To Know the Touch

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Pete

To quote a famous baseball player of a bygone era, it was “deja vu all over again.”

It wasn’t the first time John found himself on his face like a dead man at the feet of Jesus. The last time, he was with a couple of friends on a mountain where Jesus was literally shining, Moses and Elijah were casually visiting, and the Father was ominously thundering (Mt. 17:1-6). The result? John & Co. went facedown. This time, John was in the Spirit on an island with Jesus only. But this was not just a shining Jesus, this was King Jesus in all His glory, the One who walks among the churches (Rev. 1:13a). And this encounter of the divine kind with the risen, glorified Son of Man buckled John’s knees again, such that “when I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man” (Rev. 1:17a). Facedown once more. Deja vu all over again.

But that wasn’t all of it. There was something else which had occurred on that mountain back then which also occurred on this island on the Lord’s Day.

He laid His right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid.”

(Revelation 1:17b CSB)

On the mountain, Matthew records that after going facedown before the glorified Son of God, Jesus “touched them” and told them to get up and not be afraid. On the island, John tells us that after going facedown before the glorified Son of Man, Jesus again touched him and said, “Don’t be afraid.”

Jesus touched John.

I know I’ve noodled on this before, but again this morning I’m captured by the thought of being touched by Jesus. Of what it was for John to have felt the hand of Jesus rest gently on his shoulder. Of hearing the King of kings and Lord of lords address him individually and softly speak over him, “Don’t be afraid.” It’s one thing to hear “don’t be afraid,” it’s another thing — a totally next level thing — to feel it.

He laid His right hand on me, says John. He touched me.

Oh, to know the touch of Jesus. To go from bowing before Him in reverent awe overwhelmed by His might and majesty, to sensing the touch of His fingertips as He bends toward me and, by the Spirit, lays His hand upon my shoulder and says, “Get up.”

To be touched by the One who created all things and holds all things together. Touched by the One who rules over all things. Touched by the One who came to redeem all things.

To know the touch of the hand of the King.

He touched me, oh He touched me,
And oh the joy that floods my soul!
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole (Bill Gaither)

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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Go Again

Posted on November 27, 2023 by Pete

You get the sense that to say, “She played the field” would have been an understatement. To say, “She was loose” would have been to state the obvious. But to say, “She was a prostitute?” Well, the CSB indicates that may have not quite been the case.

When the LORD first spoke to Hosea, He said this to him:

Go and marry a woman of promiscuity,
and have children of promiscuity,
for the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity
by abandoning the LORD.

So he went and married Gomer daughter of Diblaim.

(Hosea 1:2-3a CSB)

Gomer, Hosea’s wife, was a woman of promiscuity. Free and single, she was free and fearlessly seeking love. A type of Israel, she lusted after whoever and whatever she thought might satisfy her sensual desires. Blatant acts of promiscuity. Abandoning the Lord. And yet, says the LORD to the Hosea, she was the one for him. “Go and marry.” And he does. Hosea goes.

After they are wed, Gomer’s first baby is clearly fathered by her husband, for the Scripture explicitly says that she “bore him a son.” After that, the Scripture is suspiciously silent, leaving things a little less clear as to who the father was for child 2 and child 3. Implication? You can take the girl out of the game but, while the old nature remains, you can’t necessarily keep her from continuing to play the field. And so, where at first the LORD asked Hosea to wed a promiscuous woman, the LORD then commands Hosea to take for himself an adulteress woman.

Then the LORD said to me, “Go again; show love to a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, just as the LORD loves the Israelites though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.”

(Hosea 3:1 CSB)

Go again. That’s what first arrests me. Wasn’t it enough that he went the first time? Wasn’t such grace sufficient grace? She had her chance to change her ways and settle down. She blew it. Let’s move on. Hadn’t he done enough already? I guess not.

