If / Then Logic

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Pete

She cries aloud in the street . . . in the markets she raises her voice. Hers is a plea . . . “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?” . . . why are you settling for uninformed naivete? . . . why would you embrace foolishness? It’s the call of Wisdom (Proverbs 1:20-22). These opening chapters of Proverbs are among my favorite oases to visit in Scripture. They are consistently a place of renewal . . . a place of recommitting myself to the “fear of God which is the beginning of knowledge” (1:7) . . . a place of refreshing my desire to pursue the word of God that I might, by His grace and through the illumination of His Spirit, have in some measure the wisdom of God. And what grabs me this morning is a pretty simple, and evident, cause and effect relationship in Proverbs 2.

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God . . . Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path . . . So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman . . . So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous . . . “   (Proverbs 2:1-5, 9, 16, 20 ESV)

If / Then logic. Not too hard to grasp. If you do this, then that will happen. It’s a conditional promise . . . a result assured based on a action . . . an outcome that will occur because of some input.

For those who pursue the word of God . . . for those who receive it . . . who treasure it . . . who seek it like precious metal . . . who search for it like hidden treasure . . . and cry out for understanding concerning it . . . there is a promise. Seek and you will find . . . search and you will understand. And we’re not talking about ending up with some high-minded theoretical understanding of doctrine here, we’re talking about that much needed day to day wisdom . . . that insight needed for skillful living . . . that filter which reveals the “good path” . . . which delivers from the smooth words of this seductive world (2:16) . . . which establishes a solid footing on “the paths of righteousness.”

Spending time in the Word is not just a good Christian habit . . . doing morning devotions isn’t just a priority because “if I don’t I’ll have a lousy day” . . . faithfully following a reading plan isn’t just about the accomplishment of reading through the Bible in one year . . . while a good habit, a good start to the day, and a good goal are all . . . well, good . . . passionately pursing the Word of God will result in the Wisdom of God . . . and that’s amazing!!!

Knowledge of the King and His Kingdom will result in a practical know-how as we navigate through this world as pilgrims on our way home. Correctly dividing the word of God will result in accurately discerning between right and wrong . . . and deciding between good, better, and best. Having our minds exercised by the God-breathed Scriptures will result in an ever present, biblically informed, mindset that directs us as we seek to “walk in a manner worthy of our calling.”

Paul says we have the mind of Christ . . . the born again ability to have the things of God revealed to us through the Spirit . . . the spiritual DNA to comprehend something of the thoughts of God through the Teacher who indwells us . . . to be taught by the Spirit that we might understand the things freely given us by God (1Cor. 2:10-16). Proverbs reminds me that mine is to give the Spirit something to work with . . . a seeking heart taking in the Word of God.

If I pursue the Word of God, then I will start to think in a way that is consistent with my calling as a child of God. If I pursue His wisdom, then I will walk in a way that brings me blessing . . . and Him glory. Amen?

Posted in Proverbs | Leave a comment

Time Out

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Pete

Came to the end of 2Chronicles this morning. What a roller coaster ride it has been hanging out with these kings of Judah . . . mostly steep drops . . . a few gut-turning curves thrown in . . . very few climbs . . . and, as I think about it, no progress made . . . kind of like an endless 360 loop . . . where you eventually run out of momentum and finally fall to the ground . . . and crash and burn. The ingredients for success ending in abject failure. God’s chosen people . . . the forever promised royal line of David . . . and now, the city in ruins . . . the house of the Lord smoldering . . . dead bodies everywhere . . . and, of the rest, many of them taken captive by the Chaldeans . . . relocated to Babylon. And God says, “Time out!”

And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.   (2Chronicles 36:19-21 ESV)

The land needed rest. For over 400 years it had been the stage for the “let us have a king to reign over us like the nations around us” experiment. Saul, David, Solomon, . . . then the split . . . the 10 northern kingdoms immediately create a “new way” and, for all intents and purpose, they abandon seeking God . . . and the southern kingdom, Judah, while still home to the house of the LORD were determined to dabble in the “God plus” program . . . God plus idols . . . God plus pagan practices . . . God plus whatever seemed right in the eyes of the kings. Sure, there were a few who “did what was right in the sight of the LORD” . . . but for the most part their reforms were external only . . . and, I don’t think, ever lasted more than one reign. And so, after some 400 years, God says, “Time out. I’m suspending this program until the land has enjoyed its Sabbaths . . . 70 years of Sabbaths. The land needs a rest . . . and my people need some think time.”

