Active Listening

Posted on July 27, 2022 by Pete

To me, the entire chapter reads like a promise. A conditional, if/then promise, but a promise nevertheless. And what a promise!

Who wouldn’t want to:

  • understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God (v.5)?
  • understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path (v.9)?
  • escape the allurement of like-taking sin (v.16)?
  • walk in the way of the good, keep to the paths of the righteous (.v20)?

I’ll take it!

So if that’s the “then”, then what’s the “if”? Chewing on it this morning.

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then . . .

(Proverbs 2:1-4 ESV)

The LORD gives wisdom (v.6), ours is to go get it. Tuning our ears to detect it, directing our hearts toward it. Raising our voices to heaven as we call out for it. Seeking and searching for it. And when we find some it, receiving it and treasuring it. Talk about your “active listening.”

So how does the LORD give wisdom? Where do we go to find it? Jesus!

Because of [God] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

(1Corinthians 1:30 ESV)

Jesus is wisdom. And through faith in Him and the finished work of His cross, we are in Him and, by His Spirit, He is in us. We are in close proximity to wisdom — like really close! Ours then is to, through the written word, make every effort to increase in our understanding of Him as the Living Word. And that as if we were seeking the most valuable of treasure.

Far from just a set of facts to know or a dogma to believe, growing in “the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2Pet. 3:18) is the way of wisdom. The way of flourishing. The way to walk as we were created to walk, to work as we were created to work, and to worship as we were created to worship.

Who wouldn’t want that? I sure do.

And it all starts with active listening. My holy determination, His enabling and guiding Spirit. My feeble attempts at seeking, His faithful work in me for finding.

Only by His grace. Would it be to His glory.

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Let’s Be Simplistic

Posted on July 26, 2022 by Pete

Not to be overly simplistic, but . . .

Uh, no. Let’s be simplistic. Knowing God makes all the difference.

Hovering over the opening verses of Ezra this morning. And one verse in particular has me thinking this, if every world leader believed what this world leader believed, then what a different world it would be.

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all His people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel —  He is the God who is in Jerusalem.”

(Ezra 1:2-3 ESV)

Over the past few months, as a church we’ve been working our way through the book of Daniel on Sunday mornings. Throughout the book, the message has been clear.

. . . know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will.

(Daniel 4:17, 25, 32 ESV)

Nebuchadnezzar eventually got it (Dan. 4:34-35). His grandson, Belshazzar? Not so much — and so, the handwriting was literally on the wall (Dan. 5:24-27). Cyrus, it would seem, got it too. Oh, the difference it can make in the world when the heart of a world leader is humbled and ready to be stirred up by the LORD.

Think about it, partisan politics doesn’t matter if whoever is in charge knows, really knows, that the God of heaven is the only One whose vote counts. Party platforms which give way to heavenly agendas are gonna make a difference for earthly outcomes. Or, on the other side of the pond, expansionist aggression would be governed by the enlightened apprehension that God alone lays claim to each country.

Yeah, I know it’s simplistic. It’s unrealistic. Nevertheless, it’s true. If all those created by God, knew God, then what a different world this would be.

That kingdom’s coming. Amen?

For now, the only earthly kingdom I impact is my own little realm of decision-making and influence. And if I believed what this ancient world leader believed, then what a different world my little sliver of the world would be. God could stir it up with me too.

Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem.

(Ezra 1:5 ESV)

The hearts of about 50,000 people (Ez. 2:64-65) knew that God was God, and their spirits were stirred to go up. They knew that earthly rule was God given rule, even when that rule was simply over their own lives.

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

(1Corinthians 6:19b-20 ESV)

How then should I live? Jesus is the answer.

Simplistic? Perhaps. Realistic? I’m thinkin’ . . .

By His grace. For His glory.

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Temple Revival (2017 Rerun)

Posted on July 22, 2022 by Pete

Some thoughts from this day in my reading plan 5 years ago . . .

———————

Two thoughts as I hover over the account of revival in Judah under King Hezekiah . . .

