A Big Deal

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Pete

Some, I sense, view it as the “prelim’s” . . . as the “opening act” before the “headliner” . . . as the five minute warning that the conversation should be wrapped up or the coffee gulped down. For others it’s twenty or twenty-five or thirty minutes a week that are eagerly anticipated . . . a unique opportunity to come together with others of like mind and sing together with common voice. For some it’s just “the song service” which opens the meeting . . . for others it’s an offering . . . the fruit of their lips . . . a sacrifice of praise. For King David, it was a big deal!

I’m reading in 1Chronicles this morning. David has brought the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem . . . with precision, just as God had commanded it should be transported (15:15) . . . with pomp and pageantry (15:16) . . . and with lots and lots and lots of praise (15:28-29). To have the seat of God’s glory dwelling again in the midst of His people was something to be celebrated. To have the holiness of God resident was a reminder of His covenant with His people. To have the presence of God among them was a catalyst to rejoice in the fruit of His wondrous salvation.

After setting the ark inside the tent that David had pitched for it, David surrounds the ark with Levites specifically tasked to minister before the ark with music. Asaph & Co. are charged “to play harps and lyres . . . to sound cymbals . . . to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God” . . . they are to minister before the ark of the LORD, “to invoke, to thank, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel” . . . “that thanksgiving be sung to the LORD” (16:4-7). Kind of big deal. You sense that “when God’s in the house” it’s only fitting that the house be filled with worship.

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before Him! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.   
(1Chronicles 16:28-20 ESV)

Ascribe . . . come, set before the LORD . . . give an offering . . . provide to the LORD . . . the sound of music . . . the melodies of praise . . . the songs of worship.

Yeah, but that’s Old Testament. True, but check out what I also read in Colossians this morning . . .

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.   (Colossians 3:16 ESV)

It’s what believers should do when they come together . . . when two or three are gathered in His name and He is in their midst . . . when focus on God leads to thankfulness to God. If we are set on having the word of God dwell richly in us then we shouldn’t be surprised when a flash mob breaks out in the singing of spiritual songs . . . when hearts are moved to spontaneously combust in melodic declarations of God’s great salvation . . . when His people can’t help but ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name.

Far from a prelim it’s a privilege. Not just an optional part of the Sunday morning program but a call to acknowledge the person and work of the God of our salvation. An opportunity to step upon holy ground and worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness. Our holiness, as we are robed in garments of righteousness provided through the blood of Christ and worn as we are in Him. His holiness . . . the essence of His character . . . the glory of His person.

Yeah, for King David it was a big deal. How about for me?

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Dependence Day

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Pete

On vacation during the latter part of the week . . . back in the “homeland” for a wedding . . . sleeping in a bit later . . . taking it a bit easier . . . so as I finished my reading plan this morning I went back to some past thoughts and found this one from 2009. Came across the following . . . thought it might be worthy recycling . . .

I always try and keep a few days ahead of my reading plan. So, as I note that my readings today are actually “scheduled” for July 4 it hits me as a bit ironic . . . and causes me to wonder if the reading planners didn’t set this up on purpose . . .

In just a few days it’ll be that day of the year where, here in the USA, the bombs will once again be bursting in air . . . and all around there will be rockets casting forth their red glare . . . and, what seems like a gazillion dollars will go up on smoke. You gotta love the bit of craziness that grips this land on July 4, Independence Day. There is something about the human spirit and independence that connects . . . you see it the first time you kick up the training wheels on the little kid’s bike (assuming they don’t then crash and burn) . . . you felt it big time when you got your license and could start driving yourself around. But be honest, with independence comes a whole new set of anxieties . . . I remember moving out of the house into my first apartment and wondering if I’d know how to the pay the bills. However, you gotta admit, in general most people love to strive for, and maintain, their independence.

So, on the verge of “the fourth” and a great celebration of independence, it’s a little ironic that Psalm 127 would be one of the scheduled readings . . . it’s focus is anything but independence . . . in fact, it celebrates “dependence day.”