Kind of sad really . . . but in another way, kind of encouraging. It doesn’t say that God was done with the program . . . that He was finished with His people . . . that He was “out a here!” The LORD doesn’t forsake His people. But instead, our God of redemption . . . our God of restoration . . . takes extreme action that He might bring about extreme results. It was to be ONLY 70 years of Sabbaths . . . it was ONLY until the kingdom of Persia was established as the reigning world power . . . and you just know Whose hand is continuing to work behind the scenes . . .

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him. Let him go up.'”   (2Chronicles 36:22-23 ESV)

And I’m reminded that my God is a faithful God . . . never leaving or forsaking those whom He has called to be His own. I’m reminded that my God is a loving God, and that “the Lord disciplines the one He loves” that it might yield “the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:7-11). I’m reminded, as well, that my God is a determined God . . . determined to complete the work He has begun . . . bringing to be the plans He has made . . . creating and re-creating that which He has set apart for His glory. That’s my God!

Maybe part of why this “time out” resonates so deeply is the degree to which I identify with the roller-coaster ride. And while, by God’s grace, I haven’t known the drastic discipline needed for the children of Israel, I have known those times where God seems to be saying . . .Take a rest . . . Get your feet back under you . . . Time for some re-orientation.

God disciplines those He loves . . . those He owns as His children. And after the time out, His people are never the same . . .

. . . for their benefit . . . for their blessing . . . and for His glory.

Posted in 2Chronicles | Leave a comment

Dancing on the Inside

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Pete

I was saved into a pretty conservative, pretty low key, church system. While the praise was heartfelt, it was also very bodily still. Voices were raised with gusto, but hands stayed by the side. And dancing? Wasn’t even in the vocabulary. I remember when one of my daughters was young responding to her request that we enroll her in dance lessons by saying, “Why? You can’t use that for the Lord.” Then we enrolled our girls in a Christian school . . . led by those of a different ecclesiastical practice than we were used to. The first school assembly of the year began with worship (that’s what we wanted from the Christian school) . . . and part of that worship were some “interpretive dancers” (that’s what we didn’t expect from the Christian school) . . . and my daughter returned home that day from school saying, “Dad . . . remember you said you couldn’t use dancing for the Lord? Wrong!!!” (that’s what I love about my girls).

Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, His praise in the assembly of the godly! Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King! Let them praise His name with dancing, making melody to Him with tambourine and lyre!   (Psalm 149:1-3 ESV)

Praise the LORD? I’m in! Sing out the new song He’s given me? Absolutely! Assemble with His saints . . . be glad in the Maker . . . rejoice in the King . . . make melody to Him with instruments of praise? You bet! . . . I’m there! Praise His name with dancing . . . uh, can I just tap my toe?

Now don’t worry . . . I don’t think I’m being called this morning to embrace a ministry of dancing. But there is something in hovering over this verse this morning that speaks of times when the wonder of God propels you to be all in when it comes to offering up the sacrifice of praise . . . that says there are times when the soul’s desire to worship God will result in the body’s response.

I get that there times when the worship is manifest in the “be still and know that I am God” mode . . . and facedown, still before God praise needs to experienced more, as well. But too often I fear that our “be still” praise is more like “play possum” praise. Lifeless. Unresponsive. And I’m not talking that there needs to be dancing . . . but in this possum approach to praise there’s nothing . . . no connection with the God of heaven . . . no response to our God in the midst.

Shouldn’t there be some manner of emotional expression when “the godly exult in glory” (149:5) . . . when the “high praises of God be in their throats” (149:6) . . . I’m thinkin’ . . .

I get that we’re not all going to be comfortable raising our hands . . . or moving our feet . . . but shouldn’t at least our eyes be dancing? How do we sing to the Lord a new song . . . how do we praise Him in the assembly of the godly . . . without some expression of joy . . . and, regardless, of what that expression is, how can it not be seen in the eyes?

