Drawing Near to What We Worship

Posted on January 27, 2022 by Pete

As I sometimes do, I did a search through my online journal to see what thoughts I was thinking in the past about a passage I read today. Hovering over Psalm 26 this morning, about walking in integrity particularly, but my soul was stirred a bit by a 2014 post on drawing near to what we worship.

At first the post grabbed me because of the “buddy” it brings to remembrance. A dear friend who’s about to move out of the area. One of those guys who, while we don’t connect on a frequent basis, we are just connected — kind of kindred spirits with a season of shared experience that’s created what feels like a bond for a lifetime.

But then the post strikes a chord about how we think about the “main event” on a Sunday by Sunday basis. Today, for too many I think, drawing near to the place where the glory dwells is equated with drawing near to a screen. That God’s house has become confused with our house. That we think the place where the glory dwells is where we dwell and not in the place where the body of Christ gathers (Eph. 2:21-22).

Don’t get me wrong, not saying there aren’t legitimate reasons to avoid crowds and take precautions. But for too many, I fear, it’s less about safety protocols and more about a risk / reward perception. Every time we leave the house to do anything in a public place we are making a risk / reward determination. So, when we decide to “gather virtually”, it’s a determination that the risk of gathering as the church is greater than the perceived reward of being the church. But if the gathering of the saints really is the place where the glory of God dwells, then what risk is worth such reward? Again, not wanting to judge anyone and their determination before God to meet with the people of God — but would be lying if I said I didn’t suspect some are being more motivated by convenience than caution.

Anyway, 8 years ago my thoughts were around how gathering for Sunday Meeting should stack up against gathering for Sunday’s Super Bowl. That we’ll want to draw near to what we worship. Think it’s as true today as it was then. And worth noodling on, I think.

By His grace. For His glory.

Here’s the 2014 post . . .

Had lunch with a buddy yesterday . . . he wore his Denver Broncos gear . . . punk! Talk about drawing some attention! A guy who was leaving the restaurant and opened the door for us, the one wearing a Seahawks jersey, spit out in disbelief, “Broncos!?!” . . . the girl who seated us, wearing her Seahawks t-shirt, did a double take when she saw my buddy’s jacket. And then, I thought our waiter was ready to pay for our food himself as he went on about how he’s been a die-hard Raiders fan his whole life and thinks that Seahawks fans are fair weather fans . . .so go Broncos! Brother!

That sparked a conversation between my buddy and I as we waited for our lunch. Something like . . . how, for many people, the game has given way to becoming a god. The players are revered . . . the 12th man flag has become a banner under which people find their identify . . . the logo has become a coat of arms to which men and women pledge allegiance. And the stadiums . . . well they are the temples. My buddy mentioned the lengths to which some will go, and the price they will pay, in order to travel across the country to be there this weekend, because “I need to be with my team.” Brother, again!

Don’t get me wrong. I am more than intrigued by the big game this weekend. There will be a gathering at our home Sunday afternoon to enter into the madness a bit. I think it would be great if the home town team should win the game. But, it is just a game.

So, why am I going on about this? Reading in the Psalms this morning, I reminded that I shouldn’t be surprised by some of the over-the-top behaviors of some fans because what we worship we draw near to.

O LORD, I love the habitation of Your house
and the place where Your glory dwells.

(Psalm 26:8 ESV)

David loved going to the temple. The place where the LORD’s glory dwelt was the place He wanted to draw near to. God’s presence should draw God’s people. Where He is found in the midst, is where we should want to be found as part of the gathering. We draw near to that which we worship. The “main event” on Sunday isn’t the “big game.”

There’s a much bigger deal happening this Sunday than the Super Bowl. Should the Lord not come before then, the people of God will be assembling under the banner of God, to know the presence of God, through their worship of God. The holy temple formed by living stones “being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22) will come together . . . and the sacrifice of the fruit of our lips, praise, will ascend as a sweet smelling aroma to heaven’s throne room . . . the word of God will be proclaimed and the Spirit of God will lead us into truth . . . and the glory of God will descend. No price of admission to be paid . . . our entrance secured through the blood of the Lamb. Ours is but to come . . . ours is to draw near. O’ how I love the habitation of Your house, Your living house, the place where Your glory dwells, O’ Lord.

I’m all for watching the game . . . but it’s just a game . . . and its gods are no gods.

So pumped by the anticipation of drawing near again to the glory . . . of gathering with the redeemed . . . for our God is God alone.

