A Directed Heart

Posted on July 21, 2021 by Pete

My first inclination is to think that the Thessalonians lived in a time and circumstance totally different than mine. Their first century church was planted amidst some pretty hostile conditions (Acts 17:1-10) and the opposition continued even after Paul was sent away for his own protection. Along with their new life in Christ came new troubles with their culture.

But noodle on it a bit, and you can make the case that our twenty-first century church exists increasingly in a Thessalonica like culture. Increasingly we’re finding ourselves on “the wrong side of history” by the prevailing rule of thought. Once referred to as a moral majority, the basic truths we stand for are more and more viewed as immoral. So maybe there’s more of a connect with the Thessalonians than first thought.

Perhaps that’s why the following seems to resonate this morning. After asking for pray for himself — for protection against “wicked and evil men” — Paul prays for them:

But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

(2Thessalonians 3:3-5 ESV)

Their season, circumstance, and situation would require two foundational operative realities: 1) the love of God; 2) the steadfastness of Christ. Both terms are a little ambiguous.

Was Paul saying that to thrive in hostile times loving God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength would be vital? Or was he emphasizing that in order to be faithful ambassadors of the gospel they would need to love others with the transcendent love of God who so loved the world? Yes and yes, I’m thinking.

And was Paul saying that they would need steadfast patience as they waited for Christ’s return, that being focused on that future day would help them get through their present reality? Or, was Paul praying they’d know the steadfast endurance of Christ who for the joy set before Him endured even the cross? How about yes and yes, again?

But here’s the thing that’s grabbed me this morning. While they would need the love of the Father and the endurance of the Son, it would only happen as their hearts were directed to those operative realities by the Spirit.

May the Lord direct your hearts . . .

Direct. To make straight. To guide. To remove the hindrances or barriers of getting to where you should be. That’s what Paul prayed for. That’s what the Spirit of God does.

The Holy Spirit is the Helper, the One who comes along side and guides and leads us into the truth of God’s love. Through Him we remain connected to the risen, ascended, living Christ (Jn. 14:16-17, 15:26, 16:13). He pours out God’s love into our hearts (Rom. 5:5) and strengthens us with the power of Christ as, through the Spirit, Christ dwells in our hearts (Eph. 3:16-17).

Loving God and patiently waiting for Christ can only happen as our hearts are directed to things above by the Spirit. Loving others and enduring opposition, as we become increasingly out of sync with society, possible only as our hearts are empowered for mission on earth by the same Spirit.

A directed heart. How I need a directed heart.

By the Father’s grace through the Spirit. For the Father’s glory through the Son.

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Collateral Damage of Obedience

Posted on July 20, 2021 by Pete

Okay, if I’m doing the math correctly, with today’s price for silver the gig paid each “mighty man of valor” from Israel about 27 bucks. I don’t know if that’s a “fair wage” for a mercenary or not, but I’m guessing that the real profit in selling yourself as a soldier in those days wasn’t in the base wage but in getting a slice of the pie from the spoils of defeating your enemy. That’s where the big payoff was, I’m thinking.

So, when the 100,000 fighting men of Israel were told by Amaziah, king of Judah, that he had changed his mind and they could go home and keep the 27 bucks it might not be surprising that they were angry. But I’m wondering if the king wasn’t surprised that they extracted their lost “potential income” the way they did.

Then Amaziah discharged the army that had come to him from Ephraim to go home again. And they became very angry with Judah and returned home in fierce anger. . . the men of the army whom Amaziah sent back, not letting them go with him to battle, raided the cities of Judah, from Samaria to Beth-horon, and struck down 3,000 people in them and took much spoil.

(2Chronicles 25:10, 13 ESV)

This morning I’m chewing on the collateral damage of obedience.