When we come before the God who takes pleasure in His people . . . when we gather to sing together to Him adorns us with salvation . . . how can we not, at least sometimes, end up dancing . . . if but only on the inside?

God is worthy of our praise . . . He delights in and inhabits our worship . . . oh that He might set our feet to dancing . . . or at least our toes to tapping . . . or at least our eyes to smiling . . .

For our joy . . . for His glory . . .

Posted in Psalms | 1 Comment

Unsustainable

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Pete

He was 7 years old when he began to reign. Joash . . . the kid king. When he just one year old he was rescued from his grandmother’s slaughter of his siblings . . . hidden away by the wife of Jehoiada the priest . . . reared as a small child in the house of true seekers of God . . . protected that he might one day return the house of David to the throne. And then, at the age of 7, taken and placed on the throne by his faithful rescuer, mentor, and now counselor, Jehoiada. And the kid king would do “what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest” (2Chron. 22:10 – 24:3).

He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord . . . all the days of Jehoiada the priest. Sounds kind of ominous . . . doesn’t it? What happened after God-fearing, wise, faithful Jehoiada died . . . you don’t want to know.

Talk about a fresh start . . . about beginning with a “clean sheet of paper.” Seven years old . . . brought up in the house of a god-fearing priest . . . home schooled . . . the Scriptures likely being his only textbook . . . sheltered life . . . literally, ’cause if he wasn’t, crazy ol’ grandma would take him out. Then, when he is placed on the throne he is literally surrounded by servants of God . . . they’re pulling double duty . . . ministering before God in the things of God . . . and being a troop of bodyguards to protect the young sovereign. And the kid comes out of the gate strong . . . doing it by the book . . . literally . . . in 2Kings 12:2 it says he “did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him.”

But then Jehoiada dies . . . and the kid king, who is now the man king, crashes and burns. How come? Because, I think, it was just done by the book . . . all the right actions . . . all the right motions to honor the God of Israel . . . the temple repaired and fortified . . . but a heart that was never made new. Doing it by the book . . . without the book doing it to you . . . is just unsustainable.

That’s the message of the law . . . that “by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight” (Rom. 3:20). Although there was a “revival” in Judah under Joash with idol worshiping high places being torn down and the house of the LORD being revitalized, apart from a heart transplant, it wouldn’t . . . it couldn’t . . . last. Take away the one guy who had the ear of the king . . . and a heart set on God . . . and the reforms stop . . . the revival sizzles . . . a new set of counselors come in and the “righteous” king abandons the house of the LORD and becomes the “idol serving” king (2Chron. 24:17-18).

Sure faith without works is dead . . . but works without faith . . . unsustainable.

Enter the power of the gospel . . . bring on the good news of new creations in Christ . . . rejoice in hearts of stone being made hearts of flesh . . . praise God for the righteousness of God which “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” (Romans 3:21-22). Now that kind of righteousness is sustainable.

A righteousness begotten of God by grace through faith . . . a work He has begun and will finish . . . dependent not on the counsel of a an aging high priest . . . but infused by the eternal Counselor sent from God to indwell, illuminate, and empower . . . led by the great High Priest who ever lives to make intercession for us . . . a revival wrought within our very souls that is intended to grow in intensity for all eternity.

The gospel is the power of God towards sustainability . . . the power for lives that far from fizzling out, end strong . . . amazing grace becoming more and more amazing as we experience it . . . the pursuit for the prize increasing as the finish line draws nearer. Woe to those who depart from grace and rely on works . . . ain’t gonna happen.

Oh that I might live in the sustaining reality of the gospel . . . His sufficiency alone . . . His power alone . . . for His glory alone . . . amen?

Posted in 2Chronicles | 1 Comment

Be Glorified In Me

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Pete

Reading 2Thessalonians 1 this morning. Suffering saints . . . suffering for the kingdom of God . . . afflicted for their love of the Father . . . persecuted for their allegiance to the Son. And how does Paul encourage these hurting brothers and sisters in the Lord? Look to the sky, he says. Relief will be granted . . . justice will prevail . . . “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels” (1:7) . . . “when He comes on that day to be glorified in His saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed” (1:10). Marvel when we see Him? Yeah, I get that. Jesus glorified in us . . . really? Yeah, says Paul, really . . .