Doesn’t really matter what logo we bear on our clothes . . . but that the people of God would bear the stamp of His kingdom on our lives . . . and that we would love the habitation of His house . . . and pursue the place . . . no, that we would pursue the people where His glory dwells. That what we worship would be known by what we draw near to.

Amen?

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The Battle of the I Am’s

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Pete

Moses’ first deliverance excursion didn’t go particularly well. He and Aaron have gone to Pharaoh as the LORD had commanded them to go. They have asked of Pharaoh what the LORD commanded them to ask. If ever there was a duo in the will of God, it’s these guys. And yet, disaster. Not only does Pharaoh refuse them but he retaliates against their people. Not only does he not release the Israelites from forced labor, he makes the labor harder. By any scorecard, this first attempt at freeing his people was a failure. No wonder Moses turns to the LORD shaking his head and asks, “Why did You ever send me?” (Ex. 5:22).

It sets up an interesting conversation in Exodus 6. An instructive conversation, I think. A conversation about who’s the deliverer and who’s the vessel of deliverance. About who’s the rescuer and who’s the messenger. It strikes me this morning as a battle of the I am’s.

Repeatedly in this chapter, the God who has enlisted Moses reminds Moses, “I am the LORD.” Five times He identifies Himself as Jehovah, the existing One. The one true God. The One without beginning or end. The Creator. The Sovereign.

I am the LORD who appeared to Abraham and gave him a promise (6:2-3). I am the LORD who has purposed to redeem Israel “with an outstretched arm” (6:6). I am the LORD who has determined to take Israel as My people, and I will be their God (6:7). I am the LORD who will bring you into the land of promise (6:8).

Moses’ counter?

On the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, the LORD said to Moses, “I am the LORD; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” But Moses said to the LORD, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?”

(Exodus 6:28-30 ESV)

Jehovah’s promise. Jehovah’s plan. Jehovah’s power. And Moses responds with a “but.” Hey all-knowing God, there’s something You may have overlooked to factor into Operation Exodus. It all sounds like a good plan on paper, but did You know?

In case as Creator You didn’t notice, I was created with a speech impediment. Though You are the Word, I have a problem with words. I am not eloquent, never have been. In fact, don’t You remember that I’ve already let You know that “I am slow of speech and of tongue” (Ex. 4:10)? I don’t talk so good. Sure, I believe You are the LORD, BUT I also know that I am of uncircumcised lips.

Uncircumcised lips. Less than perfect speech. Far from free-flowing rhetoric. A stammer perhaps. A stutter that compromised the weightiness of the request. A pretty minor tweak of the tongue was all that was needed — a simple task for the One who had fearfully and wonderfully made Moses. And yet, God sends Moses to Pharaoh uncircumcised lips and all. As if to say, Yes Moses, you are of uncircumcised lips, BUT I am the LORD.

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for Me?”

(Jeremiah 32:27 ESV)

Nope! In a battle of the I ams, Jehovah wins. Every time. Hands down.

Whatever our “I am” might be, it pales in comparison to His unchanging I AM. In fact, He delights in His I AM trumping ours. His power manifest through our weakness. His sufficiency more than sufficient regardless of whatever thorn in the flesh we think might define us.

In a battle of the I am’s, the I AM always wins. And I am so glad He does.

Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

(2Corinthians 12:9 ESV)

In His grace. For His glory.

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How to Be Barefoot Before God

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Pete

The what, I think, is intuitive. It’s the how that trips people up.

Believer of not, if you are willing to entertain the idea of there being a God, I’m guessing you’re willing to concede He is not approached like your run of the mill mere mortal would be. If creation is enough to convince you there’s a Creator, and you’re willing to entertain the idea that this Creator wants to interact with His creation, then asking yourself what’s required to know a God in your midst is probably a good question to ask. That’s kind of where the songwriter lands this morning.

The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in His holy place?

(Psalm 24:1-3 ESV)

Who’s going to stand before God? For a God who is truly God must be holy. He must have a “set-apartness” from His creation. Intuitively, it’s what defines something, or Someone, as sacred. So, asks the psalmist, who can draw near to divine apartness? What’s required to stand in His holy place?

I also read in Exodus this morning. There Moses was told what to do to stand in the presence of God.

When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

(Exodus 3:4-5 ESV)

So, if I connect Moses’ shoe-lessness with the songwriter’s song, I’m thinking that barefoot before God is a picture of impeccability, purity, fidelity, and integrity.

Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.

(Psalm 24:3-4 ESV)

There it is. That’s the what. Clean hands. Pure heart. No idol worship. No treachery in what is promised.

Impeccable before God, without stain, cleansed of defilement. Pure before God, sincere in spirit, clear of contaminants.

Faithful to God. A one-God man, a one-God woman. Exalting none other than the Exalted One. Serving none other than the LORD of all. Transparent before God. Their “yes” being “yes”, their “no” being “no.” What you see, what you hear, is what they are.

Impeccability. Purity. Fidelity. Integrity. That’s the what, the bare feet of someone who is able to stand before a holy God on holy ground.

The question left then is how do you get there? Because, if we’re honest with ourselves, we don’t have in ourselves what it takes to be barefoot before God.

He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

(Psalm 24:5-6 ESV)

Righteousness is received from the God of salvation by those who seek the God of salvation. Seek His face, and He looks after your feet.

He makes hands clean and hearts pure. He so enraptures the soul that it finds no interest in what is false. He makes known the way of truth and light so that it dispels the darkness of deceit. He gifts righteousness and then transforms people into the righteousness they’ve been gifted. And all this through the person of His beloved Son and the finished work of Calvary’s cruel cross.

His blood cleanses us from all sin. His redeeming power has given us new hearts. His grace captures our soul. His truth becomes the light of those once blinded by sin.

Being barefoot before God is standing in the perfection of Another, Jesus the Son of God. His impeccability and His purity. His fidelity and integrity.

Such is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

What wondrous grace. To God be the glory.

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Give and Take

Posted on January 24, 2022 by Pete

Salvation is a gift. Yessir! Absolutely. We are saved through faith, not of our own doing, it is the gift of God. Not a result of works, so that no one can boast. Drop the mic.

But this morning, as I read in Acts 15, I’m reminded that in the giving of this gift there is also a taking.

Context: a dispute within an increasingly diverse church about the need for saved Gentiles to be circumcised in order to be “fully saved.” And so, Paul and Barnabas, along with a few others, head to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles and the elders of the church there to resolve the matter.

At the meeting, Peter speaks against circumcision as “putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear” (15:10). Paul and Barnabas then speak, testifying again as to the reality of the conversion experience of the Gentiles as evidenced by “signs and wonders” (15:12). And then James speaks — an old testament, by the book sort of guy, if ever there was one, with a reputation for “show me your faith by your works.”

After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for His name. And with this the words of the prophets agree . . .”

(Acts 15:13-15 ESV)

To take. That’s what popped from the page of Holy Scripture this morning. While we so often think of salvation as being a one-sided transaction of giving eternal life, I’m reminded that the other side of the transaction is the taking of a people for His name. Salvation is a give and take thing.

While it’s true that we have been given the Holy Spirit who is “is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1;14), it’s equally true that we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession” (1Pet. 2:9). We will possess eternal riches as the gift of salvation, but He possesses us, a special people as the take of salvation.

We know that. It’s embedded, I dare to say, in almost every metaphor for the church. His body. His flock. His bride. His family. His own possession. But do we always remember that?

We are so wired to be individuals — wired by a fleshly nature, enforced by a fallen culture — that we can so easily forget that it is not about us. That even the gift we’ve been given is not about us. In fact, what can so be awe-evoking about what we’ve been given lies in the fact that He, in His grace and mercy, has taken us as a people for His name. Not that God gets the privilege of being our God, but that we are blessed beyond blessing to be His people.

Yeah, salvation is for sure a great give. But isn’t it even a greater take? I’m thinkin’ . . .

I have been taken. I am not my own. I was bought with a price. Redeemed from the bondage of sin, yet redeemed for a life of service to the Redeemer.

It’s a give and take.

Taken by grace. Taken for His glory.

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Who Came Up with that Plan?

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Pete

There’s no way Abraham could have predicted the path when he received the promise. No way he could have imagined how God’s promise of land, seed, and blessing (Gen. 12:1-3) would be realized. It wasn’t to be realized in his lifetime. It wasn’t to be realized by simply making one move from here to there. It wasn’t to be realized by some simple, clean storyline where family obeyed, family relocated, family grew, and family was blessed. Nope. No way Abraham, or Isaac, of Jacob could have seen how the promise of becoming a great people, in a great land, who would become a great blessing would play out.