You read the story and Amaziah clearly jumps the gun in hiring fighting men from Israel to supplement his army before going out against the army from Seir. He’s confronted by a prophet who tells him not to do it for “the LORD is not with Israel, with all these Ephraimites.” The man of God counsels the king to “go, act, be strong for battle” believing that God is for Judah and “has power to help.” Amaziah hesitates, “But what about the 100 talents I’ve already paid?” To which the man of God answers, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this” (25:7-9). And so, the king heeds, obeys, and sends away the army-for-hire, ready to proceed in faith. Good on him, right?

But here’s the thing that sticks a bit. While the king is successful against the army from Seir (25:11-12), what about the raided cities of Judah and the 3,000 who lost their lives and the “much spoil” that was taken by the angry mercenaries on their way home? Somehow, in my default way of thinking, you obey you should be blessed — on ALL fronts. The same God who won the main battle for Amaziah could have covered the rear flank of the cities left unprotected in Judah and were easy prey for the angry horde of shunned soldiers of Israel. But He didn’t.

Sure, you could make the argument that they suffered the “consequences” of Amaziah’s sin, the foolishness of trusting in hired help in the first place, but couldn’t you also argue that they were the collateral damage of Amaziah’s obedience to the LORD? Hmm . . .

The ways of man would say, “You obey? You’ll be blessed.” Do God’s good work and it all works out good. But we know that’s not always the case, don’t we? Sometimes we obey and know the blessing. But other times we can obey and only see things partially play out as we had hoped. And, who hasn’t known a situation, or two, where we believe and obey our way into troubles we hadn’t even foreseen?

A reminder that it’s not the expectation of a quid pro quo that should compel us to obey — not I do so God will do. But that the prize of obedience is obedience. The prize of believing God is believing. That the fruit is faith. For without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6) — even if that step of faith only puts you into a situation where you may need to trust God even more.

We shouldn’t be surprised when our belief and obedience sometimes results in unanticipated collateral damage. God’s ways are not our ways, His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isa. 55:8-9). We obey but only He knows the whole plan. Thus, we continue to trust in the Lord with all our heart, leaning not to our own understanding. Believing that if we acknowledge Him in all our ways, He will direct our paths (Prov. 3:5-6). Even through collateral damage.

According to His abundant grace. Always for His all-deserving glory.

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What Didn’t Change?

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Pete

Went back and read last year’s thoughts as I noodled on the story of the kid king, Joash, in 2Chronicles. And while I think I still agree with me on the importance of having Uncle J.s in our lives, I’m asking myself a different question this year than last.

In considering how well Joash started and ruled for most of his reign — made king at 7 years of age by Jehoiada the priest; ruled 40 years with Jehoiada at his side; eliminated Baal worship and restored the glory of the temple — when, after Jehoiada died, Joash abandoned the house of the Lord and dove into idolatry, I asked the following question, “What changed?” My answer then? “Those he listened to.”

This year, as I hover of this tragic turn of events, I find myself asking a different question, “What didn’t change?” Short answer: the kid king’s heart.

Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them. And they abandoned the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. Yet He sent prophets among them to bring them back to the LORD. These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.

(2Chonicles 24:17-19 ESV)

Grew up in the nurture of a faithful priest of Jehovah. Throughout his life, trained up in the way he should go. Made king at seven years of age. His faithful mentor always by his side. And the holy record says that he “did what was right in the eyes of the LORD.” Yet, with this qualifier, “all the days of Jehoiada the priest” (2Chr. 24:2).

Doing the right stuff, but you gotta wonder if from the right place. Practicing what was prescribed yet apparently never really internalizing the principles. Faithful to the counsel he heard, though apparently never doing so with a whole heart.

Is the “guardian” nature of this Old Testament story “tutoring” us to Christ (Gal. 3:24), teaching us that only a redeemed heart can result in real, enduring piety? That only a heart made new can respond in true, long-lasting, circumstance-independent faithfulness? That we can do all the right stuff under the right conditions with the right positive peer pressure, but to stand fast when the tide changes and our natural anchors are ripped up requires a supernatural working of the Spirit at the deepest of levels of our soul in order for us to keep on keepin’ on? I’m thinkin’ . . .

