Prearranged Seating

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Pete

Hovering over something Jesus told His disciples in Mark 10. And it has me wondering what all lies before us when we see Jesus’ glory given that we know there’ll be prearranged seating.

And [Jesus] said to [James and John], “What do you want Me to do for you?” And they said to Him, “Grant us to sit, one at Your right hand and one at Your left, in Your glory.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. . . . but to sit at My right hand or at My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

(Mark 10:36-37, 38a, 40 ESV)

The main point of the passage in front of me isn’t about heavenly preparation, it’s about the upside down-ness of heavenly exaltation — “whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (10:43). But I’m in awe this morning that whoever sits at Jesus’ right or left hand in the kingdom isn’t something still to be figured out but that it is for whom it has been prepared.

Seating at the head table, as it were, has already been determined. Name plates (if we’ll need such things) already set out for the marriage supper of the Lamb. Individual robes of righteousness and garments of praise already cloaking the backs of chairs waiting for their specific recipients to take their seats for the wedding celebrations.

So, if the seating has already been prearranged, what else is being prepared?

I know there’s a city prepared (Heb. 11:16). I know there’s a house with many rooms being prepared (Jn. 14:2). But if details such as seating are already determined, what else has been planned for us? I can only imagine! Or, maybe I can’t.

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”.

(1Corinthians 2:9 NKJV)

Hmm, prearranged seating . . .

Prepared according to God’s grace. To be occupied one day soon for God’s glory.

Kind of awe invoking!

Amen?

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Now in This Time, and in the Age to Come

Posted on April 26, 2022 by Pete

I love Peter. Not because he’s so perfect, but because he’s so real. And, because his realness showcases Christ’s patience with those less-than-perfect people He calls to represent Him.

Reading in Mark 10 this morning. Jesus encounters a young man who wants to know what he must do “to inherit eternal life” (Mk. 10:17). Obey the commandments of Moses, says Jesus. “Check,” replies the young man, been there doing that. Then, says Jesus, sell all that you have — exchange it for treasure in heaven — and come follow Me. To which the young man then replies, “Checking out!” And the young man walks away sorrowful, “for he had great possessions” (10:22). It was too great a price to pay for eternal life (that’s a whole other point to ponder).

Okay, this is where Peter comes in. (Did I mention I love that guy?) He’s been listening in. He hears the whole conversation. He processes what Jesus told the young man and starts doing the math in his head. I’ve walked away from my source of income to follow Jesus. I’ve said goodbye to my wife, my kids, my home for extended periods of time as a I’ve followed Jesus on His itinerant ministry. I’ve taken a hit from friends and family who are suspect of my Teacher’s radical ways. So, is it the same deal for me?

Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left everything and followed You.”

(Mark 10:28 ESV)

Jesus, what you told that young dude to do, we have done. “What then will we have?” (Matt. 19:27).

And I think Jesus thought it was a fair question, because Jesus answers Peter without rebuke.

Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for My sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”

(Mark 10:29-30 ESV)

And I read that, and I think to myself, “Self, that looks like a promise to claim. Pull out the orange-colored pencil and shade it.” But then I think, is it really real? Does it reflect the reality for those who for centuries have left behind “everything” to follow Jesus? Does it reflect my reality?

Not that I’ve left “everything”, but for me to declare Christ as my Savior at the age of 19 cost me something with family and friends. No longer tracking on the same path, or thinking the same way, or valuing the same stuff. Referred to by some as a “bible-thumper”, assessed by others as someone who “grew up so smart and ended up so dumb.” A very real sense that, though I had already moved out of the house, I had now left home and family. Maybe I too could have asked, “What then will I have?”

So, does Jesus’ response ring true? As I noodle on it, “Yes and Amen!”

Having been disconnected somewhat from family, I found myself among this new family, the family of God. Brothers and sisters, and moms and dads, welcoming me, teaching me, encouraging me, befriending me — and to say that it was “a hundredfold” isn’t exaggerating. Houses too. I can’t recall the number of houses I was invited into for meals, for games, for fellowship. The home I left replaced by home after home. All part of the reward, “now in this time”, of owning Jesus as Savior. All with the ever-increasing, ever sure hope of eternal life “in the age to come.”

