Open Wide!!!

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Pete

Ok . . . so they’re probably not images that we think of a whole lot . . . or maybe even really took note of when we saw it . . . but I think we all have seen them . . . and understand them . . . let me try and explain a couple of them. First, it’s the baby or toddler in the high chair at feeding time . . . you dip the little spoon in the food and then you hold it up in front of the little one and . . . “boing!” . . . their mouth flies open in anticipation . . . you move the spoon around and the open mouth follows it as if to say, “Here! Put ‘er here! It’s open . . . it’s as wide as I can get it . . . deliver that sumptuous pabulum right here!” Or how about eating snowflakes? Ever been there . . . ever seen that? . . . ever done that? The first major snowfall of the year . . . big, wet, individually crafted snowflakes floating down . . . and with faces turned to heaven . . . mouths opened as wide as you can stretch them . . . you pursue those luscious flakes of water . . . taking in as many as you can . . . until you’re almost too dizzy to stand up. Get the picture? . . . Now read this . . .

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.  (Psalm 81:10  ESV)

When I’m reading in the morning, amongst other things I’m on the look out for “commands to obey” and “promises to claim.” So how’s that for a command to obey . . . “Open your mouth wide” . . . how’s that for a promise to claim . . . “I will fill it.” Amen and amen!

So often I walk with my eyes fixed ahead and my mouth closed. Not really zombie like ’cause I know that this is the day the Lord has made and I seek to rejoice and be glad in it . . . but, if I’m honest, I’m thinking more about how to get through than I am about how to fill up. Not much sense of anticipation . . . not much “wonder factor” happening . . . not really full to the brim, but not really looking to get full either.

But what if I approached each day, not wide-eyed, but wide-mouthed? What if, after feeding on the word in the morning, I got up from my desk, got ready for work, and opened my mouth wide . . . and said, “More, Lord, more!” What if I mastered more the art of thirsting after the things of God (John 7:37) . . . of delighting myself in the Lord’s goodness (Ps. 37:4) . . . of wanting to know more of the love of Christ which passes knowledge (Eph. 3:19)? What if on Sunday mornings when I gathered together with God’s people we came together with heads and hearts turned heaven-ward . . . wide-mouthed to receive the things God has for us . . . whether through our fellowship . . . our musical worship . . . or the preaching of the word? “You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2) . . . how often is Sunday morning meeting just ho-hum because my mouth is closed . . . not seeking to be filled.

But the God of deliverance says, “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” Do I believe the promise? He says that He will fill . . . satisfy . . . fulfill . . . complete . . . accomplish. God sees the mouth opened wide . . . He knows the thirsting after heaven . . . He’s aware of the hungering after righteousness . . . and He fills it . . . hits the mark . . . tops it up . . . “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Ps. 34:8)

He is the Filler . . . I am to be the mouth-opener.

Father, thank You for this bit of encouragement this morning. I confess that so often the “stuff” of day-to-day life has me distracted from living in anticipation of the day You have before me. My desire is to be more wide-mouthed . . . to seek more the filling You have for me . . . to thirst after You and to be satisfied in You alone . . . for Your glory . . . amen!

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The Promise Keeper

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Pete

The last few mornings in reading in Joshua has been a bit of tough sleddin’. Just like reading Biblical genealogies . . . or the detailed instructions for the construction of the tabernacle in the wilderness . . . reading Joshua chapters 13 through 21 is sometimes more skimming than reading because they detail out the allotment of the promised land to the tribes of Israel. In pain-staking detail the Holy Spirit details out who were the inheritors, the boundaries of each tribe’s allotment and often the names of all the major cities within the apportioned land. This morning I read about the “finishing touches” with the appointing of the 6 cities of refuge and the 48 cities given to the Levites, those appointed to the priesthood, because the tribe of Levi was never given their own territory.

So, as I try to power through and pay attention, it’s easy to find myself asking, “Why was this preserved as part of the Holy Scriptures?” One reason might be so that there remains a clear definition of the land that was given by God to Israel. The other reason, the one that grabbed my attention this morning, is found at the end of Joshua 21 . . .

Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that He swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as He had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.   (Joshua 21:43-45 ESV)

That’s how the God of all creation operates . . . not one of the words of His promises fails . . . all come to pass . . . what God has said, God will do.

It’s emphasized 4 times in these 3 verses. The LORD gave to Israel all the land . . . just as He had sworn to give to their forefathers. The LORD gave them rest . . . just as He’d promised to their ancestors. Not one word of what God had determined to accomplish had failed. Every promise . . . every one . . . had come to pass!

