The Sound of His Voice

Posted on June 20, 2024 by Pete

It’s not the first time I’ve been struck by the dissonance created by the last verse of Psalm 119. Not the first time I’ve taken a few minutes to process what I’m chewing on by typing a few words into my journal — this post will be the 8th time in the past 13 years. After 175 verses of declaring in different ways his love for the word of God, his thirst for the word of God, and his desire to be entirely submitted to the word of God, the songwriter talks about bailing on the word of God.

I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant,
for I do not forget Your commandments.

(Psalm 119:176 ESV)

I’ve gone astray . . .

I’ve erred. I’ve wandered off. I’ve drifted. Even though Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, I’ve deviated.

Funny way to end an ode to the glories of God’s precepts (funny weird, not funny ha-ha). Having found an anchor for the soul, who sings about losing track of it, of letting go of it? The psalmist, apparently. And this guy relatably.

The songwriter is just keeping it real. It’s why he begins the 22nd stanza of his opus to God’s testimonies and promises the way he does.

Let my cry come before You, O LORD;
give me understanding according to Your word!
Let my plea come before You;
deliver me according to Your word.
. . .
Let Your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen Your precepts.

(Psalm 119:169-170, 173 ESV)

I’ve gone astray, give me understanding. I’ve wandered off, deliver me. I’m drifting, be ready to help me. Yeah, help! I need somebody . . . not just anybody. Lord, I need You!

Like I said, keeping it real.

But this morning as I chew on my propensity to be of the order of the ovine, it’s Peterson’s rendering of the verse that sparks within this wanderer a bit of wonder. Though I may tend to go astray, the reminder of God’s willingness to leave the ninety-nine to seek out the one (again and again and again), invokes awe.

And should I wander off like a lost sheep—seek me!
I’ll recognize the sound of Your voice.

(Psalm 119:176 MSG)

Yeah, that’s why I love the Word. That’s why I want to store it in my head and in my heart. For in it — by pursuing it — I learn to recognize the sound of His voice.

For I need to recognize that voice when it calls, “Where are you?”, after I’ve disobeyed, scurried off, and tried to hide (Gen. 3:9). Or, when I’ve blown it for the umpteenth time, again! . . . I want to be able to pick up on the muffled whisper coming from the other side of the door of my heart saying, “Hey, it’s Me knocking. Hear my voice and open the door. I want to come in and eat with you, and you with Me” (Rev. 3:20). And when I’ve sojourned into a place of self-sufficiency and have pretty much run my tank dry, I want to be able to be arrested by the sound of familiar words speaking into my weariness, “Come to Me. Quit trying to do it all on your own. I’ll give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Learn from Me. Know that I am gentle and lowly in heart. Find rest for your soul. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).

Prone to wander, Lord. I feel it. But seek me. Please, don’t stop seeking me!

I’ll recognize the sound of Your voice.

By Your grace. For Your glory.

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His Own (2015 Rerun)

Posted on June 19, 2024 by Pete

“Christ has made me His own”

Read those six words this morning and decided that rather than try and write on them, I’d just rest in them. Meditate on them. Marinate in them. Letting what is unbelievably true sink deeply in even as thankfulness and worship flow freely out.

The people of God are referred to in many ways in the Scriptures. We are saints, and we are His disciples. We are sheep, and we comprise His body. We are family, and we are also His bride. And this morning, reading in Philippians, I’m reminded we are also “His own.”

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own.

(Philippians 3:12 ESV)

Paul did what He did, not to merit favor but in response to grace. He did not consider himself as having arrived, but instead pressed on to achieve the prize. He ran the race not that men might look at him and praise him, but because he looked to Christ and sought Christ’s glory alone. And He did this, because Christ Jesus had made Paul His own.

Other translations say that Paul was “laid hold of” by Christ. I like the sound of the old King James where it’s translated that Paul followed hard after Christ so “that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.”

Apprehended by Christ Jesus. Seized upon by the promised Messiah. Taken possession of by the King of heaven. That’s the state of every believer before ever having a thought of taking hold of Him.