That’s what hits home this morning from this little conversation between God and Jacob.

So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.”

(Genesis 46:1-3 ESV)

Back story? Joseph, favored son of Jacob, betrayed by his brothers. Joseph enslaved in Egypt. Joseph rises from prison to pinnacle. Famine hits. Family re-acquainted. People of promise in the land of promise are forced to go back to Egypt in order to realize the promise.

What????

For there I will make you a great nation???

Who woulda’ thunk? Who came up with that plan? Cue Sunday School answer 101: “God!”

It’s not like Jacob and Co. had a lot to show for the promises of God, so far. Sure, they were in the land, but they didn’t possess much of the land — just a burial spot here and there. And, when it came to the annual census of those of the bloodline of Abraham, there was only Jacob and “sixty-six persons in all”, a total of seventy if you included Joseph and the sons born to him in Egypt (Gen. 48:26-27) — not quite yet the promised many “as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude” (Gen. 32:12). But hey, at least they were in the land. At least there was terra firma firmly under Jacob’s feet. At least he had something to show for pursuing the promise. Progress, if even slow progress, was being made. So, go to Egypt now? Huh?

. . . for there I will make you into a great nation.

I’m already picking up from Genesis that God uses pretty dysfunctional people to accomplish His pretty amazing plan of redemption. Also reminded this morning that He often does it in pretty unpredictable ways.

He would incubate a chosen people in a crucible of bondage and oppression. For centuries He would multiply a people of promise to become His own through a great deliverance. Eventually, far beyond what Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob could have imagined, the offspring of Abraham would, in fact, be a great nation in a great land and the source of great blessing for all the world. But in the moment, as Jacob packed everything up and left the land of promise, there’s no way he could have connected the dots. No way of seeing how moving to Egypt would result in a multitude of people possessing the land of milk and honey. Other than by faith in a faithful God and the sure hope that He would somehow, at some point, bring about some sort of exodus.

And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

(Hebrews 6:11-12 ESV)

Trust and obey. For there’s no other way. To realize the promise, but to trust and obey.

By God’s grace. For God’s glory.

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Fear Not

Posted on January 20, 2022 by Pete

I don’t know that I’ve ever underlined these two words in Genesis 42 with my black colored pencil before (my marking for sin), but this morning it was almost a reflexive action. I don’t think these words are always sinful, but sometimes I think they can be. Sometimes I think they are the smoke on the outside which indicates some increasing friction on the inside. The fraught fruit of a faltering faith. And, for Jacob at least, prompting one more scheme from the schemer. One more attempt to manipulate the situation. One last attempt to play God.

When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.” So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him.

(Genesis 42:1-4 ESV)

Not sure if Jacob’s fear was the result of a lack of faith or if his anxiety compromised his faith. Either way, he feared and thus he came up with a plan to send ten but keep back one, because he wasn’t sure he could trust God to protect the one. Not saying that Jacob thought the others were expendable, just that while he may have had “faith” to entrust the older boys to God’s care, there was a limit. Ten, but not eleven. Leah’s boys, Zilpah’s boys, Bilhah’s boys, but not Rachel’s boy. Too much wrapped up in Benjamin the youngest, the only son left of the woman he loved the most.

So, Jacob the supplanter tries one last time to supplant the God of his fathers. Jacob, the child of promise, takes matters into his own hands one more time to make sure he secures the promise. Jacob, the limper, isn’t prepared to wrestle with God again and risk having another hip put out of joint, and so he takes control of the chess board, sends out ten and relies on his wisdom and strategies to protect the one.

Honestly, I’m not judging Jacob. No “Tsk, tsk, how could he?” here. I think I get it . . . uncomfortably get it. But what a mess succumbing to fear caused. How taking matters into his own hands again complicated matters so much.

Fear can cloud the thinking. Fear can prompt an “I’ve got to take control of the situation” reaction, provoking an irrational, “Jesus, let me take the wheel” response.

Fear, it seems to me, may not rise from a lack of faith, but, I’m thinking, fear will almost always test our faith. And when fear wins, when fear is the motivating dynamic, when fear fosters a yielding to our sovereignty rather than God’s, it also seems to me, it’s sin. Pull out the black colored pencil.

Thus, I hear the Lord say this morning, “Fear not.”

“And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” ~ Jesus

(Luke 12:29-30 ESV)

People of eternal promise in pursuit of a heavenly kingdom by the power of a faithful Father. Fear not.

