Hero of the Faith

Posted on April 11, 2024 by Pete

It’s kind of weird how many “heroes” seem to have emerged from the book of Judges. How guys like Samson and Gideon have become Sunday School celebrities though they were part of “Gen D”, as in “a generation that Did Not Know the LORD” (Jud. 2:10).

It was a time in Israel’s history marked by a predictable cycle of perpetual sin: the people do evil in the site of the LORD, abandoning the LORD and bowing down to the gods of the peoples around them; the anger of the LORD is kindled; the LORD gives His people over to the hands of their surrounding enemies; the people cry out to the LORD for mercy and deliverance; the LORD graciously raises up a judge over Israel who is used to deliver His people from their oppression; the people eventually stop listening to the judge and again do evil in the site of the LORD (Jud. 2:11-23). Repeat cycle. Simply, and sadly, it was a time, concludes Judges, when “there was no king in Israel” and “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Jud. 21:25).

So, you wonder how so many “good men” could rise from such a bad bunch . How we tend to want to find so many good apples in such a rotten lot. And yet, if you pause to consider the full bios behind these favored few — like Samson or Gideon, you find stories as sordid as the society in which they were raised. So what gives?

Well, the fact of the matter is that these guys were heroes. But not heroes because of who they were, deserving to be put on a pedestal. Not heroes because of what they did, and thus worthy of wearing an “S” on their chest while a cape flutters in the wind from their shoulders as they stand triumphantly with their hands on their hips. Instead, the Scriptures say they were heroes of faith.

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets — who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions . .

(Hebrews 11:32-33 ESV)

This is what I’m chewing on this morning as I read of one of these heroes, Barak, in Judges 4.

Barak’s a commander in the army of Israel. A man with authority to pull together 10,000 men for battle, and yet refuses to go unless accompanied by one woman (Jud. 4:6-8). And though he’s towards the top of the military food chain, when it comes to the thought of going up against an enemy army with 900 chariots, he comes off as more fearful than fearsome. Not exactly superhero material, me thinks. And to be sure, in the Judges narrative, he is overtly over-shadowed by Deborah, Israel’s presiding judge, and Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, Israel’s ultimate executioner. So even with our hero-seeking sonar on, we’d tend to take a pass on Barak in light of these other “super-heroines.” (Though we don’t fully know their stories either, do we?)

And yet, there’s Barak in the Book of Hebrews with his portrait in Chapter 11’s “Hall of Faith.” Alongside shady Samson and Gideon. But also alongside not so shady David and Samuel (though each of them too has a dark side to their stories).

So, if we’re looking for heroes in Judges, where are they to be found? Well, look up. Look waaay up!

And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. . . .

So on that day God subdued Jabin the king of Canaan before the people of Israel.

(Judges 4:14-15, 23 ESV)

The LORD routed Sisera . . . God subdued Jabin . . .

There’s only one hero in the book of Judges. Only one who deserves the glory. One who manifests His power through His people’s weakness (2Cor. 12:9). One who purposes to raise up heroes of faith who are but “jars of clay” in order “to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2Cor. 4:7).

We might admire men and women of faith — though faith too is the gracious gift of God (Eph. 2:8), but we exalt but One as Hero of the Faith. But One as worthy of our awe, our adoration, and our allegiance.

According to His abundance grace. Always for His everlasting glory.

Amen?

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Honey from the Rock

Posted on April 9, 2024 by Pete

A few months ago, one of my daughters sent me a link to a song that she’d been loving. It kind of grabbed me too. Kind of a country vibe (kind of my thing), but more importantly very much a promise land verity — there’s honey from the rock.

Honey. From its first introduction, that’s how God chose to describe the land He had promised to give His people, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

(Exodus 3:7-8a ESV)

Honey. Sweet to the taste. But when heaven-sent, satisfying to the soul. The taste of the goodness of God. The provision of a faithful God. The essence of God’s word (Ps. 119:103).