The people of God are His own. That’s just who we are. Not that we deserved it, or earned it, or could ever, on our own, claim it as ours. But it’s just who we are because of what God has determined and because of what Christ has done.

We have been bought with a price, and we are not our own (1Cor 6:19). He gave Himself to redeem us and “to purify for Himself a people for His own possession” (Titus 2:14). He sought us when we were lost. He loved us when we were at war with Him. He gave all when we had nothing to give in return. And all that He might seize us to Himself. All that He might apprehend us to be a people for His sole possession. All that we might be called His own.

His own. No boasting in wearing the banner, for He claimed me long before I knew Him. No self-righteousness in taking the title, for I am only His because of the righteousness credited to my account on His behalf. No sitting back thinking that now that I am His I have somehow reached the finish line, but instead, like Paul, pressing on toward the prize that I might, through the Spirit indwelling me, make it my own. Counting all things loss and leaving all things behind for the “surpassing worth of knowing” Him who has made me His own.

His own. That’s me. Such are the people of God. O blessed thought.

By grace alone . . . for His glory alone.

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The High Places

Posted on June 18, 2024 by Pete

It’s a bit like watching a ping pong match — keep at it and it can put a crick in your neck. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth — if you’re at all engaged with the text, that’s what reading in 2Kings is kind of like.

King of Israel? “He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.” King of Judah? “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD.” Read your way through the throne successions of the northern and southern kingdoms and that, with a few exceptions on the Judah side, is the pattern. One set of monarchs consistently cast as doing evil, one set of monarch, for the most part, doing what is right.

But as I read this morning of the beginning of Israel’s end, as people are carried captive into Assyria (2Ki. 15:29), it occurs to me that what will soon befall Israel, Assyrian dominance, will also eventually be Judah’s lot, Babylonian captivity. So, for all the back and forth of the royal ping pong match, how come no one comes out a winner? More to the point, how come there wasn’t a right outcome for the kings who did what was “right in the eyes of the LORD”? Short answer, I think; Because of the high places.

In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done. Nevertheless, the high places were not removed. The people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places.

(2Kings 15:32-35a ESV)

Nevertheless, the high places were not removed. That is the foreboding bell’s toll concerning the spiritual health of Judah. The kings did what was right, but the high places were not removed. The kings lived in Jerusalem, so it was easy to worship in Jerusalem. The temple was in their backyard, so sacrificing in the place where the LORD told His people to sacrifice was convenient for them. But the pseudo-altars or worship; the fake altars of worship; the convenient altars of worship; what had become for many the traditional and common altars of worship, they were not removed. While the king drew near to where God said his glory would reside, the populace worshiped in vain, their religious actions accompanied by cold hearts with little desire to seek the glory of God’s presence.

The king — regardless of the example he set or the reforms he tried to enact — couldn’t make the difference as long as the high places were not removed and the people’s hearts were not drawn near.

We can go through the motions, but if those motions are on the high places of self-serving, personally convenient, everybody-else-is doing-it this way worship, then distant hearts will become cold hearts. And cold hearts run the risk of eventually being taken captive by the world and assimilated into its ways.

Oh, for wisdom to recognize the high places in our worship. Oh, for courage to go against the flow and repent and return to the ways God has commanded for offerings and sacrifice. Oh, for a thirst for His presence as the only place where we’ll offer our gifts.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Honor Such

Posted on June 17, 2024 by Pete

I read the verse, and then I read it again. I hover over Paul’s description of a brother highly esteemed by Paul and highly regarded by the brother’s church family. And as I read the verse repeatedly, I think to myself, “Self, that dude’s gonna need a bigger business card!”

I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him . . .

(Philippians 2:25-27 ESV)

Imagine that business card . . .

Epaphroditus
(aka “Lovely”)
Brother, Laborer, Soldier, Messenger, Servant

Ready for the Work of Christ
Will Risk Life If Necessary

Only mentioned here in this letter, Paul (led by the Spirit) shines a spotlight on this lesser-known, faithful servant. Paul expresses deep appreciation for this one who undertook the delivery of a care package from the church, “risking his life” in order to make it happen (Php. 2:30). And look at all the “hats” this guy is wearing.