Behold our God!!! He is the Promise Keeper. He is the One who will deliver on what He has declared.

Now, if I think back to all that has transpired since God first called Abraham in Genesis 12 and gave him the promise of land, seed, and blessing . . . if I the think about the round about way the people have taken to get from Egypt to the land . . . if I think about the defeats along the way . . . I’m reminded that man’s choices along the way can sometimes “detour” the promises of God. But reading these verses in Joshua 21 also reminds me that neither our rebellion and whining and transgression, nor the circumstances, enemies, and trials beyond our control along the way, will derail the purposes and promises of God.

God is faithful . . . and God’s word is sure!!! In Jeremiah, the LORD tells His people that He has plans for them — plans for good and not for evil (Jer. 29:11). And these details in Joshua of God’s “urban planning” in the promised land remind me that He will, in His timing, bring those plans to fruition. There may be trials, there certainly will be “wanderings in the desert”, my own “independence” (aka sin) may take me down an errant path for a season, but in the end, when all is said and done, God will deliver on His plans and His promises.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father! Great is Thy power! Great are Thy promises!!! Amen.

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Who’s the Boss of Me?

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Pete

Was reminded of a foundational principle for doing life this morning . . .

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything.  
(1Corinthians 6:12 ESV)

The New Living Translation puts it this way, “You may say, ‘I am allowed to do anything.’ But I reply, ‘Not everything is good for you.’ And even though ‘I am allowed to do anything,’ I must not become a slave to anything.” And Peterson, in his paraphrase, The Message, says it like this, “Just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean that it’s spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I’d be a slave to my whims.”

I kind of like that . . . the difference between what’s “technically legal” for us as Christians versus what’s “spiritually appropriate.”

Now, for those who like black-and-white rules, this sort of thing can drive them crazy . . . because it’s grey . . . it’s a principle . . . it’s a filter through which we assess our choices. It’s what determines the difference between something being “ok” . . . and “good” . . . and “better” . . . and “the best.” It’s the difference between “permissible” and “beneficial” (NIV terms). And one of the key tests is whether or not we are enslaved by or mastered by one of these “permissible” activities. You see, it’s all about who owns us.

I remember one of my girls, when she was little and learning to assert her independence, saying to one of her sisters, “You’re not the boss of me!” And that’s the question at the heart of the matter in this latter portion of 1Corinthians 6 . . . who is the boss of me?

The world tells us that we are “the boss” . . . and we can choose what we want to do . . . and who we want to do it with . . . and when we want to do it. But the Scripture has a different view of who’s the boss . . .

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

“Your are not your own.” Doesn’t matter which translation of the Bible you read, the words are the same, “You are not your own.” And The Message, not known for using few words when many will do, makes the implication of this truth clear in this way, “Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works” (6:19-20a MSG).

I was bought with a price (6:20) — the blood of God’s precious Son . . . I am not my own. “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” (6:15) . . . I am not my own. “He who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him” (6:17) . . . I am not my own. “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God” (6:19) . . . I am not my own.

“God owns the whole works.” That’s the truth . . . that’s the reality. It’s the foundation upon which the principle operates . . . everything is permissible . . . but not everything is beneficial . . . I will not be mastered by anything . . . other than the Lord . . . for I am not my own.

A couple of simple questions to ask myself as I make life’s choices . . . “Is this beneficial?” . . . “Is this mastering me?” . . . “Am I seeking to glorify God?” . . . “Am I making this choice because I think I’m the boss of me?” No black-and-white do’s-and-don’ts . . . but a life principle that can make all the difference. Father, by Your grace, so let me live and so help me to choose as to seek to glorify You in my body . . . ’cause You’re the boss of me. Amen?

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Able, Willing, and Ready

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Pete

No doubt she’s a rarity . . . an eighty-six year old gymnast. The videos have been flying around over the last couple of days . . . floor mat exercise . . . parallel bars . . . kind of amazing. And, kind of admirable . . . there’s something about seeing someone in their “twilight years” with not only the capability to compete (not all are so blessed), but also with the drive to compete. Maybe that’s why I find Caleb such a compelling figure . . .