Marvelous grace is persistent grace. Abounding grace is pursuing grace. If, at first, “Go” doesn’t win the wayward, then “Go again.” For the LORD had purposed concerning His fickle betrothed, Israel:

I will take you to be My wife forever.
I will take you to be My wife in righteousness,
justice, love, and compassion.
I will take you to be My wife in faithfulness,
and you will know the LORD.

(Hosea 2:19-20 CSB)

I will take you to be My wife. Thrice repeated, the LORD openly declares His intentions. And not just to take her as His wife, but to transform her as His bride. His grace sufficient for a complete makeover. To make a promiscuous wife a faithful wife. To take a treacherous adulteress and recast her as one who love would righteousness, justice, love, and compassion. But it would not be without cost.

So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and nine bushels of barley.

(Hosea 3:2 CSB)

Go and marry her, the LORD says at first, giving yourself to her, taking her to be yours forever. Then go again and buy her. Redeem her. Purchase her from the slavery she has sold herself into. And unless there was any doubt as to how far she had fallen, it seems she had so corrupted herself that she didn’t even command the going, fair-market value of a slave (Ex. 21:32).

And while it is go again which catches my attention at first, it’s I bought her that really gives me something to chew on, this morning.

You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.

(1Corinthians 6:19b-20 CSB)

I’m her. She’s me. I’m Gomer. Playing the field before the day He took me as His bride, still prone to wander after. But my Bridegroom, in His limitless grace, purposes always to go again because He has bought me. Having paid for me not the discounted price of a 50% off slave but having redeemed me with something far more lavish and unexpected.

For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.

(1Peter 1:18-19 CSB)

You were redeemed . . . with the precious blood of Christ. It cost Hosea 15 shekels and some barley to go again. It cost my LORD His life. And He has purposed to faithfully go again until that day I am presented to Him fully faithful.

Oh, what grace! To God be the glory!

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Anticipation

Posted on November 24, 2023 by Pete

“Gentlemen, start your engines!”

For many of us in the U.S., yesterday it began — the race to Christmas. While the turkey roasted, we put out snacks on the counter, turned on football and let it play in the background, and pulled out Christmas decorations from the closet. Before the day was done, some of us might have been heard humming, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”

Cue the anticipation.

Anticipation . . . that’s what came to mind as I finished up my readings in Daniel and Jude this morning.

Daniel concludes his writings with detailed visions of what his heaven-sent interpreters refered to as “the time of the end.” The time when the kingdom promised will be the kingdom present (Dan. 2:44). The “appointed time” (Dan. 11:35) when “many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, and some to disgrace and eternal contempt” (Dan. 12:2). The time when “those who have insight will shine like the bright expanse of the heavens” (Dan. 12:3a).

Daniel knew he was counted among those who have insight. So, I imagine, Daniel couldn’t wait for the time.

But Daniel also had a question. “How long until the end of these wondrous things?” (Dan. 12:6b). Though he had a lot of information, he confessed that, “I heard but did not understand”; and so, he asks again, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?” (Dan. 12:8). When will it be? Are we there yet?

The table had been set, but Daniel wanted to know when the main course would be served. The race to the end had begun, but Daniel wanted to know when he’d see the final finish line. The promise had been presented, but Daniel wanted to know when he’d be able to open the gift. To which Daniel was told:

“But as for you, go on your way to the end; you will rest, and then you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance at the end of the days.”

(Daniel 12:13 CSB)

It’s been about 2,600 years since Daniel was told to go on his way while he waited in anticipation for his allotted inheritance at the end of the days. Talk about your anticipation. If that’s not the nth degree of what it means to patiently, expectantly, and eagerly await to open gifts, I don’t know what is.

Like I said, for many of us yesterday marked the beginning of an annual entrance into a season of anticipation. Sure, it’ll probably be too busy, too hectic, and with too many calories, but let the anticipation begin! Every day we count down to that 25th day of December can be reminder that we are counting down to the promised day of our full deliverance. Our allotted inheritance awaits!

