And You Shall Know That I Am the LORD

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Pete

It’s overshadowed by Mt. Carmel. While the events I read of this morning were intended so that “you shall know that I am the Lord”, it’s not something that comes to mind as does the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal (1Kings 18). Elijah’s 1-on-450 encounter was big . . . and flashy . . . and designed for a large audience who needed to stop “limping between two opinions” and needed to get off the fence, “If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him.” (18:20 ESV) When Elijah stood on that mount and called down fire from heaven upon his water drenched sacrifice he pleaded, “Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God and that you have turned their hearts back.” (18:37) But God was not done in trying to turn hearts back.

I’m reading 1Kings 20 this morning and Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, has amassed a great army against Ahab, king of Israel . . . yeah, Ahab, the Baal worshiping, prophet persecuting king of Israel. And God sends a prophet to Ahab as the king stares down a massive enemy army and says to him, “Thus says the LORD, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will give it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” (20:13).

“You shall know that I am the LORD” . . . You! . . . you demon-led, degenerate Ahab . . . I want you to know that I am the LORD . . . I want to turn your heart back to me . . . I haven’t given up on . . . I will move the heart of a Syrian king and the feet of a Syrian army in order to provide you the opportunity to know anew that I am the LORD.

And it’s not like God does it just once. After Israel sends the Syrian forces running for their lives, the Syrians regroup, rethink their strategy, and return for round two . . . this time in the valley, not the mountain, for Israel’s “gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.” (20:23-25).

And as the people of Israel muster before the formidable Syrian army again it says that they were “like two little flocks of goats, but the Syrians filled the country” (20:27). Out numbered . . . again! . . . like a few feeble goats. And again a man of God draws near to King Ahab and says, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The LORD is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys,” therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.'” (20:28)

There it is again . . . “and you shall know that I am the LORD” . . . 127,000 Syrian soldiers would perish in that battle in order that one, hard-hearted king of God’s people might return to the living God and abandon idols of wood and stone. And while I get that God had other reasons for judging the Syrians, I am amazed at the lengths that He goes to in an attempt to get Ahab to wake up, repent, and return . . . at the lengths to which His grace compels Him in order to redeem not just a nation, but one wayward king. Sadly, Ahab never did return but lived out his life in rebellion to the One who wanted His heart so badly.

And as I noodle on it . . . while I might be amazed at the lengths God went to reveal Himself to Ahab, I shouldn’t be surprised. How far did God go in order to redeem me? . . . He sent His Son to die on my behalf. How persistent was God in seeking me and drawing my heart to Him? . . . pretty! What circumstances, that seemed to be about others, were orchestrated that I might know that He is the LORD? . . . I’m guessing a few.

How good is my God! How great His power! How amazing His grace!

Thank you Father for revealing Yourself to me . . . for showing me that You are the LORD . . . that my heart might be turned to You . . . that Your grace should be poured out on me. For Your glory alone, Lord!

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Taking On Flesh . . .Taking On the Devil

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Pete

This wasn’t the first time He had encountered the enemy. Not the first time that the one who opposed Him was before Him. But before, the lines had been clearly drawn. He inhabited the throne with the Father, the enemy could only approach so close. He was the high and exalted King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and his opposition was a defeated rebel on borrowed time. But, reading Luke 4 this morning, this encounter was different . . . very, very different . . . this time Satan was in His face!

“And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, He was hungry. The devil said to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.'” (Luke 4:1-3 ESV)

The “playing field” had changed. It was their first encounter outside the heavenly realms . . . the arena was the desert . . . the field was a wilderness on a small planet in the universe. But more importantly, the Creator and Sustainer of all things (Col. 1:16-17) entered this one-on-one battle with skin on. He had released His equality with God in order to be born in the likeness of men . . . to take on human form (Php. 2:6-8). He who was Omnipotent chose to clothe Himself with the weakness of the flesh. And in that state, He entered hand-to-hand combat with the Adversary . . . the devil . . . the enemy of our souls.