“. . . . And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as He said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said.” . . . Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel.
(Joshua 14:10-12, 14 ESV)

You gotta love this guy. He’s done slavery in Egypt . . . he’s walked the wilderness for forty years (due to no fault of his own . . . he was ready to take the land back in the day . . . see Numbers 13:30) . . . you’d think that at eighty-five he’s looking for an easier path . . . time to hang out the “Gone Fishin’ ” sign . . . let someone else conquer the land and give him a call when it’s time to move in. But not Caleb. He is able . . . he is willing . . . and he is ready.

By God’s grace, Caleb at eighty-five was as able bodied as he was at forty . . . not everybody might be able to make the claim, but he could.

But just cause you can, doesn’t always mean you will. Who could blame the guy if he was thinking it was time to ease up . . . let someone else do the heavy lifting. After all, hadn’t he paid his dues? Didn’t he deserve to take a path of lesser resistance? Leave the sweating to others . . . he could be the aged, father figure to these young bucks. But Caleb had a fire in his belly. It was fueled by a desire for the glory of God to be manifest . . . and fed by a passion to lay hold of all that God had promised. If it was God’s will, Caleb was willing.

And Caleb was ready. If God said go, and he could still go, Caleb would go. He would go into the hill country . . . he would go against the Anakim, those “giants” that had so frightened the people some 40 years earlier . . . “and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said.”

Caleb’s “secret sauce”? Three times in this passage the Holy Spirit moves Joshua to record that Caleb “wholly followed the LORD” (14:8, 9, 14). Caleb was all in when it came to the things of God. He believed what God said was true . . . he believed God would do what God said He would do . . . and so, faithfully following became the overriding context for Caleb’s life. As long as he was able, he would be willing, and he would be ready to do as the LORD asked.

Not everyone is going to do gymnastics at eighty-six years of age . . . not everyone is going to take a mountain and defeat giants at eighty-five years of age . . . but everyone, by God’s grace, can bring whatever they have to the game for as long as they can. Mine isn’t to worry about what kind of shape I might be in 10 or 20 years from now, but to be faithful with the enabling God has provided for this day. Mine isn’t to be planning for my retirement but to be preparing for what’s next and be willing to follow where my God leads. Mine isn’t to dream of a day when I can take it easy and coast, but to be ready, as much as lies within me, to realize the potential of the kingdom and the promises of God.

Able, willing, and ready . . . by God’s grace . . . for God’s glory.

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Needed . . . More Fathers

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Pete

You can hear the tone changing . . . from commendation to constructive criticism . . . from recognition to reproof . . . from acknowledging what they had to pointing out what they lacked. I’ve read 1Corinthians before . . . I know what’s coming. Although they were a super-gifted church they were also a pretty messed up body of believers. Arrogance . . . divisions . . . sexual immorality . . . arguments about what to eat and not to eat . . . throw in some playing around with idolatry and a messed up Lord’s table . . . and Paul has no shortage of “opportunities” to bring to their attention. And while the tone changes . . . while the words become a bit more pointed . . . while the “straight talk” gets straighter . . . under girding it all is the heart of a father who wants to see his children reach their full potential. And it makes me think . . . that’s what’s needed in the church today . . . more fathers.

I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me.   (1Corinthians 4:14-16 ESV)

The Corinthians didn’t need more teachers. They didn’t need more instructors. What they needed were more fathers. More men and women who cared for the saints first and corrected them because of their care. More people in their midst whose intent wasn’t to tear down but to build up . . . who, while being honest, weren’t brutally honest . . . who, rather than seeing themselves as a judge for God, were instead driven by a jealousy for the glory of God, wanting to see that glory be manifest as God’s people lived like the people of God.

Now to be sure, Paul doesn’t pull punches as he addresses issue after issue. Here, in 1Corinthians 4, he takes on their pride and arrogance. You sense that God had laid a certain amount of blessing and gifting on this group of believers. But you also sense that they had lost sight of the fact that they were benefactors of the grace of God . . . instead thinking that the somehow they had earned or self-determined their favored standing and circumstance. And Paul calls them out on it, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (4:7) But Paul’s intent was not to take them down a notch but to ramp up the reality of the kingdom of God in their midst . . . “for the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power” (4:20).

What the church needs is more fathers. More men and women who are motivated beyond “rightly dividing the word” but are also driven to contend for the body of Christ . . . “that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Eph. 3:10). People with a parent’s heart . . . with spirits of love and gentleness seeking to guide and direct others beyond just knowing the right talk but also embracing the worthy walk. Brothers and sisters in Christ who themselves humbly pursue the things of God and then, even more humbly, say “Imitate me” and together we’ll figure out this pilgrim pathway.