First, revival happens where God’s house is attended to.

After 16 years of disastrous leadership under King Ahaz, things turn around under the twenty-something King Hezekiah. Under Ahaz idolatry ran rampant. Wooden idols of Asherah were “upgraded” to metal monuments to Baal. Animal sacrifices to the God of heaven were replaced with human sacrifices to the gods of hell. And the price for such flagrant disobedience was steep. In one battle alone, 120,000 Judean men of valor lost their lives “because they had forsaken the LORD” (2Chron. 28:6).

But Ahaz didn’t get it. And the deeper in he got, the more he turned to the non-gods of the pagans around him. And the more he did that, the less and less regard he had for the temple of God–the place where the glory longed to dwell–desecrating the vessels of the house of God and even shutting the doors to it all together (28:24). Talk about one of your low-points in Judah’s history.

Enter the twenty-five year old, Hezekiah. And in the first year of his young and youthful reign he re-opens the doors of the house of the LORD (29:1). And orders that the filth that had been allowed to accumulate in the temple be cleaned out. And that the honor and attention that was due God’s dwelling place be re-established through intentional acts of consecration. Thus, reversing the years of neglect when God’s people had “turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD and turned their backs” (29:6), he re-ignites (literally) temple worship.

And when he does, the praise returns, as does the Presence.

So, isn’t there something instructive here about the church? If God’s holy temple today is made of living stones joined and “built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:21-22, 1Pet. 2:5), then isn’t there a warning from 2Chronicles of the dangers of neglecting the temple of God, the church? A cause-and-effect that says, when we place the things of the world above the house of God, then we risk, at the least, distancing ourselves from the presence and power of God. That, if we want revival, then maybe it starts with attending to the temple? When the people of God become again our priority, then the praise of God, the presence of God, and the power of God are going to be known by the grace of God. I’m thinkin’ . . .

But here’s the second thought that came to mind as I’m chewing on such revival. Because I’ve read ahead, I know that it’s gonna be short-lived. That in a sense, this is Judah’s last gasp at life before it chooses death and is dispersed. And it reminds me that while a man of influence, such as a king of Judah, can edict behavior that resembles revival, only the Man of Eternity, can change hearts so that the behavior is born out of new life and a response of kindled love. And, when that happens, then revival lasts.

It’s not just about going through the motions of doing church, of doing temple maintenance, it’s about the good news that old ways can be made new. The gospel reminding us that cleansing has already been accomplished on the cross. That the once for all sacrifice offered on our behalf has already been fully accepted as evidenced by the empty tomb. That the power to participate in the divine things of God has already been provided through the promised Spirit.

Only in that truth, and out of a grace-enabled response to that reality, can we tend to the temple. Can we turn our faces back to God by renewing our commitment to the house of God.

Though they aren’t a perfect lot, we again, by faith, seek to be with the people of God because we believe that’s where the praise, presence, and power of God can be known.

And when the burnt offering began, the song to the LORD began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished. When the offering was finished, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. . . . And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had prepared for the people, for the thing came about suddenly.

(2Chronicles 29:27b-29, 36 ESV)

I think revival may just be tied to the temple. And we are that temple.

By His grace. For His glory.

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The People We Ought to Be

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Pete

“How should we then live?” Francis Schaeffer asked the question back in the mid ’70s, the 1970’s. “What sort of people ought you to be?” Peter asked that similar question back in the late ’60s, the ’60s. I’m noodling on an answer Paul provides to the Thessalonians in the early ’20s, the 2020’s.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

(2Thessalonians 2:16-17 ESV)

What kind of people ought we to be? How should we then live? With encouraged hearts constant in every good work and word.

Paul’s been talking about the end times. He’s confronted the fiction and cemented the facts in order to comfort the hearts of brothers and sisters who were “shaken in mind” and “alarmed” by teaching that “the day of the Lord” had already come (2:2). And then, after his short primer on the end times (2:3-12), he encourages them to put aside the distractions caused by speculations of what they don’t know and lean into the dynamics of the salvation they do know (2:13-15). Engage in sanctification, by the Spirit and by the word, he says. Stand firm, hold to the traditions you’ve been taught, “so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ”, he says. With comforted heart, be grounded in the things of God, for the glory of God, in every good work and word.