And as I’m hovering over this passage this morning, I can’t help but imagine what it was like for the Son of God to experience Satan’s opposition as the Son of Man. Divested of His heavenly glory . . . fully entering into the human experience . . . physically weakened by 40 days in the wilderness without food . . . and then face-to-face with the one who “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1Pet. 5:8). And Satan gives it his best shot . . .

“If You are the Son of God, command these stone to become bread . . . feed Yourself. If You are the Son of God and if this world is eventually to be Your kingdom anyway, worship me and I’ll give it to you right now . . . exalt Yourself. If You are the Son of God then why go through all this? Cast Yourself off the top of the pinnacle and let God send His angels to guard You . . . prove Yourself.”

What was it like for the Son of God to have endured such taunting and temptation? He was Immanuel . . . God in flesh . . . and as such He experienced the attack of the enemy in the context of the weakness of the flesh. Oh, what humiliation He endured! And why would He, who had command of 10,000 angels, allow Himself to be drawn onto enemy territory in such a “compromised” state? It was that He might, “in every respect,” be tempted as we are . . . “yet without sin.” That He would be able to enter into and sympathize with our weaknesses in order to advocate effectively on our behalf as high priest (Heb. 4:15). “For because He himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Heb. 2:18)

And so, with skin on, taking up only the resources available to man — the filling of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God — He stood firm before the enemy. Jesus fully submitted Himself to the Father, resisted the devil, and the devil departed (James 4:7).

And as I meditate on Jesus’ “wrestling match” . . . not against “flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12) . . . and consider His willingness to endure such humiliation that He might model for me how to endure . . . and wonder at the depths to which He would descend that I might be lifted out of the mire and seated in heavenly realms . . . I can’t help but respond with gratitude and praise. To say, “Thank You Jesus” . . . for taking on flesh that You might lead me to life in the Spirit . . . for taking on the devil that I might see how to stand fast in the evil day. To You be all glory, Lord! Amen.

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No Provocation

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Pete

I’m continuing to work my way through the list of Judah’s and Israel’s rulers in 1Kings. Kind of a depressing pattern actually. The people of Israel had asked for a king, “that we also may be like all the nations” (1Sam. 8:20) . . . and that’s exactly what happened . . . they became like the nations around them . . . running after every Tom, Dick, and Baal god they could find or fashion in their own mind. And as I read of ruler after ruler who continues in the sin of the ruler before them, leading the people astray and into idolatrous sin, what hits me, over and over again, is something I learn about God.

“Moreover, the word of the LORD came . . . against Baasha and his house, . . . because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands . . . Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned and which they made Israel to sin, provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their idols. . . . Omri did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did more evil than all who were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in the sins that he made Israel to sin, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols.”   (1Kings 16:7, 12-13, 25-26 ESV)

Man can provoke God to anger. What a sobering thought. Yes, God is a God of love . . . yes, He desires and delights to show grace . . . yes, He has finished the work that He might call us into relationship with Himself . . . but know too that our God can be provoked to anger. He can be vexed . . . the actions of men can grieve Him to the point of holy rage . . . His sorrow over disobedience, at some point, becomes, “Enough!”

And the root cause by which God’s people provoke God to anger seems to be idolatry . . . the seeking after gods which are the work of men’s hands . . . the turning of the heart away from that Him who is living and true to that which is inanimate and false. After the kingdom split, one of the first things that Jeroboam, the king of the northern tribes, did was to make two golden calves and lead his followers to sacrifice to them declaring, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt” (12:28). Precedent setting . . . the pattern for kings to come . . . and it repeatedly provoked the LORD to anger.

In Judah, the southern kingdom, it wasn’t as blatant . . . rather than “flipping the switch” to pagan worship, they “added idols” to their worship . . . they built high places for idol worship alongside Jerusalem . . . they tried to have it both ways, worship God while doing “according to all the abominations of the nations that the LORD drove out before the people of Israel” (14:21) . . . their hearts not “wholly true to the LORD” (15:3) . . . the result being that “they provoked Him to jealousy with their sins” (14:22).

Provoking God . . . who wants to do that? Not me!