The kid king had authentic works down pat. But you gotta wonder if he had authentic faith. For many years he led with righteous acts but seemingly without a regenerated heart.

I sit back after reading Joash’s story this morning and I’m thankful for a gospel with the power to transform from the inside out. A gospel which credits the righteousness of Another to our account and then enables us to draw on that account to continually walk in enduring acts of righteousness. Good works born of out of so great a salvation. Piety not based on performance but founded in the depths of a supernatural work of the Spirit conforming us more to the image of God’s own Son.

Not making us perfect (yet) by any stretch of the imagination, yet leading us to pursue a walk worthy of our calling. A new heart, desiring the fulfillment of it’s new potential, confident in a new power to produce new fruit. And that for as long as we live.

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

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The Righteous Judgment of God

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Pete

Sometimes a verse grabs me because I think I get it. Whether it’s a light going on for the first time, or for a fresh time, I chew on it because I think I’m picking up what’s being laid down by the Spirit. Other times, not so much. This morning? One of those other times.

Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering — since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels.

(2Thessalonians 1:4-7 ESV)

What I get: Paul was over the moon at how the church in Thessalonica had thrived and flourished though it had been planted amidst intense persecutions and afflictions. Their faith was growing abundantly and their love for one another was increasing (v.3). In his first letter Paul gives thanks because their “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ” (1Th. 1:3) was going viral, being “an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia” (1Th. 1:7-8).

I also get that all the wrongs of this world will be set right when Jesus comes again. That the wicked who seem to prosper while on earth, sometimes with apparent immunity, will one day be required to give an account for eternity. That God is not mocked and the law of the harvest will prevail. Those who sow to the sinful flesh will eventually reap corruption, and “the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:7-8).

But what’s Paul saying when He says that because these believers were steadfast in all their persecutions and afflictions that it was evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that they may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God?

Is the righteous judgment referring to the future judgment when Christ returns? If so, how does that play into being considered worthy of the kingdom now? Is it the fact that they won’t stand in judgment then?

And is that worthiness of the kingdom earned because of their steadfastness? Hmm. I don’t think so.

Or, is the righteous judgment of God His sovereign determination that those He saves are those who stand? That those who are worthy of the kingdom are worthy because the gospel of grace makes men and women fit for the kingdom as evidenced by how they’re able to weather suffering for the kingdom? That the gospel is kingdom power for kingdom people to thrive amidst counter-kingdom pressure. As such, it is evidence, it is testimony, to the righteous decision by God to separate, even now, the sheep from the goats through trials which manifest faithfulness to the Great Shepherd. A faithfulness not sourced in man’s ability but in the gospel’s power to save and to save to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25). I’m thinkin . . .

Not really sure all that this verse is saying. Don’t really find myself with the words to articulate the nuances I sense are contained within it. But confident that light will become increasingly light. And resting that God’s righteous judgments are indeed righteous judgments — that our worthiness for the kingdom is because we are in Him and, through Him we have the power to stand for Him. And anticipating that day when Jesus comes, justice prevails, and that which we see today “in a mirror dimly” will be fully known, even as we are fully known, when we behold Him face to face (1Cor. 13:12).

For now, content just to chew on this verse for a bit even as I seek, by His enabling, to stand steadfast for the Lord.

By His grace. For His glory.

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He Will Surely Do It

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Pete

If I’m parsing it up right, my last reading in 1Thessalonians starts with sixteen charges to this body of believers. Sure, a couple of them are more along the line of “asks”, but the clear majority are commands and imperatives. Sixteen of them in eleven verses.

Everything from respecting church leadership, to admonishing the idle, to encouraging the fainthearted, to being patient with everybody. From rejoicing always, to praying without ceasing, to not quenching the Spirit, to holding fast to what is good and abstaining from every kind of evil. Talk about your holy honey-do list! I noodle on it for a bit and another verse comes to mind, “Who is sufficient for such things?” (2Cor. 2:16).

