desert rat of morgan

Breathe Deeply.

2012-01-31T07:48:00.000-07:00

At the creation of man, the single thing that made him a living being and not a pile of earth-dust was the breath of God (Genesis 2:7).

To be born again, or a newly-created human being, we must receive the God-breath in His Word:
* “All Scripture is inspired [breathed] by God” (2 Timothy 3:16).
* “...in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:20).
* “...you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).

In reading from Psalm 119 today, the life of Genesis 2:7 is variously translated “revive” and “live.” The Source of this life and reviving is the Word breathed by God Himself. May we meditate on this Source today and seek the Holy Spirit’s help in breathing deeply.

“Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word” (Psalm 119:17).

“My soul cleaves to the dust; revive me according to Your word” (119:25).

“Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, and revive me in Your ways” (119:37).

“Behold, I long for Your precepts; revive me through Your righteousness” (119:40).

“This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your word has revived me” (119:50).

“Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, so that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth” (119:88).

“I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have revived me” (119:93).

“I am exceedingly afflicted; revive me, O LORD, according to Your word” (119:107).

“Sustain me according to Your word, that I may live; and do not let me be ashamed of my hope” (119:116).

“Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live” (119:144).

“Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; revive me, O LORD, according to Your ordinances” (119:149).

“Plead my cause and redeem me; revive me according to Your word” (119:154).

“Great are Your mercies, O LORD; revive me according to Your ordinances” (119:156).

“Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness” (119:159).

“Let my soul live that it may praise You, and let Your ordinances help me” (119:175).

Grace to You and Peace from God Our Father

2012-01-10T10:14:00.003-07:00

Reading John Owen's "Of Communion with God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost" last year and simply growing older as a teaching elder in Christ's Church is building within me a desirous drive to emphasize the Trinity in my speaking, writing, praying, etc. While dedicating myself this year to knowing more about God the Holy Spirit, I do not want to neglect a specific and worshipful consideration of God the Father. So, below, meditations from Romans on 1:7, where the Person of the Godhead Who is Source of "grace...and peace" is called "our Father."

* * * * * * *

"Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised...concerning His Son...through Whom we have received grace & apostleship" (Romans 1:1-3,5). Give thanks & be joyfully amazed, for the God of this grace-empowered commission is called "our Father"!

"Grace to you...from God our Father" (1:7).

"But now...the righteousness of God has been manifested...the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe...for all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:21-24). Give thanks & be joyfully amazed, for the God of this grace is called "our Father"!

"Grace to you...from God our Father" (1:7).

"...having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand, & we exult in the hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:1,2). Give thanks & be joyfully amazed, for the God of this grace & peace through "our Lord Jesus Christ" is called "our Father"!

"Grace to you...from God our Father" (1:7).

“But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one [Adam, the first human] the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many” (Romans 5:15). Give thanks & be joyfully amazed, for the God Who gives us grace through Jesus His Son is called “our Father”!

"Grace to you...from God our Father" (1:7).

“For if by the transgression of the one [Adam, the first human], death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17). Give thanks & be joyfully amazed, for the God of super-abounding grace is called “our Father”!

"Grace to you...from God our Father" (1:7).

“The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:20,21). Give thanks & be joyfully amazed, for the God Whose super-abundant grace expresses His absolute & eternal reign is called “our Father”!

"Grace to you...from God our Father" (1:7).

“In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace” (Romans 11:5,6). Give thanks & be joyfully amazed, for the God Who gracefully (& not meritoriously) chooses the remnant who are faithful only to Him is called “our Father”!

“Grace to you...from God our Father” (1:7).

“For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly...” (Romans 12:3-6). Give thanks & be joyfully amazed, for the God Who graces us so that we may contribute to the Body of Christ is called “our Father”!

“Grace to you...from God our Father” (1:7).

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you...the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Romans 16:20,24). Give thanks & be joyfully amazed, for “God of peace” Who crushes our enemy & pours out grace through the Lord Jesus is called “our Father”!

“Grace to you...from God our Father” (1:7).

* * * * * * *

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1,2). Give thanks & rest in Him complete, for the God with Whom we have peace through “our Lord Jesus Christ” is called “our Father”!

“...peace [to you] from God our Father” (1:7).

“....the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). Give thanks & rest in Him complete, for the God Whose kingdom is “peace...in the Holy Spirit” is called “our Father”!

“...peace [to you] from God our Father” (1:7).

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). Give thanks & rest in Him complete, for the “God of hope” Who fills you with “all...peace in believing” in His Son Jesus Christ is called “our Father”!

“...peace [to you] from God our Father” (1:7).

“Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen” (Romans 15:33). Give thanks & rest in Him complete, for this “God of peace” Who is present with His Church now & forever & ever & ever is called “our Father”!

“...peace [to you] from God our Father” (1:7).

* * * * * *

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 1:7).

Jesus' Ministry & Our Great Need

2011-12-31T07:09:00.000-07:00

I'm considering Jesus' ministry this morning:
* Jesus pronounces "woe" over the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, & Capernaum for failing to repent in the face of His miracle-working: "...you will descend to Hades...in the day of judgment..."
* Jesus praises His Father, supreme authority over all, not just for revealing truth to some, but also for hiding it from others! "Yes, Father, for this way was pleasing in Your sight." He then shares this praise as a teaching to those with Him: "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." Far from simple repetition of simple observations about what God has done for us, Jesus' praise is emotionally challenging (praising God for what we would consider ministerial failure) and leads to a teaching about the deep things of God's sovereignty and salvation. Utterly surrendered praise for all things leads to teaching about the absolutely sovereign plan of God for salvation through the second Person of the Trinity.
* Jesus tenderly invites those listening (the "crowds" of 11:7) to discipleship: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:20-30). "Rest" comes not just through coming to Jesus, but taking His "yoke" and learning from Him - discipleship! This is not a one-time "decision," but a following of Christ that takes on His burden and shows progress in learning from Him. I would further observe that this cannot happen apart from joining our lives to His Church, where He teaches through other disciples in His Word by His Spirit.

Pronouncing judgment for failure to repent, praising the all-ruling Father for everything in ministry - even for those from whom salvation is hidden - and gently extending an invitation to come to Him for rest & learning...Lord Jesus, work through Your Spirit in us that we can minister in such a way that doesn't waver from Your truth, praises the Father for everything, & never ceases to call people to rest in & learn from You. This is emotionally challenging (praising as we see folks walk away), stands in the face of our desire to be liked ("woe to you"), and maintains a continual standard of learning, imitative discipleship for ourselves and those to whom we extend the invitation. Apart from You, Christ, we freely confess this is impossible, for we prefer to praise You for the good things You give us, build ministry too often on the desire to be liked, and try to reduce following You to a simple - an unbiblical - "sinner's prayer."

We lift up this ministry to You and plead for Your gracious working through Your Spirit this day and every day.

I Should Be Glad of Another Death

2011-12-06T14:23:00.002-07:00

Every Advent I am blissfully haunted by the story of the magi (Matthew 2:1-12). "Westward leading, still proceeding..." Prior to being met by the Christ, I myself was nothing more than a wandering pagan mystic. I love their story, and I love the testimony Eliot puts on their lips in this poem:

Journey of the Magi (1927)
"A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey;
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter."
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbert.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation,
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky.
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

- T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)

* * * * * * *

The 8th century B.C. prophet Micah of Moresheth is one of the first to prophesy the coming destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (Micah 3:12; Jeremiah 26:18).

"Therefore, on account of you
Zion will be plowed as a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
And the mountain of the house will become high places of a forest."

The matchless Temple of Solomon had ceased to be the "house of Yahweh" and was now just "the house" because of how God's covenant people treated each other with gross injustice and regarded Him as little more than a tool for their own power. So they were to be destroyed along with their idol, "the house." But Micah never pronounces judgment without also speaking hope.

"And it will come about in the last days
That the mountain of the house of the LORD
will be established as the chief of the mountains.
It will be raised above the hills,
And the peoples will stream into it.
Many nations will come and say,
'Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD
And to the house of the God of Jacob,
That He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.'
For from Zion will go forth the law,
Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem" (4:1,2).

The "peoples" and the "nations," previously godless, will journey to die to their old lives and to find true life in the Word of the LORD. They return home, by the way, to "an alien people clutching their gods." They are never at home again "in the old dispensation," for they have been born again to the new dispensation, the new covenant sealed with the blood of the baby of Advent, the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Though all the peoples walk
Each in the name of his god,
as for us, we will walk
in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever" (4:5).

They came as aliens to be "born again...through the living and enduring word of God" (1 Peter 1:23). They returned home as aliens, "not of the world," even as their Lord is "not of the world" (John 17:16). Their "citizenship is in heaven" (Philippians 3:20). But is this death, the death Eliot's magi found in the Advent birth?

"Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God...therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead..." (Colossians 3:1-5). There is a longing after that journey to see the Word of the LORD incarnate, a nagging sense that leads the born-again magi to stare beyond the stars, knowing that real life is a step beyond the veil. It drives us powerfully and unstoppably, this "promise of life in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 1:1). In a land of people clutching their gods, it makes us glad of another death, a death that makes the leaving behind of everything in this world infinite gain compared to the inheritance of the Word of the LORD.

"For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake" (Philippians 1:21-24). The attitude of the world-wanderer: my life is elsewhere, and it is everything - so while I here I live completely for the benefit of your faith in Christ. In the midst of "an alien people clutching their gods," may we "be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith," and may we "rejoice and share [our] joy" with each other (Philippians 2:17,18). May we be glad of a death unto a new birth, and sojourn unto a death filled with gladness for the joy set before us (Hebrews 12:1-3).

Don't Just Remember: Live.

2011-12-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

The Spirit’s work at Advent:
Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s mother: “...filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, ‘Blessed...blessed...blessed’” (Luke 1:41,42,45).
Zecharias, John the Baptist’s father: “...filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: ‘Blessed’” (Luke 1:67,68).
Simeon: “...the Holy Spirit was upon him...he...blessed God...and Simeon blessed [Mary and Joseph]” (Luke 2:25,28,34).

The Spirit’s work at Pentecost:
“I will pour forth of My Spirit on...My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy” (Acts 2:17,18).

May I suggest, Church, that the Spirit Who blessed through the saints at Advent and the Spirit poured out on all saints since Pentecost is the same? May I also suggest that same Spirit in us today seeks to bless, bless, bless others through our words just as He did at Advent? Bless today by prophesying the truth and glorious reality of salvation, of our adoption as sons and daughters of God in Christ, of the radiant and unmatched beauty of Christ’s Bride, of all the priceless gems found in our covenant with God in Christ...bless, Holy Spirit, through us today as You did 2,000 years ago!

* * * * * * *

Let me elaborate on the Spirit's filling of Elizabeth, the result, and the parallel in Paul's command to us as believers:
"...Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, 'Blessed...blessed...blessed...'
And Mary said: 'My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.'" (Luke 1:41-47).
The Spirit fills, Elizabeth blesses Mary, and Mary praises God from the core of her being. This is what we see in Ephesians 5:18-20!
"...be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father..."
The Spirit fills, we speak to one another, and we respond to one another with rejoicing in God from the core of our being.