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.   
                                                                        (2Thessalonians 1:11-12 ESV)

Talk about your mind-stretching truth . . . talk about your high and holy calling. Sinners saved by grace glorifying the risen Christ . . . believers walking the pilgrim walk by God’s grace glorifying the King of Kings . . . children of God seeking, through the enabling power of the Spirit, to consistently live out our “family values” . . . how come . . . that the name of our Lord Jesus may be gloried in you.

No taking credit for what we’ve done. Because any degree to which we live up to His calling is due to the power of the gospel. Just as He declared the work of the cross finished, He has also promised to complete the work He has begun in us (Php. 1:6). It’s His work . . . our willing. It’s His salvation . . . our submission.

When Jesus comes and we behold Him, we will marvel. I can kind of imagine that . . . kind of get a sense of the facedown awe that will be ours when we see Him face to face.

But that when Jesus comes He will be glorified in me . . . harder to get . . . tougher to imagine . . . oh, but that it may so. That the depths of His love and grace and power would be known through this jar of clay . . . once just a lump of clay until that day I was redeemed . . . and the Potter took me in His hand . . . and began the work of forming a “vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work” (2Tim. 2:21b).

For His glory . . . may those be more than just words at the end of a devo . . . may they be the heart’s deepest desire. That all things might be subject to the One thing of realizing the returning Christ glorified in me. Not that I’m anything . . . but that I am a “new thing” in Christ. Not that I have the “natural material” to meet this goal . . . but that He has enveloped me in a supernatural reality and has desired to make the image of Jesus somehow shine out of me. Not that I should boast . . . but that I should marvel . . . and that He should receive all the glory.

Even so, Lord Jesus, be glorified in me . . .

Posted in 2Thessalonians | Leave a comment

What’s He Thinking?

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Pete

Ok . . . so I don’t think it’s intended to be funny . . . but I gotta say, that there’s some pretty crazy stuff going on when King Jehoshaphat of Judah teams up with King Ahab of Israel. That’s Jehoshaphat , as in good king . . . as in the king whose “heart was courageous in the ways of the LORD” (2Chron. 17:6) . . . as in the king who prospered under God’s favor and built up a huge military force . . . as in the naïve king, and perhaps not so discerning king, as he enters into a “marriage alliance” with Ahab (18:1). That’s Ahab, as in really, really bad king . . . as in “the son of Omri” who “did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him” (1Kings 16:30) . . . as in the king bewitched by his wife and possessed by the forces of hell as he walks constantly in ways opposed to God. Kind of a goofy partnering . . . and some goofy stuff happens . . . don’t quite know what Jehoshaphat’s thinking . . .

First, Jehoshaphat heads down to Samaria to visit with Ahab. There Ahab “induces” or “persuades” Jehoshaphat to join him in picking a fight with Ramoth-gilead. Ahab’s pitch to Jehoshaphat? . . . “I am as you are, my people as your people.” Really? Ahab & Co. are unabashed idol worshipers . . . open pagan god followers . . . and Jehoshaphat has been taking down the high places established for idol worship and sending out his officers and officials to conduct Bible studies throughout Judah (17:6-9). Ahab gets up every morning and puts on his “Wail for Baal” t-shirt . . . Jehoshaphat starts the day by putting on prayer as he “sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel” (17:4).

What’s Jehoshaphat thinking?

Then, Jehoshaphat says to Ahab, “Before going into battle, shouldn’t we first inquire of the LORD.” Ahab’s response? . . . gathers 400 pagan prophets set on tickling the king’s itching ears . . . “Yeah . . . go for it, king! . . . you got this one in the bag . . . no sweat . . . God’s going to do for it you.” Jehoshaphat isn’t convinced and asks if there isn’t a prophet who follows God who might weigh in on this. Ahab says there is one, but that “he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil” (18:7) . . . ya’ think!!! Anyway, God’s prophet says that they’ll go into battle and get their keesters kicked because Ahab is listening to a lying spirit in the mouths of his prophets . . . and Jehoshaphat is listening to Ahab . . . what’s he thinking?

And then it really gets crazy! Before going into battle “the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.’ And the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle” (18:29). Here, says Ahab, you wear the bulls eye on your chest and back and I’ll just put on these bushes. Makes me chuckle . . . how nuts is that!?! What is Jehoshaphat thinking?