When we are in the place God has promised, there’s gonna be honey. And, as my daughter shared with me months ago, and, as my reading in Psalm 81 reminds me this morning, it’s honey from the rock.

But as I hover over the psalm, even in a land flowing with honey, honey is not a gimme, it needs to be appropriated. And that, through obedience.

“But My people did not listen to My voice;
Israel would not submit to Me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.
Oh, that My people would listen to Me,
that Israel would walk in My ways!
I would soon subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward Him,
and their fate would last forever.
But He would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

(Psalm 81:16 ESV)

They were in the promised land with the God of their deliverance in their midst. But they also welcomed among themselves “strange” gods. They worshiped the one true God, yes, but they also bowed down to “foreign” gods (Ps. 81:9). And so, God pleads with His people, “O Israel, if you would but listen to Me!” (Ps. 81:8)

“Listen to Me,” says the LORD. Yes, there’s honey in the land, but you’re feasting at strange and foreign tables. Quit gorging yourself from the world’s menu. Instead, says the LORD your God, He who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Ps. 81:10). Look to me for sweetness. Make me your exclusive provider of soul satisfying nourishment. Open wide your mouth. And I will fill it with honey from the rock.

Honey from the rock, says our Deliverer, though always present in the land of promise is only appropriated by those who listen to Me. By those who walk in My ways.

Not that it’s simply a quid pro quo — you do then I do. Not that it’s just submitting for the right to access the sweetness. Rather, it’s in listening and walking in God’s ways where we access the depths and abundance of all the sweetness life has to offer — independent of particular circumstances, situations, and seasons. It’s in hearing the voice of the Creator and walking in the ways laid out by our Designer, that we find a shalom and a satisfaction that transcends understanding. A sweet peace in the world that doesn’t come from the world. A sweetness found only in honey from the rock — the Living Rock of our salvation, the Cornerstone of our firm foundation.

There’s honey in the rock, water in the stone
Manna on the ground, no matter where I go
I don’t need to worry now that I know
Everything I need You got

There’s honey in the rock, purpose in Your plan
Power in the blood, healing in Your hands
Started flowing when You said it is done
Everything You did is enough

There’s honey from the rock

(Honey From the Rock
Brooke Ligertwood / Michael Brandon Lake / Mitchell Daniel Wong)

To quote another hymn writer, Louisa Stead, . . .

‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus!

Amen?

By His grace. For His glory.

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Not One Word

Posted on April 8, 2024 by Pete

There they were, on the other side. The other side of the Jordan, the other side of the battles, the other side of the land distribution. They came, they conquered, they were settling in. That’s where they were.

Oh, it may have not happened quite like they expected. How crazy a military plan was just walking around Jericho? And who saw the defeat at Ai coming? That almost broke their spirit. But they persisted. Persisted through the central campaign which gave them a foothold and then through the long arduous southern campaign which essentially secured the takeover of the promised land.

That’s what it was, a takeover of the promised land. Their best efforts, but God’s eternal plan. Their blood, sweat, and tears required to appropriate it, His guaranteed blessings, engagement, and day-in-and-day-out presence to deliver it. As they looked back on the road well-travelled and asked, “What has failed of all the good things God promised us?” Their answer was clear and unequivocal, “Not one word.”

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)

Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years. . . . And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed.

(Joshua 23:2, 14 ESV)

How many words had failed of the promise God had made to His people? Not one word.

How’s encouraging is that for the weary pilgrim on their own path towards taking hold of the promises of God? Pretty encouraging!

Battles to be fought? Yup, pretty much every day. Sometimes ya’ feel like you’re just marching in circles? Sometimes. Defeats along the way? Uh-huh, too many — and three steps forward one or two back gets wearying after a while. But how many words of what God has promised are gonna fail? None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Not one word.

And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

(Philippians 1:6 ESV)

He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.