What the Spirit did at Advent, He does today in the Church. Let us not only remember Advent, but live it in the power of the Spirit today.

Thanksgiving.

2011-11-24T08:06:00.000-07:00

"The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation" (Psalm 24:1-5).

I am thankful for this beautiful creation & possession of the LORD's.

I am thankful for His Church, purchased with His blood (by which I am secure as a citizen of this bright city on a hill), filled with His holy and never-departing presence, and radiant with His eternal glory.

I am thankful for the blessing of God the Father "Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3) - how could we ask for more than the blessed everything we have in Christ?

I am thankful for the "righteousness from the God of [our] salvation," "which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith" (Philippians 3:9).

"Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen" (Revelation 7:12). Happy thanksgiving.

Calvin and Baptism of the Believer

2011-11-14T07:40:00.000-07:00

As a Reformed Baptist, I have always been grieved by the divide between pedobaptists and credobaptists in the beautiful and rich garden of Reformed theology. I readily admit that both branches of this family have good defences of their views based on numerous passages of Scripture. Not being much of a debater myself, I'd like to highlight this teaching by John Calvin concerning believer's baptism. By posting this selection from the "Catechism of the Church of Geneva" I'm not trying to argue that Calvin was a credobaptist. I would, however, like to suggest that in his wonderful elaboration of believer's baptism there is room for a peace in the garden of Reformed theology. May we boast only in the Lord and His cross in all things.

* * * * * * *

Scholar Baptism is a kind of entrance into the Church; for we have in it a testimony that we who are otherwise strangers and aliens, are received into the family of God, so as to be counted of His household...

* * * * * * *

Master ...what is the meaning of Baptism?

Scholar It consists of two parts. For, first, Forgiveness of sins, and secondly, Spiritual regeneration, is figured by it. (Ephesians 5:26; Romans 6:4).

Master What resemblance has water with these things, so as to represent them?

Scholar Forgiveness of sins is a kind of washing, by which our souls are cleansed from their defilements, just as bodily stains are washed away by water.

Master What do you say of Regeneration?

Scholar Since the mortification of our nature is its beginning, and our becoming new creatures its end, a figure of death is set before us when the water is poured upon the head, and the figure of a new life when instead of remaining immersed under water, we only enter it for a moment as a kind of grave, out of which we instantly emerge. [desert rat: notice that Calvin uses both language of affusion and immersion here.]

Master Do you think that the water is a washing of the soul?

Scholar By no means; for it were impious to snatch away this honor from the blood of Christ, which was shed in order to wipe away all our stains, and render us pure and unpolluted in the sight of God. (1 Peter 1:19; 1 John 1:7). And we receive the fruit of this cleansing when the Holy Spirit sprinkles our consciences with that sacred blood. Of this we have a seal in the Sacrament.

Master But do you attribute nothing more to the water than that it is a figure of ablution?

Scholar I understand it to be a figure, but still so that the reality is annexed to it; for God does not disappoint us when He promises us His gifts. Accordingly, it is certain that both pardon of sins and newness of life are offered to us in baptism, and received by us.

Master Is this grace bestowed on all indiscriminately?

Scholar Many precluding its entrance by their depravity, make it void to themselves. Hence the benefit extends to believers only, and yet the Sacrament loses nothing of its nature.

Master Whence is Regeneration derived?

Scholar From the Death and Resurrection of Christ taken together. His death hath this efficacy, that by means of it our old man is crucified, and the vitality of our nature in a manner buried, so as no more to be in vigor in us. Our reformation to a new life, so as to obey the righteousness of God, is the result of the resurrection.

Master How are these blessings bestowed upon us by Baptism?

Scholar If we do not render the promises there offered unfruitful by rejecting them, we are clothed with Christ, and presented with His Spirit.

Master What must we do in order to use Baptism duly?

Scholar The right use of Baptism consists in faith and repentance; that is, we must first hold with a firm heartfelt reliance that, being purified from all stains by the blood of Christ, we are pleasing to God: secondly, we must feel His Spirit dwelling in us, and declare this to others by our actions, and we must constantly exercise ourselves in aiming at the mortification of our flesh, and obedience to the righteousness of God.

Excerpts from the "Catechism of the Church of Geneva" taken from Treatises on the Sacraments (Christian Heritage, 2003), 86-87.

And he died.

2011-11-10T06:45:00.001-07:00

"This is the written account of the descendants of Adam.
Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.
Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.
Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died.
Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.
Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died.
Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.
Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.
Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died."
- Genesis 5:1-31 (New Living Translation)

Don't envy the centuries of life. They end just as our decades of life do today. Desire the short life span of Enoch for how his days were spent and how they ended.

"...Enoch lived in close fellowship with God...Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him" (5:22-24).

Find real life not in longer days, years, decades, but in Christ.

"Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, Who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His glory" (Colossians 3:1-4). Beat the last heartbeat and die to this world now. Live for Christ and never die again.

Don't Forget.

2011-11-10T06:33:00.000-07:00

"A great eagle with broad wings and long feathers, covered with many-colored plumage...seized the top of a cedar tree and plucked off its highest branch. He carried it away to a city filled with merchants. He planted it in a city of traders. He also took a seedling from the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside a broad river, where it could grow like a willow tree. It took root there and grew into a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned up toward the eagle, and its roots grew down into the ground. It produced strong branches and put out shoots. But then another great eagle came with broad wings and full plumage. So the vine now sent its roots and branches toward him for water, even though it was already planted in good soil and had plenty of water so it could grow into a splendid vine and produce rich leaves and luscious fruit" (Ezekiel 17:3-8, New Living Translation).

Don't forget Who planted you, Church. Look to no other.

"So now the Sovereign LORD asks: Will this vine grow and prosper? No! I will pull it up, roots and all! I will cut off its fruit and let its leaves wither and die. I will pull it up easily without a strong arm or a large army. But when the vine is transplanted, will it thrive? No, it will wither away when the east wind blows against it. It will die in the same good soil where it had grown so well" (17:9,10).

Missing the Visitation

2011-09-30T14:19:00.001-06:00

I've been reading the prophet Joel today. God uses a foreign army to both judge His people (8th-6th century B.C. Judah) for a particular sin and to remedy the sin itself. What is the sin? They forgot that God was in their midst.

"Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and there is no other...then you will know that I am the LORD your God, dwelling in Zion" (2:27; 3:17).

God gets their attention through a foreign army of invaders (1:6), which He calls "His army" (2:11) and "My great army" (2:25). It's interesting that, without the words of the prophet, the people would have regarded the invaders as their biggest problem. In reality, their biggest problem was that they had forgotten the presence of God in their midst.

I started reading Joel today for the same reason I always read Joel: Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost. The apostle explains the Spirit's gift of tongues and the "speaking of the mighty deeds of God" by quoting Joel. "This is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:1-16). The sin of Joel (forgetting the presence of God) is also the sin of Judea on the day of Pentecost.

"If you had known in this day, even you, the things which may for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another because you did not recognize the time of your visitation" (Luke 19:42-44).

After wandering in that spiritual wilderness 40 years that generation was destroyed for not knowing the God in their midst (40 years from Christ's ascension to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70).

Church, may we not get so distracted by the "enemies" in our culture and political systems that we forget the greater reality of the God in our midst. Saint, distraction is one of my greatest enemies - if it's yours, as well, let's pray for each other that we don't forget the greatest blessing imaginable that is ours now and forever in Christ: the presence of God Himself in the Person of the Holy Spirit!

The Outer Darkness

2011-09-29T14:34:00.001-06:00

The Gospel of Matthew has a lot of judgment announced against those who are not part of the New Covenant with God through Jesus Christ. While my understanding of the context of the New Testament finds these passages as references to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, I don't imagine that the King has changed His attitude or judgment against the spiritual children of those who are now weeping and gnashing their teeth in the outer darkness.

"Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 8:10-12).

"The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:41,42).

"So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righeous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:49,50).

"...when the king came into look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:11-14).

"Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,' and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 24:45-51).

"...to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 25:29,30).

So, be forewarned:
- It is a humbled ("Lord, I am not worthy," 8:8) faith in Jesus that will include you in the blessings and family of "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," and nothing else.
- God takes "stumbling blocks" and "those who commit lawlessness" seriously. They will not be allowed to remain in "His kingdom" (13:41,42). And everywhere is under the authority of Christ's Kingdom: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (28:18).
- "The wicked" will be taken out "from among the righteous" (13:49). So much for that "carnal Christian" garbage. Fruitless professors of Christianity are false professors of Christianity.
- Those who show up at the "wedding hall" without "wedding clothes" will not be provided a complimentary necktie (22:11,12). John sheds some like on this parable later: "Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints" (Revelation 19:7,8).
- Those who do not feed the saints (saints only have one food) and abuse them will be surprised (24:45,48,49).
- The slave who bears fruit is "good and faithful," and will be welcomed into the Master's joy (25:23). The fruitless slave will lose whatever he has.

The outer darkness. I'm reminded of two passages that express the same reality.

"...Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness" (Leviticus 16:21,22). Outside the camp of God's people is to be away from the Source and Creator of life.

"Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying" (Revelation 22:14,15).

The "Seed" in Genesis & Blessed Assurance

2011-09-07T10:26:00.000-06:00

Following the “Seed” Through Genesis:

In the first hint of the Gospel – 3:15.

How God provided when the son of the earth (Cain) killed the faithful son of God (Abel) – 4:25.

God enters into covenant with Noah and his seed – 9:9.

The covenant promises between the LORD and Abraham/Abraham’s seed – 12:7; 13:15,16; 15:5,13,18; 16:10; 17:7-10,12,19; 21:12; 22:17,18; 24:7.

The covenant promises between the LORD and Isaac/Isaac’s seed – 26:3,4,24.

The covenant promises between the LORD and Jacob/Jacob’s seed – 28:4,13,14; 32:12; 35:12; 48:4.

* * * * * * *

READ Luke 3:23-38 to see how God brought forth the “chosen seed,” Christ, throughout the history of humanity. Matthew 1:1-17 connects Christ to Abraham, the receiver of the promises.

READ Galatians 3:16 to see how Paul claims the true descendant of Abraham (and inheritor of the promises to him) is not the Jewish people, but Christ. Paul makes much of the singular “seed” in this argument.

* * * * * * *
If, throughout the Genesis narrative, God had Christ in view, despite the sin and challenges that faced every generation, can’t we trust that He will bring about His purpose in Christ today among believers?

If God was able to bring about the birth of Christ (which He planned from before the foundation of the world) despite the war, cataclysm, etc., in every generation, then can’t He faithfully birth Christ in us (Galatians 4:19) despite whatever’s happening in our lives?

If everything before the Incarnation of Christ was leading up to His coming into the world, then can’t God bring about His ultimate goal of “the summing up of all things in Christ” (Ephesians 1:10), no matter what happens in the world or in our individual lives?