Now I don’t want to be too hard on ol’ Jehoshaphat . . . ’cause I’m suspecting this has been God-breathed for me . . . that “these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” (1Cor. 10:11).

What crazy alliances can we children of light enter into with the dominion of darkness . . . what unholy partnerships can we naively enter into with those who hate our God and pursue other gods which are no gods at all . . . what unequal yokings can we take upon ourselves where we might as well pin “kick me” signs on our backs.

Oh, to be discerning. To walk in this world, but not be taken in by it. To have a Spirit activated biblical mindset through which we filter the world’s messages . . . and it’s invitations . . . and it’s suggestions about who to go into battle with.

Again, not trashing poor Jehoshaphat . . . hopefully, by God’s grace, learning from some of the “funny” stuff in his life . . .

For my protection . . . for God’s glory . . .

Posted in 2Chronicles | Leave a comment

The Agony of Victory

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Pete

Reading in 2Chronicles this morning . . . chewing on the enigma that is King Asa of Judah. A guy who started so well . . . yet finished so crummy. A king who did what was right in the sight of the Lord only to later lose sight of the God who had done right by Him time and time again. A man who had determined and covenanted to seek the Lord with all his heart and all his soul who, at the end of his life, instead sought the wisdom of man over the power of God. A man, who in a very real sense, knew the thrill of victory and the agony of . . . victory.

The Spirit gives a good chunk of Scripture to the life of Asa . . . 2Chronicles chapters 14 through 16. Early in his reign he cleans up the idol worship in the southern kingdom and “commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment” (14:4). He fortifies the cities of the kingdom and establishes a pretty good sized army of almost 600,000 men. But, no matter how big your army is, there’s gonna be someone with a bigger army. Enter the Ethiopians . . . 1 million men strong . . . and Asa cries out to the Lord (smart move), “O Lord, there is none like you to help . . . Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you . . . ” (14:11). And God hears . . . and God answers . . . “So the LORD defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah . . . ” (14:12).

Talk about your thrill of victory. Out numbered almost two-to-one . . . and God had acted mightily on their behalf. It’s enough to spark revival! And it did!

“Seek God,” the prophet says, “and He will be found by you” (15:2). Find God and He will show Himself faithful on your behalf. Experience God’s faithfulness and it will lead to a desire to seek Him even more. And the whole nation comes together and they enter into a covenant to seek God . . . they make an oath as a community to make Him their “whole desire”. And, it’s recorded that God “was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around” (15:12, 15).

Victory . . . and then rest . . . and then . . . What Happened?

After what was probably decades of rest, Baasha king of the Israel lays siege against Jerusalem. And, rather than rely on the God of past victories, Asa turns to the wealth of his treasuries. Instead of going to the King of heaven, Asa turns instead to the king of Syria . . . and pays him to break his military alliance with Israel and instead turn against the cities of the northern kingdom. Mission accomplished . . . without God . . . all on his own . . . all with his own resources . . .

And God calls him on it . . . sending Hanani the seer to Asa (16:7-10). You relied on man instead of God, says the prophet . . . you’ve done foolishly. But rather than repent, Asa throws the prophet in jail . . . the seeker of God have become hardened by his self-sufficiency. And this, it seems to me, is the agony of victory.

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.
(2Chronicles 16:9 NKJV)

Oh, that I might always have a heart which is “loyal” . . . which is “fully committed” (NIV) . . . which is “blameless” (ESV) . . . as it concerns looking to the Father, and Him alone, for my sufficiency. Might I not rest in, or rely upon, whatever gifts He has provided, but look solely to the Giver.

Might I finish well. Might I know the thrill of victory . . . the victory wrought by a faithful Father . . . peering over heaven’s balcony . . . actively looking to help those whose hearts are set upon Him . . .

For His glory . . .