(1Thessalonians 5:24 ESV)

I am sure of this . . . He will surely do it . . . Not one word will fail.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Shiloh Remembered (2011 Rerun)

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Pete

I’ll take lesser-remembered dwelling places of God for 500, Alex. . . . What is Shiloh?

Found myself hovering over Joshua 19 this morning. In particular, the thrice repeated reminder that when they initially entered the land of promise, the tent of meeting was set up in Shiloh. That’s where the glory dwelt when they first moved in. That’s where the Lord pitched His tent initially. That’s where you went if wanted to be in the presence of God. That’s where you went if you wanted to know the mind of God. That’s where they cast lots to finish distributing the land. “Before the LORD in Shiloh” (18:8, 18:10, 19:51).

Found myself noodling on Shiloh because it was where the glory use to dwell. The place of presence mostly forgotten because the glory departed.

It caused me to go back in my archives to see if I’d written on it before. And I had. Thought I’d rerun those musings this morning.

Think about God’s dwelling place in Israel and you immediately think about Jerusalem. But that wasn’t His first “address.” That isn’t where God, literally, first pitched His tent. No, Joshua 18 reminds me this morning that, after “the land lay subdued before them, . . . the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there” (Joshua 18:1).

Shiloh . . . literally “place of rest” . . . that’s where God first took up residence within the freshly occupied promised land. Shiloh in Ephraim, not Jerusalem in Judah, was the initial resting place of the tent of meeting . . . the place where the ark first resided . . . the place where the glory first dwelt in the land . . . the place where Joshua could meet with the Lord (Joshua 18:8, 9). What a privileged place Shiloh was. What a blessed place. What a holy place. Oh, how tragic, that it became the “previous place” . . . the empty place . . . the place where the glory use to dwell.

I don’t know if the people who put my reading plan together did it on purpose or if it is just a “God thing”, but I also came across Shiloh in my reading in the Psalms this morning . . . the one and only reference to Shiloh in the Psalms.

Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God and did not keep his testimonies, but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers; they twisted like a deceitful bow. For they provoked Him to anger with their high places; they moved Him to jealousy with their idols. When God heard, He was full of wrath, and He utterly rejected Israel. He forsook His dwelling in Shiloh, the tent where He dwelt among mankind and delivered His power to captivity, His glory to the hand of the foe.

(Psalm 78:56-61 ESV)

The Psalmist recounts the repeated gracious, mighty works of God on behalf of the descendants of Jacob, and the just as often repeated rebellion of “a generation whose heart was not steadfast, who spirit was not faithful to God” (78:8b) . . . who “tested God in their heart” (78:18) . . . who “did not believe in God and did not trust His saving power” (78:22) . . . who “tested and rebelled against the Most High God and did not keep His testimonies, but turned away . . . provoked Him to anger . . . moved Him to jealousy” (78:56-58) . . . so that God forsook His dwelling at Shiloh (see 1Samuel 1:3, 4:4-11 for more on Shiloh’s fall) . . . and moved out. (Deep sigh!)

Shiloh . . . the first home of God . . . the forgotten home of God . . . the place where the glory used to dwell. Kind of set me up for my reading in 1Corinthians 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. . . . 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 6:12, 19-20 ESV)

Paul reminds me of another dwelling place of God . . . another place where, by His grace, He has taken up residence . . . another place where He desires His glory to dwell and to be known. Uh, that would be me. And while I don’t believe God would “move out” on a believer, I do know believers of whom it can be said, “The glory of God used to be on him . . . the presence of God used to be with her.” I can think of those who aren’t living up to the potential of God in them . . . of those who, though they were once on fire for the Lord, are, for now at least, not finishing well. Sad thought . . . to be the place where God’s glory use to be known.

Oh that, by His grace, I might not be such a place. That, by the power of the Spirit in me, I might check any spirit of pride or rebellion . . . that I would resist any pull toward a half-hearted, compromising faithfulness to the things of the kingdom . . . that I would just say “No” to joining myself to that which would draw me away from my “first love” (Rev. 2:4). I so don’t want to be a Shiloh . . .