Idol free . . . obedient rich . . . heart set on serving and pleasing Him . . . that, by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit in me, is where I want to be. And not just because I fear the anger of God, but because I so value the love of God . . . because I am so grateful for the grace of God . . . because I so want to please the One who has called me into His marvelous light.

Oh, that there might be no provocation from this saint . . . that my heart my be wholly set on Him . . . that the world’s idols and icons might have no lure for me . . . that I might please my God rather than provoke my God . . . for my blessing . . . and for His glory . . . amen.

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Learning Through Trials

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Pete

I had lunch with a buddy yesterday . . . a buddy who’s going through the ringer . . . he’s just been getting hammered . . . and has been for quite some time. My on-going prayer for him has been that he wouldn’t lose heart . . . that he’d keep on keepin’ on . . . that though heaven seems silent at times, he’d know that God is faithful . . . and that he would, in turn, be faithful . . . that “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” (Job 13:15 ESV).

I had arrived at lunch prepared to offer counsel. He had sent me an e-mail a week or so earlier with a number of soul searching questions . . . and I arrived at lunch with a few answers. And here’s the thing . . . he had already found the answers. And guess where. The Word of God. Through everything he’s been through He has not stopped seeking for answers to his questions in the place where God has determined to provide answers — the Bible. And guess how. God, through the illuminating ministry of the Spirit, had revealed something of His perspective on the situation to my buddy. It’s called being “transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). And sometimes it happens in the crucible of trials and adversity. The psalmist knew it . . .

“It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes. The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”
(Psalm 119:71-72 ESV)

This buddy of mine isn’t my first “close encounter” with this dynamic between trials and the Word. I have seen the same thing in others’ lives. The going gets tough, and they keep going to the Word of God. And in some cases, that’s the only lifeline they have . . . it’s the only thing that sustains them . . . and invariably they come out of the trial wiser to the mind of God and more in love than ever with the Word of God. To some degree, a much lesser degree, I can look back on my “times of afflictions” and see too that dynamic at play. There’s something about getting beat up that softens the soil of the heart . . . making it “good soil.” And if we’ll seed it with the Word of God, it will eventually result in “bearing fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15).

The psalmist too could look back (praise God for perspective) and say that it was “good” . . . that it was valuable . . . that he had in fact prospered . . . because of the affliction. Not necessarily because he won in the end . . . not necessarily because God had restored ten-fold that which had been lost . . . but because he had learned . . . he had been taught . . . he had been trained . . . in the ways of God . . . and concerning the Person of God. He learned things in the grinder that he could not have learned anywhere else. He had gained firsthand experience how “living and powerful” the Word can really be (Heb. 4:12) . . . how, given the right condition of heart, His Word not only reveals the mind of God but the condition of our soul. Rather than the psalmist becoming bitter, he had become better.

And not only was the psalmist refined like gold or silver in fire, but his love for, and valuing of, the Word also became purer. The Word of God had increased in value to the trial-worn warrior . . . he esteemed it better than gold or silver. Invaluable . . . priceless . . . such is the estimation of those who have intimately interacted with God’s revealed mind during times of intense struggle.

I left lunch pretty encouraged. Trial’s not over for my buddy . . . but he’s going to the right place for answers. He’s asking . . . and seeking . . . and knocking. And God is faithful and, in His time, will answer . . . and will be found . . . and will open the door (Matt. 7:7). And my buddy will be better. Farther along he will look back and may even say it was “good” because of what he learned in the fire. For now, God gets the glory . . . another reminder that He is faithful . . . that His grace is sufficient . . . and that His Word is a light that guides through the darkness.

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The Favor of God

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Pete

Pretty consistently, when Sue I pray for our evening meal together, I find us giving thanks for God’s favor upon our lives and the lives of our girls. If I were to really “count your many blessings” during these prayer times our food would grow cold. But as I come across a phrase in Psalm 119 this morning I’m thinking that I may be “selling short” the favor of God if I think just in terms of His blessings in our lives.