But then this . . .

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.

(1Thessalonians 5:23-24 ESV)

Reminded that I’m called to cooperation but God is responsible for sanctification. That I’m to aspire to be holy, but He is the only one who makes things holy. That while I’m to give attention to the honey-do list, ultimately it is my faithful Father who will do it.

Sanctify completely. That’s the endgame. That’s the outcome of the work begun in me on that day I first believed. How far I’ve come since then. But oh, how far I have yet to go. I get it when Paul writes, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own” (Php. 3:12).

Yet, it’s God Himself who will sanctify completely. The Father who has determined to finish the work. The Creator of all things, the Overseer of all things, the Keeper of all things, somehow able to attend to the one thing of my perfected holiness.

How great is our God? Pretty great! How active the agency of the Spirit living in us? Pretty active. How sure can I be that I’ll be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ? Pretty sure! Because how powerful is the finished work of the cross? Pretty powerful!

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

Sixteen commands for me to obey. One God who will sanctify me completely. Sixteen to do’s which I know, because of the weakness of my flesh, will trip me up from time to time. But one God who is faithful. More to do’s than I can possibly get “to done” on my own. But one great promise that He will do it.

He will surely do it.

By His grace. For his glory.

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Cave Time

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Pete

When you’re in a dark place, what’s left to do but cry out? When the path outside is booby trapped by the enemy, when no one takes notice, when no one cares for your soul, what’s left but to plead for mercy? When your spirit is faint, all that’s left is to pour out your complaint and tell your trouble to the One who knows your way. At least that’s how David responded to his cave time in Psalm 142 (v. 1-4).

I cry to You, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me! Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to Your name!

(Psalm 142:-5-7a ESV)

Seems to me you’re only going to cry to the LORD in desperate situations if you believe certain things about the LORD. That He really is your refuge, an ever present shelter whenever a shelter is needed. That He, in fact, is sufficient to be your portion — that when you apparently have no ground of your own on which to plant your feet and stand firm, He is that tract, He is that foundation, He is your share.

You’re not gonna cry out if you don’t believe God will attend to your cry. You’re not gonna speak into the air unless you’re confident He’s the one who “sees in secret” (Mt. 6:6). You’re not gonna ask for deliverance if He’s not truly a Deliver. Not gonna ask to be busted out of prison if He’s not mighty enough to deal with your chains.

Cave time is test the faith time. Dark places, and desperate places, are determine if you really believe what you say you believe places. Tenuous circumstances have a way of testing whether or not we’re trusting in the LORD with all our hearts and leaning not to our own understanding (Prov. 3:5-6).

Where you gonna go when there’s no place else to go? Cave time’s gonna reveal that.

No one likes hanging out in a cave. No one likes being alone. No one likes being at the end of their own resources. But to the degree it brings us to the end of ourselves it can be a profitable experience if it reboots, or rekindles, or re-energizes our determination to trust in Him.

The righteous will surround me, for You will deal bountifully with me.

(Psalm 142:-7b ESV)

David cried out confident that the cave was transitory. The solitude temporary. The suffering, in the larger scheme of things, momentary and “not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18).

The righteous will surround us when we “stand before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes” (Rev.7:9).

He will deal bountifully with us because He has already dealt bountifully with us. Having not spared His own Son but giving Him up for us, how will God “not also with Him graciously give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32)

Nobody wants to do cave time. But we can benefit from cave time when we allow Him to use it as draw us near to God time.

And that, only by His grace. And that, always for His glory.

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The One Thing Necessary

Posted on July 13, 2021 by Pete

It’s an annual visit. A yearly encounter. Every twelve months for the past many years I get to drop in and be reminded of the one thing necessary.