Sparrows & Mud

2011-09-06T13:54:00.000-06:00

We found this fragment of a hymnal under a garage we were dismantling last week in Minot, North Dakota. The flood waters had lifted the garage and pushed it against the house at an awkward angle. We demolished the garage, carried the debris to the side of the road, and uncovered this testimony to God's goodness-in-difficulty:

"His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me." The author of the poem, Civilla D. Martin, gives this testimony to how she wrote the hymn: "Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle - true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle's reply was simple: 'His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.' The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn 'His Eye Is on the Sparrow' was the outcome of that experience."

The Lord loves His servants dearly, and they are never out of His sight - even in difficulty and challenge.

"What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him Who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a sent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. Therefore every who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father Who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:27-33).

Rejoice in the Table!

2011-07-13T11:14:00.000-06:00

I love the Lord's Supper. When you consider that the New Testament is relatively silent on what we are to do in corporate worship (1 Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 5:19), we should pay special attention when the Lord of the Church Himself gives us an element that should be part of our gatherings. At the Table we proclaim with one accord the "gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). What an awesome opportunity! "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He returns (1 Corinthians 11:26). How could we ever "proclaim the Lord's death" to much, since it is in this that we are brought back to the most perfect expression of love from Love Himself to us? "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16). "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "God is love...in this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins...we love, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:8,10,19). As John Owen said, "the love of the Father is the only rest of the soul." That love is found exclusively in Christ, expressed most brilliantly in the cross of Christ.

In the love of the Father, "which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39), we find the true foundation for our loving fellowship with each other. "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another...if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us" (1 John 4:11,12). So at the Table we are not only reminded of the focal point of the love of the Father, we are reminded that the response to that love is to be directed to those gathered at the Table with us. Beautiful.

I can't get enough of this Supper. We celebrate it every week in our congregation. Today I came across this early teaching and prayer concerning the Lord's Supper and wanted to share it with you:

"First, concerning the cup:

We give You thanks, our Father,
for the holy vine of David Your servant,
which You have made known to us
through Jesus, Your servant;
to You be the glory forever.

And concerning the broken bread:

We give You thanks, our Father,
for the life and knowledge
which You have made known to us
through Jesus, Your servant;
to You be the glory forever.
Just as this broken bread was scattered
upon the mountains and then was
gathered together and became one,
so may Your Church be gathered together
from the ends of the earth into Your Kingdom;
for Yours is the glory and the power
through Jesus Christ forever.

...give thanks as follows:

We give You thanks, Holy Father,
for Your holy Name which You
have caused to dwell in our hearts,
and for the knowledge and faith and immortality
which You have made known to us
through Jesus Your servant;
to You be the glory forever.
You, Almighty Master, created all things for Your Name's sake,
and gave food and drink to men to enjoy,
that they might give You thanks;
but to us You have graciously given spiritual food and drink,
and eternal life through Your servant.
Above all we give thanks because You are mighty;
to You be the glory forever.
Remember Your Church, Lord,
to deliver it from all evil
and to make it perfect in Your love;
and gather it, the one that has been sanctified,
from the four winds into Your Kingdom,
which You have prepared for it;
for Yours is the power and the glory forever.
May grace come, and may this world pass away.
'Save us now' to the God of David.
If anyone is holy, let him come.
If anyone is not, let him repent.
'Come quickly Lord.' Amen."
(from the Didache).

Rejoice in the Table, proclaiming Christ with one voice. Rejoice in the Table, remember the absolute center of all Love in the death of the given Christ. Rejoice in the Table, remembering that we do not come to it alone, but come together with those we love with a supernatural and eternal love.

The Rat Steps Out of His Standard Practice

2011-06-15T20:41:00.001-06:00

Michele Bachmann (Pella, Iowa - April 11, 2011)

I usually don't bother posting much on politics, since it's all a boring reality show, but Representative Bachmann's speech in Iowa caught my attention. While some seeking the Republican nomination for 2012 are minimizing "social conservatism," Representative Bachmann asserts that it is the social issues that are at the heart of a future where the United States of America survives. She speaks of a more genuine Christian experience than anyone I have heard in while, and many aspects of her conversion and growth as a disciple resonate with my own story. Give her a listen. We're not looking for salvation from a candidate who will fix our financial mess or keep us secure - a believer knows the problem is that human beings are sinners and need Christ. I think Representative Bachmann has that firmly in view and operates from that foundational understanding more than anyone I've seen at this political level in my lifetime.

What I told the barber.

2011-03-17T10:25:00.000-06:00

I walked into the barber shop the other day and immediately the barber called my name. "What's God saying in all that's going on in the world?" It's a question I've gotten a few times lately. My answer is not original to me (nothing really is).

What's God saying? "Repent."

On the good days when everything is nice and we enjoy the beauty of creation, the joy of friends and food, and the love of family, God is saying, "repent."

"...do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4).

On the good days God is saying, "repent."

On the tragic days when troubling things happen in our world or in the world delivered to us on the news channel (as it was on the barber shop television), God is saying, "repent."

"Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, 'Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:1-4).

This is what God desires of His people (or those who would be His people): a humble, contrite, repentant heart. No justifying ungodly lifestyles, worldviews, behaviors, decisions, etc. Acknowledging sin and sinfulness and humbly confessing them. He desires this when "all is well." God desires this when the doctor's news is bad, the waves crash, the earth trembles, the sky is filled with smoke, and when our loved ones break our hearts.

"Repent."

This means we turn away from the ways and thoughts of faithless humanity, since the way that seems right to humanity leads to death (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25), and God doesn't think like we do (Isaiah 55:6-9). He offers forgiveness to the repentant in Christ alone: "This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:5-9).

"Repent."

Last night when I came home Jupiter and Mercury were together low on the western horizon. The Greco-Roman king of the gods and his messenger. Tomorrow night we'll be observing a full moon that is at its closest approach to Earth - called a "super-moon." What does it mean?

"Repent."

Jupiter (lower left) and Mercury (upper right) after sunset.

Giving Up Our Children to a Chocolate-Chip Cookie Ethic

2011-03-01T09:55:00.004-07:00

I won't keep you long this time.

I was out on a dirt road jogging yesterday (my new tool of self-torture), praying for individuals within my little ministry sphere. While praying for two particular individuals and measuring my life by the distance between soaptree yucca plants, the words "Christian dating" came into my head.

Can I ask a question? Where is this thing in the Bible? When I read household codes like the one found in Ephesians 5:22-6:9 (though, since Paul is writing to believers, this is not a "household" code, but an ethic for Christian covenant members - a "home mission church" ethic, if you will), I find two things:

An ethic for Christian covenant members who are married to one another: "Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord [yes, I know the verb here builds off of the mutual submission COMMAND for the ENTIRE CHURCH in 5:21, which in turn is the inevitable outworking of the COMMAND to be "filled with the Spirit" in 5:18]. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is also the head of the Church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the Church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, that He might present to Himself the Church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the Church, because we are members of His body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh [a quote from Genesis 2:24]. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the Church. Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband" (Ephesians 5:22-33). The foundational unit - a Creation ordinance, according to Jesus (Matthew 19:4-6) - of the Church (not society, for that's not what Paul is addressing here) is the married couple (one man and one woman covenanted as one in a Spirit-filled relationship with the God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ). This is the starting point.
Secondly, we see an ethic for the fruit of this physical and spiritual union: the children of the household of Christian covenant members (being Baptist I am refraining from calling them "covenant children," all due respect given to my sincerely beloved Reformed brothers and sisters). "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth [a quote from Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16]" (6:1-3). I believe Paul purposefully quotes from the Law of Moses at this point in reference to how we raise our children in a home parented by married members of the covenant in Christ: "...the Law [becomes] our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith" (Galatians 3:24). Until in the marriage relationship, children are to be regarded as part of the household of the parent. This is to be done with a wisdom beyond this desert rat (hence the need for the filling of the Spirit commanded in 5:18): "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (6:4). When there are two believing, married parents involved, the child should obey their wisdom - particularly in matters of relationship.

Back to my original question: where is the room for "Christian dating"? Is there an implied parenthesis between 5:22-33 and 6:1-4 where the parents release the bodies and spirits of their children to others their age, hoping that eventually - after much trial, error, and "experience" - the children stumble from 6:1-4 into 5:22-33? Or does Paul give us only these two categories, back-to-back, all under the command to be "filled with the Spirit," on purpose?

"The Bible doesn't mention chocolate-chip cookies, either, but you'll eat them, won't you?" I've heard the question before. The Bible does mention chocolate-chip cookies: "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer" (1 Timothy 4:4,5 - in context Paul is referring to both marriage and chocolate-chip cookies). Despite that, do want your chocolate-chip cookie ethic to create a category wedged in-between 5:22-33 and 6:1-4? Really? If you see a lot between the lines of your Bible and readily admit that, then I suppose that's up to your conscience.

Then there's the argument that my experience as a father doesn't really permit me to make such statements. "Just wait, rat, until we see how your tween daughter is doing in 10 years." This reasoning, in which I almost hear challengers cursing my daughter with wishes for her failure (imagine a red-eyed, sharp-fanged ugly desert rat snarling at this point), reminds me of an illustration (since we're basing our child-rearing on a chocolate-chip cookie ethic, I'm sure there won't be too many objections).

When teaching our children to drive, we don't send them off in a recently-new beat-up car driven by a careless 16-year-old who's only had his license for a year (during most of which he was grounded from the car because of tickets, wrecks, other irresponsible behavior). No. Responsible parents make their children study the drivers' manual and take the potential driver's education upon themselves. Parents hopefully model preferred driving habits, remind the young driver of the rules, and guide them through teaching in a wide-open parking lot.

And that's just driving. How much more important is the command of Scripture for how we relate to one another in Christ in the most basic units of the Church?

All that jogging yesterday and all this typing this morning is making me hungry. Luckily there aren't any chocolate-chip cookies in reach. They're good for a moment, but mess up my blood sugar and add more pounds to this short frame...and I don't want anything to slow me down as I go down the road later.

Literacy.

2011-02-01T07:22:00.004-07:00

I read this on the Baptist Press site, describing the lamentable (and statistically verified) neglect of the Word of God in my denomination (the Southern Baptist Convention).

Note this connection in the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

Q1. What is the chief end of man? A. Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.
Q2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him? A. The Word of God which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him.

Bible illiteracy among believers means that they cannot "glorify and enjoy" God. Therefore, they cannot fulfill their purpose in life, which is singular and common to all humanity. No amount of searching outside of the Word for a "Purpose-Filled Life" will accomplish this task. As the Reformer said, "the human mind is, so to speak, a perpetual forge of idols" (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1.11.8). Following our feelings, opinions, experiences (and those promoted to us by our friends or people we trust), we will seek a million other ways to find purpose. Our purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, and the direction on how to do that is found only in the Word of God.

Biblical literacy is critical to the life of the individual believer and - more importantly - the Church (where the identity of the believer should be found). Most grievously, the only One Who is worthy of glory does not receive it from a biblically ignorant people, no matter how genuine their intentions, how "spiritual" they are, or how big, "relevant," or multi-faceted the ministry offerings of the congregation are. Apart from biblical literacy, we are a grief to the God to Whom the Church belongs (as Acts 20:28 says, "the church of God which He purchased with His own blood").

Read the Book. Take advantage of the opportunities your congregation gives for increasing biblical literacy. If these don't exist, find a congregation where it does.