By His grace. For His glory.

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Take Your Place at the Table

Posted on April 3, 2024 by Pete

Hovering over a few verses in Mark this morning (Mark 2:13-17). Pretty well known, it portrays a picture of a bunch of people around a dining table in a tax collector’ house — a tax collector, Levi, who has become a follower of Jesus.

At the table? More tax collectors along with a bunch of other sinners of various sorts. Oh yeah, and Jesus and His disciples are there too.

Watching over Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners? The scribes of the Pharisees. People of the word. Religious, upstanding people. Literally upstanding, as in standing up. The text seems to indicate they were observing rather than partaking. Looking down at the table rather than across it. And they’re bothered seeing this supposed rabbi breaking bread with these well-known reprobates. So, they ask a question, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

And, as I try to imagine the scene, I gotta ask my own question, “Am I in the room?”

Well, if I want to be where Jesus is, then I better be in the room? Okay. So, then who am I in that room?

Well, I’m certainly not Jesus. That narrows it down. So, I’m either eating at the table or I’m standing apart from the table judging the table. Don’t want to think of myself as a pharisaical, bible know-it-all, so that leaves only one place left. I must be at the table.

But am I?

And when Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

(Mark 2:17 ESV)

Those at the table are those who have need of a physician. Not those who once had a need. Not those who, at one point in their lives, had booked an appointment with the doctor, took the medicine of the gospel and said a sinner’s prayer, but never really saw the need to go back again. No, those at the table are those who are sick. Not the righteous, but sinners. Not ex-sinners, but sinning sinners.

Jerry Bridges, concluding his book on “The Blessing of Humility”, presses the point that “the gospel is only for sinners”, and so if we are going to continue to appropriate the gospel, we need to come to it “as still-practicing sinners” (Kindle p.93). Being at the table with Jesus, day in and day out, means being in desperate need for Jesus, day in and day out.

Though we have been declared righteous in standing, we shouldn’t think ourselves as standing above the table. Instead, we need to bear a readiness and willingness for repentance until our actual state “catches up” to our standing (even so, Lord Jesus come!).

Thank God for a place at the table! It’s available to tax collectors and sinners. It’s even available to self-righteous scribes. The great Physician invites all who are sick, “Come, take your place at the table.”

What amazing grace! To God be the glory.

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One is the Only-est Number

Posted on April 2, 2024 by Pete

Normally, I’d just kind of skim these verses. And, actually, I did . . . the first time through. But then something (Someone?) made me go back and hover a little . . . and do a little math.

In Joshua 12 a roll is taken, a summary listed of the peoples defeated by Joshua & Co. west of the Jordan. Whether it was in the hill country or in the lowlands; whether on the slopes or in the wilderness; Israel defeated king after king. How many kings? Thirty-one kings. How’d they do it? One at a time. Making me think this morning that, when it comes to taking on our own battles, one is the only-est number.

And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the people of Israel defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, that rises toward Seir (and Joshua gave their land to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their allotments, in the hill country, in the lowland, in the Arabah, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the Negeb, the land of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites): the king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one; the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; . . .the king of Tirzah, one: in all, thirty-one kings.

(Joshua 12:7-10, 24 ESV)

One . . . one . . . one . . . one . . . Get the pattern? Feeling the rhythm? Is there something this repetition is laying down that I should be picking up? I’m thinkin’!

Let’s be honest, taking the land — even when it’s promised land — can be a somewhat daunting task. A big undertaking. A lot of unknowns. Fierce enemies ready to fight because, at least in Joshua’s situation, they were fighting for their lives. So how do you move into a land with a lot of enemies? How do you take territory that’s bigger than you know? Reminds me of the modern proverb: “How do you eat an elephant?” Answer: One bite at a time. Applying that answer: One king at a time.