“The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep Your words. I entreat Your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your promise.” (Psalm 119:57-58 ESV)

It’s that sentiment in verse 58, “I entreat Your favor with all my heart” that has me thinking this morning. And as I look at the original language I don’t think the idea of “favor” is as much “receiving blessings” or “having prayers answered” as it is fully entering into what I already possess.

The Lord is my portion. He is sufficient to be my all in all . . . He can fill the cup . . . He can overflow the heart . . . He can become the full measure of the vision . . . nothing else is needed to know “the abundant life.” But what I need . . . what the psalmist begged for with all his heart and inmost being . . . was to encounter God’s favor . . . literally, to know His face. The NIV probably is the clearest of the translations, “I have sought Your face with all my heart.”

The psalmist’s prayer is taking the step beyond recognizing Him as “my portion” and desiring to know His presence.

Seeking the face of God . . . passionately hungering for His presence . . . knowing “Christ in the midst” . . . isn’t that the greatest favor I could be shown? When I putting together my prayer list, shouldn’t that be at the top?

James said, “You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions . . .” (James 4:2-3). And I’m trying to think of the last time I pleaded for His face . . . that I asked for nothing other than His presence. It’s so easy to walk with God and never really know He’s there (our problem, not His). So easy to assume the default position . . . as in “He’s promised to never leave me, therefore He must be around somewhere” . . . rather than ask Him to allow me to know His presence . . . to enliven my spirit that it might interact with His Holy Spirit within me . . . that I would, from time to time, know afresh His grace and encounter anew His glory.

It seems to me this simple passionate prayer of the psalmist is a great antidote for complacency . . . some smelling salts for waking me from the stupor of just going through the motions . . . a great little “trick” for “keeping it real.” Oh, that my heart’s desire might be set more on knowing His face.

To know the face of God . . . to know the light of His countenance . . . now that truly would be knowing the favor God.

Amen?

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Grey-Haired Danger

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Pete

I came across a bit of a frightening statement this morning. One which seemed directed to those of us who have been on the pilgrim path for a few years now . . . to us who, by the grace of God, have been pretty consistent in pursuing the faith and seeking the kingdom. As the hair starts to grey and the miles behind us are becoming more than miles in front of us, I can understand a tendency to coast . . . to stop pedaling so hard, thinking that we deserve an easier ride because of our past diligence. But then I read of another “grey head” who perhaps was lulled into thinking the same thing and how his “coasting” ended up in a dead stop, and it gives me cause to pause and reflect. It’s a warning of grey-haired danger.

“For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. . . So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and did not wholly follow the LORD, as David his father had done . . . And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.” (1Kings 11:4, 6, 9 ESV)

It’s that phrase, “when Solomon was old” that arrested me. Solomon crashed and burned not at the beginning of the race but at the end. In fact, he started well . . . really well . . . as he asked nothing more from God than wisdom. Midway through the race he’s absolutely flying . . . world renown . . . bringing prosperity to Israel . . . and building a magnificent dwelling place for the glory of God. But when he was old . . . when he’d “been there, done that” . . . when, perhaps, he was getting a bit bored with it all . . . or maybe was getting a bit tired . . . or started figuring that after so many years of running hard it was time to coast . . . that, after so many years of putting out, he deserved to cater to himself . . . whatever it was, when he was old (aka grey-haired) he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord . . . he did not wholly follow the Lord . . . and, the Lord was angry with him. Ugh!

After a lifetime of running well, . . . when he was old . . . it was then that his heart “turned away.” That phrase, “turned away,” is kind of interesting. “To turn” is actually the least common translation of the original word — literally it means “to stretch out . . . to spread out” and then “to turn, incline, influence.” That’s what Solomon had, a stretched out heart. Spread too thin. The attractions and the distractions were many . . . the affections were multi-focused . . . and at the end of the day, his heart was turned away from the One he had once sought to serve and to please. A lifetime of accumulating experiences and stuff . . . a lifetime focused on making life easier . . . a lifetime of setting and achieving goals . . . had left him vulnerable to stretching his heart too thin and being led down a path he shouldn’t have gone.