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stay awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep. (Ps. 127:1-2 ESV)

Not too difficult to pick up what Solomon’s layin’ down . . . not hard to catch what he’s throwing . . . only takes a few minutes of meditation to receive what he’s sending. Build a house? Great! Guard a city? Noble task . . . knock yourself out. Get up early . . . go to bed late . . . work hard to put food on the table . . . just do it! But do it apart from the Lord and, in the end, it’s vanity . . . empty . . . of no lasting value. Do it apart from the Lord, and that bread which should taste so good is eaten with sorrow and anxiety and worry about making sure there’s more of it around for tomorrow. Such is independence . . . my work, my house . . . my city, I’ll protect it . . . my 24 hours in a day, I’ll labor through most of it and worry through the rest . . . my food, I’ll choke on it.

It’s not that we shouldn’t build the house or guard the city or work hard at whatever task our hand finds to do . . . but to do it apart from a dependence on LORD? . . . well, that’s just dumb . . . not to mention, just plain wearisome. But to those whose “Master Contractor” is the Lord . . . to those who keep a watchful eye with the knowledge that God is never “off duty” . . . to those who work but trust that the Lord gives the increase . . . there is rest . . . “for so He gives His beloved sleep.”

God gives a rest to those who depend upon Him. The writer to the Hebrews says it too . . .

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest . . .   (Heb. 4:9-11b ESV)

I have depended on Him for my salvation . . . I have depended on Him for the building of my house . . . I have depended on Him to guard that which I’ve committed to Him . . . I have depended on Him for my daily bread. And in that, by His grace and through His abiding presence, I have rested in the rest of the redeemed because He is dependable . . . He is faithful . . . He is trustworthy.

Isn’t that worth letting off a few fireworks over . . . praise God for dependence day!

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Love Much?

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Pete

Luke 7:36-50 records what has to be one of the most dramatic . . . one of the most stirring . . . one of the most convicting episodes in the life of Jesus. Altogether . . . in one room . . . you have the righteous, upper-class Pharisee . . . you have a woman who is a known sinner (aka harlot) . . . and you have the young, traveling Rabbi from Nazareth who’s creating quite a stir with His open displays of healing, His radical teaching concerning the kingdom, and His blasphemous claims that He, like God, can forgive sins. Three people . . . all in one room . . . with a host seated at the table around them . . . and the drama plays out . . .

The Pharisee and the Rabbi are eating . . . enter the woman . . . and far from trying to avoid the limelight and hide in the shadows and look at the One she knew to be Messiah from afar . . . she, instead, walks up behind Jesus . . . starts crying — overcome with her sinful condition and her need of help . . . and she kneels and allows her tears to fall on Jesus’ feet . . . and then, using her long, beautiful hair — the hair which she had used to lure many a man into sin — she washes the dust from His feet. And, as if she hasn’t made enough of a scene yet, she then kisses the feet of Jesus . . . and then anoints them with fragrant oil. No one around that table is unaware of what’s going on . . . all their senses have been engaged in this spectacle . . . they have seen her . . . that have heard her cry . . . they have smelled the perfume, perhaps even tasting it as it wafts through the room . . . the only thing they haven’t done is touch her . . . that will be left to Jesus.

The Pharisee is indignant and says to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” And “this Man” is a prophet . . . and He knows what His “righteous host” is thinking and so He addresses it with a simple parable. “”A man loaned money to two people–500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” Bam!!! That’s the million dollar question!!! There’s the whole point of this Divinely ordained coming together of these 3 people . . . an object lesson leading to a penetrating question . . . a question that rocks the complacent heart!

The Pharisee, though saying he was inviting Jesus as a guest into his home, did not offer the customary water to clean His feet. Though pretending to welcome Him to his table, the Pharisee offered Him no kiss or other sign of greeting. Though he appeared to exalt Jesus as the guest of honor at his table, the Pharisee did not offer any oil for the anointing of his honoree. The sinner woman, on the other hand, washed Jesus’ feet with her tears . . . and then humbled herself and exalted Him by kissing His feet . . . and then, at great personal expense, honored Him by anointing those feet with fragrant oil. The point of it all? “A person who is forgiven much, loves much . . . but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

And you can’t help but read this story and ask yourself . . . who am I in this drama? Am I the one that knows he has been forgiven much and therefore loves much? Or, am I the one who loves little because I have lost sight of the depths of the sin within me that, at one time, separated me from God? Do I give Jesus lip-service and desire only to encounter Him “across the table” . . . or am I pressed to reach out and worshipfully touch Him in the depths of humility?