Posted in 2Chronicles | Leave a comment

He is the Good Gifts

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Pete

Add another one to the “I don’t think I ever noticed it before” column. Reading this morning in the first 13 verse of Luke 11 . . . kind of a mini “sermon on the mount” . . . parallels the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6 . . . and the “ask, seek, knock” passage in Matthew 7. Maybe that’s why I initially skimmed it more than read it this morning (and maybe in the past, as well). Caught myself though . . . or maybe it was the Spirit giving me poke in the ribs saying, “Hey! This is God breathed . . . go back and read it again!” So I did . . . and there it was . . . something I don’t think I’ve ever noticed before.

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!
(Luke 11:13 ESV)

I read that verse and realized that it was different from how Matthew had recorded the conclusion to the same parable in Matthew 7:11. There, Matthew writes that Jesus said, “. . . how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

The Father will give “good things” to His children who ask . . . the Father will give the Holy Spirit to who His children who ask. Hmmm. Conclusion . . . “good things” = Holy Spirit . . . the Spirit encompasses the good gifts given by the Father.

When Jesus spoke these words, the Holy Spirit had not yet been given as an ever-present, indwelling Counselor for those who would believe in Jesus as the promised Messiah. After Jesus was to be glorified then would the Spirit be given to those who recognize Jesus as the Lamb of God come to take away the sin of the world . . . who placed their faith in the crucified Christ whose work on the cross opened the way of redemption for all men and women . . . who waited for the risen Savior coming again to for His own (John 7:39). The Holy Spirit then, is given as an indwelling Person at the time of conversion (Eph. 1:13-14).

But there’s also a sense in which receiving of the Holy Spirit is an on-going dynamic . . . Paul tells the Ephesians to “be being filled” with the Spirit . . . that is, to continually be liberally supplied by the power and presence of the third Person of the Holy Trinity.

And it’s this Holy Spirit . . . this good thing . . . this good gift . . . that I should be asking for . . . and which the Giver of “every good gift and every perfect give” (James 1:17) delights to pour out upon His children.

I can pray that I would be teachable by the Holy Spirit as I open His word . . . I can ask that I might recognize His voice and know what it is to be led by the Spirit, to live by the Spirit, and to walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:18, 25) . . . I can ask the Spirit to help when I don’t know how to pray or can’t find the words my heart is looking for during intercession (Rom. 8:26) . . . I can cry out to the Spirit asking that His power be poured out in my service for Christ . . . I can petition that the fruit of His indwelling presence be more and more a reality in my life (Gal. 5:22-23)

He is the Good Gift . . . the One who longs to draw alongside . . . the One who desires to lead into all truth . . . the One who passionately pursues exalting Christ . . .

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10 ESV)

Amen?

Posted in Luke | 1 Comment

Fret or Feet?

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Pete

She was the one who welcomed Him into her house. You sense that Martha was accustomed to opening up her home to others . . . it seems that even on this occasion, He was one of a few guests that had been invited to sit around the table. So there was preparation to be made . . . things to be sliced and diced . . . a table to be set . . . glasses to be poured . . . there was a lot to be done in serving others . . . and even more so with Him present. He was far more than just an honored guest . . . she called Him “Lord” . . . she believed He was from God . . . perhaps she was even grasping that He was the Anointed of God. So this was a really big deal . . . she had to get the feast put together just right . . . she wanted to honor Him appropriately . . . as best she could with what she had to offer.

And I’m guessing that Martha’s sister Mary, I tend to think she was a younger sister, usually would help with all the preparation. How much more was her help needed on this occasion when Martha wanted to go “over the top” recognizing this esteemed guest. But rather than help prepare and bring the dishes to the table, Mary instead recognized that Jesus was serving up His own meal around the table and so she “sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His teaching” (Luke 10:39).

And it says Martha was “distracted with much serving” (10:40a). The roast is getting cold . . . the gravy’s burning . . . and Martha’s getting kind of fired up herself. And there Mary sits at the Lord’s feet. So Martha talks to Jesus . . .

“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”   (Luke 10:40b-42 ESV)

Kind of an edgy question . . . “Lord, do you not care?” Ouch . . . maybe wishes she had those words back. They both saw the same situation . . . things to be done but only one person doing . . . two sisters present, only one at work . . . the other in wonder. Martha’s so bent out of shape she thinks it’s a problem with the Lord . . . rather than pausing but for a moment and asking herself, “What am I missing here?”