Sure, a few of them ganged up together and tried to create some critical mass in order to defeat Joshua’s entering army, but God had determined in advance their destruction and Israel’s deliverance (Josh. 11:19-20). So, when all was said and done except for doing the math afterward, the counting was done one at a time. ‘Cause one is the only-est number.

I don’t have a land to possess, but I do have a world to resist (1Jn. 2:15). I’m not called to destroy cities, but I am commanded to die to self (Rom. 8:12-13). I may not be a warrior, but I am a wrestler, and I’m not wrestling against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12). I may not be at war, but there always seems to be tribulation (Jn. 16:33). So, how do I go forward and take on what God has put before me to take on?

I meet each challenge, I enter each battle, one at a time. In the name of the LORD. No confidence in myself, but confident in the one who has promised to complete the work He’s begun (Php. 1:6). No strength in myself, but my weakness actually being the “secret sauce” for displaying the power of God (2Cor. 12:9). Not always sure of what’s ahead or how I’m gonna get through it, but assured that the God who saved me is the God who is with me and will never leave me nor forsake me (Joshua 1:5, Heb. 13:5). So, I enter the fray and stand fast against whatever the opponent, and I do it one by one by one by one by one . . . (you get the idea).

Overwhelmed? Sometimes. But if God is for us who can be against us (Rom. 8:31)?

And so, by faith and loaded up with mercies that are new every morning (Lam. 3:22-23), we’ll take on whatever needs to be taken on, reminded that one is the only-est number.

But also reminded that, in Christ, one isn’t the loneliest number — for Christ lives in us (Gal. 2:20). And that’s one thing we just can’t ever forget. Amen?

By His grace. For His glory.

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Cutters of Wood, Drawers of Water

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Pete

Hovering over Joshua 9 this morning. Familiar territory (no pun intended . . . well maybe a little). But this morning I find myself chewing on something I’ve not chewed on before.

Context? The inhabitants of Gibeon, a large and royal city, see the writing on the wall after Israel’s defeat of Jericho and Ai. They’re doomed too — unless they can somehow get the Israelites into making a covenant of peace with them. So, they set up a scam, tricking Joshua & Co. to believe they are people from a far-off land wanting to be Israel’s allies. The Israelites bite, and the Gibeonites are spared.

Before, when reading this, I’ve always focused on the folly of the Israelite leaders who “did not ask counsel from the LORD” (9:14) before entering into a pact with the sly Gibeonites. But this morning, I’m wondering if there isn’t something to be considered about the faith of the Gibeonites.

Unlike the people of Ai, who had heard about Jericho but decided to fight anyway, the Gibeonites heard of Israel’s victories and believed they could not stand against their God, the God who had delivered Israel from Egypt and was now giving them a promised land. Like Rahab (Joshua 2), they were convinced of God’s power and took action in order to cast themselves upon God’s mercy, even if it meant a little trickery. But did they fully foresee the consequences of being spared?

Joshua summoned them, and he said to them, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ when you dwell among us? Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall never be anything but servants, cutters of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.” They answered Joshua, “Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the LORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you— so we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing. And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it.” So he did this to them and delivered them out of the hand of the people of Israel, and they did not kill them. But Joshua made them that day cutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD, to this day, in the place that he should choose.

(Joshua 9:22-26 ESV)

Cutters of wood and drawers of water . . . that’s what I’m chewing on this morning. Their “curse” avoided the curse of death. While their “curse” connected them to the covenant people as servants, at least they were living servants. Sure, they weren’t their own anymore, but at least they could be someone’s evermore. They may have lost the right to a personal agenda, but they had gained the privilege of living within proximity of the Almighty.