Yet the promised “return on investment” hasn’t just been sunshine and roses. But Jesus covers that too. He said that part of the “reward” would be “persecutions” as well. Yup, known some persecution in my day — not to the extent others have, for sure, but more than if I’d never tried to live for Jesus as Lord of my life. Have known some hardship, too. But through it all, I’ve known also the abiding presence of a faithful God, the ever-present power of His indwelling Spirit, and the unfailing love of His Son who gave Himself for me.

So yeah, I think there’s a promise to claim and a reality to recognize here.

Now in this time, and in the age to come.

By His grace. For His glory.

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God Knows

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Pete

There’s a lot of stuff going on in the first couple of chapters of 1 Samuel. And it’s all happening at Shiloh, the “place of rest.” Only, there’s not a lot of rest going on.

There, though a family comes to worship, marital discord weighs heavy (the risk you take, I suppose, when you have two wives). They’ve come to offer their firstfruits yet one of the wives is barren and the other is berating. The barren wife is compelled to desperately pour out her soul for a son,yet is misunderstood for being completely drunk.

There’s a bloated high priest who honors his sons more than His Sovereign — sons who were simply bad priests. Bad not as in, not good at their job, but bad as in wicked. Bad as in, though they ostensibly served the LORD, “they did not know the LORD” and had no regard for the LORD. As in, they took what was offered to Jehovah and kept it for themselves. As in, they lay with women who were serving in the LORD’s holy place on the doorstep to the LORD’s holy place. As in, they wouldn’t listen to the voice of their father when he sought to warn them and correct them.

And yet, juxtaposed against all these happenings, is another happening. A prayer answered and a baby born. A vow honored and a young child given to God’s service. A boy who grows in the presence of the LORD, both in stature and in favor.

And as I hover over this out of control dynamic at Shiloh, as I wonder how a kid could flourish amidst such chaos, this is what pops from the page.

And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.

There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides You; there is no rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed.”

(1Samuel 2:1-3 ESV)

God knows. God weighs. God makes right.

There is none like our God. None holy like Him. None solid like Him. None who is able to act as He can act. Because the LORD is a God of knowledge.

If you’re Eli’s sinning sons, that’s a terrifying revelation. If you’re Samuel faithfully serving amidst their sacrilege, it’s a great comfort and source of confidence.

God knows. God weighs. God acts — according to His purposes, all in His timing.

And that’s Shiloh, a place of rest.

Because of His unfailing grace. All for His unfathomable glory.

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A Prayer for an Addiction

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Pete

They didn’t apply for a role. They weren’t ordained for a task. No title. No job description. No standing, really. And yet, Paul says, “be subject to such as these.”

Now I urge you, brothers — you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints — be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer.

(1Corinthians 16:15-16 ESV)

Devoted themselves to the service of the saints. That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

Not asked. Not recruited. No arm twisting, no pressure. They devoted themselves. Literally, they ordered themselves. They appointed themselves. They assigned their own responsibility and authority. As fellow recipients of grace, as the firstfruits of Achaia, they saw an opportunity among the body of believers, and they serviced them. They ministered to them. Though they held no office in the church, had no formal standing in the church, received no remuneration from the church, yet they served the church.

And Paul says, “Be subject to such as these” and to all who are like them.

Submit to those with no rank, arrange yourself under those of no position. Do so simply because they serve the saints.

Support them. Encourage them. Assist them, as you’re able. Not because of their title, but because of their task. They are but your “run-of-the-mill” people of God who are ministering to God’s people. Put yourself under their leadership.

Reminded this morning that the church wasn’t designed to be an “institution” but was wired to function as a family. Not to model itself after a business but to reflect the realities of a body. Its structure less determined by organization charts and more reflective of a fluid dynamic of each one arranging themselves under other ones for the good of everyone. Not just a place to attend, but a living, supernatural community to engage with and invest in.

Though it had a different connotation back in the 1600’s I’m sure, I am intrigued by the old King James translation of the original word used to describe Stephanas & Co.’s dedication to serving the saints.

. . . they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints . . .

In an age where we’re more likely to try figure out how we can fit the church into our busy calendars and fulfill our sense of obligation to it, how refreshing is the idea that some — not just the some who are paid — might be addicted to attending to the needs of others. Sinners saved by grace, so moved by grace that they devote themselves to gracing others for God’s glory.

Idealistic? Perhaps. Unrealistic? Don’t think so. I see it happening. Oh, that it would happen more.

That God would work a revival among the saints such that, as but simple saints with no particular standing among the saints, serving the saints might become an addiction valued and honored by all the saints.

That God’s people would be blessed. And that God’s grace would abound. So that God’s glory would be known.

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Under His Wings

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Pete

Reading Ruth is kind of like engaging in a “Where’s Waldo” book. No, I’m not on the lookout for some skinny dude in a striped red shirt with a beanie on. Instead, I’m actively trying to spot Jesus. In particular, I’m looking for Jesus in the character of Boaz, Ruth’s kinsmen-redeemer. It’s a great way to engage the brain in a story that is so familiar. It’s a also a great way to prime the pump of wonder and worship. This morning I’m captured by what could be seen as a Triune connection, as I’m reminded afresh that I am under His wings.

As I’m reading, I’m first noticing the familiar connections. Boaz is a “worthy man” (2:1), a man of impeachable character. Jesus too. Boaz is a wealthy man, he owns the field (2:3). So too, my Savior owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Boaz came from Bethlehem (2:4). Yup, so did Jesus. Boaz is a blessed man who takes notice of the least of these (2:19). Oh, that the Lord of heaven would take note of specks of creation is wonder for wonder. You get the idea.

But that Boaz is intricately linked as Jehovah’s active agent on earth? That’s something I’m not sure I’ve ever hovered over before.

“The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” ~ Boaz to Ruth

(Ruth 2:12 ESV)

He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” ~ Ruth to Boaz

(Ruth 3:9 ESV)

Boaz commended Ruth for her faithfulness to Naomi and for her faith in the God of Israel. She had followed her mother-in-law but she believed she could find refuge in a heavenly Father. Under His wings she had come to take refuge.

Then Ruth says to Boaz, in effect, you be God with skin on. Would you spread your wings over me? I trust in you as a redeemer.

Okay, is Jesus not there, too? Isn’t that what He did? God in flesh come to redeem and cover us with His blood, and spread over us a garment of righteousness?

Some translations say, “Spread your cloak over me.” Accurate translation. But what it fails to highlight is that “cloak” is the exact same word as “wings”. The wings of the Almighty are the corner of the garment of the Redeemer. To be at the Redeemers feet, covered by His skirt, is to rest in the secure refuge of the God Who Is.

Drop you jaw! Bow your knee. Close your eyes. And put your face to the floor!

Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” ~ Ruth to Boaz

(Ruth 2:10 ESV)

How prophetic was Ruth in chapter 2? The favor she had recognized then was nothing compared to the favor she would know under her Redeemer’s wings in chapter 4. And the “why?” of favor would be her meditation and delight for as long as they both were together.

Us too. Under His wings! Such favor. Amazing grace! Why?

O’ what a Savior!

To Him be all glory!

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Those Who Belong to Christ

Posted on April 19, 2022 by Pete

I know it’s not supposed to be about me. But this morning it ends up being about me. Maybe that makes sense considering I’m reading about the gospel preached by Paul. The good news that:

. . .Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures . . .

(1Corinthians 15:3a-4 ESV)

I’m feasting on the resurrection chapter this morning. Kind of appropriate considering there’s still an afterglow from the celebration we had on Sunday. Yet, in a passage that is all about the “fact” (v. 20) that Jesus rose from the dead, I’m hovering over some words about me.

But in my defense, Paul is kind of making it about me. For if Christ has not been raised, he writes, then my faith is in vain (v.14). If Christ has not been raised from the dead, I’m still in my sins, my hope is no real hope, and of all people I am “most to be pitied” (v.17-18).

Praise God for a risen Savior! My faith is neither in vain nor is it futile. My hope is a living hope. I am no longer “in my sins”, no longer defined by my sin.

But what particularly captures my attention this morning is what does define me.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a Man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ.

(1Corinthians 15:20-23 ESV)

Those who belong to Christ — that’s what popped from the page this morning. The implications of belonging to Christ — that’s what I’m chewing on.