Oh that I might know afresh the depths of the demonstrated love of God .  . . and not diminish the high cost paid that I might be forgiven of a debt I could not pay . . .

. . . oh, that I might love much.

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HBaR

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Pete

Some people go to school and work very, very hard to achieve the right to put certain letters behind their name. To be able to put designations such as MD or PhD or MBA or MDiv behind one’s name indicates something of the effort and work that has been put into meeting an accredited standard. It’s also a pretty good indicator of what roles an individual should be capable of filling. This morning as I continue to read in Colossians, I realize afresh that, although I’ve never graduated from a degreed program, I do have my own designation . . . there’s a set of letters I can put behind my name . . . may I introduce to you Peter J. Corak, HBaR.

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him . . .   (Colossians 1:21-22 ESV)

Holy, Blameless, above Reproach . . . HBaR

Thing is about this designation is that there wasn’t anything I could do to earn it. Of myself, I wasn’t able even to enter the program . . . didn’t want to, in fact. I was a stranger to the subject matter . . . and what I thought I knew about it, I resisted . . . sometimes mocked it . . . more than once derided it. I would have far rather pursued the ways of this world than have registered (even if I could have) for an HBaR designation.

But while I didn’t want it . . . couldn’t afford to enter the program . . . and had no hope of achieving the designation based on my own capability . . . I had a Benefactor who had determined, before the world began, that those letters would go behind my name.

He paid the full tuition price . . . through the blood of His cross. He wrote the entrance exam for me . . . acing it . . . perfect score . . . spotless, without any defect. He recruited me . . . don’t know why . . . but gently, persistently, He drew my heart towards the program . . . opened my eyes to the prize. And then, although I am so far from being finished all the course work, He conferred upon me the designation HBaR . . . with the promise that what He declared to be true “positionally” He would one day make to be true “practically” . . . Holy . . . Blameless . . . above Reproach.

Amazing designation . . . not because of who I am, but because of what He’s done . . . not because of what I’ve done, but because of who He is.

Amazing grace . . . how sweet the sound . . . that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found . . . was blind, but now I see.

Talk about your transformation . . . about going from one end of the spectrum to the other . . . about ending up in a spot that is so, so different from where you started. Isn’t that the glory of the gospel?

Oh, what a Savior . . . to Him be all glory . . . and honor and praise!

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More Heavenly Minded

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Pete

We just finished up a mini-series on “The End Times” with our High School Sunday School class . . . particularly focused, as you might expect, on the Revelation recorded by John. Throughout the lessons we’ve emphasized that we were studying prophecy for three reasons: 1) it’s in the Bible . . . a lot of Scripture deals with what is yet to come; 2) it comes with the promise of blessing (Rev. 3:1) . . . and we can all do with a blessing; 3) and, perhaps most importantly it should impact behavior . . . “what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for the hastening of the coming of the day of God” (2Peter 3:11-12). So, at the end of each lesson, I’ve tried to ask “So what?” . . . what difference does it make here and now knowing about that which will occur there and then? After our last lesson on heaven, I posed the question this way, “Can we really be, as some would suggest, so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good?” My cut? I don’t think so.

What brought this to mind this morning? Something that stood out to me as I started in on Colossians this morning . . .

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.   (Colossians 1:3-5a ESV)

There’s a cause and effect in Paul’s offering of thanks to the the Father. He thanks God first that, by His grace, faith had come to the city of Colossae . . . that, through the gospel, a group of men, women, and children had been delivered “from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son” . . . that they were counted among the redeemed . . . that they had known the forgiveness of sins (1:13-14). Paul then also thanks God for the love these believers showed to one another . . . i.e. the effect. And what was the cause? What was it that compelled them to affectionately express charity towards one another? ” . . . because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.”