Don’t think I can take this too far, but I’m kind of relating to the Gibeonites this morning. Not to justify their tactics, but they knew that Israel’s God was a God to be feared — and that’s the beginning of wisdom, isn’t it (Prov. 9:10)? Granted, their motives for “coming to God” were kind of self-serving, but how many of us came to Jesus because we believed He would save us from the wrath to come (Rom. 5:9)? And though we were adopted as sons and daughters of God (Rom. 8:15), didn’t we, like the Gibeonites, also became slaves of God (Rom. 6:22). While we too became no longer are our own (1Cor. 6:19-20), yet he had life — and not just life, but life abundantly (Jn. 10:10)!

Don’t know how those Gibeonites thought about where they ended up. But for me, thinking that it’s better to be a doorkeeper than an enemy.

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

(Psalm 84:10 ESV)

Better to be doorkeepers, or cutters of wood, or drawers of water . . .

By His grace. For His glory.

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You’ve Never Been This Way Before

Posted on March 26, 2024 by Pete

For the past 40 years it had become pretty routine, “whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle the people of Israel would set out” (Ex. 40:36). When the glory got up and got going, the people packed up the tabernacle in the wilderness and followed. When the cloud hovered, they set up camp, each tribe bedding down in their prescribed proximity to the tabernacle. When the cloud moved out again, they moved out again in the precise order of departure determined by the Lord (Numbers 2).

For 40 years, whether it was coming or going it was always the same — they could do it almost without thinking. For whatever journey the clouds departure brought, it too was the same old journey — another day doing laps in the wilderness. The scenery the same. The mileposts way too familiar. Lap after lap, year after year, day in and day out, the same old same old — pick up the manna, break camp, follow the ark, stop when the cloud stops, and set up camp. Yawn! We’ll do it again tomorrow.

That’s what came to mind as a result of noodling on an obscure verse in Joshua which popped off the page this morning. Heads up, says the Spirit, you’ve never been this way before.

Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.”

(Joshua 3:1-4 ESV)

Rise early as you’ve always risen early. Follow as you’ve always followed. But today, be careful to maintain an extra distance, for there’ll be no nose-to-butt, do-it-in-your-sleep, marching by rote stuff today. Hang back a half mile so that you’ll know the way to go, cause this ain’t just another lap around Sinai. I’m taking you down a new path today, and you have not passed this way before.

Huh! Something to chew on, me thinks.

For a guy who likes routine, I might just have to remember that following Jesus isn’t necessarily about finding my well-worn rut and mindlessly sticking to it. As a guy who likes repetition, I might be wise to remember that doing life as usual shouldn’t lead me to expect that I can “do Jesus” as usual. Because sometimes, you’re gonna be going down a path you’ve never been down before. Then, keying into the glory will be key. Keeping your distance in order to see His leading will be vital. Not presuming that Jesus is going to lead just as He’s always led, just smart thinking.

When you’ve never been this way before, routine’s out the window. Longing for the monotony of “been there, done that” is totally messed with. The illusion of self-sufficiency goes up in smoke. When you’ve never been this way before, you need to follow Jesus consciously, clearly, and completely dependent on Him to lead.

So, isn’t it another aspect of God’s goodness and grace when He takes us to places we’ve never been before — even places we’d rather not go? I’m thinkin’. For it’s on those unfamiliar paths where we can know Jesus like we’ve never known Him before. Aware of His presence in a way we may have not been aware of it for some time.

It’s on those unknown paths where we tend to re-focus on the reality that we real need to be following in the trail of glory. Where we’re aware of the need to ensure our eyes are fixed from a holy distance on our holy God. And we need to believe that on this never traveled path, we can know the way we should go because He knows the way we should go.

They were about to cross the Jordan, to enter into a battle to possess a land they had been promised. And on this day, they were to rise early, awake to the reality they were walking down a new road, and follow at a distance, making sure they didn’t take their eyes off the glory which led them.

Good counsel, I’m thinking, when you’ve never been this way before.

Yes?

By His grace. For His glory.

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A Plea to Be

Posted on March 25, 2024 by Pete

Repetition does its work again this morning. What I’m chewing on is a phrase served up multiple times — 4 times to be exact. And yet it isn’t the fact that these phrases are all the same that has me thinking this morning, it’s that — to coin something I learned from Sesame Street — one of these things is not like the other.