Read the Book.

Listening in Prayer.

2010-11-28T06:31:00.002-07:00

The moment of the sermon has been one of my most intense, dedicated, and deep times of prayer for many years now. When the man in the pulpit was my pastor, I labored in prayer for him, the congregation, and myself throughout those all-too-brief moments. We have 20-40 minutes together hearing the Word as the people of God - for some this will be all they get all week long. We will be relentlessly barraged with the collective wisdom of the world (which is no wisdom at all) the moment we leave this building. For many its gravity will be so massive that escape will require supernatural intervention. And so, in the moment of the sermon, I have prayed.

Now that I am the man in the pulpit, I desperately hope that they are praying through this moment. This is the Word of God, not a script. This is the inspired Word of God, not an opinion piece. This is the Word of God - the very food for the covenant people of God at this place in this moment - and we must hear Him. So we must pray.

In reading George Whitefield (1714-1770) I came across a sermon he preached about listening to sermons. Permit me to share his thoughts with you:

"If you would receive a blessing from the LORD, when you hear His word preached, pray to Him, both before, in, and after every sermon, to endue the minister with power to speak, and to grant you a will and ability to put in practice what he shall show from the book of GOD to be your duty.

This would be an excellent means to render the word preached effectual to the enlightening and enflaming your hearts; and without this, all the other means...will be in vain.

No doubt it was this consideration that made St. Paul so earnestly entreat his beloved Ephesians to intercede with God for him: 'Praying always, with all manner of prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and for me also, that I may open my mouth with boldness, to make known the mysteries of the Gospel.' And if so great an Apostle as St. Paul needed the prayers of his people, much more do those ministers who have only the ordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Besides, this would be a good proof that you sincerely desire to do, as well as know, the will of GOD. And it must highly profit both ministers and people; because GOD, through your prayers, will give them a double portion of His Holy Spirit, whereby they will be enabled to instruct you more fully in the things which pertain to the kingdom of GOD."

[Sermon 28, from Luke 8:18]

Dear friends, this is not a moment of entertainment. In Ezekiel 33:30-33 the prophet is told that those who are coming to hear him are listening to him as they listen to a love song. It sounds good, moves the emotions, but results in no change of life. We do not attend to the moment of the sermon to be amused - or ears tickled, as the case may be (2 Timothy 4:1-4).

When you arrive at the building, do not be distracted by the facility. Be swayed not by the multitude of "programs," "groups," events, etc. You need a Sword (Hebrews 6:17), not a Swiss Army knife. Attend in prayer, aware that God the Holy Spirit has drawn you to this place at this time. He has - Lord willing - moved the preacher to the needful text in the Book He Authored. He has guided this servant through the sermon preparation process - this servant who is in chains not of steel but enslaved by the fire in his soul. The exact individuals are in the room who need to be in the room at that moment - the lost, the saved, the confused, the hungry, and (Lord, please!) the spiritual masters who are already praying. This is a Spirit-saturated moment. His Book, His people, His purpose to be revealed. Do not waste this moment. Pray. Pray that in this great hour such a power will occur that is comparable to the first chapter of the Bible.

20-40 minutes out of 10,080 spent in the midst of wolves, devouring lions, angels of a false light, deluding spirits, and the doctrines of demons. These things will seem "good for food...a delight to the eyes, and...desirable to make one wise" (Genesis 3:6). These things will seem right to the emotions, the thoughts, and the mass opinion of humanity. "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death" (Proverbs 14:12). If the way that feels right, seems correct, and is agreed upon by my friends leads to death, how can I know the right way? A way that originates outside the heart, mind, and collective wisdom of humanity must be in order. And so we gather to hear the Word of God spoken through His servant to His covenant people. We must pray for the potency of this moment. Through it God will move us toward conformity to His Beloved Son (Romans 8:29) and will reveal more fully His plan to sum up all things in Christ (Ephesians 1:10). We must have this Word. We don't need to hear stories, jokes, or thoughts about how wonderful we are (we'll get this the rest of the week). We need the Word.

So, beloved brothers and sisters, pray in the moment of the sermon.

If you're interested in reading on this subject a little more, consider Ken Ramey's Expository Listening: A Handbook for Hearing and Doing God's Word (Kress Biblical Resources, 2010). It's a relatively short, easy read (and it isn't expensive). While there aren't many works on this topic, this one stands out in its clarity and focus.

Beside the Still Waters

2010-09-18T06:41:00.000-06:00

Months ago I went up a nearby mountain on my bicycle, seeking to make the most of the time I had available to me and seeking some wisdom from the Lord.

I am not afraid of dealing with wolves. The one who is afraid is not a true shepherd (John 10:12,13).

"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15).

"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert..." (Acts 20:28-31).

The greatest threat the Church faces will always arise from within, not from without. The challenges to the Church from the government should give us opportunity to testify to the Kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ (Matthew 10:17,18). The perversion of the culture gives us the arena in which we shine as brilliant lights (Philippians 2:15,16). But a Church who has allowed wolves to define her character and mission is a sick Body.

We need more members of the Church who have an apostolic burden for the purity of the Church in her heart and actions: "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:2,3). Wolves stand in the way and will show themselves when presented with the Word and admonitions to live that Word. Even the calmest and most loving voice, when spoken with the Word in the Holy Spirit, will cause the wolves to bear their teeth. They cannot abide the Word.

But there comes a time when the wolves are mostly gone (I don't think we'll ever be completely without them in this world, and there is a little bit of wolf in all of us disciples that keeps us humble). What does the shepherd do then? Scarred, weary, and tempted to swing at any sheep that used to stand near the wolves or even has a wolfish hair in its wool...but called to be a shepherd, and that means more than warring, even if for a good cause.

So I'm bicycling up a mountain, the physical effort mirrored in my heart, mind, and spirit as I beg the Lord to break me of this wolf-killing instinct in the midst of a flock ready for green pastures. There are times when the trail is so steep and rocky that the bicycle loses traction. I have to get off and walk it up ten, twenty feet. No amount of straining, sweating, roaring get the bicycle to surmount the unfriendly trail at these points. It's not the bicycle's shortcoming, I realize on one of these spots. It's just that I'm not strong enough...He's good at breaking me.

Thunder rumbles from the other side of the mountain. I stop and turn back, knowing trouble is on the way. On the way down the wind changes, the sun disappears behind clouds that tower over this mountain I'm on. Then the small hail - graupel - starts falling, thickly, quickly covering the ground and hiding the trail. Lightning flashes around me. Close (I am literally in the clouds of the storm as they wrap around the mountain). I make a wrong turn, stop, and find the trail again.

I am gripping the brakes so hard my hands hurt. My toes will be bruised for a month from keeping the bicycle from crashing on the steep, rough, and now white descent.

But in the midst of this I hear: "Lead them beside the still waters." Once, twice, over and over.

And so, here I am, five months later, leading beside the still waters. It takes emotional risk, careful compromise (not of doctrine but of "my way of wanting to do things"), and loving communication even with those that are resistant to being loved. I see Reformation, Revolution that I have desired for this people finally beginning to dawn (that grey with the fainted tinge of yellow or orange an hour before sunrise), and have a peace knowing it's not my Revolution. I don't even hear the howling of wolves now two valleys away, fading every day. Other shepherds have come with wisdom and a similar desire for green grass and still waters.

The mountain...no, the God of the stormy mountain...has spoken once again to His stubborn servant. He's sometimes got to almost kill me to get through to me. I'm ready for the wolves should they rise again...I'm stronger, a little wiser (very little), hopefully more still and humble in spirit (time will tell). But now I'm delighting in these sheep, these beautiful and hungry sheep, delighting in watching them flourish beside the still waters.

The God Who Thunders

2010-08-09T06:31:00.006-06:00

The storm. What do you see? What does it signify for you? In this storm, billowed up after sunset over the Black Range, I saw a great lesson in hermeneutics.

Great sky-mountains like this storm should take our minds back to places like 2 Samuel 22:2-51//Psalm 18:2-50, where we see the LORD flexing His mighty right arm on behalf of His anointed, David. This is great stuff. "He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds..." This is the God Who showed up to battle on behalf of the shepherd boy who was going to be King, who was of the line of the blessing of Abraham, who was a picture of the coming King of kings, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of David. This is a God we'd all like to have show up on our behalf in times of trouble.

Look at the introduction to this Psalm: "David spoke the words of this son to the LORD in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul" (2 Samuel 22:1). Okay. Let's read the historical narrative of this event (1 Samuel 23:15-24:22; 26:1-27:12). Wait. Did you see the storm clouds of heaven? Neither did I. So what's going on here? Was David just exaggerating? A bit of bravado around the campfire after escaping the wrath of the king's insanity? That doesn't seem to reflect David's character. So what do we do with this?

Two options for the faithful Bible interpreter come to mind (there are probably more options, but these two seem most appropriate to me).

This is a vision given to the one who would be king-yet-prophet. Similar to Isaiah's vision of the heavenly throne room superimposed on the earthly temple (Isaiah 6). So, is it "real"? Not to get into ontology, but wouldn't the God Who created all things, though He is Spirit, be more "real" than all the stuff He created? While the material world is most real from our perspective, isn't the perspective of God the one that will ultimately be shown to be correct? I'm not saying that the material world is an illusion; I'm just saying we need to consider whose perspective we're going to use when viewing the world or considering contrasts between historical narratives and prophetic descriptions of events. In this case, both are true, faithful to the events, and utterly real. David saw aspects of the events through eyes of faith, with a vision given him by the grace and gifting of God.
I don't know how different this second option is, but...I would suggest that the faithful people of God always see God in all things as they are occurring. We may not all see thunderstorms in the events of our moments and days, but we still see God involved in everything. "God the good Creator of all things, in His infinite power and wisdom, upholds, directs, disposes and governs all creatures and things, from the greatest to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, to the end for which they were created...God, in His ordinary providence makes use of means, yet He is free to work outside, above, and against them at His pleasure" (Baptist Confession of 1689, 5.1,3). There is nothing that happens that does not have God's sovereign hand in it. As David was going through the events described in the historical narrative, in his spirit he discerned the storming God moving the events around him and through him to God's ultimate GLORY and honor. Later, singing of this sense he had throughout those days, the feeling in his spirit was best described as the unstoppable storm of the LORD.

Paul, in Colossians 3:3 (New Living Translation), tells the Church that "your real life is hidden with Christ in God." Whether in the difficulties (like Isaiah's leper-king Uzziah dying in 6:1) or the joys (David's reflections on God's deliverance), they would both confess: "The whole earth is filled with His glory!" (Isaiah 6:3). So will all believers who keep the "eyes of their heart" (Ephesians 1:18) focused upward on the ultimate, everlasting reality of God Himself.

This definitely should have implications for our interpretation of other "vision" passages, especially those that involve storms and clouds. Many times the approaching clouds of judgment are stylized visions of the dust kicked up by a massive army on the march (always being brought by the sovereign hand of God to judge His peoples for their spiritual infidelity). Sometimes the storms described in visions show us the power and wrath of God against sin. Still, we should be cautious about asserting a non-biblical, rigid "literalism" that insists on physically manifested storm clouds while ignoring how the Hebrew-speaking peoples thought and expressed themselves. Some days God was working the deliverance of David from Saul were, no doubt, sunny days. But in the surpassing spiritual reality, He was storming mightily on behalf of His anointed, and moving the events of human history to ultimately reveal salvation in Jesus Christ. He's still doing this: "He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purpose in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the the earth" (Ephesians 1:9,10).