Because of anticipation, there was action. Because of expectation there was effort. Because of the promise there was the pursuit. Because they believed that an inheritance awaited them . . . because they embraced that they were part of a kingdom not of this world . . . because they looked forward to a day when they would be going home . . . because they longed to behold the One who died for them face to face . . . they were determined, as much as lied within them through the power of the Spirit, . . . to live for a future reward . . . to walk as strangers and pilgrims in a foreign land . . . to live out “family values” on a day to day basis . . . to want to please Him that, by His grace and for His glory, they might hear on that day, “Well done!”

The more I live in light of what awaits me, the hope laid up for me in heaven, the more I’ll walk as Jesus wants me to walk. It will be seen in my love for the saints . . . it will be evident in a concern for the lost . . . it will be manifested in my priorities . . . it will be evident in what I do and why I do it.

Oh, that I might be more heavenly minded . . .

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.   (Colossians 3:1-4 ESV)

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Putting Away for a Reigning Day

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Pete

Paul wraps up his letter to the church at Philippi with an acknowledgment of the financial support they had provided him. You don’t get the sense from the Paul’s letters that he spent a lot of time “raising support” for his mission . . . but you do pick up on the fact that Paul seemed to placed great value on the giving of one’s means to help other believers. And in these last verses in Philippians, Paul doesn’t just say, “Thank you.” Instead the Holy Spirit through Paul brings wonderful spiritual perspective to the act of meeting needs.

Paul says that he “rejoiced in the Lord greatly” at the renewed practical concern shown him through the generosity of the church at Phillip. And I don’t think the rejoicing was so much a result of, “Whew!!! Sure glad that bill got paid!” . . . for Paul says that he had learned to be content whatever his circumstances, whether living in plenty or living in want . . . and that it really wasn’t “the support” that enabled him for ministry, but rather the reality that he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him. (Php. 4:10-13)

So Paul’s rejoicing was less about having his needs met for the day . . . but about the implications for the givers in THAT day. He rejoiced because their giving to him would have eternal consequences for them.

Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. (Philippians 4:17 ESV)

For Paul, though the check to his missionary fund was appreciated, what really jazzed him was the thought of the deposit being made in the B of H (Bank of Heaven) . . . the NKJV translates it “the fruit that abounds to your account.”

Their giving, their acts of kindness, their determined joining with Paul in such practical terms, had an eternal, spiritual dimension . . . being accrued to a yet-to-be-cashed-in spiritual account. The giving of wealth on earth was being matched with an unimaginable giving program in heaven. It’s true . . . living for Jesus here and now results in reward there and then.

And while I don’t think we should be motivated by greedily building up a big “investment trust” in heaven with each dollar we give, I do think we should remember that God “is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints” (Heb. 6:10) and that He will reward that which is done in His name and for His kingdom. We should have an eternal perspective tied to worldly stewardship . . . mindful that what we do for Jesus now will factor into our experience beyond this world.

Paul tells Timothy to remind those who are “rich in this present age” that . . .

They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. (1Timothy 6:18-19 ESV)

Storing up treasures . . . fruit credited to my account . . . building up a good foundation for that day when I am in His presence . . .

Oh that I might be mindful that I am putting away for a reigning day . . . for His glory alone. Amen?

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When Revival Takes

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Pete

It’s like hitting a wall. One moment you’re going 60 miles per hour, the next you’re at a dead stop. It’s the thrill of victory . . . followed by the stark agony of defeat. It’s scoring the winning goal in overtime of the seventh game of the Stanley Cup final only to find, as you start to hoist the cup, that your team’s been disqualified . . . that the goal doesn’t count . . . that you really haven’t done anything. It’s Josiah and Jehoahaz . . .

King Josiah is an oasis in a seemingly never ending desert. As you work through the kings of Israel and Judah, for the most part it’s crummy king after crummy king. I don’t know how many times I’ve underlined with my black (ie. for sin) colored pencil, “and he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD” over the last several mornings. So when Josiah comes along this morning, it’s kind of a pick me up.