What a warning! It’s a warning for those who have run well, to not grow slack, but to press forward for the goal before us. It’s a warning that, even for those who have decades of faithful service to the Lord behind them, we’re not home yet . . . the old man still simmers . . . the enemy will step up his attack . . . and the lies of the world, and the distractions of that which we’ve accumulated can all come together to knock us off course.

We can sit back and let others in the church serve, after all, it’s their turn. We can skim the Word rather than continue to seek to plumb its depths because we’ve read it and studied it so many times. We can claim more of our “free time” for ourselves because that’s what we are told we deserve when we “retire.” We assume the Spirit’s presence, becoming complacent concerning our relationship with the Lord . . . slowly drifting from an intimate fellowship and desire for the Lord towards a “I told you I loved you on the day I was saved and if anything changes I’ll let you know” approach. And it can all lead to a divided heart . . . inappropriate actions and behaviors . . . and an angry God. Ouch! And I wanna say, by the grace of God, “No way!”

“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way . . .” (Philippians 3:13-15a ESV)

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Over the Top!

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Pete

I confess that I just skimmed over it the first time I read it. Unbelievable. A reminder of how easy it is for familiarity to lead to density . . . to the ability to encounter jaw-dropping truths with barely a first thought, much less a second thought. But as I went back and re-read it . . . and read it in a few different versions . . . and looked up a couple of words in the original . . . and skimmed over what a couple of commentators had to say about it . . . the awe-o-meter started to register . . . the needle started moving from left to right . . . as the denseness gave way to a measure of Spirit sourced clarity . . . as amazement started to set in . . . as wonder started to form . . .

” . . . that you may be filled with the fullness of God . . . (Ephesians 3:19b ESV)

It’s the last petition in Paul’s second prayer for the Ephesians. And it’s big . . . way big. Think about it . . . Paul asks the Father to strengthen the believers’ “inner being” with power through His Spirit . . . that He would do so according to the riches of His glory . . . that He would do so, so that, among other outcomes, believers would be filled with the fullness of God (3:14-19). What does it mean to be filled with the fullness of God? And whatever it means . . . how big is that? Even not getting what it fully means, I get that it is “over the top!”

And maybe that’s all I need to take in at this point. Instead of scratching my head and trying to figure out what exactly it means to be filled with the fullness of God, maybe I just need to know that, whatever it is, it will be His fullness. I’m guessing it’s not measurable . . . not something you can put on a scale and say, “Yup, your full!” I’m thinking it’s probably multi-dimensional in nature . . . a combination of attributes, wisdom, heaven-infused power, and other stuff. But, regardless, isn’t there enough to chew on just with the thought of God, in His grace, and by His power, granting such a petition that sinners-saved-by-grace would be jam-packed with the all that God sets forth to let dwell within them? I’m thinkin’ . . .

And you can ask the question, “Really? Filled with the fullness of God? Sounds impossible to me.” Yeah . . . it does . . . but Paul covers that . . .

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV)

Ask it? And God’s able to do more than what we ask . . . way more! Think it? Not thinking big enough, God can do more abundantly than anything our brains can come up with. And it’s all according to the power at work within us . . . yes, within us . . . even to filling us with His fullness! (Awe-o-meter just hit 10!)

And, His fullness in me isn’t so much about me as it is about His glory. What He does in me, whatever filling with the fullness practically looks like, it is ultimately about the appreciation and praise and worship it produces within me. It’s about the “credit” God gets from those who witness His work in and through me. To God be the glory!

And so, rather than noodling on what it exactly means to be filled with the fullness of God this morning, I’m content to know that it’s His desire for me. And it causes me to renew my desire to have His will done in my life . . . and determine afresh to walk in a manner which, by His grace, allows His work to be accomplished in me so that His power might rest on me.

It’s kind of over the top . . . may it be so . . . for His glory . . . amen?

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Really?