More than just some random guy, Epaphroditus, like Paul, was also an adopted son of the Most High, thus a brother in the Lord. Redeemed through the finished work of the cross. Made a new creation in Christ. There was, quite literally, a blood bond between these two.

But beyond their relationship, there was a partnership. More than just being some delivery man, Epaphroditus was a fellow worker and a fellow soldier. He was a laborer and a combatant. You sense that not only could this guy UPS a gift to Paul, but he could also stand with Paul and declare the beauty of the gift revealed in the gospel. And not only stand to preach, but willing to stand and defend, contending for the faith, ready to enter the fray for the sake of the kingdom.

Powerful guy. Capable of taking a place next to Paul, shoulder-to-shoulder on the front lines of making Christ known. Yet, willing to be a bit-player (in the estimation of some), just a messenger and a minister. Ready to humbly carry out the desires of a small church at Philippi to serve the needs of an imprisoned evangelist in Rome.

Honor such . . .

(Philippians 2:29 ESV)

That’s what Paul writes.

Hold in high regard this kind. That’s what the Spirit is declaring.

While some of us might be called to be “specialists” for the kingdom, I’m wondering if it isn’t more normative that we’re all to have the heart of a “generalist” when it comes to serving the King and his people. While we each have our unique gifting (1Cor. 7:7, 1Peter 4:10), I’m wondering if those gifts aren’t meant to be deployed in the context of assuming the nature of a “jack-of-all-trades” — doing what we can, for who we can, with what we have, for the good of others, for the sake of Christ.

Shouldn’t we all need a bigger business card?

I’m thinkin’ . . .

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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Well Tried . . . Again (2016 & 2019 Reruns)

Posted on June 14, 2024 by Pete

Psalm 119:140 arrested my attention this morning. Apparently, it’s done so a couple of times before.

Some translations render it that the “promise is well tried”, like my ESV. Other’s that the “promise is pure”, like the CSB, NASB, and NKJV. The original word is the word “to smelt” or “refine.” So, you can see how the two translations end up being a possibility — one emphasizes the product, the other the process.

The intrinsic character of God’s promise is likened to the nature of gold after it has been put in the fire — it’s pure, pure, pure! But the intentional application of God’s promise means it is always being put in the fire — in every trial, temptation, and tumult — thus God’s promise is tried, tried, tried. So, which is it? Are God’s promises perfectly pure or repeatedly tried? Yes!

Doing something a bit different this morning, posting my two previous musings on the verse. Was encouraged as I chewed on them again. If you’ve got time for a double meal, maybe you too.

2016

We often talk of our less-than-ideal circumstances as divinely appointed or allowed crucibles. Situations where the heat is turned up so that the impurities might be burned off. Times that test our faith and in so doing expose thoughts, attitudes, and actions unbecoming those who name Christ as Lord. Where, beyond reacting to the latest curve ball thrown at us, we are also repenting of the latest less than godly “swing and a miss” at dealing with that curve ball. Where our jar-of-clay-ness is once again made evident, and we find ourselves falling before the throne of grace in need of His forgiveness and His fortification. Experiences endured that God might continue to form within us the image and nature of His Son.

And from time to time, if but for a brief respite, we walk out of the fiery furnace of our trial and realize that it’s working. While we’re not there yet, we’re not where we were. Certainly not perfect, but evidence that shows we really are a work that’s making progress. Nothing to boast in, no merit to claim, but signs that our holy determination to try to walk in the Spirit, and be led by the Spirit, and live by the Spirit is, in fact, bearing something of the fruit of the Spirit. Our lives are tried, and He is glorified.

But this morning, and I may not be reading this exactly as intended, the Spirit illumines the fact that the Word of God is also tried.

Your promise is well tried, and Your servant loves it.