We don’t need more judges . . . we don’t need more church-bashers . . . we don’t need more fault-finders . . . we need more fathers . . . and mothers . . . and imitators of God . . . the God who came to seek and save the lost . . . the God who gave of His all that His people might know life — and know it to the full.

We have lots of guides . . . not many fathers. Oh, that God would move His people to care and contend for His people . . .

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A Man of Few Words

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Pete

The account I’m reading in Mark 1 this morning is almost identical to the one I read in Matthew 8 back in January . . . but it didn’t leave the same impression then. Maybe it’s because of how the words fall on the page, right before a line break, that they jumped off the page . . . or maybe it’s a “Holy Spirit thing” where my Teacher has determined to remind me of truth stored in my head that needs to be refreshed in my heart. Whatever reason, what hits me this morning is that the leper who came to Jesus was a man of few words . . .

And a leper came to [Jesus], imploring Him, and kneeling said to Him, “If You will, You can make me clean.” Moved with pity, He stretched out His hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.   (Mark 1:40-42 ESV)

A leper . . . for a leper, the Levitical law was just “piling on”. In addition to already dealing with the physical effects of the disease . . . beyond needing to be quarantined if the disease was infectious . . . the person had to deal with the social stigma attached to being “unclean.” Excluded from “general population” . . . outcast . . . isolated . . . the one job posting they were qualified to apply for was beggar. Dependent on charity . . . disregarded most often by the “clean” . . . I imagine the leper’s life was a lonely life . . . a life of impossible dreams.

But on this day a leper came to Jesus. Now lepers were so not supposed to approach “the clean” and enter into their personal space. But this leper came . . . fell on his knees before the Teacher in humiliation and desperation . . . and he drew near to the Master and sought His help. And he spoke but eight words (nine if you’re reading the accounts in Matthew 8 or Luke 5). Three of those words were about him and his condition, “make me clean” . . . but the other five, the five that jumped off the page at me this morning, were all about Jesus. Five words that transcend the lepers situation . . . that transcend first century Israel. Eternal words . . . truth concerning the essence of my eternal God . . .

“If You will, You can!”

If my God will, my God can. For with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26) . . . His arm is not too short to save (Isa. 59:1) . . . “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27) . . . Nope!

That man could have approached Jesus and spoken volumes of how difficult his life had been . . . could have pleaded his case as to why he deserved something better . . . could have debated with Jesus the merits of the law’s hard stance . . . could have complained of the societal injustice he was enduring. Instead, this man of few words, simply approached the Son of God, and said, “Lord, if You will, You can.”

Oh, that I might be a man of few words. Trusting in the Savior’s will . . . believing in the Savior’s power . . . all for the Savior’s glory.

You are God in heaven
And here am I on earth,
So I’ll let my words be few–
Jesus I am so in love with You.

And I’ll stand in awe of You . . .

– Matt Redman

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The Mind of Christ

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Pete

So . . . it’s been kind of an annual event. I went back and looked at my journaling for the past 5 years on the day when I hit this point in my reading plan . . . and every year I’ve put down some thoughts on the same subject. Though I’ve read, this morning, about God’s less than conventional military strategy at Jericho (Judges 6) . . . though I’ve been reminded that my Jesus taught as One who had authority (Mark 1) . . . though I’ve experienced the desperation of the psalmist pleading with God to remember the people God had redeemed (Psalm 74) . . . what lingers after my four readings this morning is, once again, the amazing assertion of 1Corinthians 2 . . .

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.   (1Corinthians 2: 14-16 ESV)

But we have the mind of Christ. A “secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory” (2:7) has been imparted to those who, by faith, are in Christ. “We have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God” (2:12). Things which can only be “spiritual discerned” are being “taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual” (2:13). The “wisdom of this age” is doomed to pass away (2:6) . . . but we have the wisdom of God which endures forever.

Every year I come upon this passage . . . and every year I am absolutely blown away with the idea of having the mind of Christ. It’s enough to give you a big head . . . not because of pride . . . but because of all the stuff God wants to cram into my wee brain concerning His vast wisdom . . . “these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God” (2:10).

There is no limit to the storehouse of the spiritual understanding available to the believer. There is no area of life . . . no circumstance encountered . . . no trial entered . . . no problem presented . . . no pursuit possible . . . that we don’t have the potential to address it with a thought pattern that transcends the wisdom and ways of this world. No wonder Paul says to the Romans that we can be absolutely transformed by the renewal of our minds . . . that we are able to discern God’s will, His good and acceptable and perfect will (Rom. 12:2).