In this context, that I belong to Christ is the assurance that what He has experienced in the flesh, resurrection, I will one day experience, as well.

Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?

(1Corinthians 15:54b-55 ESV)

And that where He is, heaven, I will be one day, also.

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.” ~ Jesus

(John 14:3 ESV)

But not only has He blazed the trail to a resurrected life in resplendent place, because I belong to Him He’s gonna make sure I get there.

“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day.” ~ Jesus

(John 6:39 ESV)

Not that I get to coast my way to heaven, but that I get to pursue it with confidence. Not that I make no effort, but that I work knowing the work is finished.

In fact, because I belong to Him, it reorients my entire internal GPS. Because I belong to Him, I belong to no one else. Not even me. Because I belong to Him, I live for no one else. Not even me. I am His exclusive property. I belong to Him, thus I am to live for Him.

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

(1Corinthians 6:19b-20 ESV)

I belong to Christ therefore I serve Christ. Worth it? Yeah! Did I mention the resurrection and heaven thing that’s awaiting me?

But the belonging isn’t just about where I’ll be someday and what I should be doing do in the meantime. It’s also about who belongs to me.

I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine.

(Song of Solomon 6:3 ESV)

He is the Vine, we are the branches. If I abide in Him, He abides in me (Jn. 15:5). Inseparable! Because I belong to Christ it’s no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal. 2:20). He claims me as His own, I claim Him as my own. Unreal!

This morning I’m savoring some of what it means to be His. The promises, the part I play, and the privilege of an abiding relationship with the risen Christ through His indwelling Spirit.

Those who belong to Christ. Yeah, it kinda is about me this morning.

But only by His grace. And only for His glory.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

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Love Never Fails

Posted on April 14, 2022 by Pete

I’d like to say that a lot has changed in the last two years. And it has. But if I’m honest, not as much as I’d like — at least when it comes to me.

After my readings this morning, I reread my post from two years ago, some thoughts about not being all that I should be yet being so thankful that Jesus is more than I could ever fully fathom. And I’m reminded that I was repenting of stuff two years ago that I find myself needing to repent of again two years later. And I think to myself, “Self, sanctification can be a slow and frustrating process.” At least for me, the flesh is a persistent and unrelenting combatant with the Spirit. Yet, I trust that Lord is doing His perfect work. ‘Cause love never ends. Or, as the NIV and NKJV puts it, love never fails.

Here are those musings from April 2020.

Honestly, when I open my bible in the morning, I’m counting on it being “living and active” (Heb. 4:12a). I’ve often said that reading our bibles is kind of a guaranteed encounter of the divine kind. The God-breathed Word illuminated by the God-sent Spirit continually pointing us to the God-man Jesus.

But equally honestly, not always prepared for, nor is it ever easy when I open my bible in the morning and it cuts deep like a “two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12b). While I look forward to the awe in the morning, sometimes I get surprised by the ouch! Such is the case this morning.

Honestly again . . . feeling kind of splayed and shredded. Wasn’t expecting it and certainly not from 1Corinthians 13. But yup, splayed and shredded.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

(1Corinthians 13:4-8a ESV)

I read that and the living and active, soul-piercing word cuts open up my heart and reveals, “Pete, this doesn’t completely describe you. Some of these attributes have been absent.” And then, as if piling on, what I just read comes flooding back:

. . . have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal . . . have not love, I am nothing . . . have not love, I gain nothing.

(1Corinthians 13:1-3 ESV)

I’ve been working hard over these past few weeks, and for the kingdom. And the thought of just being noise, of accomplishing nothing, of gaining nothing, because I haven’t perfectly operated in love . . . well, that’s shredding. And, I think I can say with integrity, it’s not that I want to be heard, or that I should accomplish anything for my glory, or gain anything for my own sake, but that I want my work to count for the sake of my Savior and for the profit of His people. And to think, just noise? Nothing? Zip, zilch, nada? Kind of shredding.