So many voices in our media saturated world trying to tell us what is or what is to be. More than enough news, fake news, and “who knew” stuff to shake the mind, alarm the soul, and distract the believer from being about what they believe. At some point, we need to quiet the cacophony vying for our attention and focus on the salvation set before us. (Morning devotions are helpful for that.)

Our hearts are to be comforted. It’s the Greek word parakaleo, the same word Jesus uses to describe the Holy Spirit in John 14:26. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter. The Helper. The One called to one’s side in order to admonish, to exhort, to console, to encourage, and to strengthen. What kind of people ought we to be? People who know the divine dynamic of the Spirit of God engaging with their spirit. Aware that they’ve not been left to navigate this life alone. People whose hearts are grounded, and constantly re-grounded in the comfort of the Comforter.

Our hearts are to be established. Stable, firm, constant, and fixed. Fixed on the good works God has prepared in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10). Fixed on the good word God has given to guide us even as it reveals Him (Ps. 119:105). Amidst distraction, assaulted by the dissonance of this world with the world we were born again for, by God’s enabling we need to ground ourselves in what God wants us to know and what God wants us to do — whether that “to do” stuff is big stuff, or just the day-to-day stuff of seeking first the kingdom (Matt. 6:33) and living for the glory of God (1Cor. 10:31).

Not complicated. Also, not easy. But it’s at least part of how we should then live. It’s at the core of the sort of people we ought to be.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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In Every Hour

Posted on July 20, 2022 by Pete

His disciples must have been picking up that following Jesus wasn’t a matter of if things were going to get rough, but when. To follow Jesus would end up being out of sync with the world — and in their case, not only the secular world but the religious world as well.

I’m hovering over the first twelve verses of Luke 12 this morning and two “do not” commands catch my eye. One in particular has me thinking.

“I tell you, My friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear Him who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him! . . . And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” ~ Jesus

(Luke 12:4-5, 11-12 ESV)

Do not fear. Do not be anxious.

To stand for Jesus would eventually mean standing before those who rejected Jesus. To be true to the living Word would, at some point, demand a spoken word before hostile authorities. To remain faithful to the Prince of Life might require the price of their own lives. “Do not fear,” says Jesus, “Do not be anxious.”

One is about not fearing the possibility of martyrdom. The other is about not fretting about what to do in the moment. It’s the second scenario I find myself chewing on.

Worrying about what to do when you’re on the hot seat. Getting tied up in knots about what you might say when those without ears to hear demand an answer. Don’t be anxious.

How come?

. . . for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.

In that very hour–in real time, just when you need it, in the thick of it all–the One who is in you will teach you. The Spirit of truth will give you the truth to speak. The Spirit of revelation will take over and help you reveal the hope you have in Christ. He’s not going to hand you a manuscripted defense in advance, but in that very hour He will teach you what you ought to say. So, don’t be anxious.

Can we apply this outside of persecution? Is it too much to think, to expect, that the Spirit who has been promised to teach us in that very hour will actually engage with us in every hour where we’re not sure how we’re going to step up to whatever we’re being asked to step up to for Christ? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Isn’t it true, like really true, that whatever the situation or scenario we find ourselves in we truly are never alone? That, because we have been crucified with Christ, that it really is no longer we who live, but the Second Person of the Godhead, the Son of God, who lives in us (Gal. 2:20) — and that, through the Third Person of the Godhead, the Spirit of God?

So, says Jesus, do not be anxious. Because in that very hour, in every hour, you’ll know what to say for the One who lives in you and through you will know what to say. You’ll know what to do, because He knows what to do.

I believe that Lord. Help my unbelief.

By Your grace. For Your glory.