Takes the throne at eight years old . . . and of him the Spirit of God records that “he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of David his father” (2Kings 22:1-2) . . . in fact . . .

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

When Josiah is 26 years old, an old copy of “the Book of the Law” is discovered in the treasury of the house of the LORD. Josiah reads it and the “living and active word, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12) sets this king on fire . . . time to clean house . . . and clean house he does.

For the next 13 years he is relentless as he destroys all that he can that is associated with the worship of other God’s. It’s revival time in Judah! And it’s not just about what he gets rid of . . . but it’s about what he brings back. For the first time since the judges the king commands all the people to “Keep the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in the Book of the Covenant” (23:21) . . . ( . . . the Book of the Covenant . . . love that term! . . . hasn’t been used since Moses used it in Exodus . . . another devotional for another day).

At the age of 39 Josiah is killed by Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt. But it’s been 31 years of positive God honoring rule. It’s been 13 years of seeing idols and high places and false worship structure dismantled. Thirteen years of annually observing the Passover in Jerusalem. And then . . . dead stop . . . agony of defeat . . . team’s disqualified.

What gets me is that Josiah’s son . . . born when Josiah was 16 . . . having a balcony seat to the revival and reforms beginning when he was 10 years old . . . reigns like nothing ever happened. Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz, takes the throne at age 23 . . . reigns only 3 months . . . and I need to pull out my black colored pencil again because “he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD” (23:32). And then after him, another son of Josiah is put on the throne . . . he’s 25 years old (fathered when Josiah was 14? . . . I guess . . .) . . . and more black underlining for he also “did what was evil in the sight of the LORD” (23:37). Brother! What happened? Better question yet, “What didn’t happen?”

And what hits me this morning is that all the obedience in the world doesn’t make a difference apart from a new heart attuned to the things of heaven and set on things above. All the revival . . . all the tearing down of junk . . . all the re-establishing of good and God-honoring religious practice doesn’t make a bit of difference apart from reconstituted spiritual DNA. This is why “ye must be born again” (John 3:7 KJV).

While obedience is born of new life in Christ . . . obedience can never create new life. It is a work of the Spirit of God founded on the finished work of the cross of Christ based on the atoning blood shed for the forgiveness of sins. It is a determination of grace by Almighty God to take hearts of stone and make them hearts of flesh (Ezek. 36:26) . . . to enact a work of conforming lost sheep who have been found into the image of His blessed Son.

That’s when revival takes. That’s when you go from 0 to 60 mph and then keep on going . . . when the thrill of victory becomes the ecstasy of eternal triumph . . . when, instead of hoisting some tin cup, we instead cast crowns of reward before the throne of the One who has made all things new.

To God be the glory . . .

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The Full Meal Deal

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Pete

It seems that when Fragrant and Fate got together there was fire! Both were women of God . . . both had labored side by side with Paul in the work of the gospel . . . both attended the gathering of believers in Philippi . . . but when they were together, Euodia (i.e. Fragrant) and Syntche (i.e Fate) might as well have been Nitro and Glycerin. That sometimes even the most spiritual people can get on one another’s nerves probably isn’t a surprise to anyone who has spent time hangin’ out with “saints below” . . . as in, “To dwell above, with saints we love — won’t that be glory! But to dwell below, with saints we know — now that’s a different story!”

While it’s true that two spiritually minded people can be like iron sharpening iron (Prov. 27:17), it’s also true that, at times, those same two spiritually minded people can be like sandpaper rubbing against sandpaper — a reminder that we are “not there yet” . . . and still works in progress.

That appears to have been the case with these two godly servants at Philippi. And, it seems, it had become a pretty big deal . . . perhaps impacting the church body. Whatever was going on between them, Paul wanted it to stop and the Spirit wanted it recorded for the benefit of future generations of believers. Paul encourages them to “agree in the Lord” (ESV) . . . to “be of the same mind in the Lord” (NKJV) . . . even calling on an unidentified “true companion” to intervene and “help these women” (Php. 4:2-3).