For now, though, we go on our way. Eagerly waiting, even as we seek to faithfully walk. Wanting so bad to participate in “the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:9) because we have already tasted and seen that the Lord is good (Ps. 34:8). Ready for faith to give way to sight (2Cor. 5:6-8). Ready to go from knowing in part to fully knowing, from seeing in a mirror dimly to being face-to-face (1Cor. 13:12).

So, let’s do it. Let the countdown to Christmas 2023 begin. Let the countdown to Christ’s return, and the culmination of His kingdom come, be rekindled.

And Jude reminds me this morning, we can await the time of the end with a divine confidence.

Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, without blemish and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

(Jude 24-25 CSB)

Gentlemen . . . gentle women . . . start your engines. Let the anticipation begin. Let the anticipation be refreshed.

Because of God’s amazing grace. Only for God’s all-deserving glory.

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Dangerous Reefs

Posted on November 22, 2023 by Pete

Okay. Here’s a place where the CSB rendering makes a BIG difference — and again, if I had been a NASB reader, this would have already been familiar to me. But I haven’t read the NASB, and so it looks like a big difference. A big difference between spots, blemishes, and dangerous reefs.

These people are dangerous reefs at your love feasts as they eat with you without reverence. They are shepherds who only look after themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by winds; trees in late autumn ​— ​fruitless, twice dead and uprooted. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameful deeds; wandering stars for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever.

(Jude 1:12-13 CSB)

Initially Jude had thought to write a letter to this group of believers to encourage them by reminding them of “the salvation we share.” Instead, he’s compelled to warn them of the danger they were in by appealing to them to “contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all” (Jd. 3). And the danger he warns them of? It was these people.

These people had “come in by stealth” (Jd. 4a). These weren’t outsiders, they were insiders. The logo on their t-shirt said, “Believer.” The first impressions from their behavior said, “Brother.” But, warns Jude, their bent said, “Beware.” For they would turn the grace of God into a reason to follow the flesh (Jd. 4b). And if you’re gonna follow the flesh then you are essentially denying that Jesus is the “only Master and Lord” (Jd. 4c).

Did I mention they were insiders? Eating at the church’s love feasts, they put on airs of reverence even as they fellowshipped around the table commemorating the church’s love for the Savior. Thus, according to the ESV, they were blemishes among the believers. They were spots (NKJV) among the saints. They were weeds among the wheat (Mt. 13:24-26).

But honestly, while blemishes, and spots, and weeds might sound disappointing in that not all God’s people were really good people, translate the original word differently and disappointing becomes downright DANGEROUS!

These people are dangerous reefs . . .

Not just spots, but rocks. Not just blemishes, but bad news for unsuspecting vessels. Capable of shipwrecking others’ faith as they claim the faith. Sounding good though, in reality, they are but shepherds who only look after themselves.

What a warning! Sounds a lot like Peter’s warning in 2Peter 2. That makes it a repeated warning!

Not that we should be seeing a heretic in every pew, but we’d be naïve to think this is only a possibility at someone else’s love feast. These dangerous reefs can pop up right were our churches have set sail.

So, wouldn’t it be prudent to heed Jude’s warning? To listen to Jude’s appeal? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Fight with everything you have in you for this faith entrusted to us as a gift to guard and cherish.

(Jude 1:3 MSG)

Contend for the faith. Know it. Study it. Internalize it. Obey it. Defend it.

When that’s our posture, then we’ll have activated the Spirit-powered sonar we’ve been given which is able to detect dangerous reefs.

Grace will then continue to be counted as God’s unmerited favor worthy of our worship and not twisted to be God’s “who cares” permission to do whatever we like. Jesus will be owned as Master and Lord and not misunderstood as but one means to an end, only obeying His commands when they’re convenient.

Dangerous reefs. Possibly in our midst.

So, contend for the faith.

By God’s grace. For God’s glory.