Martha’s doing what Martha does best — welcoming Jesus into her home, wanting to honor Jesus with her “much serving.” She’s the hostess with the mostest. Door always open, table always set, no effort spared in putting on a feast. And yet, every year, I’m reminded that “much serving” can result in being much “distracted.” Over-occupied. Too busy. Wanting so to please Jesus she fails to enjoy Jesus. Wanting so to give to Jesus she fails to receive from Jesus. Oh, she’s doing a good thing, but not the one thing necessary. Oh, how I identify with Martha.

But every time I drop into the sisters’ house I’m challenged by Mary.

And [Martha] had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His teaching.

(Luke 10:39 ESV)

Martha’s scurrying, Mary’s sitting. Martha’s all over the house getting things ready. Mary is as near as she can get to Jesus listening. Martha’s distracted with giving, Mary’s determined to be receiving. Martha is welcoming Jesus as a servant, Mary is learning from Jesus as a disciple. Both are examples. Both normative examples of what loving Jesus should look like. But serving can lead to being “anxious and troubled.” Thus, sitting is the one thing necessary.

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

(Luke 10:40-42 ESV)

The good portion. That’s what Mary had chosen. Serving is a big part of following Jesus, but sitting is the better part.

Serving without sitting has a way of becoming chaotic. Sitting maintains the calm.

Serving without sitting runs the danger of focusing on self and then saying things we really don’t mean to say — did Martha really think Jesus didn’t care? Sitting at the feet of Jesus engages our eyes and ears as the primary sensing devices, curtailing our tongues from uttering foolish things.

Serving Jesus is exemplary. But sitting at the feet of Jesus, the good portion, is the one thing necessary.

Thanks ladies, for the visit. Martha, keep on but keep focused. Mary, shove over and make some room . . .

By God’s grace. For God’s glory.

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More and More

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Pete

I wonder if we’re governed too often, or too much, by the fear that if you give an inch they’ll take a mile. Or, if we’re too prone to think about just doing our part and letting others do their part. Or, if we’re overly wired to think about meeting others halfway rather than walking the extra mile. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe sometimes it’s appropriate. But maybe there’s other scenarios in which we just need to be prepared to do 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)

They were already walking in a manner pleasing to God. They were doing their part. But Paul exhorts them do so more and more.

They were loving one another well, just as they had been taught by God. But Paul urges them do this more and more.

More and more. Wondering if that isn’t a kingdom principle worth noodling on.

You’ve given the inch? Offer up the mile. Doing your part? Do some of their’s as well. Gone halfway? Great! Go all the way.

More and more. To a greater degree. To a deeper depth. To a broader range. From a more willing place.

No matter how far we’ve come, there’s farther to go. No matter how much we think we’ve mastered, there’s more to get our arms around. No matter how well we think we’re doing, there’s more to live into.

Not that we “more and more” so we look good, feel good, or can boast in our good. But we “more and more” because it’s what Jesus wants and will compel us to abide in Him more and more. To confess our inability to go there and thus know afresh that we need Him more and more. To know His power more and more. To desire that He’d live through us more and more. To know the sweetness of the cross more and more as we falter and trip up in efforts to live for Him more and more and love for Him more and more.

I think there may be something in us which, at some point, just wants to settle into a status quo. Some point where we want to say to ourselves, “I’ve done enough. I’ve gone far enough. I’m good enough.” But I’m wondering if Jesus isn’t prodding us to follow Him more and more so that we’ll know that He’s enough.

Something worth chewing on I think. More and more.

By His grace. For His glory.

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He Regards the Lowly

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Pete

Whoever the enemies David is referring to were, he was feeling their wrath. Because of them he awoke each morning in the midst of trouble. The opposition seemed relentless. Every day seemed like pushing a rope up a hill. The inner man was growing weary. And David does what we’ve come to know the singer-songwriter of Israel to do again and again, he gives thanks in the thick of it.

I give You thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing Your praise;
I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness,
for You have exalted above all things Your name and Your word.
On the day I called, You answered me; my strength of soul You increased.