Strife between Christians is understandable, but never helpful. It’s not helpful to the individual . . . it’s hard and distracting to be at odds with someone else . . . especially a fellow believer. It’s not helpful to the work of the kingdom as it takes energy away from getting the work done. And, it’s not helpful to the testimony or witness of Christ in the lives of those who claim to be “new creations in Christ” and filled with the love of God.

And it’s under the shadow of this umbrella that Paul offers some counsel . . . three tips for getting along . . . a bit of God-breathed advice.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.    (Philippians 4:4-7 ESV)

Rejoice in the Lord always . . . let your reasonableness, or your gentleness be known . . . do not be anxious about anything.

And, as I noodle on it, I wonder if command number 2 isn’t the main event . . . and that “be gentle” is sandwiched between “be joyful” and “be not anxious” because when those two are clicking it results in the third . . . and together they become the “full meal deal.”

A gentle spirit . . . that’s what will ease the tension . . . a spirit which is mild . . . a spirit that is patient . . . a spirit that is moderate or reasonable. Gentleness should so characterize the believer that those around us will see it. That’s the spirit of our Lord Jesus . . . “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:29). Humbleness of heart leads to gentleness . . . gentleness leads to harmony . . . harmony results in a good witness to others. To take serious the exhortation to be gentle is “the meat” . . . but it’s enveloped with some pretty amazing “bread.”

Seems intuitive that it’s easier to be gentle and gracious when, within ourselves, we are joyful and at peace. When I’m bent out of shape, I can be a little testy (don’t wanna hear any “Amen, brothers” from my family). But when I can, in the Lord, rejoice always . . . and when I know, in Christ Jesus, the peace of God that passes all understanding and am anxious for nothing . . . then, I’m thinkin’, gentleness flows naturally . . . or rather, it flows supernaturally.

To rest in the Lord’s faithfulness and rejoice in Him at all times . . . to take everything to the Lord in prayer and know our the reality of anxiety giving way to a peace which is beyond reality . . . this is what will nurture and fuel a spirit of gentleness . . . this is what will enable our reasonableness to be known to everyone . . . and, in turn, promote and maintain a spirit of unity . . . and bring God to glory.

That’s the full meal deal . . . amen?

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Come and Find Me

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Pete

As I think about, it can be pretty easy to get off track. Pretty easy to get distracted . . . to lose focus . . . to grow lax in maintaining good habits . . . to be careless in allowing less than best new habits to form. Not talking about the “big sins” . . . though could be . . . but stuff that I might consider minor . . . not even stuff that is in and of itself bad, just not the best. The hymn phrased it this way, “prone to wander, Lord I feel it.” And so often in those times, the remedy rests in coming to my senses and turning things around . . . getting myself back on track . . . doing what I need to do to be where I need to be. But sometimes that can be so hard . . . so check this out . . .

I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments.    (Psalm 119:176 ESV)

The NLT puts it like this, “I have wandered away like a sheep, come and find me . . . ”

So often . . . maybe most often . . . the response to realizing you’re not where you should be is to “buck up” and “get right with God.” But here the psalmist knowing his less than ideal state . . . knowing that he’s off the path . . . knowing that’s he’s not where he should be . . . instead cries out, “Come and find me!”

And what grabs me this morning is how appropriate a response this is . . .

“Seek your servant,” says the psalmist. Indicates something about how the songwriter viewed himself . . . a bond servant. Indicates, as well, how he viewed the Master. Oh, for a servant to believe that his master’s care for him was such that he could call upon him for help . . . that he could confidently ask him to come alongside . . . that he could trust that the master’s heart was such that it delighted in hearing his name entreated . . . that there would be a founded expectation that the master would heed the call to “come and find me.”

How great a prayer is this for sheep to pray? For we have a Shepherd who seeks lost sheep . . .

He is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11) . . . He is the Great Shepherd of the sheep by the blood of eternal covenant (Heb. 13:20) . . . He is the Chief Shepherd who will one day appear distributing crowns of unfading glory (1Peter 5:4) . . . He is the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls (1Peter 2:25) . . . and, if I’m getting what this verse is saying, He is the Shepherd who says, “Call to me when you’re distant and disoriented, and I will come find you.”