(Psalm 119:140 ESV)

The promises of God are also smelted or refined. They are also subject to the intense heat of trial and testing. They are no stranger to the crucible, not unfamiliar with the fiery furnace. But not for the purposes of cleaning them up or driving out any flaws or impurities. Instead, the promises of God are subjected to the heat that they might be tested and proved to be pure. That they might be shown to be that which, far from being burned up, withstands the heat of all life’s troubles and afflictions.

The Word of God is not intended to sit on the shelf. Most of us know that. But nor is it only intended to be pulled out for morning devo’s or mid-week Bible studies or Sunday sermons. Rather, His testimonies, His statutes, His commandments, and His promises are intended to accompany the child of God into the crucibles of real life. They can stand the heat. And only as we purposefully include the Word as part of our “survival kits” during calamity, only as we cling to it as an anchor during the storm, only as we apply it as a balm for our wounds, do we try and test the promises of God and find that they are gold–that they are true and endure.

I never really would have known experimentally the peace that passes all understanding, if I hadn’t believed the Word when it said such peace could be experienced. Wouldn’t have confirmed the veracity that His grace is sufficient, or that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, or that He won’t allow us to be tempted or tested beyond what we’re able, if I hadn’t continued to “taste and see that the Lord is good” during my temptation and testing.

The songwriter-servant could proclaim, “I love Your promises” not only because by nature they were without blemish, but also because in everyday life they had been tested in the context of his testing and were found to pure and as resilient as gold.

The Word of God . . . not just a book for the shelf, or for the morning closet, or for the Sunday pew. But a book to be taken with us into the fire. A book to be well tried.

Promises for the present. A living and active Word for those who are living and active.

Reminding of His grace. With us in our testing for His glory.

Amen?

2019

Pretty sure that this morning what I’m picking up isn’t exactly what the songwriter was laying down. That the words that have grabbed me were intended to mean something a little different than the meaning I’m getting from them. That what I’m chewing on has a little different flavor from how it was originally seasoned. And, I’m thinking, that’s ok.

Your promise is well tried, and Your servant loves it.

(Psalm 119:140 ESV)

Continuing to read in the psalmist’s love letter to the word of God. Twenty-two sections of eight verses each extolling the glory of God’s revelation of Himself and His ways for His people. The longest song in the Psalter, the longest chapter in the Bible, a divine acrostic as each section is given to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each line in that section begins with that letter.

Today’s letter? Tsadhe or, in my English thinking mind, T. And verse 140’s beginning T word is tsaraph, or, as the ESV translates it, “tried.”

Tried is Your promise exceedingly, and Your servant loves it.

And, according to my handy dandy e-lexicon, the word has the idea of something that has been tried in a smelting fire and thus is without defect. That the nature of God’s word, the essence of His promises, are akin to something without impurity. That God’s word, His promise, is as pure as if it had been put through the flame. That God has given to His people a pure word is, I think, kind of the intent.

But the thought that came to me as I read this lyric from this divine love ballad was more of how I have “well tried” His covenant. Of how I have tested the veracity of His blessed assurances. Of how many miles, in a sense, I have put on His precious promises as I’ve appropriated them for myself, again and again, in my situations and need, thus making them well tried.

If the Christian life is marked by the reality of going so many steps forward then so many steps back, how many back steps have I taken in 40+ years of seeking to walk in the Way? And how many of those back steps have cast me upon the promises of God?

If I were to count every failure of the flesh that has required renewed belief in the promise that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn. 1:9); or count every time I’ve been drained empty by a life struggle, or life season, and have had to cling to the assurance that “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Php. 4:13); or count the myriads of disappointments in my ability to walk the worthy walk and have had to retreat to the solid ground “that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Php. 1:6); or count the uncountable number of times I have had to claim other promises as I’ve stumbled my way along this pilgrim path; then, to be sure, I can say along with the songwriter, with equal conviction:

Your promise is well tried, and Your servant loves it.

Not that I make pure His word, but that I have tested it–more times than perhaps I would care to admit–and found it all-sufficient and without wont.

Praise God for His precious promises.

Praise God for His living, active, and enduring Word.

Because of grace. For His glory.