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A “Both/And” Thing

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Pete

Ours is a pick and choose culture. Show us the menu and we’ll tell you what we want. Put before us our options and we’ll select those that best suit us. Give us an app and we’ll put in our order. But something I read in Luke this morning reminds me that’s not how the kingdom operates. While we might be naturally oriented to an “either/or” approach to life, Jesus reminded the religious of His day that the way of the kingdom of heaven is a “both/and” thing.

“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” ~ Jesus

(Luke 11:42 ESV)

The scribes and Pharisees can be a measuring stick against which we can feel good about ourselves, or they can be a mirror into which we look to be on guard against ourselves. These were the church-goers of the day. The faithful. The people who knew the book. The respected leaders in the religious community. In many ways they were us. So what happened?

Well, like I said, they were like us. People born with a sin nature which, apart from a supernatural transformation, have a propensity to walk in a way that seems right to a man (Prov 14:12) — even if that man is a religious man. And while we may have known such supernatural transformation through faith in Christ and the cross, we’re reminded again and again in the Scriptures that the old man is still around. That while we are born of the Spirit we are still in a battle against the flesh (Gal. 5:16-17). And the way of the flesh is pretty comfortable with a pick and choose culture. The old man will gravitate towards the “either/or” thing.

So, while the wealthy Pharisees of the day were meticulous in giving a tenth of all they reaped, even to most insignificant of things like their garden herbs, they were pretty lax when it came to giving attention to “the weightier matters of the law” (Matt. 23:23) like justice and the love of God. For them, it seems, it was an “either/or” thing. We do this part of following God really well, so we’ll be less concerned about that part.

But Jesus says, do both. In effect, the kingdom is a “both/and” way of living. We do what’s easy for us, we do what’s not so easy. We excel in our comfort zone, we seek to be faithful outside of it. We’ll attend to lesser matters while not neglecting the weightier matters.

Jesus says, live in the ways of the kingdom — in all the ways of the kingdom. Remain faithful in the small stuff, but don’t lose sight of the big stuff. Be people who consistently practice the faith, but don’t neglect justice. Be people who give to God cheerfully, but don’t be lax about interacting with a lost world lovingly. ‘Cause it’s a “both/and” thing.

But it’s not an “in our own power” thing. It’s not a “by my might” thing. It’s a Spirit thing. A Jesus living in me thing. A supernatural transformation thing.

A grace thing. A for God’s glory thing.

Amen?

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A Heart That is Whole Toward Him

Posted on July 15, 2022 by Pete

Wholly true but not wholly blameless. That’s what I’m picking up from what’s being laid down through King Asa’s story (2 Chronicles 14-16).

Faithful at first, foolish at the finish. Adoring God in the early years, angry with God in the latter. Started well, finished not so well. That’s kind of Asa’s legacy.

At the beginning of his reign, Asa is seeking the LORD, relying on the LORD, and cleaning house of detestable idols for the LORD. Three-and-a-half decades later, he doesn’t need the LORD, refuses to listen to LORD, won’t even turn to the LORD when it comes to fighting a life-threatening disease.

What happened? I don’t know for sure. It seems that perhaps the prosperity and peace that came from a heart that was “wholly true all his days” (2Ch. 15:7) lulled his heart into becoming a heart that eventually wholly depended on himself. While he was diligent in eliminating idol worship in Judah, he was less aware of the self-worship that was forming within his heart.

But as I chew on Asa’s story this morning, I’m not so sure that figuring out the “why it happened” is as important as knowing that it can happen. That starting well isn’t a guarantee of finishing well. That dealing with one type of sin isn’t necessarily protection against another type of sin. That confronting idolatry is different than combating self-sufficiency. That, in a sense, it’s not enough to have a heart which is “wholly true” but one that is wholly His.

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is [whole] toward Him.”

(2Chronicles 16:9a ESV)

Although the main text of the ESV says God’s looking for a “blameless heart”, I’m going with the rendering in the margin on this one. That God’s looking for a whole heart. Or, as the CSB puts it, hearts which “are completely His.”