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Don’t Want to Be a Lightweight

Posted on November 20, 2023 by Pete

You get the sense that Belshazzar should have known better. After all, he knew of the humbling of his predecessor, the legendary Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. The story had been told and retold of how, at the height of arrogance, Nebuchadnezzar, who had deemed himself a god, had been humbled under the mighty hand of the Most High God. Of how he had been reduced to grazing with the beasts of the field until he came to his senses and acknowledged that it really wasn’t he who ruled the kingdoms of men, but that the King of Heaven was all and over all. And, because the story had been known in the palace and through the royal courts for years, Nebuchadnezzar’s successor, Belshazzar, should have known better. Instead, he ended up being weighed on divine scales and had been “found deficient” (Daniel 5:27 CSB).

It had started out innocent enough, just a “small” gathering of the king and a thousand of his closest friends. Soon the wine was flowing freely, the talk was getting pretty big, and the bravado had turned reckless. “Given the greatness of who I am,” thinks the king, “I deserve better vessels than these from which to drink. Bring me vessels of gold and silver made for a god — made to serve the God. Bring me the treasures of the Jerusalem temple that I might pickle my brain in a manner fitting one of my stature! And with them let us praise the gods of gold and silver!”

At the moment, if Belshazzar had cared to think about it, he could have looked back over his shoulder and seen the line — the one he had just crossed.

Disembodied fingers of a human hand appear. Divine graffiti is written on the wall. The king’s face goes white. The joints in his limbs give way. His knees knock (Daniel 5:5-6). Oh, oh, this isn’t good! He should have known better. But now he had been weighed in the balance, and he had come up short.

The indictment?

But you . . , Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, . . . you have exalted yourself against the Lord of the heavens. . . . you praised the gods made of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, . . . you have not glorified the God who holds your life-breath in His hand and who controls the whole course of your life.

(Daniel 5:22-23 CSB)

Now, I’m no king. Don’t have a thousand friends to invite to a party, or access to expensive treasures from which to stuff my face and feed my ego. But I do have an old nature that can sometimes seduce me like too much wine. The intoxicating drink of self going to my head, opening a door for pride to take root by thinking that I’m in control and that I deserve some recognition. Forgetting that all that I am is due to the One who gives me breath, I can lose sight of the reality that anything that might be considered an accomplishment is by His grace alone. Prone to getting carried away with thinking that I have earned what I think is mine to be earned, instead of acknowledging that whatever I might have is to be stewarded for Another. I too can cross over the line. I too can be weighed, only to be reminded that I really don’t weigh all that much.

Honestly, I don’t want to come up short. I don’t want to be found wanting when it comes to acknowledging the favor of the Lord of heaven. I don’t want to be a lightweight.

O’, that my heart might be kept low as I seek to honor the God Most High. That I might humble my heart continually as I lift up His Name constantly.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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Meeting Up with Nebuchadnezzar

Posted on November 17, 2023 by Pete

“When I get to heaven, I can’t wait to talk to [fill in the blank]!” Ever heard someone say something like that? Ever said that yourself? Will heaven really work that way? That anyone I choose to connect with I will be able to connect with? There’s gonna be a lotta people there. Am I going to know them all? Will I be able to do coffee (or whatever you do on the new earth) with anyone and everyone I choose? Maybe we talk that way because, even if it takes a thousand years to find and sit and chat with [fill in the blank], we’ve no less days to visit and shoot the breeze than when we first begun.

So, after reading in Daniel this morning I had the thought, when I get to heaven, I can’t wait to talk to Nebuchadnezzar. Yeah, the Neb man, the king of Babylon.

I think Neb’s gonna be there. And what seals the deal for me is not just God’s patient, persistent pursuit towards working one-on-one with one of the most ruthless rulers ever to walk the earth so that He could show him that “the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms, and He gives them to anyone He wants” (Dan. 4:17b, 25b, 32b), but that Nebuchadnezzar seems to have picked up on what God was so purposefully laying down.

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of the heavens, because all His works are true and His ways are just. He is able to humble those who walk in pride.

(Daniel 4:37 CSB)

The King of heavens. That’s the phrase I’m chewing on. Not because it’s new to me. But because it was new to Nebuchadnezzar.