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Pete

Reading 1Kings 8 . . . It must have been a magnificent event to have been part of. After seven years . . . millions of hours of blood and sweat labor . . . no cost spared in the materials . . . the house for God that David desired to build, the temple that David’s son did build, is ready for occupancy. The sacrifices begin — so many sheep and oxen be sliced and diced and flamed, that they could not be counted or numbered (8:5). The ark is transported to its new home . . . the glory of God is invited to “move in” to one of the finest structures every conceived and built of man to that time. And the glory moves in (8:11). Solomon then stands before the altar of sacrifice, lifts his hands toward heaven, and prays like he’s never prayed before. And amidst that prayer he asks a question . . . not a question of disbelief, but a question of awe and wonder . . . “Really?”

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house that I have built!” (1Kings 8:27 ESV)

Yes, the temple was “over the top.” The best materials . . . the best craftsmanship . . . no expense spared . . . but could God really dwell there? . . . would God really dwell there? Yeah, it was big . . . but would the God who overflowed heaven really fit into such a place? Sure, it was likely the most holy place on all the earth . . . but it was still like a garbage dump compared to the glories of heaven . . . would God really dare to touch down on this fallen ball of creation? Really?

Uh . . . yeah . . . really! And so much more . . . a little room at the back of a big temple was but an indicator of God’s determination to dwell on earth . . . to be among those He created.

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? . . . For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple . . . In [Christ] you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
(1 Cor. 3:16-17, Eph. 2:22)

Really?

Yeah . . . really!

While the materials (aka us) may not be the best, God has spared no cost in redeeming them as He builds for Himself a dwelling place on this earth. Bought by the precious blood of Christ, we are living stones being shaped and placed into a structure in which He desires to abide . . . through which He desires to manifest His glory. We are His workmanship and by His grace and through His Spirit He desires to move in and make His home in us. And it just kind of blows me away this morning . . . “will God indeed dwell on the earth?”

Sometimes I need to be more like Solomon. I need to stop. And I need to spread out my hands toward heaven . . . I need to look up, look way up . . . and consumed with fresh awe and wonder exclaim, “Really?”

“May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us nor forsake us, that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers. (1Kings 8:57-58 NKJV)

For His glory . . . . REALLY!

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Fitting An Ocean In A Cup

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Pete

Every so often I get an urge . . . a bee in my bonnet . . . the need to address a situation . . . something “goes off” in me that says it’s time to rearrange the furniture in a room. Most often it’s driven by a perception that the room is looking overcrowded . . . that there’s too much stuff and it looks untidy . . . and that, somehow, by rearranging the stuff I’ll make more room. Now my wife has a way too simplistic approach to an overcrowded or untidy area . . . take stuff out. Nah . . . too logical . . . too easy . . . for me, it’s about rearranging stuff! Now, I know in my head that it really all comes down to capacity . . . that any given space can only hold so much . . . that you can’t put a gallon of water into a two quart container . . . that you need more space if you want to keep more stuff. And, it seems from reading Psalm 119 this morning, that the psalmist knows that too.

“I will run in the way of your commandments when You enlarge my heart!” (Psalm 119:32 ESV)

The psalmist continues his impassioned plea to God for the knowledge and understanding of His ways . . . “give me life according to Your word” (v25) . . . “teach me Your statutes!” (v26) . . . “make me understand Your precepts” (v27) . . . “graciously teach me your law!” (v29). But how does mortal man take in the mind of God? How can ways that are higher than our ways and thoughts that are higher than our thoughts possibly fit into our brains. There’s only so much capacity in these mortal minds. Rearrange all you want, without additional capacity it just ain’t gonna happen. It’s like trying to fit an ocean in a cup.

And so, the psalmist’s acknowledgement . . .

I will run when You enlarge my heart . . . I will soar when you provide capacity for understanding Your ways. When You free my heart from that which clutters it . . . when You make broad and roomy pastures in which Your word may abide . . . when You prepare the soil such that it is ready to receive the planted seed and bear much fruit . . . then will I be able to take it in . . . then will Your word be able to take me in . . . and then will I walk in the way You desire me to walk.