Operation “Take the Land” is soon to commence. The big game is about to begin. And God serves up a pre-game pep talk to His quarterback, Joshua.

After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, . . . “Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

(Joshua 1:1, 6-9 ESV)

As Joshua gets his head in the game before leading God’s people in taking the land that God has promised, at this moment, there’s one command above other commands he needs to take to heart — Be strong and courageous. If Joshua was going to lead the people to occupy the land promised to their ancestors, God knew Joshua would need strength and courage.

Okay, Pete. Three repetitions in short order, pretty important command to obey from God’s perspective. Got it. But you said the phrase was repeated 4 times.

Yup, and here’s where one of these things is not quite like the other.

And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses! Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”

(Joshua 1:16-18 ESV)

There it is, the fourth be strong and courageous. But this time it isn’t spoken by the Almighty and All-Powerful LORD of heaven, but by the flesh and blood people of Reuben, Gad, and half-tribe of Manasseh, those who would settle east of the Jordan after helping their kinsmen take the land promised west of the Jordan. And this time it isn’t so much spoken as a command to obey by One with the authority to command Joshua to obey, but it comes across to me more like a plea to be — to be what the people are counting on their leader to be. Be strong and courageous . . . cause we’re depending on you.

God had placed leadership over His people. The people were committing to place themselves under God’s chosen leaders. So, what did they need from their leaders? Strength! Courage!

Isn’t that kind of what we need today among God’s people? I’m thinkin’ . . .

We need leaders who, by God’s grace and with the Spirit’s enabling, will lead, by faith, with strength and with courage. Those who will stand for the Word, contend for the faith, and faithfully shepherd God’s people. And we need people who, by God’s grace and with the Spirit’s enabling, will follow, by faith, trusting that God has raised up those set in leadership over them. And that they’ll do so with strength and with courage.

How we need strong leaders in the church — strong while being submitted to the Lord. How we need courageous leaders in the church — courageous while being committed to their people. Ready to take the land while standing fast against the allure of land. Determined to be faithful while always aware of their frailty and need for gospel power to do gospel work.

Strength! Courage! I’m thinking that’s the plea to be which God’s people need to be praying over those God has placed over them in the Lord (1Thess. 5:12).

According to God’s grace. Always for God’s glory.

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In the Lord

Posted on March 22, 2024 by Pete

Identity. For those who have ears to hear, there’s a lot of talk these days about identity. Who we are. What we is.

As I wrap up Romans this morning, a couple of short, repeated phrases remind me of my identity.

Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus . . .

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well.

(Romans 16:3, 7-13 ESV)

In the Lord . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning. ‘Cause that’s what I am, that’s who I am — In the Lord.

What defines me, first and foremost, is that I am “in Christ.” What marks me, above all things that could mark me, is that I am “in the Lord.”

As the “credits” role at the end of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he lists friends and fellow workers. Men and women. Jews and Gentiles. Some of worldly repute, others not so much. But for whatever might have distinguished them from one another, what bound them together — beyond their common relationship with Paul — was their identity as those who were in the Lord.

They were chosen in the Lord, approved in Christ, and beloved in the Lord, only to then become fellow workers in the Lord.

It wasn’t their talents that distinguished them. It wasn’t their standing in society. It wasn’t what they accomplished. It wasn’t who they knew. When all was said and done — when the final chapter of the letter was written (literally) — what marked this cast of “bit players” was that they were in the Lord.

That’s who this “bit player” sitting in this chair this morning is, just a guy in the Lord. And, at the end of the day — at the end of my day — that is what will mark me. The only label that will make an real difference is that label. That will be my only boast — that I was in Christ.

Nobody in particular. But somebody in Christ.

Chosen. Beloved. Approved. A worker. In the Lord.

Only by His grace. Only for His glory.

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