And how’s that possible? Certainly not because of my IQ . . . but solely and exclusively because of God’s PQ (coined that term last year) . . . God’s Power Quotient . . . the Spirit of God . . . infused into all who believe . . . making alive and real the words of God . . . “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (2:5).

It’s because of this reality that reading about Jericho jazzes me . . . that imagining Christ teaching with the authority of One who sourced the truth Himself awes me . . . that reflecting on the psalmist’s desperation for God moves me. Whew! You think about what having the mind of Christ opens up, and it’s enough to get you ramped up!

Why wouldn’t I determine to be more in the Scriptures . . . why wouldn’t I seek to commune more with God . . . why wouldn’t I, by His grace, seek to live more and more in a real-time awareness of the Spirit’s active agency in my life? I don’t know . . . why wouldn’t I?

Way better then anything else . . . able to shed light on everything else . . . such is the mind of Christ. And I have been given the mind of Christ . . . by His grace alone . . . for His glory alone . . .

Wonder what I’ll write about, Lord willing, next year.

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Keep Drawing Near

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Pete

You’ve gotta love the candor of the Scriptures. Far from shying away from the tough questions or denying the reality of the human experience, the Father instead acknowledges our failings and frailties and uses them to point us to Himself. Such is Psalm 73 . . . .

Asaph, the writer of Psalm 73, is pretty up front about his struggles. He begins with a bottom-line statement of belief, “Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.” (73:1) This he believed . . . this he knew to be true. However, what we know to be true and what we see as the reality of life sometimes are in conflict.

He goes on, “But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong. They don’t have troubles like other people; they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else.” (73:2-5 NLT) He looked over the fence at the backyard of his neighbor who lived for himself and saw more toys . . . and started wondering, “Is this pursuit of the things of God really the abundant life?”

Some serious doubts here . . . things not lining up with what he expected of the “blessings of following God” . . . almost to the point where he stumbled, lost his grip, cashed it in . . . as he considered that perhaps the way of the boastful and self-sufficient might be the better way. It was really wearing on Asaph . . . disillusioned . . . disheartened . . . depressed. What he thought to be true and what was actually playing out seemed to be way out of kilter. So what was the answer? How was he to work through these doubts? How do you make sense of things that don’t make sense?

But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.   
(Psalm 73:16 ESV)

When Asaph entered the sanctuary of God, then things became clear. And we’re not talking so much of the sanctuary as a place of God . . . but more as the presence of God. I think the idea here is that of getting “up close and personal” with the Father . . . seeking the place of God’s glory . . . boldly approaching His throne of grace. In his doubt and questioning . . . during that time he was near to stumbling . . . Asaph determines to continue to make his way into the presence of God . . . to seek the face of God . . . to draw near in faith . . . to trust that His word is true. And, in that determined pursuit for the mind of God, God answers the questioning of his heart. It’s in the presence of God that the things of earth are put into context. Experiencing communion with the Eternal has a way of bringing clarity to the temporal. Remembering the promise has a way of providing strength to deal with the pressure.

Oh, how gracious God is to the doubting heart and confused mind if we’ll but determine to continue to seek Him in the holy place. Asaph recognized how foolish and ignorant his doubting was (73:22) as he was brought into fresh remembrance of the faithfulness of His God . . . and the future of promise that was his . . .

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

Heaven is my home . . . it’s the prize . . . the temporal “rewards of earth” pale in comparison with the eternal inheritance awaiting me and all those who long for His appearing.

God is my refuge . . . my Redeemer is faithful and true . . . let all other “realities of earth” be understood and interpreted in that reality.

(If you have another 3 1/2 minutes, click here  to hear “My Redeemer is Faithful and True”)

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The Real Power

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Pete

This morning it’s a phrase in the opening verses of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians that has me thinking. A thought about draining something of it’s power . . . . . . a warning about inadvertently establishing a false foundation . . . a concept that should give pause to those who “pursue excellence” in the proclamation of the gospel. Now, I’m not saying we shouldn’t leverage the tools at hand in order to engage our world with the gospel . . . I’m not advocating a half-hearted approach to presenting the good news . . . but, I’m wondering if we shouldn’t have the same care and concern that Paul had when it came to the possibility of draining the gospel of its power.