His glory fills the whole earth, even the parts where you will live and move and breathe today. Sometimes He will be a gentle breeze, but sometimes He will billow up and thunder...and all to draw you closer to His Son.

Hope Deferred...but Rejoicing in Hope

2010-07-06T06:55:00.009-06:00

"They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, saying, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.' When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them" (Acts 16:6-10).

This is during Paul's "second missionary journey." He has been traveling through the Roman Empire "strengthening the churches" (15:41), with the result that "the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily" (16:5). And then block, block, vision.

I don't know about you, but the sequence is not what I have usually experience in my walk of faith. In my experience, it's usually vision, block, block, block, etc.

The Psalms are filled with this great longing for the LORD, and we can relate as the Psalmist sits between a vision and a roadblock:

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long, 'Where is your God?'" (Psalm 42:1-3).

"I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; my eyes fail while I wait for my God" (Psalm 69:3).

"My soul languishes for Your salvation; I wait for Your word. My eyes fail with longing for Your word, while I say, 'When will You comfort me?'" (Psalm 119:81,82).

"Answer me quickly, O LORD, my spirit fails; do not hide Your face from me, or I will become like those who go down to the pit" (Psalm 143:7).

What do we do? Pray against the devil? It wasn't the devil blocking Paul, though his intentions to go into Asia and Bithynia were wholly Kingdom-oriented. Beware lest we find ourselves trying to cast out the Spirit of Jesus in our spiritual warfare! What do we do?

"Now [Jesus] was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, 'In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, "Give me legal protection from my opponent." For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, "Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out."' And the Lord said, 'Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?'" (Luke 18:1-8).

We keep praying in faith and we don't lose heart. It's the second part that gets difficult, doesn't it? After all, "hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Proverbs 13:12). Paul, a man who knew difficulty and roadblocks, commands us to always be "rejoicing in hope" (Romans 12:12). How do we do this? This isn't, of course, the only time Paul speaks of "hope" in this letter to the Romans. Let's look at what else he says about hope, about avoiding a sick heart, and learning to rejoice while we wait between the vision and the roadblock.

We rejoice in hope because of the promises of the One in Whom we have hope.

"In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, 'So shall your descendants be.' Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform" (Romans 4:18-21).

Abraham. Hope against hope. As good as dead. Amazing passage for those between the vision and the roadblock, for this is where the great patriarch pitched his tent for DECADES. What kept Abraham from the "sick heart"? In hoping he "he grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured." What was the factor that allowed him to be "rejoicing in hope"? The promise of God.

He hoped "according to that which had been spoken."
He hoped because of "what God had promised."

The Word of God had been given to Abraham, and so he was able to rejoice in hope, IN SPITE OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES. Everything about the outward reality, the facts of the situation, said that Abraham's hope was impossible. So it is in our lives between the vision and the roadblock. In this valley everything says, "give this up right now, it cannot happen." But God has spoken and the circumstances cannot silence this Word.

To keep hope deferred from becoming a spiritual heart disease, we trust in the Word of God alone, despite all the protestations of outward circumstance. This is the primary means God uses to bringing the one waiting in hope the comfort that sustains the heart: "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15:4).

The Word cannot be a tree of life to the one hoping unless you read it and are familiar with the God Who gives visions and roadblocks. We should make ourselves familiar with Him not mainly through the testimonies and experiences of others, but through what He has said about Himself in His Word. Read it while you wait. Make it your companion, and learn assurance that allows you to rejoice while hoping.

God the Holy Spirit wrote the Scriptures. They are written to tell us about the God Who is our Satisfaction, Comfort, Love, Joy, and greatest Peace. When we get separated from this Word, hope deferred can make our hearts sick. When we are in His Word, reminding ourselves of Who He is, we can rejoice while waiting on hope. Don't get self-centered in reading Scripture, though. We are meant to get lost in the glory of Christ not by "finding ourselves" (the pop-psychology word of this generation), but finding Him and finding that He satisfies all we could ever need. Make your Scripture reading about getting lost in His glory and greatness. Rejoice in hope. It is a hope that cannot disappoint.

We rejoice in hope because we have the One in Whom we hope.

We don't just have His Word. We have Him.

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who was given to us" (Romans 5:1-5).

I remind you that our God is One God, but He is Three Persons, all equally 100% God and the same in essence. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This thing is a profound mystery confessed by the Church for two millennia. Men anchored to the sod of a fallen world in every generation have tried to redefine this Triune God into something that can be put in a box, but a God Who can be completely comprehended in this world is not much of God, is He? We hold to the God taught by the Scripture, Who is One and Three. No one has seen the Father at any time. The Son came and went. But, to insure that we do not lose heart and grieve as orphans in this world, God the Holy Spirit has come and will never leave His Church. We have the Book He has Authored, and we have Him.

Rejoicing in hope is not something we can do without the work of God the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is a supernatural assurance that hope will be fulfilled and rejoicing in the comforting presence of the Comforter while we wait, worship, and serve during this time between the vision and the roadblock. It is He Who teaches us the Word He has written and causes it to be food to satisfy us while we wait on the banquet to come.

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).

We persevere for a high but unseen hope.

We dream BIG because it is not our dream, but the God Who gives light and goodness in His gifts. We dream as big as God Himself.

"For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him Who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it" (Romans 8:20-25).

Big dreams, longing for the dream of God to see "the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth" (Ephesians 1:10)...and in our lives. We long for what we cannot see, but we have been told about it in the promises of God's Word, and have God the Holy Spirit Himself within us to enable us to hold on to this dream too big to be grasped by the human heart unassisted.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). We have faith that our hope will be fulfilled, and so we persevere, we endure to the end with faith in hope ever-growing through the nurturing and strengthening power of God the Holy Spirit Who dwells in His Church.

Difficult days may come when the groaning in our spirits seems louder than usual, but we endure to the end with faith and hope in the One Who has promised, the One Who is with us, and the One Who has caused us to hope in great and glorious (humanly impossible and even incomprehensible) things.

I Am Bound for the Promised Land

2010-06-29T13:42:00.005-06:00

Does the letter to the Hebrews teach we can lose our salvation?

"For this reason we much pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels [the Law, see the post on this subject] proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will be escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" (Hebrews 2:1-3).

"...Christ was faithful as a Son over His house - Whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope until the end" (3:6).

"Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God" (3:12).

"For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end" (3:14).

"Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it" (4:1).

"Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience" (4:11).

"For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly ift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame" (6:4-6).

"For if we go on sinning willfully [notice: the only sin mentioned was the "forsaking our own assembly together"] after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?" (10:26-29).

* * * * * * *

So, is the letter to the Hebrews saying we can lose our salvation?

I want you to remember the story of the Exodus, because that's what the letter to the Hebrews asks of us from 3:1-4:11. The children of Israel were delivered from slavery in Egypt through the mighty works of God (the plagues and parting of the Red Sea). Were they "saved" at this point? No. They still had to cross the desert (being supplied with food and water along the way). After making it to the foot of Mt. Sinai and hearing the Word of God, were they "saved"? No. They still had to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land, clearing the land in obedience to God's directions, and settle there according to God's Law. They didn't do this, did they? They balked at God's ability to deliver on His promises to give them the Land. So, because of their disbelief, God marched them back into the desert so that the Exodus generation could die there. A whole generation was raised in the desert: "Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness" (Numbers 14:33). They were delivered from slavery, witnessed God's miraculous power, were sustained by God, received God's Word, and laid their eyes on the Promised Land, BUT THEY WERE NOT SAVED BECAUSE OF THEIR UNBELIEF! It was only the generation that believed God and crossed the Jordan that were able to tell future generations of the salvation wrought in the Exodus. The others fell in the desert.

Now return to the letter to the Hebrews. Does it say we can lose our salvation, or - keep in mind the recipients of the letter - is the letter comparing that first Jewish generation of the Church to the generation that came out of Egypt by the delivering hand of God?

"Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God" (Hebrews 3:12). Can a person with "an evil, unbelieving heart" be a Christian, or "saved"? No, of course not! He is asking them to examine themselves and encourage each other to not lapse into a sinful lifestyle, for that falling "away from the living God" would be a sign that inside you was "an evil, unbelieving heart." In other words, your lifestyle is a witness to the reality in your heart. We often comfort ourselves for loved ones who are living in open rebellion to the Lord by remembering or recounting some time when they made a public profession of faith. The thing is that it is possible to make a public profession of faith and not be truly born again. A person caught up in an emotionally compelling moment may make a public profession but still have "an evil, unbelieving heart." It is the continuance in the Spirit-filled Christian life as part of a Word-saturated Body that is the witness to a true profession, not a filled-out decision card!

Why did the Exodus generation fall in the desert? Was it because they "lost their salvation," or was it because they were never truly filled with saving faith in the first place (despite their witnessing all the amazing works of God)? "So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief" (3:19). They were never saved to begin with, and neither will any person who does not have true belief to go along with their outward behavior.

"For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard" (4:2). Hearing the good news preached is the means by which God saves people (Romans 10:8-15), but hearing without faith does not result in salvation. Isaiah is told to go preach to a people that will not receive his message unto salvation (Isaiah 6:9,10). All four Gospels and the book of Acts quote that verse (Matthew 13:14,15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 28:26,27). But when faith is united with the message heard, true salvation is the result, not some false imitation that inevitably withers away.

Jesus speaks of this truth in His parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-9,18-23). What is the seed? The Word of the Kingdom. Some, upon hearing it, show immediately signs they do not understand it. Nothing at all happens when it is sown (preached). Some hear the Word, receive it with joy, but when that same Word begins to cause trouble in their lives, they stumble into oblivion. For some the "worry of the world" and the "deceitfulness of wealth" cause them to abandon that Word which they originally heard. Some, however, hear the Word and it bears incredible fruit in their lives. Let me ask you: who was truly saved?

Jesus (and the rest of the New Testament) doesn't teach "once saved" (like it's some isolated event in the past) "always saved." A singular, isolated event of a "prayer prayed" (show me the "sinner's prayer" or "asking Jesus into your heart" in the Bible) or public decision being made is not the thing that seals you to heaven forever. No, Jesus says things like, "the one who endures to the end, he will be saved" (Matthew 24:13). Sounds a lot like the stuff in the letter to the Hebrews. A person who truly receives the message of the Good News preached and has that message united with true, lasting, growing faith in his/her heart, will endure to the end and will be saved. The one who falls away never had faith to begin with, regardless of a "prayer prayed," or one-time confession. True rebirth, true renewal of life, true salvation causes a change in a person's life. It isn't that they are perfect and never sin again, but sin becomes a battlefield and not a place of luxurious vacation. A person who is saved is changed. A person who is lost is capable of spurts of play-acting, but make their true nature known through their lives.