What a blessed reminder that it’s not just about my ability to stay on track . . . or my discipline in returning when I know I’ve taken a detour . . . but that it’s so about a Shepherd who knows His own . . . and is known by His own . . . and will seek anew, and draw to Himself again, those who ask of Him, “Come and find me.”

O to grace how great a debtor
  daily I’m constrained to be!
  Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
  bind my wandering heart to Thee.

     — Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Robert Robinson, 1735-90

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Great Peace! . . . Abundant Shalom!

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Pete

Apparently there are some who wonder if I’m in denial . . . who think perhaps I’ve been putting on a front . . . who worry that I may have been suppressing my emotions as our family has worked through the circumstance introduced to us last August. Good question . . . perhaps a valid concern. Maybe I wonder it myself sometimes. But maybe there’s another answer . . . one so succinctly stated by the psalmist this morning as I approach the end of his mega love letter concerning the word of God . . .

Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.    (Psalm 119:165 ESV)

This morning the psalmist’s love for the words of God grab me as he declares, “my heart stands in awe of Your words . . . I rejoice at Your word like one who finds great spoil . . . I love Your law . . . My soul keeps Your testimonies, and I love them exceedingly” (v.161-163, 167).

And in the midst of the psalmist’s adoration for God’s word is this great promise of great peace . . . of abundant shalom. There is abundant shalom for those who are crazy in love with heaven’s precepts. That, says the psalmist, is the divine cause and effect realized by those who have a passion for God’s word . . . for those, who while feeble and perhaps thick-headed, sincerely and humbly cry out, “Word of God speak!”

And if you think about it, it kind of makes sense.

Everything life can throw at us can be “received” in the context of God’s true and faithful Word. The tempests . . . the trials . . . the hard-times . . . the uncertainties . . . the confusion . . . rejection . . . death . . . everything can be encountered and filtered through a biblical mindset. A mindset that knows God is sovereign . . . that rests in the fact we are children of God . . . that remembers that the here-and-now is but a season in lives that will be lived for eternity . . . that recalls the promises of God’s word and clings to them by faith. And the result of living life through a “Bible-filter” is great peace, . . . abundant shalom!

And as I think about it further, isn’t Jesus the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6)? . . . and as I’m being conformed into His image (Rom. 8:29) shouldn’t I, by His grace, be becoming more a person of peace? And isn’t the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit love, joy, and peace (Gal. 5:22)? . . . and so, as He controls me more and more shouldn’t this piece of the fruit, i.e. the fruit of peace, be growing in my life through the power of the Spirit? And isn’t my Father the God of peace who Himself has undertaken to sanctify me completely (1Thess 5:23)? . . . and shouldn’t that manifest itself, to some degree, in practically knowing the peace of God? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Denial? Putting on a front? Suppressing the emotions? Or, the “peace of God which surpasses all understanding” (Php. 4:7) . . . available to me, and to all who love His Word . . . setting a garrison about our hearts and minds to guard and protect them . . . His word reminding us that we have access through the blood of Christ into the most holy place . . . to draw near to the throne of grace . . . to lay our brokenness and desperation before Almighty God . . . and to find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:16) . . . and, in turn, know abundant shalom.

I honestly don’t think it’s about me . . . or what I’m doing . . . or what I’m not doing. It’s just God being faithful to His promise . . . it’s the heavenly dynamic that’s been promised to those on earth who desire to feed on His word.

Through a love for the Word of God and a mindset which filters life through divine principles and promises, there is abundant shalom, great peace, and nothing causes the lover of God’s word to stumble. What a promise!!!

Oh to become more and more a lover of the Word . . . with a heart that stands in awe of God’s gracious revelation to redeemed sinners . . . to rejoice at the great treasure that I have the privilege of opening up every morning . . . to drink deeply . . . to know great peace . . . to rest in abundant shalom . . . all by His grace alone . . . and all for His glory alone. Amen?

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