Asa got a lot of stuff right during his life because he took a fierce stance against idolatry. But at the end of his reign, when he had enough resources to pay his way out of trouble rather than pray his way out of trouble (2Ch. 16:1-7), he refused the word of the LORD, got angry with God’s prophet, and “inflicted cruelties” on some of God’s people (2Ch. 16:10). While he had given God all of part of his heart in the beginning, at the end he wasn’t as committed to giving God all of his whole heart. But the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth looking for those whose heart is whole toward Him.

Scripture would indicate that the old man is always vying for control of the heart. I’m thinking the enemy knows that and will concede 9/10th’s to the Spirit if he can exploit the 1/10th retained by the flesh.

But thank God for the cross and the finished work of Christ. Sufficient enough to atone for our failures when our heart is less than whole toward Him. Able enough to release the grip of the flesh on every area of the heart. Powerful enough to bring redemption’s work to completion, so that what began well will finish well.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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Father

Posted on July 14, 2022 by Pete

This morning was one of those mornings when two of my four readings connected. Not an obvious connection, but a little bit of chewing on the songwriter’s plea illuminated something of what the good doctor penned.

Psalm 142 is a cave psalm. David’s at the end of the road, literally, with no place else to go. He’s at the end of his rope with no one else to turn to. So he cries out to Jehovah. He pleads for mercy. He pours out his complaint. He informs the omniscient God of all his trouble.

He is overwhelmed with a sense of being absolutely alone: “There is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul” (v.4).

So where do you go when there’s nowhere else to go? Who do you turn to when there’s no one to take notice? Where do you look for a balm for the soul when there’s no one to care for your soul? Cue Sunday School 101’s most common answer to any question: God!

I cry to you, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

(Psalm 142:5 ESV)

No one to listen? The God of creation hears. No place to go? He who is omnipresent is there to provide refuge. Nothing able to feed the soul in the crisis? He can be your portion.

And so, the one who sits in a cave on earth prays to Him who is sits on a throne in heaven and simply articulates what he believes to be true. And then, after remembering who God is, He speaks what He wants God to do, making his petition crystal clear, “Attend to my cry . . . Deliver me from my persecutors . . . Bring me out of prison” (v.6-7a).

And as I hover over Psalm 142 (the last of four readings this morning), as I chew on verse five in particular, what I’ve just read in another reading (the second of four) comes to mind.

Luke’s record of the Lord’s prayer replays in my mind. And the question that pops into my head is, “How does David’s cry in verse five connect with the Lord’s model for prayer in Luke 11? Where is this statement of fact found in the framework Jesus gave His disciples?”

After pondering the riddle for a bit, after reading again Luke 11:9-13, the connection pops from the page. It’s found in one word. One profound word. One jaw-dropping, smile-evoking, soul-blessing word. It’s found in “Father.” As Matthew records it, “Our Father in heaven.”

Jesus told His disciples to start prayer, even prayers of desperation, with a statement about the Sovereign before rushing into petitions of panic. Remind yourself that the God of creation you address is your Father. That He is has united Himself to you with a bond of love and intimacy. So loving you that He has already given His one and only Son to meet your greatest need and, if He “did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32). So desiring connection with you that He has also sealed you with His Spirit, the Spirit of adoption “by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!'” (Rom. 8:15).

So when David cries out, “You are my refuge . . . You are my portion” isn’t he in essence saying, “You are my Father”? I’m thinkin’ . . .

One word, four if you use the Matthew model, that I so often rush over in order to get to my ask. But one word, maybe four, which when I whisper it I should pause at and savor. A reminder that He is my refuge. That He is my portion. Because He is my Father.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Making God Known by Who We Are

Posted on July 13, 2022 by Pete

She was impressed by his wealth. But she was blown away by his wisdom. And it would seem, at least to some measure, it showed her the Way.

This morning, I’m hovering over the meeting of two heads of states as recorded in 2 Chronicles 9 — the queen of Sheba and Solomon, the king of Israel.