So, I hover over (or perhaps lie under) this two-edged sword as it does its work on me. And then I’m reminded of John Schoberg and that morning many, many years ago when, around the Lord’s table, he opened his bible to 1Corinthians 13 and for the first time I heard it read this way:

Jesus is patient and kind;
Jesus does not envy or boast;
He is not arrogant or rude.
He does not insist on His own way;
He is not irritable or resentful;
He does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Jesus bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Jesus never ends.

And the Spirit who shreds my soul reminds me that because Jesus is love, and perfectly love, He could die and pay the price for my failing to perfectly love. And so, with shredded heart, I confess my less than perfect love and know that He is faithful and just to forgive my less than perfect love.

And the Spirit who cuts me wide open also reminds me that because it’s true that Jesus lives, it’s also true that He lives in Me. And that while my love can be distorted by the flesh, His perfect love can work in me and through me by His Spirit. So my confession results in a hopeful repentance believing that in Him, through Him, and by Him a 180 is possible as His perfect love, by His abiding power, can become an increasing reality in this imperfect disciple.

So, because of the cross, peace with God edges out the panic at having failed God. And because of the empty tomb, my weak flesh continues to be redeemed by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.

And while I haven’t loved perfectly, I’m still perfectly loved.

The sword having done its work. The Savior more than ever worthy of worship.

Because of grace. For His glory.

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Individually Members

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Pete

“Expressive individualism.” It’s a term that’s been around for a few years, but one that’s been on my radar more recently. If I’m understanding it correctly, at its core is “You be you.” Be true to yourself. Be the authentic you. Community then being found with people like you whose highest calling is also being true to themselves. But what if “finding ourselves” really happens, as Jesus says, when we lose ourselves (Matt. 10:39)? What if we flourish as individuals when we are committed to a collective?

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body —  Jews or Greeks, slaves or free —  and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. . . . Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

(1Corinthians 12:12-14, 27 ESV)

Jew and Greek. Slave and free. Expressive individualism within these parameters doesn’t leave much room for coming together (see yesterday’s thoughts). In this context, me being me would be at odds with me caring for you, much less wanting to be with you.

But I’m reminded that my “personal” relationship with Jesus means I’ve been baptized into a body with others who have a “personal” relationship with Jesus. Many others. Really different types of others. Yet all brought together in one Spirit, to be one body in Christ, and individually members of it.

Individually members. Me being me but as part of being something else. My true self found in the context of many others. My uniqueness celebrated as I’m part of a greater whole.

I know that hasn’t been everyone’s experience within the body of Christ, but it should be.

Unfortunately, “work in progress” body parts are gonna result in a “work in progress” body. Not trying to ignore or minimize the hurt and harm done so often by the church to the church, but also not wanting to lose sight of the fact that we’ve been called to be the church.

Called by the Father. Baptized by the Spirit. Becoming one body in the Son. No one of us able to be the whole. Individually compromised if we stay as individuals. Yet flourishing as individuals if we, by faith, individually pursue being members of one another as the body of Christ.

Expressive individualism is by definition a divider of people. Our identity found in others only as long as others look and think just like we do. But when it comes to the people of God, there should be “no division in the body.” Instead, each part is doing its part as each part cares for one another (1Cor. 12:25).

Me being me even as I know I’m serving you. My authentic self realized as I become an imitator of Christ. Finding myself as I lose myself in the body of Christ.

This morning, I’m thankful that I’m me. An image bearer of God redeemed by the blood of Christ. An individual. Individually a member of the body of Christ.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Come Together

Posted on April 12, 2022 by Pete

I don’t think it’s “proof-texting.” You know, that practice where you find Scriptures that say what you want to say? But I do think it’s a text that gives further proof of what has been on my mind over recent months. The church is meant to come together.

This morning, my plan has me reading 1Corinthians 11. And it’s a thrice repeated phrase penned by Paul that grabs my attention.

But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.

(1Corinthians 11:17-20 ESV)

Paul addresses the problem of the gong show these Corinthians believers were making of the Lord’s supper. What had been instituted of the Lord to remember Him (11:23-25) had become about them. What had been intended to be a regular reminder of their unity as the body of Christ (11:29), had become a means to distinguish the haves from the have nots (11:21-22).

But what hits me this morning is that how they treated each other when they came together could only be a problem because they came together. That missing the mark of doing what the church should do was only possible because they were trying to do what the church ought to do when you come together.