Sometimes they fall away from being part of the Church. Sadly, sometimes they become the wolves in sheep's clothing or the tares among the wheat within the Church. No matter what they are, the faith/belief is lacking from their heart and therefore they are not saved and were never saved to begin with.

Does the letter to the Hebrews teach that we can lose our salvation? No, but drawing upon the Jewish salvation-history of the Exodus, the letter to the Hebrews says that there are some who make a decent showing of being people of faith, but are not really people of the faith, and when difficulty comes in the life of a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, they will fall away. Be disciplined in your life to be an accountable part of the Body of Christ, bearing fruit to His glory...do this to assure yourself that your faith is genuine.

"All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end" (Baptist Faith & Message [2000], article V).

Let This Be Our Prayer.

2010-06-26T07:03:00.004-06:00

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Acts 4:24-30. I know very little about most things, but especially prayer. What I do know is that I see prayers in the Bible that cause God to shake the heavens and the earth. "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words..." (Romans 8:26). I consider that the Spirit also helps us in prayer through the Word He has Authored. So I pay attention to these prayers of the Scriptures given to us by God the Holy Spirit. And this one in Acts is close to my heart.

It is a prayer "to God with one accord" (4:24). Unity of the Church is the Reality of the True Church. It is how the Father has designed the Church, how the Son reigns over the Church, and how the Holy Spirit builds the Church. The disunity we see and experience is from our bringing of worldly concerns into the Church, the continued fleshly desire to build our kingdom rather than Christ's, ignorance or willful rejection of the truth of the Word, etc. We see this Church praying to God as ONE. The unity comes from the Reality established by God (Ephesians 4:4-6), gifted by the Christ Who takes us captive (4:7-11), and the building of the Church (4:12-16). This Church that prays in Acts 4 "to God with one accord" has embraced the Reality, the gift, and the building. And so they come to corporate prayer as the Church.

It is a prayer that draws from the Bible as its heartbeat. The confession of Acts 4:24 that identifies the One to Whom they pray: "Lord, it is You Who made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them..." This is a scriptural view of God. They come as one Body to a God Who is greater than all things because He made all things. He is not their pet god. He is not their good luck charm or servant of their individual goals and desires. He is Maker of ALL.

Then they move on to the Psalm 2 quote, lifting up the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit and the salvation of God through history (the citation of David the LORD's servant): "Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples devise futile things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ" (Acts 4:25,26//Psalm 2:1,2). This quotation of the Psalms was most natural to the Church. I believe it was part of every corporate prayer time they had together. We read in 2:42 that "they were continually devoting themselves...to prayer [lit., "the prayers"]." I would suggest to you that these early Jewish Christians devoted themselves to "the prayers," which was the Book of Psalms, the prayer-book of the Bible. Even after the Church expanded past its predominately Jewish nature, the Psalms were still vital to the corporate life of the Church:

"When you assemble, each one has a psalm..." (1 Corinthians 14:26).
"...be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms..." (Ephesians 5:18,19).

Both of these passages highlight the work of God the Holy Spirit in the Church, and both bring the spiritual exercise of corporate prayer of the Psalms (which the Holy Spirit Authored) into play. So, as the Church gathered to pray in Acts 4:24-30, they naturally wove - by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit - the Psalms written by the Spirit into their prayer. It was what they always did, it honored the God in their midst Who had given them Scriptures, and lifted God's own words back to Him in prayer. Do you see the power already building just in this act alone? The Word is the power of God! Make it your prayer, dear Church!

This prayer remembers the mighty deeds of God. Not just in citing Creation and mentioning David, but the mighty deeds in their own lives. All of humanity ("...Herod and Pontius Pilate...the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel") had been gathered together against Christ. It did not matter. Their greatest opposition became the very narrative of the plan of God: "...to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur" (4:28). Remember the mighty deeds of God in your prayers! This was the theme of the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:11). We focus on the tongues and arguing over what this phenomenon was, but the point is that they heard "the mighty deeds of God." Remember these deeds and tell of them from both the Bible and your own lives.

Take note of the circumstance of the prayer. Peter and John have been arrested. Peter has given another amazing sermon (3:12-26) and testimony (4:8-12) in the power of the Triune God:

"...they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father Who speaks in you" (Matthew 10:17-20).
"...they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute" (Luke 21:12-15).
"...they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is give you in that hour; for it is not you who speak but it is the Holy Spirit" (Mark 13:9-11).

I have said these things before, but it doesn't hurt to remind us all of Who is our power in testimony before the world. They mention the leaders, as Paul commands us to in his teaching on prayer in 1 Timothy 2:1-8. This command is not for the peace and well-being of the land for its own sake or for our comfort. We pray for the leaders because God desires for men to be saved through a knowledge of the truth (2:4), that is, that Jesus is the Mediator between God and men (2:5). We pray for leaders so that those who are appointed as preachers, apostles, and teachers will be able to proclaim the Good News (2:7), which is "our God reigns" (see Isaiah 52:7). The Church is to pray for what Baptist theologian Herschel Hobbs (1907-1995) called "a free Church in a free State."

In this circumstance, they don't pray for their own comfort, do they? Compare that to the content of our own prayers when we pray apart from the Scriptures, when we pray from lives that devote a percentage and not the whole to the Kingdom of God. But a live wholly dedicated to the reign of God, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and Word, crucified to the world...well, the prayer requests are going to be different. They were being actively threatened by the rulers of the land, but didn't pray for themselves! Let me talk briefly about some "ask whatever you want" passages:

John 14:13,14...this promise is held between doing the works of Christ and proof of belief (14:12) and obedience to His commands as proof of love (14:15). The Son responds to prayers in His name to bring glory to the Father. This makes "whatever you ask" have a different flavor, doesn't it?
John 15:16...this promise is held between absolute obedience to Christ's command to love in a self-sacrificing way as He loves (15:12-14,17) and is preceded by Christ's statement that He has chosen us, appointed us to bear lasting fruit. This makes "whatever you ask" have a different flavor, doesn't it?
John 16:23,24,26 concerns knowledge of Jesus, not receiving our personal (often selfish or fleshly) desires!

Isn't this what Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:25-34)? Doesn't James tell us we don't get what we want because of our motives and desires (4:1-6)?

They prayed for boldness in speaking God's Word: "...grant that Your bondservants may speak Your Word with all confidence..." (4:29). This is a common prayer request (Ephesians 6:18-20; Colossians 4:2-4; 2 Thessalonians 3:1,2). Yes, they pray for healing, "and signs and wonders," but these things are requested as support to the bold proclamation of the Word, not for their own physical comfort or desire to witness supernatural power.

The result of this prayer? "...the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the Word of God with boldness" (4:31). God answered the prayer powerfully. The imprisonments and persecutions increased, but the Word was preached boldly. Some died, but the Word was preached boldly. This world increasingly became alien to them, but the Word was preached boldly.

Let this be our prayer.

How Disunity Can Be of God

2010-05-16T06:56:00.004-06:00

"Why do there have to be denominations?"

"But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God. But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you" (1 Corinthians 11:16-19).

I've heard two different pleas for unity lately, one in a letter to an editor in a state newsmagazine, and another from a keynote speaker at a national convention. We've all heard lots of pleas for unity, and it's usually a unity that means "accept everything from everyone" or "let's unite under my authority and/or viewpoint." I gotta say: I'm not always interested in unity.

I'm not interested in unity with those who minimize a deep, biblical understanding of Jesus, eternal Son of God and son of man. I'm not interested in anything less than His utter Sovereignty. I'm not interested in unity with those who regard the Bible as merely man-created or outdated or live a pragmatic denial of its truth by their lifestyles and choices. I'm not interested in unity with those who think "conversions" fulfill the Great Commission rather than disciple-making. I'm not interested in unity with those "Christians" who think they can have a vibrant faith apart from the Body of Christ. I'm not interested in unity for the sake of unity unless it is a unity under Christ the Head of the Church with His Word and Spirit being the final and absolute authority.

Christ creates division. He is the Ultimate Catalyst. When He says, "blessed is he who does not take offense at me" (Matthew 11:6), it's because there's a real probably that you will be offended by the real Jesus! It takes a supernatural intervention in your heart for you NOT to be offended at Him. He is the Offense, as is the message of His cross (1 Corinthians 1:23). Are you blessed, or have you tried to tame the Lion of the Tribe of Judah?

"There must be factions among you..." From the solid standing of the Rock of the Word, I will love you, answer your questions, work for your good, etc. But I will not leave this place in which I stand. I will not argue with you, will not hate you, will not slander you, etc. But I will not join you if you stray into a swampland in Babylon. And I will not allow you to poison the flock I have been commanded to shepherd.

Approval comes through God in Christ, revealed by the work of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the Church, and His singular instrument of working in the midst of His Church is His Word. That is the approval manifested by division.

There will be unity when people gather before God to be taught by Him, not to re-make Him into a mirror image of our contemporary sensibilities and desire to be the center of the universe (Isaiah 2:2,3). The "swords" and "spears" will be beat into "plowshares" and "pruning hooks" not when humans come together in their own strength and wisdom, but when they are utterly and completely conquered and subdued by the LORD (2:4).

Want unity? Be consumed by the Offense.

Being the Angel-fire Over Morning Coffee

2010-05-06T10:14:00.006-06:00

In the last post I mentioned the passage in 2 Thessalonians 1:8,9. It should be, for the disciple of Jesus Christ, one of the most sobering pictures of "Hell" in the Bible. Immediately following that verse, however, in 2:10-12, we see additional thoughts on the reflective glory of God that have pretty powerful and worship-inspiring implications for our daily lives.

In the same day the Lord Jesus comes in judgment to cast the disobedient to the Good News away from "the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power," He will also "be glorified in His saints" and "be marveled at among all who have believed." The glory of the Lord Jesus Christ will not be something outside of us, something to be an object of observation, but fully manifested or revealed in believers (those who have been wholly set apart for that purpose).

But, so we don't lapse into a false belief that Christ's glory-in-us is only future, Paul tells the "church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (1:1) that he continually prays for them: "...that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power..." I do hope God fulfills the desires to do His good work in power and in faith (John 3:21; Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:12,13; Hebrews 13:20,21). But why? What would the result of this be? "...so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." Just incredible. Even now, when I become a vessel for His powerful work through me by faith, He can be - NOW - glorified in me and I in Him.

Lord, give your children a passion to be wholly consumed with Your good works (a working of His grace in our lives), that Jesus will be glorified TODAY in them!

A Few Words on the Mesa

2010-04-16T06:48:00.008-06:00

I was at Gila Mesa Cemetary yesterday speaking at a service for a community member I didn't know. What do you say about a man who'd never been to church, and about whom the family could tell me almost nothing? Well, maybe something like this...

We are standing here today under a perfect blue sky with a glorious view of the Mogollon Mountains. You guys have put on display here things enjoyed by the departed in his life: a cowboy hat, bolo, and harmonica. Yesterday in his house I saw the cover to sheet music framed in his house: "Bury Me on the Prairie." In a corner was a sketch of John Wayne. In his life as a truck driver (we were going to enjoy Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" on a CD player in a moment) the departed enjoyed seeing the open country, listening to "real country music" (old school country) on his truck radio. Remember him when you're on the open road and hear those old songs.