Along with an impressive caravan, the queen has arrived in Israel on a fact finding mission. She had heard of Solomon’s fame and came to see for herself. Perhaps a little more accurately, she came to hear for herself. She wanted to know if the stories she had heard about Solomon’s words and wisdom were true. So, “she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions.” She told him all that was on her mind and peppered him with questions. And Solomon aced the test, “Solomon answered all her questions” (9:1-2).

Her assessment?

And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report that I heard.”

(2Chronicles 9:5-6 ESV)

But it’s what she goes on to say that has me thinking.

Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on His throne as king for the LORD your God! Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, He has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.”

(2Chronicles 9:8 ESV)

She looks past the wealth because she’s interested in the wisdom. But then her encounter with wisdom brings into clearer view the Source of wisdom. Solomon’s wondrous works and Solomon’s cognitive capacity serve to reveal something of Solomon’s great God.

Isn’t that how it should work even for us non-Solomon types? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Whatever material goods we possess, whatever mental proficiency we might demonstrate, at some point it should direct others to the King we represent. Those who encounter us in our world should be able to look over our shoulder, past our accomplishments and abilities, and see something of our Savior.

The mission of God’s people has always been to make God known by who we are.

That goes for all His people. True of ancient Israel, delivered from Egyptian slavery, true of His present people, the church, who have been delivered from sin’s bondage. True of the wealthy, true of the not so wealthy. True of brainiacs recognized for accomplishing great things, true of every day Joes (and Josephines) who, without a lot of attention, get ‘er done every day to earn a living and care for their families.

Regardless of earthly status, regardless of material wealth, regardless of how wise we are in the world’s eyes, would we desire that it be said by those who encounter us, “Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you.”

Only by His grace. Only for His glory.

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More and More

Posted on July 12, 2022 by Pete

Was Paul never satisfied? Give him an inch and did he want a mile? Hadn’t they done enough already? Apparently not.

Reading the first section of 1 Thessalonians 4 this morning and a twice repeated phrase catches my attention. Chewing on more and more.

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, . . .

(1Thessalonians 4:1, 9-10 ESV) ESV)

Having received only three weeks of formal instruction before Paul was run out of town (Acts 17:1-10), the converts at Thessalonica had been quick studies. And obedient ones. The testimony of Paul and others was that they were walking as they “ought to walk.” They had become imitators of Paul and of the Lord Jesus (1:6). In fact, they had become examples of how to do it right “to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia” (1:7).

That they had turned to God from idols (1:9) wasn’t just a slogan on a t-shirt, it was evident by how they went about living their lives and loving one another. The word they heard from Paul they had internalized as a word from God, and it was that word which was “at work in you believers” (2:13). Paul thanked God for their “work of faith”, their “labor of love”, and their “steadfastness of hope” (1:2). They were living for God. They were loving for God. They were longing for God. Yes! Sounding a lot like a 4.0 GPA (God Pursuing Average) to me.

Yet Paul twice exhorts them, “Do so more and more.”

Come on! Really?!?

But isn’t that the nature of sanctification? Shouldn’t it be the nature of sanctification? If being sanctified is being brought in line practically with who we are positionally in Christ — being holy as Christ is holy for God is holy — then shouldn’t there always be more and more? I’m thinkin’ . . .

If God predestined us to be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29), then until we fully bear the likeness of His Son, shouldn’t we see ourselves increasingly transformed into the likeness of His Son? If God said the work He begun in us won’t be completed until “the day of Jesus” (Php. 1:6), then I’m thinking that if there isn’t more and more to always be leaning into, then we’re tapping out too early. Or we’re stalling out too quickly. Or we’re patting ourselves on the back and giving ourselves a shout out too arrogantly.

Isn’t it our experience that the more we grow in the likeness of Christ the more aware we are of how far we really are from being like Christ? That the more we grow in holiness the more we know we need to do so more and more?

And who is sufficient for such things? We are. In Christ. Through the indwelling power of the Spirit. By the will of God.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification . . .

(1Thessalonians 4:3a ESV)

His abounding and over-flowing grace sufficient for the more and more.

So that He alone might receive all the glory, more and more.

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