This isn’t just a book sitting on my desk in front of me . . . it is the mind of God provided for the mind of man . . . the things of heaven revealed to those on earth. And, the ability to contain this vast storehouse of heavenly treasure is less about my intellect and more so about my heart. The needed capacity for containment isn’t just between the ears, but in the very depths of my being and will. And apart from the work of the Spirit of God to enlarge my heart, I can try and cram as much as I want in there . . . rearrange it however I want . . . and it won’t make much difference . . . my life will still be untidy and encumbered. But oh, when God, through His Spirit, graciously provides the capacity . . . when He enlarges my heart . . . then watch me tank up and take off!

What a blessing to be able to be taught of God concerning His ways . . . what privilege to be illuminated through His Spirit concerning matters of divine revelation . . . oh, that I might desire and cry out for the capacity to take it in.

It’s like trying to fit an ocean in a cup . . . but with God all things are possible. Amen?

Enlarge my heart, Lord!

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On Being a Magnifier

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Pete

One of those mornings where a few words in a pretty well known biblical story just grab me. Five words really . . . each of which I can define easily . . . but when combined, stretch my ability to articulate what they really mean . . . though I think I know what they look like in action, I’m hard pressed to fully understand how they really work. Five words that ignite something in me . . . five words that I want to know experientially . . . five words that create a sense of awe when I think of the privilege of participating in the experience . . . five words spoken by another, but claimed as my own this morning . . .

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant.” (Luke 1:46-47 ESV)

Two women, each “great with child”, come together for a very special time together. One is an older lady . . . for all intents and purposes she has no business being pregnant for she is “advanced in years” (1:7) . . . but she is because God has heard her prayer and removed her barrenness (1:13). The other is a much, much younger lady . . . who also has no business carrying a child as she is still a virgin (1:34) . . . but the Holy Spirit has come upon her, and the power of the Most High has overshadowed her and she has conceived the Son of God (1:35). And, as the older, filled with the Spirit, confirms the prophetic word spoken to the younger (1:41-45), the younger breaks forth in praise (1:46-55) . . . “My soul magnifies the Lord.”

“My soul magnifies the Lord” . . . those are the five words that have me thinking this morning. What does it really mean for my soul to magnify the Lord? How does it work? What does it look like? What does God think when He sees Himself being magnified by my soul?

Literally the word “magnify” means to “enlarge” . . . to “make great.” Makes sense. When I use a magnifying glass or telescope, I’m making something appear larger so that it can be seen more easily and clearly . . . I’m bringing it into better view. So how does the soul “enlarge” God? Not that God needs to be enlarged . . . not that I need to or can make Him any greater . . . but how does my soul bring that greatness in to clearer view . . . how does it shine the light and increase the focus on the magnificence of our great God? Short answer: through praise.

With a profound sense of what God is doing in her life (“He has looked on the humble estate of His servant”), the younger lady, Mary, praises God from the wellspring of all she is . . . from the seat of her emotion, intellect, and well . . . from her soul. That pump is primed by a deep, deep joy within her spirit . . . and the water that flows is the joyful declaration of who this great God is. She lifts her voice and declares that God is mighty . . . His name is holy . . . His mercy is for those who fear Him . . . He shows His strength . . . He scatters the proud . . . He brings down the mighty and exalts those of humble estate . . . He fills the hungry . . . He helps His servants . . . He remembers His mercy . . . He follows through on His promises (1:49-55). And in this, she magnifies the Lord.

And it strikes me that I too can participate in this privileged experience of being a magnifying agency for the glory of God. I know of His greatness from what has been revealed from His word, from the illumination graciously provided by His Spirit. I also know of His greatness from the favor shown to this “humble servant” and the work I have seen in my own life’s sphere. And I’ve known what it is to be in His presence and feel that pump being primed as the joy builds and my spirit rejoices . . . what it is to want to praise and worship Him from my most inner being, from all that I am, from my soul. In this too, then, I can magnify the Lord. Oh what a blessed experience to be able to participate in . . . what a holy privilege to be a magnifier for the glory of God! Amen?

“Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together!” (Psalm 34:3 ESV)

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