Up until this point, King Nebuchadnezzar had conceded that Daniel’s God was “indeed God of gods, Lord of kings, and a Revealer of mysteries” (2:47). Yet, Nebuchadnezzar still goes and sets up his own gods, issues his own decrees, and demands adherence to his own agenda (3:1-7). Only after the-four-men-in-the-fire incident, does Nebuchadnezzar refer to Daniel’s God as “the Most High God” (3:36). We’re making progress. But we’re not there yet.

For, a Most High God, while being a God above all other gods, is not necessarily the God over me. While He might be supreme in whatever realm He exists, He is not necessarily supreme over the domain I think to have built by my own power. So, let’s spend some time grazing like an animal in the field until I come to understand that the Most High who is ruler over human kingdoms is also, in reality, ruler over me. Only then is the Most High, says this king on the earth, the King over all.

I praise, exalt and glorify THE KING. For me, that’s evidence that whatever being saved by faith looks like prior to the cross, it might just look like this. God bringing someone who once boasted in their own mighty works to see and acknowledge God’s worthiness alone. God humbling someone who once walked in the pride of what they thought they had accomplished by their power to now worship and praise the One who unlike any other is to be acknowledged as having all power.

Talk to me about grace and tell me it isn’t seen in God’s dealings with the Neb man. While the main event in world history here is about a nation in a 70-year timeout for rebellion, God, in His sovereign purposes, elects to work a side thing in the heart of a despot ruler. Bringing the king of the greatest nation on earth to his senses, so that he might believe in and bow before THE KING over all the earth, the King of heavens.

Hmm . . .

When I get to heaven, can’t wait to talk to Nebuchadnezzar . . . if such things happen.

To talk together of God’s grace. To marvel together for God’s glory.

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It’s Gonna Crush It!

Posted on November 16, 2023 by Pete

It’s been crazy for so long, it almost doesn’t warrant commenting on how crazy it is. But, if nothing else reminds us (and there’s a lot to remind us), our political rhythms have a way of reminding those with ears to hear of how dark things have become. To be sure, what John says in my 1John reading this morning is so true; the whole world really is under the sway of the evil one (1Jn. 5:19b).

But this morning I’m also reminded — and encouraged — by Daniel. For the prophet calibrates the craziness with a reminder that even now the God of the heavens is at work among the peoples of earth.

“In the days of those kings, the God of the heavens will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever.”

(Daniel 2:44 CSB)

A kingdom will be set up, says Daniel to King Nebuchadnezzar. A kingdom which will supplant every other kingdom that’s ever come before it. A kingdom set up by the God of the heavens. The God to whom “wisdom and power belong.” The One who “changes the times and the seasons”; who “removes kings and establishes kings”; who “knows what is in the darkness” as He is the source of all which is light (Dan. 2:21-22). And the kingdom which that God will establish; it’s gonna crush it!

The craziness will come to an end. The self-centeredness will cease. The “every way is the right way” thinking of this world will give way finally to the One who alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn. 14:6). And when that kingdom is come, then every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Php. 2:10-11). Every tongue! Of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth. ‘Cause when that kingdom comes, it’s gonna crush it!

And while that kingdom in its fullness is yet to come (even so, Come Lord Jesus!), the Spirit reminds me this morning that the kingdom Daniel speaks of has come. That it is now though not yet. That it is here while yet to arrive. And that, even while we wait for that kingdom in its fullness to come, the kingdom which Jesus says has already come, that kingdom is crushing it as well.

For the kingdom which has come brings light into darkness. It redeems captives and sets them free. It rises above the craziness, as its subjects live set apart to the One who Himself has provided entrance into this kingdom through His blood. The kingdom which has come will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end. It will triumph over all other kingdoms. It will endure forever.

After Daniel revealed the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him, the Babylonian king could again sleep at night. As the Spirit reminds us of the kingdom Daniel foretold, the kingdom we are experiencing even today, we can sleep at night too. Amidst the craziness, at rest with the King.

By His grace. For His glory.