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All I Need, In Thee I Find

Posted on June 13, 2024 by Pete

To quote the famous hymn, Just As I Am, it would seem that within the church at Philippi they were “tossed about; with many a conflict many a doubt” and were experiencing “fightings and fears within without.” Philippians 1 deals with the fears without and the need to stand firm amidst persecution (Php. 1:27-30). In chapter 2 it seems Paul’s setting his sights on the fightings within.

. . . complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

(Philippians 2:2-4 ESV)

It might have just been the two ladies who were having trouble getting along (Php. 4:2), but I wonder if they may have also been but a symptom of a deeper problem — I don’t know. Whatever was happening between them, it seems that Paul (as led by the Spirit) thought a broader exhortation was needed to the whole church.

So, he says, be of the same mind; be in full accord; don’t operate out of selfishness or ego; count others — all others — better than yourselves; it’s not just about you (though there’s some you to be about), but it’s also about others. Sounds like exhortations to unity to me. Sounds like Paul views getting along in the church as a priority for the church.

But as I hover over these verses this morning, Paul also knew it was a big ask. He knew from personal experience the reality of getting sideways with spiritual siblings (Acts 15:39). He also knew that you can only give from what you got. So, before the ask, he takes inventory.

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy . . .

(Philippians 2:1-2a ESV)

As I was taught years ago, we are to read the ” So if” as “So since.” Not “if” as though there were some doubt, but “since” because it’s the reality.

As those who are born again and now are spiritually and intrinsically bound to the Son of God, we’ve known encouragement in Christ and comfort from love. As those who are now indwelt by the Spirit of God, our participation in the Spirit yields the heavenly fruit of affection and sympathy. That’s what’s in the believer’s tank. And it’s from that well of divine dynamic that we are able to count others more significant than ourselves.

Maintaining the unity is dependent on putting others first. But that’s not quite how our natural man, our natural woman, is wired. Our default filter is ourselves. So, if being of the same mind, if being in full accord, depends on counting others more significant, can I just power my way to obedience?

Short answer? Nope!

But my obedience is not dependent on my power but on His. I am in Christ. Every morning I awake with the potential of participation in the Spirit. In fact, because I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me through the Holy Spirit (Gal. 2:20). It’s not ME who has to obey, it’s WE.

Oh, blessed union with Christ! I purpose by His enabling grace to abide in Him, He makes all things possible. Even things like the supernatural humility needed to habitually be “thinking of others as better than yourselves” (NLT). Apart from Him, I can do nothing (Jn. 15:4-5).

Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt;
Fightings within, and fears without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind;
Yes, all I need, in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

Yes, Lord! All I need in Thee I find. So, I come.

Only by Your grace. Only for Your glory.

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A Gift That Keeps on Giving

Posted on June 12, 2024 by Pete

As I read the word on the page, a question forms in my mind. Even before I look up the word in my lexicon, I’m pretty sure I know what the answer’s going to be. Sure enough, the origin of the word is what I thought it would be. Not the answer I really wanted, but the answer I fully expected. So, while I might be able to accept it’s a privilege to suffer for the sake of Christ, I’m chewing on Paul’s assertion that it’s also a gift.

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

(Philippians 1:27-30 ESV)

When Paul wrote to the Philippians from a Roman jail around 60 A.D. it had been about ten years since he had brought the gospel to them and ended up in a Philippi jail himself because of it (Acts 16). Ten years later, and apparently the gospel was still actively and fiercely being opposed in the city. So, writes Paul, “Stand firm. Strive side by side. Don’t be frightened in any way by your opponents.” Ten years! That’s a long time to be swimming upstream, especially when swimming upstream too often feels like running the gauntlet. That’s something to noodle on itself.

But here’s what really has me thinking . . . The ongoing sufferings, the perpetual persecutions, the relentless tide of troubles they experienced, the way Paul saw it — the way the Spirit stirred Paul to express it — it had all been granted to these band of believers, just like the gift of faith in Christ had been granted to them. Their sufferings for Christ’s sake had been gifted to them. Gifted freely to them. Gifted graciously to them. For ten years! Talk about the gift that keeps on giving.