She fretted about many things . . . but the one thing she misses is that the Word of Life is dispensing words of life. The Teacher is teaching . . . the Sower is sowing . . . the King is talking about the kingdom . . . the Shepherd’s voice is being known by His sheep. But for Martha, the cacophony from the drive to be doing drowns out the still small voice of heaven inviting her to join her sister and “come unto Me.”

And so Jesus says to Martha, amidst all the good stuff that you’re doing, one thing is necessary. Sometimes it’s more important to sit than to serve . . . sometimes you need to recognize that there’s a time for working and a time for waiting . . . sometimes the food’s coming from above rather than from the kitchen . . . sometimes you need to fret less and spend time at My feet more . . .

I admire Mary . . . I ache for Martha. She wanted to do so much for the Lord . . . but failed to recognize what the Lord wanted to do for her. She want to love Him with her service . . . not pausing long enough to know that He wanted to love her with His presence.

I want to be a Martha . . . inviting my Lord in . . . honoring the Lord with my service. O, but that I might not do so to the exclusion of knowing when Jesus beckons me to be a Mary . . . to sit at His feet . . . to allow Him to do the ministering . . . to recognize that one thing that is necessary . . . and to chose “the good portion.”

Fret or feet? I’ll take the feet please . . .

Posted in Luke | 1 Comment

Do So More and More

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Pete

I think that, generally speaking, there is a spirit within our culture that values “being true to yourself” above “living to please others”. We celebrate the individual . . . we admire the rogue . . . perhaps, sometimes, there’s even a bit of envy for those who are able to march to the beat of a their own drummer. But what if, for the believer, that “other” is God? I fear that within the family of God the spirit of the world seduces some to be to true to themselves before walking to please God . . . dangerous stuff when we consider that within ourselves is something called “the old man” or “the flesh” which wars against the Spirit of God.

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification . . .   
(1Thessalonians 4:1-3a ESV)

I’ve been somewhat captured by this letter to the Thessalonians. Paul’s intense concern and desire for these believers just oozes from the first three chapters. Salvation without sanctification, for Paul, was failure . . . it would have been laboring in vain. Being born again without showing evidence of being a new creation was as tragic as a still birth. Taking the name Christian without walking as Christ would have walked (or at least stumbling along in a desire to emulate the Master) was to miss the mark. And so Paul sends Timothy to find out how the church is doing . . . the body of believers established after just a few weeks of Paul’s teaching . . . this group of babes in Christ left to deal with the affliction of a pagan and hostile environment . . . Paul wants to know who they are doing . . . and encourage them . . . and exhort them . . . to keep on keepin’ on.

Finally, he pleads here in chapter 4 that they would walk to please God . . . and to do so more and more.

I’m blown away first by the thought that I can please God. He who is holy, holy, holy . . . He who resides in unapproachable light . . . He who is the Sovereign over all creation . . . that anything I could do could please Him kind of separates the head from the shoulders. “Who am I, O LORD?” . . . that I could do anything that would bring You pleasure?

I am a blood bought child of God. Redeemed based on the finished work of Christ on the cross . . . justified and declared righteous as the payment for my sin has been rendered in full by the Lamb of God, come to take away the sin of the world . . . set apart and declared holy, invited before the throne of God as I stand in Christ, robed with His righteousness . . . indwelt, infused, and empowered by the Spirit of God and invited to participate in the divine work of taking sinners-saved-by-grace and conforming them to the very image of the blessed Son of God. That, by His grace alone, is who I am. And in light of that, the Spirit, through Paul, says I should walk to please God . . . and to do so more and more.

That I can please God is amazing . . . that I wouldn’t want to, and would rather “be true to myself”, is bizarre. Obedience isn’t a duty, it’s a privilege . . . faithfully pursuing the ways of the kingdom isn’t about avoiding some heavenly retribution so much as it is about wanting to delight the One who gave of Himself wholly for me. Even if the the flesh is weak (and it is) . . . the spirit should be willing . . . wanting . . . thirsting after walking in a way that pleases God . . . and to do so more and more.

For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.   (1Thessalonians 4:7 ESV)

O that I might be so transformed that “being true to myself” is indistinguishable from “living to please ANOTHER” . . . by His grace . . . for His glory . . .

Posted in 1Thessalonians | Leave a comment