Trust and obey. For there’s no other way.

By His grace. For His glory.

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His Will and His Word

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Pete

This morning, I’m hovering over two back-to-back healings recorded by Matthew. Stories of faith. One of which causes even Jesus to be impressed. But while Jesus may take note of those who express faith, I’m in wonder this morning of the One who responds to faith. And that, by His will and His word.

And behold, a leper came to [Jesus] and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You will, You can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out His hand and touched Him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. . . . When He had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to Him, appealing to Him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And He said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

(Matthew 8:2-3, 5-8 ESV)

If You will . . . only say the word. If You purpose, You have the power. That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

While Jesus marvels at the faith of the centurion (8:10), I’m in wonder this morning of the One the centurion had faith in. The One who wills and speaks His will into being. The God who conceives of things and things are created. The God who designs and declares that design a reality. The God who determines to shower grace because He wants to and thus, we’re swimming in an ocean of grace because we get to.

In awe this morning at the connect between His will and His word.

We only come to God in prayer because we believe His will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We only cling to the promises of God because we believe in the power of God to deliver on those promises.

For sure, without faith it’s impossible to please God, but the dynamic isn’t about how great our faith is. The dynamic is more tied to the reality that God exists and rewards those who seek Him (Heb. 11:6). A mustard see of faith can move a mountain (Mt. 17:20) only if Jesus wills to move a mountain and only because Jesus, with but the sound of His voice, is a mountain mover.

Lord, if You will . . . And if not, nevertheless not my will but Thine be done.

But if You will . . . only say the word. For You are the Word. The Word who was with God, the Word who was God. The Word who from the beginning made all things, and without You nothing was made that has been made. The Word in whom is life (Jn. 1:1-4). So, if You say, “Uncleanness be gone!”, it will be gone. If You tell the paralytic He can walk again, he will walk. What You will to be whole will be made whole. For You are Creator and re-Creator.

“Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” (Matthew 8:13 ESV)

According to His will. Actuated by His Word.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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Materials and Tools

Posted on January 18, 2022 by Pete

Every believer is a builder. Every convert, recruited into construction. Every saint, a sub-contractor.

“Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” ~ Jesus

(Matthew 7:24-25 EV)

Every believer is a builder. The only question is whether they are a wise believer or a not so wise believer. The determining factor? The materials and the tools.

The materials are “these words of Mine.” The house is built with the Scriptures of truth. Know the Scriptures and you’ll be a wise builder because you’ve got good material to build with. No substitute for personal knowledge of the revealed will of God. No cheap knock-offs that will do what hearing the voice of God will do. Only it will provide a sure foundation. Only God’s word is trustworthy bedrock. And bedrock is only found by digging, and digging deep.

But materials without tools are useless. And the tools Jesus gives us here are the tools of obedience. Obedience to the word heard. Works evident as the fruit of words believed. Only then will a wise man, and a wise woman, have a house built on the rock.

We deceive ourselves if we think that our house is built on a sure foundation by default simply because we believed in the Rock. Or that our house is ready to withstand the storms of life because of a profession of faith. Oh, blueprints have been provided, help has been promised, but that our house is steady, solid, and steadfast just because we’ve said the sinner’s prayer? I don’t think so.

In fact, if we do not build with the right materials and the right tools, the Scriptures say that such a person’s house will be “burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1Cor. 3:12-15). We might be saved on that day (“like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames” – NLT), but if we don’t build with the right materials we are on shaky ground when trying to make it through today.

There is no escaping how vital it is that believers build their lives on the Word of God. No getting around that knowing the word and, by God’s enabling power through the Spirit, seeking to live out the word is what makes for a rock-solid foundation. One that withstands the rains, holds fast in the flood, and is unmoved by the winds that beat against it.

Word of God speak!

But it only speaks if I open it. It only penetrates if I study it. It only protects if I believe in it. It only transforms if I practice it.

When all is said and done, whether or not a house is built on solid rock–whether or not a soul stands firm and fast in the storm–comes down to materials and tools.

Materials and tools supplied and utilized only by His grace. A house built intentionally and diligently only for His glory.

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James’ Favorite Psalm?

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Pete

Read it on it’s own and it comes across as works salvation. Chew on it apart from the rest of the feast offered up by the whole counsel of God in His word, and you’d conclude that God extends divine favor based on human merit. But believe Jesus when He says that “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:3), and you know Psalm 15 can only be sung to the tune of “I will show you my faith by my works” or, “faith apart from works is dead” (Ja. 2:18, 26). That’s why I’m wondering this morning if Psalm 15 may have been James’ favorite psalm.

