig, or to bore, or to excavate. It has the idea of digging out a well. So just as we might say, “God has given me a new heart” . . . we could also say that He has dug out my ears. A divine q-tip, or maybe in my case a holy auger, as it were, has been applied to remove that which would hinder hearing His voice. Through His Spirit He has tuned us into His frequency, that we might receive His Word and that, receiving it, it might find its way to new hearts ready to respond to that Word.

What a mistake it would be for me to take any credit for hearing or listening to God. What folly to think that somehow because I was spiritually attuned that I thus became a candidate for His grace and mercy. No, He dug out my ears. He bore through my spiritual deafness. He has given me an open ear.

I desire to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.   (Psalm 40:8 ESV)

The people of God desire to the will of God because He has placed the law of God within new hearts. And the law of God makes it’s way to the heart for God through ears opened by the grace of God.

O’, to praise God for ears to hear. Nothing of my doing . . . but You have given me an open ear.

Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.   (1Samuel 3:9 ESV)

By Your grace . . . for Your glory . . .

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The Priest

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Pete

No doubt there is a lot of detail to try and take in and work through when it comes to reading Leviticus. But in these opening chapters the “big picture ideas” are evident simply because of repetition. Yesterday, I noticed that the sacrifices, and what they foreshadowed, were “a pleasing aroma” to the Lord. In today’s reading what rises to the surface amidst all the details is the priest.

And the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty.   (Leviticus 6:7 ESV)

Five times in Leviticus 5 and then here, in chapter 6, the phrase is repeated, “the priest shall make atonement.” Kind of hard not to notice it. Kind of hard not to also note the pattern: Sin demands compensation . . . while the sinner can bring the offering, only the priest can offer it . . . the offering is for atonement, it’s about covering the sin with the blood of a pure and spotless sacrifice . . . and atonement is the basis upon which God can provide forgiveness. From sin to the forgiveness of sin . . . in the middle of it all is the priest.

Day in and day out they are slicing and dicing and pouring out blood on behalf of the people of God. Back breaking work . . . nostrils filled with the odor of burnt offerings . . . up to their armpits in dead animals . . . covered with blood. All in order to make atonement . . . to make way for forgiveness . . . that God might remain in their midst . . . that they might continue abide in His presence as His people.

And I’m reminded that my sin too demanded a price. That before a holy God, my unrighteousness was a barrier and needed to be atoned for. That my transgressions needed to be covered by the blood of a spotless sacrifice. And that such sacrifice needed to be presented by an anointed, set apart priest of God’s ordaining.

Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession . . . we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God . . .   (Hebrews 3:1, 10:10-12 ESV)

The sacrifices I’m reading about this morning, offered by the priests I’m reading about this morning, though atoning for sin, could never take away sin. But with the presentation of the body of Christ on our behalf . . . and with the shedding of the blood of Christ for our sins . . . offered through the priesthood of Christ once for all . . . all who believe can know a forever freedom from sin.

He is the offering . . . He is the compensation for the debt we owe . . . He is the atoning covering for the sin stain we bear. And, He is the Priest . . . and His priesthood is permanent, because He continues forever . . . as such, “He is able 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).

Behold the Priest.

To Him be glory alone!

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Breathe Deep

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Pete

Ok . . . so this morning I enter into Leviticus again . . . and it doesn’t take long, as I read the first four chapters, for me to notice the recurring phrase, “a pleasing aroma to the LORD.” Nine times in these first four chapters is this phrase found after the instructions concerning one of the sacrifices. The word has the idea of being soothing or quieting . . . and, apparently, can indicate delight. In the NKJV it’s “a sweet aroma” . . . in the NIV it’s “an aroma pleasing to the Lord” . . . in the NASB its “a soothing aroma” . . . and in Peterson’s Message it’s “a pleasing fragrance.” And so I ask myself, “What makes the burning of some animal or the burning of a grain offering a pleasing aroma to the Lord?”

You gotta know its more than just the odor of burning flesh . . . it has to be wrapped up in the smoke ascending toward heaven being a symbol or reminder of what’s behind the offering. First, the fire’s purpose is not judgment — that’s done outside the camp. Rather, the purpose of this fire before the tent of meeting is atonement. It’s not about destroying, it’s about restoring . . . about providing a way for continuing access to the presence of God . . . for providing the means by which sin is dealt with such that presence of God might continue to dwell in their midst. And so, it seems, there’s something pleasing or soothing to God about having communion with His people restored. A Holy and Just God must separate that which is tainted by sin from His presence — but the offering covers the sin, pays the price and opens again the way for man to draw near to God. And so this odor from the fire consuming the offering is a pleasing fragrance for the Lord as it indicates atonement.

But how much of the sweetness of that smell is also wrapped up in what it foreshadows? This Levitical sacrifice system consumed a lot of animals . . . providing only temporary atonement until the next transgression. But it anticipated a once-for-all offering that would forever cover people’s transgressions, deliver them from the bondage of sin, and make open the way into the Holy of Holies. How much was the soothing nature of that smoke wrapped up in “reminding” God that a day was coming when the Lamb of God would be offered as the final sacrifice . . . that a permanent way would be made to restore communion between the Creator and His creation . . . that an eternal provision would be made allowing His people to be received into His holy presence? Now that’s sweet!

And finally the pleasing nature of that aroma was intricately wrapped up in the very nature of that once-for-all sacrifice Himself — Jesus, the Son of God. I also read in Matthew 17 this morning of the transfiguration of Jesus on the mount. And the “pleasing aroma” of Leviticus immediately came to mind as I read these words . . .

And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If You wish, I will make three tents here, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”   (Matthew 17:4-5 ESV)

I wonder if every time the pleasing aroma of those Old Testament sacrifices ascended to heaven, the Father wasn’t reminded of the Son, “with Whom I am well pleased.” Christ . . . the love of God personified. Jesus . . . purity and holiness in flesh. Without blemish . . . absolutely perfect . . . altogether lovely. To take in the fragrance of Jesus is to absorb more than just the eternal sacrifice for atonement, it’s more than just a way into the presence of God, but it is the aroma of the absolute beauty of the sacrifice, Himself — in who He is and in what He has accomplished on mankind’s behalf.

. . . Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.   (Ephesians 5:2 ESV)

Breathe deep! Breathe deep, o my soul, of the beauty of Jesus! He is a pleasing aroma to those of faith. Amen?

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