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The Trinity of Abiding

Posted on November 14, 2023 by Pete

In his first letter, John tells his readers that “God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him” (1Jo. 4:16 CSB). The CSB calls it remaining, but I’ll go with the ESV this morning and refer to it as abiding. Those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. A whole lot of abiding going on there. It kind of captures the essence of what I just read in John’s gospel. There, I think I saw the trinity of abiding — serving, sitting, and sacrificing.

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, the one Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for Him there; Martha was serving them, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of perfume, pure and expensive nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped His feet with her hair. So the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

(John 12:1-3 CSB)

Six days before the Passover. Sister, sister, and brother had probably already set aside their sacrifice in preparation for the annual remembrance, “an unblemished animal, a year-old male” taken from either the sheep or the goats (Ex. 12:5). But six days before the Passover they would host heaven’s once for all sacrifice, Jesus, the Lamb of God (Jn. 1:29, 36). Jesus, God in flesh. For God is love. And God sent His one and only Son into the world — and into their home — so that they might live through Him. God loved them and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for their sins (1Jn. 4:9-10). So, Jesus entered their home. He came for dinner. He came to abide with them. How would they abide in return?

Martha was serving. Lazarus was sitting. And Mary was sacrificing.

The practical older sister, Martha, was doing what she did best. She set a table fit for a king as a tangible way of honoring the King. She’d fade into the background as she busied herself making ready a meal from her kitchen for the One who had come to her as the Bread of Life from heaven (Jn. 6:32-35). Martha was serving Jesus.

Baby brother, Lazarus, was reclining at the table with Jesus. The living dead guy quietly communed with the Resurrection and Life (Jn. 11:25). Taking in everything Jesus had to say. All ears and overwhelmed as he considered again that, though he had been four days in the tomb, he still had ears to hear. Lazarus was sitting with Jesus.

And Mary? Oh, over-the-top, upset-the-apple-cart Mary — she could only have been the middle child. She audaciously and extravagantly fills the house with the fragrance of perfume. A pound of perfume! Whew! Pure and expensive, poured out and encasing the feet of Jesus. Poured out and filling the air with its pungent aroma. Poured out as she used her hair as a washcloth to wipe Jesus’s feet. Bowed low at His feet in order to lift up her Head. In unbridled worship, Mary was sacrificing to Jesus.

How’s that for a trinity of abiding? Serving, sitting, and sacrificing.

Works, wonder, and worship.

Busy for the Savior, beholding the Savior, bowing at the Savior’s feet.

Each loving Him because He first loved them.

Abiding by His grace. Abiding for His glory.

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Seen in the Shadows

Posted on November 13, 2023 by Pete

There’s a lot in Ezekiel that I don’t get. And it’s not just trying to make sense of Ezekiel’s description of things he sees which are beyond description. Even some of the things clearly described are still mysterious shadows within his prophecy.

Case in point? Ezekiel’s description of a future temple in chapters 40 through 44. Nothing much left to the imagination here. It’s a concrete description of a massive building project, with spec’s laid out to the inch. But the question arises, what is it referring to? Is it to be understood figuratively or literally? Is it something that should have been built in the past, exists in symbolic form in the present, or is yet to be built in the future? Or does it point to something which exists beyond the future, something which describes something in the eternal? Even though I have my thoughts, like I said, there’s a lot I don’t really know for sure.

But something I do know. That when I get to the specifics of what the priesthood is doing in Ezekiel’s vision of the temple, I’m reading, at least in part, my job description as a follower of Jesus.

As you come to Him, a living stone ​— ​rejected by people but chosen and honored by God ​— ​you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. . . . you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

(1Peter 2:4-9 CSB)

A holy priesthood. A royal priesthood. A priesthood, holy and royal. That’s who we be.