I know I’ve been sensitized to making this observation because of the fact that as a church leadership we’ve been reading and discussing a book about the church. Rediscover Church, a book written for a church coming out of a pandemic, encourages us to be the church coming out of the pandemic. And at the core of being the church, is coming together.

“Sometimes people like to say that ‘a church is a people, not a place.’ It’s slightly more accurate to say that a church is a people assembled in a place. Regularly assembling or gathering makes a church a church. This doesn’t mean a church stops being a church when the people aren’t gathered, any more than a soccer ‘team’ stops being a team when the members are not playing. The point is, regularly gathering together is necessary for a church to be a church, just like a team has to gather to play in order to be a team.” (Rediscover Church, p. 48. Emphasis added)

When “shelter in place” hit two years ago, we encouraged our church family to remember that the church wasn’t a place, it wasn’t a program, it was a people. True enough. And we continued to behave like the church from our homes as we virtually tethered ourselves together each Sunday morning. And to be sure, the church is a people. But, when it can, it is meant to be people who come together.

When you come together, says Paul, not if you come together.

Sure, that’s when problems in the church can surface. That’s when friction can occur as a diverse group of sandpaper-y people rub shoulders with one another. But it’s also the place where those things can be addressed. Where rough edges can be smoothed out as the Spirit works in the body to work out its salvation as a body. It’s by coming together that those “sanctified in Christ Jesus” (1Cor. 1:2) can be sanctified in Christ. Where what we are positionally gets a chance to work itself out practically. Where a letter like Paul’s can be read because Paul knew that it could be read when you come together.

Don’t want to be proof-texting. But I do think this morning’s text is further “proof” that the church, the ekklesia — literally an assembly, allows God to do His best work in His people when His people gather regularly together in a place.

Come together.

By His grace. For His glory.

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An Ode to the Church

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Pete

It’s a fact thing based on a faith thing through an overflowing grace thing. That’s what I’m picking up this morning from what’s being laid down in Psalm 84.

It’s a psalm about the courts of the LORD. A hymn about His house. And the blessing that is owned by those who long to dwell there, “in whose heart are the highways to Zion.” For every hour spent on the holy hill provides strength for the inevitable hours of going through the valley of weeping (“Baca”). And beyond just surviving Baca, they flourish in Baca as the tears of Baca are used of their God to “make it a place of springs.”

For the songwriter, to be in the courts of the LORD for but a day “is better than a thousand elsewhere.” Give the seeker of God a choice between being a doorman in the house of God or the guest of honor in the opulent tents of the wicked, and they’re going to pick being a doorman every day, all day long. They want to be where the glory is. They want to ever “sing for joy to the living God.”

It’s a psalm about the courts of the LORD. About the temple in Zion.

So, isn’t Psalm 84 also an ode to the church? I’m thinkin’ . . .

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

(Ephesians 4:19-22 ESV)

A holy temple in the Lord. A dwelling pace for God by the Spirit. Welcome to the church! So why wouldn’t Psalm 84 be our psalm?

My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. . . . For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.

(Psalm 84:2, 10a ESV)

It’s a fact thing, the church is the dwelling place of God. We should long and yearn for every chance we get to be where she comes together and where God has promised to make Himself known in her midst. We should desire to serve in her courts. We should expect that spending time with her can be the mountain top experience that will sustain us in the valleys.

But it’s a reality that is founded on faith.

O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in You!

(Psalm 84:12 ESV)

We don’t always encounter the glory and so we need to believe the LORD of hosts when He says the glory’s there. We don’t always see the bride in her splendor, but we trust that the Bridegroom is actively engaged with her to present her “to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27).

And that also makes it a grace thing. His glory present amidst His less than perfect dwelling place even as He supernaturally interacts with her, sanctifying her and cleansing her by washing her with His word (Eph. 5:26). Having declared her holy, having purposed to be where two or three or gathered in His name, He makes her holy and let’s His presence be known.

An encounter of the divine kind. Every week, at a gathering near you. A fact thing. A faith thing. An abundance of grace thing. The thing I want to encounter and experience.

My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD . . .

By His grace. For His glory.

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