(Psalm 138:1-3 ESV)

When you don’t know how you’re gonna deal with what’s going on around you, not a bad idea to pause and reorient your situation in the context of the One who is watching over you. The One who has a purpose of you. The One who, in steadfast love and faithfulness, will not forsake the work He has begun in and through you (v. 8).

David was feeling it. Situation desperate. Overwhelmed. His own resources weren’t resources enough. Tough place to be. But, not necessarily a bad place to be.

For though the LORD is high, He regards the lowly, but the haughty He knows from afar.

(Psalm 138:6 ESV)

He regards the lowly. That’s what I’m chewing on and savoring this morning.

Though He is beyond the highest height, yet He sees those who find themselves at the bottom of the pile. Though holy, holy, holy, He’s not unaware of the humiliated. Though He is Creator, He takes note of the crestfallen. Though He is ascended, He’s not unaware of those who are ashamed.

Behold our God! He regards the lowly.

I can be brought low by the enemy’s relentless, accusatory attacks. I can be embarrassed by my own foolishness. I can be humbled by circumstances which reveal I’m not as together as I’d like others to think I am, nor as self-sufficient as I wanna believe I am. And it seems to me, in those situations, that’s God’s grace too. ‘Cause when I’m down, often all that’s left is to look up. To turn my face heavenward — only to see His face already turned toward me. Reminded again that He regards the lowly.

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. (Isaiah 57:15 ESV)

But He gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. (1Peter 5:5-6)

Yes, our God regards the lowly.

A certainty because of His abundant grace. To Him be everlasting glory.

I give You thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing Your praise

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Singing in a Foreign Land

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Pete

It’s a pretty moving psalm, but in some ways, it’s also not all that relatable.

Hovering over Psalm 137 this morning. A psalm remembering a time when the psalmist remembered a time. A post-exilic songwriter thinking back to the days when he had sat by the rivers of Babylon, weeping and mourning for the days when he was worshiping in Zion. Determined not to forget Jerusalem. Determined to hold always in his heart the place where God’s glory dwelt on the earth. To let nothing supplant her from being his highest joy (v.5-7).

His captors would torment his people, as if to rub salt in an open wound, sneering at them, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” (v.3) But they had determined to hang up their musical instruments (v.2). Apart from being on that majestic mount, knowing that the holy hill had been wholly razed, they saw no reason to sing. What’s more, they feared that to sing in a pagan land would diminish their heart’s affection for the courts of the LORD. Thus their question — the question which, while stirring my heart, doesn’t fully connect with my head.

How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land?

(Psalm 137:4 ESV)

Singing the LORD’s song in a foreign land. What’s the big deal? Today we do it all the time.

We acknowledge freely and frequently that, as children of God and followers of Christ, we are pilgrims in a foreign land. That the home we’re looking forward to is “the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10). That we live in a world that we’re not of. A world hostile toward us. A world which often mocks us. A world trying to assimilate us even as it seeks to compromise our consecrated altars of worship. And we sing the LORD’s song here all the time!

Songs of worship are playing in my house constantly. Songs of praise “bluetoothed” in my vehicle when I’m traveling. Every week I’m gathering with others who are primed to sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land. Instruments playing, bodies swaying (well, some of them), hands waving (again, some hands), and we’re belting out melodies in obedience to another verse in my bible which says:

. . . be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart”

(Ephesians 5:18b-19 ESV)

So what’s the deal with the ancient songwriter?

Here’s the difference, I’m thinking. We’re filled with the Spirit.

My ancient psalm-writer friend was in a foreign land AWAY from the place where the glory dwelt. Physically distanced from the presence of God. But today, we are never far from God. We are His temple (1Cor. 3:16). The church is His spiritual house (1Pet. 2:5). A dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Eph. 2:22). Where 2 or 3 are gathered, He’s there in the midst (Matt. 18:20).

In a foreign land? For sure. Apart from the presence of God? Uh-uh!

How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land? Indwelt by Him. Abiding in Him. In union with Him. That’s how.

By His grace. For His glory.

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