O LORD, who shall sojourn in Your tent? Who shall dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart . . . He who does these things shall never be moved.

(Psalm 15:1-2, 5b ESV)

Sometimes I read and am so thankful I can rest in grace, knowing that if my place in the Book of Life were dependent on maintaining a constant standard of righteous deeds, I’d be done. But other times, like this morning, I savor the reminder that the fruit of the gospel is righteousness. Not just righteousness imputed by Christ — which it is, it so is, praise God — but also righteousness imparted by me, as the righteousness in me through Christ pours out as the righteousness (not the perfection) of Christ flows from me. Saved by grace alone through faith alone (Eph. 2:8-9), yet “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in” (Eph. 2:10).

So what do some of those good works look like? Who gets “invited to dinner” (MSG) at God’s place? Who are those who enter His presence on His holy hill?

He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart . . .

What does it look like to do what is right?

Well, David’s sampler list (by no means a complete catalog) includes taming the tongue and abstaining from slander. It entails purposing to love one’s neighbor and do him no evil and resolves not to get involved in backbiting one’s friend. He who walks blamelessly not only does what is right, he also stands for what is right. He holds in contempt those who persistently and habitually engage in evil, and he gives great weight and honor to those who faithfully follow the LORD.

What’s more, those with truth in their heart will keep their promises even when it costs them dearly. They will gladly lend money without interest to brothers and sisters who are in need. They refuse to be comprised by a bribe when it comes to standing for the innocent. In a sentence, the righteous man, the righteous woman, will be marked by doing the righteous thing.

And the promised reward for such behavior is unambiguous:

He who does these things shall never be moved.

They stand firm in their faith because the fruit of their faith testifies to the reality of their faith.

Yeah, sometimes I just like to rest in grace. But other times, I’m inspired to live out grace.

Even, perhaps, with a song on my lips. A favorite song, I’m thinking, of James.

Only by God’s grace. Only for God’s glory.

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From Beginning to End, Forgive

Posted on January 13, 2022 by Pete

Hovering over the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6 this morning.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

(Matthew 6:9-15 ESV)

What strikes me, in particular, is the connection between forgiving others and prayer. I’m pretty sure it’s because I’ve also been in Mark 11 this week and there observed the same thing.

“Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

(Mark 11:24-25 ESV)

The Lord emphasized forgiving others as part of prayer when He preached the Sermon on the Mount, something He did towards the beginning of His ministry. The Lord also connected forgiving with asking just days before He goes to the cross in Mark 11, the end of His ministry. So, from beginning to end, Jesus emphasized the need to forgive.

Been wrestling with forgiveness. Not my own ability to forgive so much (though again this morning I’m prompted by the Spirit that there are somethings I really need to totally let go of), but I’ve walked with people over the past couple of years that have been transgressed against big time. No minimizing the offence against them as really offensive. And yet, Jesus says that if we really want to know our own debts forgiven, we need to forgive our debtors.

Maybe it’s because, as we come to grips with other’s sins, it becomes a mirror into our own ability to sin, our own depravity apart from divine intervention. To forgive others is to know the depths to which our heavenly Father has truly forgiven us.

Or, maybe it’s because the only way we are going to be able to forgive others the worst of what they can do, is when we are drawing on the supernatural forgiving power of Christ in us through His Spirit. That we will need an encounter of the divine kind if we’re going to be able to forgive others their trespasses.

Or maybe it’s because we’re tempted to limit the love of God and the power of the cross. God can love the sinner but only if the sin is within “tolerable limits” — limits of our own making. Or the blood is sufficient to cleanse from all sin only if it’s not too heinous a sin. After all, we don’t want to let anyone off the hook too easily. Spoiler alert: for those truly repentant and forgiven, the hook was never too easy — it nailed the Son of God to a wooden cross.

Not going to do the topic of forgiveness justice in a short post. Actually, the more I encounter sin up close and personal, and the collateral damage and havoc it wreaks, the more complicated forgiveness is for me. But equally true, the more amazing grace is from Him.

No simple answers. No quick solutions. No three, easy steps to forgiving what we might regard as unforgivable. Yet, no denying that, from beginning to end, Jesus taught we need to forgive.

Yes, Lord.

Only by Your grace. Always for Your glory.

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