But let me encourage you in another way. Two years ago I was leaving a cemetary after a funeral, and I heard two family members speaking. One said to the other, "funerals sure do make you re-evaluate you priorities." Friends, that's a good thing. You see, the Bible tells us, "it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). We will each stand before our Creator one day, and that day is not the day to begin thinking about Him.

Think about all the things the departed enjoyed in life, from music to Creation. From where - or Whom - did these things originate? God the Creator made everything around us, and is the Source of all enjoyment we have in this life.

"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights..." (James 1:17).

Everything we enjoy in life is a tiny mirror of the Source of all Goodness, Love, and Joy, the One Who made all things and alone deserves praise for these things. He doesn't just give us these things so we can enjoy them for themselves. No, all of these things that surround us and warm our hearts and give us reason to smile are all reflections of Himself.

"...since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made..." (Romans 1:20).

So you see, everything that the departed enjoyed in his life, all the things that you enjoy in your lives, all of these things are but reflections of the Creator-God Who is the Fullness and Source of these things. But we each have this sinful nature that makes us think all these things are about us, and we all spend our lives trying to accumulate as many of these tiny mirrors of God's glory for ourselves, for our own pleasures...because we think they exist for us. They do not. All these mirrors of God's glory exist to give us reason to think of Him, to love Him, to honor Him and give Him thanks.

We have a problem. We owe an eternal debt to God for stealing His glory and appropriating it for ourselves. God, in His love, sent His Son, Who "is the radiance of His glory" (Hebrews 1:3), to pay the debt that we could never repay. This is Good News. This Good News is called "the glorious Gospel of the blessed God" (1 Timothy 1:11). "Blessed" means "happy." He is the Source of happiness, and He has given us a Good News that is the gateway for us to enjoy Him directly, fully, and forever in His Son Jesus Christ. This Good News is also called "the Gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4). The Bible says, "God, Who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness,' is the One Who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). Christ is the key to see the true Light beyond the little mirrors in our lives. We still enjoy these reflections, but we enjoy them more because we see the Origin of the Light in God through Christ.

For those that refuse to honor the God of Happiness in His Creation through Christ, there is a day when the debt of honor, thanks, and obedience comes due, a day when "the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to know who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power..." (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). Did you hear that? "Away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power." For those who refuse to obey the Good News of Jesus Christ, giving honor, love, and obedience to God through the Son, the Source of the Light of Happiness, Love, and Enjoyment will go dark - they will be cut off from the Source. This means all the little mirrors will go dark, as well. The enjoyments of this life will be gone, along with the memories of enjoyment. The amazement at holding a new baby, the peace of the open sky, the satisfaction of a good meal, the enjoyment of music, the spark of electricity at holding the hand of a sweetheart, the happiness of a good laugh...all of these things, mirrors of the Goodness of God, will go dark, along with the memory of them. This is the penalty for failing to give God honor, love, and obedience for these things that we thought existed for our pleasure solely. For robbing the God of all Glory of the praise and enjoyment He eternally deserves, there will be a sentence of eternal Lack and Hungering that will never be fulfilled.

For those who obedient to the message of the Good News of the Happy God, though, things are different and will be different. For He will also come in that day "to be glorified in His saints...and to be marveled at among all who have believed" (2 Thessalonians 1:9). What we have enjoyed through the little mirrors in our lives will be enjoyed directly from the all-sufficient, all-satisfying Source of all Happiness. Further, in this life we gain a deeper and more profound enjoyment, peace, and satisfaction, for we now enjoy both the reflections of glory and the Source of their Light.

"...everything created by God is good, nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude, for it is sanctified by means of the Word of God and prayer" (1 Timothy 4:4,5).

So, friends, as we are here this beautiful Spring morning remembering the departed and the things he enjoyed in life, let me urge you to use this moment to re-evaluate your priorities and turn your hearts, minds, and lives to the Source of all things we enjoy, giving Him the honor, love, and obedience He deserves through His Son Jesus Christ.

Anyway, maybe you say something like that to a small group of strangers on a mesa in the high desert.

"On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again..."

* * * * * * *

I guess it's a little redundant, but...

...we cannot, of ourselves, do this: "Whether...you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). Therefore, this is true of us: "...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23). Our only hope, therefore, is the glorious Good News of the Happy God.

Skeptical of the Scapegoat's Partner

2010-04-01T06:51:00.004-06:00

"Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and sent it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat into the wilderness" (Leviticus 16:21,22).

The man who leads the scapegoat into the wilderness comes back. He doesn't stay with the goat. "The one who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp" (16:26). But some seem to want to chaperon the scapegoat. I am skeptical of these, having been one for so long.

This was a living death. Being cut off from the congregation of the people of God was a picture of being consigned to a living death in the wilderness, for the presence of God, the atonement for sin, the Word of God, and the people of His covenant were all in the camp. Leaving this for the wilderness was a picture of Hell we find much later: "These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

Some who claim the title "Christian" shun the camp of the Lord, the congregation of the people of God. They shun the promised Presence of the "two or three gathered" in His name. They shun the teaching and discipline of the Word. They shun the Table remembering the atonement that means life and identity. They play the part of the scapegoat.

"Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He Who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near" (Hebrews 10:19-25).

What's grievous is that immediately after this comes this warning: "For if we go one sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries" (10:26,27). The writer mentions "sinning willfully." What is the only sin that has been mentioned in the preceding text? "Forsaking our own assembly together."

Let the scapegoat go and come back to camp, beloved.

We Were Like Those Who Dream

2010-03-20T06:54:00.005-06:00

I sat yesterday evening with a beloved sister in Christ who is on her way Home. She would not awaken at first to greet me with her customary "oh wow" (who doesn't like to be welcomed with such exciting words?). So I sat by her, and, as we were forgotten in the bustle of the business of the household, I read the Psalms to her. Close to her ear, in a low voice (not a whisper), I read to her the inspired Book of Prayer and Praise at the heart of the Word of God. At first there was no response, but the longer I read, I began to have the feeling she was reading with me. A slow, slight nod of the head at certain points, a quiet moan when the Psalm was completed. I started losing myself in the Word...my favorite place to be.

You know that the Bible is authored by God the Holy Spirit. Normally when you and I read a book, the author is some name attached to a photo on the back of the dust sleeve. We know the author had something to do with the words on the page, but there is a disconnect because we don't know the author very well. The Bible, though, is different. The Author dwells within the children of God in Christ. For those that hunger for that fellowship with Him in His living Word, He works a joyous closeness and exultant communion. He is good, and His covenant love endures to where the long road meets the horizon and beyond.

This is where I was, losing myself in the Word in a time of being held with this fellow believer in the grip of the Holy Spirit. It is not a technique or a human-centered meditation; it is a gifting grace of God Himself that allows us to become small before the only One worthy of being considered ALL. Forget this garbage of "finding yourself," becoming "centered," or "self-esteem." Only a fool stares in the mirror during a Southwest sunset. Only a sorely benighted soul lifts his voice to be heard over the boom of the breakers on a New England shoreline, or thinks about his own greatness standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon or under the parade of the heavens. The gracious gift of God is to lose oneself in something infinitely greater, more glorious, and loving beyond degree. "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). His Spirit, God the Holy Spirit, Who dwells within believers, makes them one in Christ's Church, and conforms each to the image of God's Beloved Son. His truth (not the "everyone must find his own truth" bilge vomited forth as wisdom in this perverse age), which is His Word (John 17:17). The Holy Spirit and Bible cannot be separated or experienced apart from one another, for in the economy of God they are bound in an undivided unity (1 John 5:6). When we separate them or seek to experience them apart from one another, we quickly enter the deadly zone of error. They are the means by which we truly are brought into the presence of the Creator to worship Him as creation must.

So I sat there with this dear sister and God the Holy Spirit, being woven into His glorious and timeless truth as we worshiped in the Word. Words became emboldened with fire and great weight in places I'd never noticed before. "Forever" gains a special heaviness and light when in a gathering with a saint not far from touching it.

Then we came to Psalm 126. I can't say I've ever paid a lot of attention to this Psalm before, but as I read just the first line my voice caught in my throat.

"When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion, we were like those who dream." Chills went up my spine and my heart lept at these words. I don't even know if I can explain why. Paul speaks of a knowing beyond knowledge (Ephesians 3:19). This doesn't mean we ignore disciplined study, intelligent meditation, or eschew sound biblical teaching. These are the doorway to the knowledge beyond knowledge, which we can only touch in part in this world, in these frail mortal bodies. A moment comes, when the mind is glorified with the body in eternity, and we find out that we had only known a faint shadow of the pebbles at the foot of Everest when it came to knowledge of God. These small truths are powerfully inspired and infallible here, but the MORE of eternity will fill us with an ever-growing fullness of joy that will never cease for all the days of "forever." I can't adequately teach Psalm 126, but here are a few thoughts that are those shadowy pebbles. We have (with the exception of my dear sister in Christ) a long way to go before we begin the tireless and invigorating climb up the celestial Everest...ZION.

Paul says of heaven that our citizenship is there (Philippians 3:20). So, what are we here? The Bible has numerous testimonies to the fact that we are not home yet and are but pilgrims and sojourners here. Let me tap into our current theme of the majestic and transcendant Word of God and quote a single verse to illustrate this truth: "Your statutes are my songs in the house of my pilgrimage" (Psalm 119:54). I love that verse. Psalm 126:1 speaks of bringing back captives to Zion, to Home (see my thoughts on our captivity here). Being brought back to Zion, being brought Home to God Himself by God Himself, "we were like those who dream."

I immediate thought of a very young child laughing in her sleep. Resting, without fear or concern, relatively pure in thought...laughing. As we watch her laughing so peacefully and joyfully, we cannot help but smile or laugh ourselves. We don't know the secret joke and carry the baggage and responsibility of adulthood, but for a moment we are drawn into that joy. "We were like those who dream." The best of dreams suddenly becoming reality...an unending reality with a dreaming laughter suddenly filling our hearts with such joy. We're Home, and Home is ZION. It is His Home, and He has brought us here out of our wandering captivity.

"Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting; then they said among the nations, 'The LORD has done great things for them.' The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad." There's no need for me to go on in exposition, except to say that true and lasting joy starts in the truth of the Word of God that lifts us up to a worthiness that is not our own and a reality in which we are not the center of gravity. That is our purpose, and the reason for which Christ died for our sins: "...Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God..." (1 Peter 3:18). Not to a mystical, self-actualized exalting of ourselves (our most natural and depraved desire...to be god). True joy comes from Him and entering into relationship with Him through the salvation available only in Christ. And, in His Word through the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (in the context of the gathering of the saints in His Church), we begin to be trained for that ultimate reality. And, no matter the persecution, tribulation, or trial around us, we begin in slow spiritual maturity to "greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8), even though we don't see Him yet and are not setting foot in Zion.