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.   (1Corinthians 1:17 ESV)

In our techno-enabled, multi-media culture there are a lot of tools available to the church with which to share “the old, old story”. In my teens Sunday School class, I use PowerPoint, YouTube, and “downloadable resources” in order to try and engage the kids in the Scriptures. While I seek to let the Scriptures “speak for themselves”, I do bring along a few “helps” to assist in the process. I’m not unique. While he doesn’t use PowerPoint, we have a pastor who spends hours in prep every week in order to preach the Word with clarity and conviction. Our fellowship also leverages any number of DVD series for Sunday School and mid-week studies. And in order to connect people with message and with each other, we’ve put in place a certain amount of infrastructure to encourage active participation in a small group. As I think about it we supplement the preaching with a lot of stuff.

But at the end of the day, what’s going to last is not how smooth my PowerPoint flowed . . . not how clever I was with my YouTube illustrations. It’s not going to rely on the budget we have for “teaching aids” or the amount we spend on importing well known speakers via the “flat screen.” It’s not even the hours put in by the preacher to make sure he presents with precision and clarity. What will last is that which is born of . . . and infused with . . . the power of the cross of Christ.

I need to be careful that, in my pursuit of making it “engaging”, that the “eloquence” of my presentation doesn’t, in fact, drain the cross of its power. That the presentation isn’t, in fact, making void the proclamation.

Again, I’m not advocating in the least the elimination of tools and techniques which assist in teaching and preaching. What I am being reminded of though, is that I need to be careful that “the meal” doesn’t get overshadowed by the side-dishes and garnishes. That the multi-media doesn’t get in the way of the message. That in trying to be relevant and interesting, I’m not drawing people to a presentation style rather than leading them to a Person.

While leveraging all the aids and tools at my disposal, may I not lose sight of the real power . . .

The gospel is the power of God for salvation (Rom. 1:16). The cross is the only “teaching aid” that produces lasting results . . . by His grace . . . and for His glory.

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He Rides the Heavens

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Pete

Perhaps, if I think about it, I’m probably pre-disposed at times to thinking that, in a sense, God has a desk job. That, in my mind’s eye, when I imagine God I most often imagine Him enthroned in heaven . . . seated, like a James T. Kirk captaining the Star Trek Enterprise, controlling everything from His central place in heaven . . . speaking things into being and commanding things to “be so” from the bridge. Sovereign . . . yet somewhat sedentary. But this morning I’m reminded that my God is an active God . . . my God is an engaged God . . . my God, far from just being seated on high, is a God who also rides the heavens.

There is none like God, O Jeshurun, Who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in His majesty. The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.   (Deuteronomy 33:26-27a ESV)

Moses is wrapping it up . . . literally. One last blessing upon Jeshurun, a poetic name for Israel, meaning “upright one” . . . describing her ideal state rather than her “I know better” reality. And in this final blessing there is a wonderful picture painted of the One who is the source of the blessing . . . the One who fulfills the promise . . . the One who covenants to never forsake them . . . He is the One who rides through the heavens to be their help.

It paints a picture for me this morning. Riding through the heavens . . . mounted and galloping through the skies . . . robed in majestic glory . . . all for the purpose of helping a flakey and feeble people to enter into a really big inheritance. Far from passively engaging with His people through some sort of heavenly remote control device, He enters into the fray with those called of His affection. To be sure, all that is needed is the utterance of His voice . . . but in His grace, He descends to provide His presence, as well.

Of course I know this . . . can any one say, “Immanuel!” He is God with us . . . leaving the glory of heaven and coming in flesh that He might enter our battlefield and secure the victory . . . disarming the rulers and authorities . . . putting them to open shame . . . triumphing over them in Christ . . . canceling the record of debts that stood against us . . . nailing it to the cross (Col. 2:14-15).

I read it in Matthew this morning, as well, . . . “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples . . . And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20). Not, “I’ll be watching you always” . . . not, “I’ll be intervening from on high for you always” . . . but I will be with you . . . I will ride the heavens . . . I will cross the skies . . . that I might be draw alongside You. It’s the active agency of the Holy Spirit . . . Who, far from staying home in heaven, dwells on earth . . . within every believer . . . the eternal God dwelling in our midst . . . the eternal God being our dwelling place . . . the Majestic Sovereign undergirding us with everlasting arms.

Words aren’t conveying the wonder I’m feeling as I think about my God riding through the heavens to be my help.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear . . . Be still, and know that I am God . . .   (Psalm 46:1-2, 10 ESV)

My God reigns in heaven . . . my God also rides in the skies . . . O’ be still my soul . . . and behold thy God!

Posted in Deuteronomy | Leave a comment