If I’m honest with myself, while I so want to share in the King’s crown, I’m not exactly thrilled with the idea of sharing in the Lamb’s cross. While I want to live in the shadow of the cross, the idea of carrying one takes a little more help.

How many of us who would reject the “prosperity gospel” would still tend to think of the gospel life as somehow being marked more by the good life rather than being associated with a grinding life? Would tend towards wanting to distance trusting from troubles? But Paul reminds me this morning that “there’s far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There’s also suffering for Him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting” (Php. 1:29 MSG).

A gift? Really? Yup. And guess what?

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

(James 1:17 ESV)

Suffering for His sake. Not just a gift, but a good gift.

Buckle up — stand firm — ’cause it’s a gift that keeps on giving.

That’s why we need His grace. It’s how we can live for His glory.

Amen?

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A Little Girl (2014 Rerun)

Posted on June 11, 2024 by Pete

A little girl . . . that’s how she’s described in my Bible . . . just a young girl . . . taken from her family . . . removed from her country . . . separated from the place where her God was worshiped . . . in servitude to the wife of a powerful man. Just a little servant girl . . . but ultimately serving a really big God!

The 2Kings 5 record of Elisha healing Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, of leprosy is one of those pretty familiar Old Testament stories. And most often . . . like maybe always . . . my focus is on Naaman the powerful warrior who humbles himself to not only go see a prophet in Israel as a last ditched attempt to cure his condition, but also submits himself to Elisha’s ridiculous treatment plan, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times.”

Or, my attention is on Elisha, the powerful man of God blessed with a “double portion” of the spirit and power of Elijah, his mentor. This Elisha, a conduit of God’s might and grace shown to a pagan enemy commander. Or, I keep reading, and Gehazi’s, servant of Elisha, catches my attention as his greed ends up getting him more than he ever anticipated.

Those are the main characters . . . Elisha, Naaman, Gehazi . . . they are the ones who catch my eye most often when I’m reading here. But this morning, it’s the little girl who emerges center stage.

Nondescript . . . no name . . . no stature . . . no worldly power . . . but what amazing influence.

Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

(2Kings 5:2-3 ESV)

A little girl . . . with a little exposure to the things of God . . . with a little faith . . . has a big, big impact at the highest levels within a foreign government. The commander of the army of the enemy becomes a believer in the God of Israel. So much so that he determines to worship Him and Him alone. The conqueror of nations is himself conquered by the God of the universe. And all begins with a little girl.

That Naaman humbled himself to go to a prophet in Israel and wash in the Jordan reveals his desperation. But that he would listen to the counsel of his wife’s little servant maid, shows only the power of God to move within the hearts of men. To orchestrate circumstance and exercise souls in order to reveal His glory. To bring sinners to Himself that they might be healed and become followers of the true King.

What an amazing little girl . . . what an amazing Almighty God! And, as his followers, we too can be that little girl, because He is always that Mighty God!

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

(1Corinthians 1:26-29 ESV)

Like a little girl . . . with a little faith . . . believing in a big God. To Him be glory alone . . .

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Love Incorruptible (2013 Remix)

Posted on June 6, 2024 by Pete

Sometimes I’ll read Paul’s letters the same way I’ll drink a jug of milk. I’ll consume the milk glass by glass . . . but then, often, throw away the jug when there’s still a little left in it. Sometimes I’ll do the same with Paul’s letter . . . reading it though section by section . . . but then, when I come to his final greetings . . . when I start to read his last lines . . . then, if I read them at all, I’ll just skim over them. This morning, for some reason (maybe a Holy Spirit reason?), as I read the final portion of Ephesians I read it to the very end . . . took in Paul’s final words to these believers . . . and it was good to the last drop.

Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

(Ephesians 6:24 ESV)

Paul’s last words to his readers at Ephesus. At first glance, they might look like a conditional blessing, that there’s grace for those who love Jesus with a special kind of love. But that isn’t the nature of grace. It is not dependent upon on our ability to love in a certain way or perform to a certain standard. To be sure, you can frustrate grace (Gal. 2:21) and you can fall from grace (Gal. 5:4), but that happens when you stop relying totally on grace. Grace is compromised when we start thinking that full justification occurs when we have our spiritual act in order, or that sanctification is something that I work for rather than a work God does in me. So grace isn’t dependent upon my ability to love with a love incorruptible. Rather, love incorruptible is the manner of love infused within me by the abundant grace of God.

. . . and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. . . . God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

(Romans 5:5, 8 ESV)

Poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Spilled out into our very being. It’s the picture of something gushing out into an empty vessel. Empty vessels, that would be us without Christ. Spilling abundantly into us, that would be the Father spilling into us His love through the Son. Love incorruptible, that would be the heavenly substance running out into us.

The other reason I don’t think Paul’s closing words are a conditional statement is because of the type of love we are talking about. While the NKJV translates it loving in “sincerity,” the idea behind the word is that of something that is imperishable or immortal and thus, incorruptible. It is an eternal love. A love with unending existence. Don’t know that I can manufacture that type of love. But by God’s grace, and through the work of the Holy Spirit, I can be a receptacle of such love, and as such reflect something of that pure, everlasting love.

We love because He first loved us.

(1John 4:19 ESV)

And I know from “reading ahead” that, as the Ephesians eventually did, it is possible to “abandon the love you had at first” (Rev. 2:4). Even for those who want to remain faithful, the love can wax cold. But I don’t think it’s because of what we stop doing as much as because of what we stop relying on — God’s grace.

I’m but an earthen vessel, possessing the treasure of the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Having the love of God poured out into me by the Spirit of God. Evidencing that the surpassing power of imperishable love belongs to God and not to me (2Cor. 4:7).

Love incorruptible . . . poured out into jars of clay . . . good to the last drop. Amen?

By God’s grace. For God’s glory.

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A Wineskin in the Smoke

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Pete

Hovering over a couple of verses in Psalm 119 and chewing on where the songwriter turns when he’s all dried up; where he goes when there’s nothing left in the tank and the tank itself is starting to crack under the pressure.

My soul longs for Your salvation;
I hope in Your word.
My eyes long for Your promise;
I ask, “When will You comfort me?”
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten Your statutes.

(Psalm 119:81-83 ESV)

The psalmist is desperate for some saving (v. 81a). His eyes “grow heavy watching for some sign” (MSG) that the promises of God are really real (v. 82a). He’s at the point of asking God the “When?” (v.82b) and the “How long?”(v. 84a) questions. His enemies persecute him so relentlessly that he wonders if he can go on any longer (v.84b, 87a). They incessantly try to bury him, and he is not sure he can continue to endure. By his own admission, he is like a wineskin in the smoke.

Hung to dry within an ancient tent heated by fire, the wineskin is shriveled and blackened with soot. And, unless it is again filled with life giving liquid, it is in danger of cracking and crumbling beyond being useful. So too was the songwriter. Parched — if not physically certainly emotionally. Vitality ebbing. Sensing that his flexibility and adaptability to keep on in his current circumstance is almost at an end. So, how does he cope?

My soul longs for Your salvation;
I hope in Your word.
My eyes long for Your promise;
I ask, “When will You comfort me?”
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten Your statutes.

(Psalm 119:81-83 ESV)

I hope in Your word . . . I have not forgotten Your statutes.

If all you can do is hold on for dear life, then hold on to the word of God.

That’s why daily time in the Word is so important. Not just to check a box, but to establish in the “good times” a solid grip on where hope can be found when things are looking hopeless. To lean on the habit that reminds again of the promises. When you’re dried up and dying inside, to know that place where you can interact with the living God (1Tim. 4:10) through a living Word (Heb. 4:12) to find some living water (Jn. 7:38).

Who hasn’t known, to some degree at least, what it might feel like to to be a wineskin in the smoke? But it’s in that dried up, thirsty condition where the word of God can be experienced as life-giving refreshment.

Word of God speak! Word of God refocus! Word of God replenish! Word of God revive!

By His grace. For His glory.

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