And so, when I read in Ezekiel’s vision about what the priests are doing as part of their priesthood, I find myself taking note of what I should be doing as part of this priesthood. This is what the LORD God says (Ezekiel 44:9a):

They will approach Me to serve Me (44:15)

They may enter My sanctuary and approach My table to serve Me (44:16a)

They will keep My mandate (44:16b)

They are to teach My people (44:23)

They will officiate as judges (44:24a)

They are to observe My laws and statutes (44:24b)

That’s what the priests in Ezekiel’s vision were to do. And in there is instruction as to what we priests in Jesus are to do.

We approach and we serve. We enter the holy of holies, we find our place at the table. We seek to discharge our priestly orders. We teach what we know and we exercise authority within our ranks. We follow in obedience.

There’s some to do’s there. Ours is “to do” them. Only through His enabling. Only by His grace.

But what grabs me this morning is what God reminds the prophet of about the bottom-line benefit of being a priest. It wouldn’t be in the treasures they stored up nor in the goods they possessed. It wouldn’t be found in anything they achieved or in any rank they secured in their world’s economy. Nope, their inheritance would be something far greater, something far more everlasting.

“This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.”

(Ezekiel 44:28 CSB)

I am their inheritance. I am their possession.

By some wondrous condescension of the Creator, by some unfathomable gifting of Himself, He has said that not only am I His, but He will be mine.

Now that I get. Well, at least in part (1Cor. 13:12). But soon face to face. Known today to a certain degree, but one day to be experienced to the nth degree. Seen in the shadows of Ezekiel’s prophetic mystery. To be fully known in the light of Christ’s return.

He is mine.

Oh, what unfathomable grace! To God be the glory!

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Job Asks. Jesus Answers.

Posted on November 10, 2023 by Pete

A big part of Job’s problem, and a big contributor to his struggle with God, was that Job didn’t really get the big picture. I know, kind of an understatement, huh?

From reading the beginning of the book, we know that Job didn’t know the “rest of the story” happening “behind the scenes.” From the end of the book, we know he didn’t really understand who he was addressing when he demanded a one-on-one, face-to-face debate with the Creator. And as I read this morning in Job 14, I notice something else Job didn’t quite get which, if he had, might have made a difference in how he set about processing his loss, grief, and suffering. He didn’t get the length of his life.

When a person dies, will he come back to life?
If so, I would wait all the days of my struggle until my relief comes.

(Job 14:14 CSB)

When a person dies, will he come back to life? Good question, Job. A really important question. Jesus answers that question in one of my other readings this morning.

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

(John 11:25-26 CSB)

Not to minimize nor diminish the magnitude of Job’s suffering in any way, but it makes a difference if, when a person dies, he does in fact come back to life. If all the time Job had to “live life to the fullest” was whatever time God had determined for him to inhabitant space on earth, then how much more devastating is the loss, and all the time dealing with the memory of the loss of everything you once held so dear? Pretty devastating. Pretty hopeless (Job 6:11). Perhaps so much so that you might think it better you were never born (Job 3).

But this life isn’t all of life. Any time, while here on earth, consumed by unfulfilled dreams, or unrealized opportunity, or unfair suffering is time to be factored not against this life only, but all of life — the resurrected, eternal life. When doing the math of time experiencing loss vs. the total time alive, the denominator, the number below the line, isn’t how many years are marked on our gravestone but whatever number you want to imagine conveys “forever.” In comparison to the life yet to be lived, this life really is but the blink of an eye. Thus, the losses of this life occupy but only a fraction of the blink of an eye.

Again, not to minimize, not to diminish the harsh realities of our trials and sufferings. Only by God’s grace, God’s power, and God’s faithfulness do we get through them. But with an eye to eternity, we can say with Job, if a person does come back to life, I would wait all the days of my struggle until my relief comes.

Sometimes we need to be reminded of the big picture. That those who believe will forever be. That now is less about winning and more about running the race. That now isn’t measured by what we gain here on earth but by how much treasure we’re storing up in heaven.

We will come back to life. We will never die. For Jesus really is the resurrection and the life.

Job asks. Jesus answers.

Jesus then has a question for me.

“Do you believe this?”

Yes, Lord, I believe!

By Your grace. For Your glory.

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