What now? I'm content to wait. I am part of His awesome Church, which is the "fulness of Him Who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:23). That's pretty glorious and all-encompassing. I will go back to Psalm 126 several times in the next days, as I did yesterday evening. I have, once more, caught a vision of my purpose - training the saints to walk together in the Word, guided by the Author. And though we may not get to Zion at the same time (my dear sister may beat me there), we will never cease to be one in Christ, and the captives will be brought to Zion in ceaseless joy and laughter, "like those who dream."

The Eldest Brother is Waiting at the Table

2010-03-15T07:27:00.004-06:00

I am, as I often do, meditating on the Lord’s Supper. In the midst of the chaos of life, the churning of multiple oceans somehow touching each other in competition over the allotment of time, investment of feeling, and burden of contemplation...in the midst of this the simplicity of the Table gives me direction and peace. It is not ritual, tradition, liturgy, or denomination. It is Gospel. At the Table we confess without words, “I am determined to know nothing among you except Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:1). All stormy seas must calm and become subordinate before this indestructible and unshakeable Truth.

Today I am thinking of the Resurrection in the proclamation of the Table, and the promise of Presence that echoes the last words of Matthew’s Gospel: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (28:20).

Let’s look at Jesus’ words after His proclamation of the cup and His blood in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). They promise a post-Resurrection communion between Christ and His Church at the Table.

In the Gospel of Matthew

“And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom’” (Matthew 26:27-29).

We know the first part of this. We hear it every time we gather at the Table. Paul quotes it (1 Corinthians 11:25) and it has become more liturgy than re-enactment or remembrance. It’s the promise after the giving of the cup that has long held my attention and contemplation. Jesus promises a day when He drinks the cup (representing His sin-forgiving, relationship-establishing blood) new with us in His Father’s Kingdom. When is this to happen? If we can identify Matthew’s theology of the Father’s Kingdom and its realization in our lives, we can find out when Christ will drink the cup again with us.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS’” (Matthew 7:21-23). These that are allowed to enter the Kingdom are also those who enter the “narrow” gate and walk the “narrow” path (7:14), a reality for the minority. These that are allowed to enter the Kingdom are those who produce good fruit (7:16,20). These that are allowed to enter the Kingdom build their lives on Christ’s words (7:24). Are these qualities applied only at the Judgment, or are they qualities that have an importance in identifying whether or not we are a true part of Christ’s Church now? I would suggest to you that those that do the will of the Father, produce good fruit, walk a narrow path, and build their lives on Christ’s words are those who are true members of Christ’s Church today, and therefore are proclaimers and citizens of the Father’s Kingdom today (I reject a separation of the Church and Kingdom, since the “King of kings” is the Lord, Savior, and Bridegroom of the Church). So those in the Kingdom of Heaven are those who are part of the Church today. Now. Not just at the Judgment or in the sweet by and by.

“And He said, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear’” (Matthew 13:37-43). Let’s dabble for a moment in the quagmire of eschatology (over which I plan on walking without my rat-claws ever touching the mud). This parable’s resolution, like all of Jesus’ similar teaching, points to the “end of the age,” when Herod’s Temple was destroyed by the wrath of God (using the Romans) in A.D. 70 in judgment for Second Temple Judaism’s rejection of the Messiah and persecution of the Church. The Church becomes the sole voice and expression of the Kingdom of the Father.

“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you’” (Matthew 21:28-31). So it is not confession primarily, but obedience after repentance (“he regretted it and went”) that are elements of participation in the Kingdom of God (one of the four times Matthew uses the term “Kingdom of God” instead of “Kingdom of heaven”).

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me’” (Matthew 25:34-40). The King is Jesus, Son of God. The Kingdom has been prepared for the blessed of the King’s Father from the beginning. Those on the King’s right are those that showed mercy NOT INDISCRIMINATELY TO THE NEEDY OF THE WORLD, but to the King’s brothers, even the least of them. Are these not those adopted into the King’s family through the King’s saving work on the cross, that is, the Church (Romans 8:15,16; Galatians 4:5-7; Ephesians 1:5)? Are not those that serve the Church as if it were the King Himself those that are part of the Church?

Let me mention Jesus’ great post-Resurrection statement: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). Jesus is King now. His authority is complete now, and it is over all things. And His presence is exclusively with His people (28:20).

This inordinate longing for heaven so present in the sentimentality and singing of the Church lessens the absolute glory of the Church today, now. The totally sovereign King is present with us NOW. So when Jesus promises on the eve of His death on the cross (the subject of our mutual proclamation at the Table) to drink again with us in His Father’s Kingdom, and when the post-resurrection Jesus announces His complete authority over all and unending presence with His Church, I propose to you that He drinks of the cup with us at the Table when we drink it in proclamation of His work on the cross.

In the Gospel of Mark

“And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, ‘This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God’” (Mark 14:23-25).

Mark records “Kingdom of God,” but the rest of the statement is basically the same. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry the content of His message was about the Kingdom: “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel” (1:15). It is only the most self-centered hermeneutic, demanding that all Scripture is about us and about right now, that makes “fulfilled” time and the phrase “at hand” to mean a delay of millennia. The rule of God was made manifest in the world by the teaching of Jesus and His work on the cross (and subsequent resurrection).

“…the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, ‘Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ And Jesus said, ‘I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN’” (Mark 14:61,62). Again the desert rat hovers over the chaos of eschatology. “Right hand of power” is the language of authority over all. “Coming with the clouds of heaven” is language utilized throughout the Bible for God’s coming to judge His enemies. Jesus alludes to the A.D. 70 destruction of Herod’s Temple and its religious system.

Jesus, Lord over the Church, is Preacher of the Kingdom and Destroyer of its enemies. He is also present with His Church, and has promised to drink the cup new with us in God’s Kingdom. He proclaimed the imminence of this Kingdom at the start of His earthly ministry, and announced Kingdom judgment just before His crucifixion. Here we are, after resurrection and after Kingdom judgment, and Christ is present with us at the drinking of the cup not just in remembrance, but in participation.

In the Gospel of Luke

“And He said to them, ‘I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, ‘Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.’ And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood’” (Luke 22:15-20).

Jesus promises to the disciples that He will eat the Passover again when it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. Is there any doubt that Jesus’ death on the cross was the fulfillment of the Passover?

“Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7,8). The Passover fulfilled, so Christ’s promise to eat it again is present with His people.

The Kingdom of heaven is said to belong to the poor now, not at some future date (Luke 6:20).

The Kingdom of heaven is said to have come near to those hearing the preaching of the apostles (10:9,11).

“…if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (11:20). Well, did He cast out demons by the finger of God?

“And someone said to Him, ‘Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?’ And He said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, “Lord, open up to us!'” then He will answer and say to you, “I do not know where you are from.” Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets”; and He will say, “I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.” In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God’” (Luke 13:23-29). At the Table will be those from all over the world, eating at the Table in the Kingdom. Surely these from the four corners of the world are the Church, made up of all tribes, tongues, and nations. Those who rejected Messiah, who thought their salvation was based solely on their racial heritage, will not be present at the Table.

“The Kingdom of God is in your midst” (17:21). This was during the earthly ministry of Jesus. Does His removal after the resurrection to the right hand of the Father mean that the Kingdom has now retreated from our midst? Do we really want to say this? He also promises us His unending presence. With Jesus' presence is the presence of the Kingdom of God among His Church alone.

When the children of God in Christ gather at the Lord’s Supper Table, Jesus Himself is present with the Church, partaking of the meal to which He gave meaning, the meal that speaks of Him. Why then, dearest saints, do we neglect the Table? We are a family that rarely gathers at the Father’s Table with our elder Brother! Time to make the gathering at the Table a weekly part of the gathering of the saints. Let’s grow up out of our sad reasons for neglecting the Table (logistics, our intolerance of the simple, fear of constant practice leading to lessening of meaning…which is code for “our hearts are hard,” and the fullness of our services with other things not explicitly given by our Lord). Embrace the Table, pray our vision is given a singular focus (1 Corinthians 2:1), and ask the Spirit to awaken our hard hearts to the proclamation of the Table.

Our Savior, Lord, and Brother is waiting for us, to drink the cup again in His glorious Kingdom (the Church)!

Addendum, Postscript, and/or Feedback Loop (Overkill and possible Distraction, no matter what it is!)

I never know when to stop, and have a twisted delight in adding material that disrupts rhythm (or forces the subject through an overweight addendum to start tumbling toward a disintegration of the piece’s original focus). I am a teacher at heart, though (even if not in gifting, reception, or effectiveness), and am willing to sacrifice art for one more moment of scriptural exposition…and I suspect that the artist’s willingness to strain art for the sake of the Larger is, in itself, art! Anyway…two items from the Revelation of Jesus Christ in tangent to our contemplation.

First is the “marriage supper of the Lamb” (19:9). We have in our minds, through creative preaching and emotional singing (and perhaps too much perusing of bridal magazines), a massive Table attended and headed by God Himself. Endless, evermore delicious fare that will never add to the celestial waistline and will never become mundane is served before us, and at that table no one will ever make the observation, “their god is their appetite” (Philippians 3:19). Even better, the loved ones we miss so much will be there, too, for that Thanksgiving Dinner loaded with an infinite nostalgia. One big smorgasbord, forever and ever, Amen. Well, perhaps, but that’s not the point of the “marriage supper of the Lamb” in Revelation 19. Not to be a downer on your hopes for the best wedding reception ever (in the fashion of what we would do here on earth if we had unlimited resources), but let Scripture interpret Scripture, not your memories of holiday family get-togethers or visions of American wedding excesses. “The infallible rule for the interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself” (1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, I.9). Read all of Revelation 19. Given the context of the chapter and the entire movement of the Revelation as a whole, I suspect rather strongly that the “marriage supper” is synonymous with the feasting of the aviary on the corpses of God’s enemies in 19:17-21. God’s ways and thoughts are definitely higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8,9), and we have not resisted sin to the point of the shedding of blood (Hebrews 12:4), so maybe we should set aside the imposing of our ideal wedding party on Scripture. The marriage supper is the feasting of scavengers on the carrion that was the enemies of God and His Church. Don’t worry. I’m sure the food in heaven will still be good, but that’s not what Revelation 19 is about.

Second, finally, and in return to our original subject, let’s go backwards from Revelation 19 to chapter 3. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me” (3:20). Given Jesus’ promise in the Synoptic Gospels to partake again of the fruit of the vine in the Kingdom of God, and my proposition that this is a post-Resurrection communion with His Church, let’s read the glorified Christ’s promise to the Laodicean Church in this context.

He’s here, Beloved, and desires communion with His Bride at the Table. Open to Him, gather at His Table, and let’s dine. We have woefully underestimated the awesome reality of the gathering of the redeemed with their Redeemer!

Can God Make a Table in the Desert?

2010-01-28T05:33:00.005-07:00

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me..." (Psalm 23:1-3).
For many people those words are an immediate door to sorrow. The background immediately becomes a field of stone tablets, a casket, a hole in the ground like a dirty maw. Heartbreak. We often go this Psalm because we have a need for David's confession of the Shepherd-God. We need this truth at some deep level because we do have want, we are hungry and thirsty, we do need guidance, we do need our souls restored. Our heartbreaks mended. Our scars anointed with soothing balm. We need.

And so we hold David's confession. We make it our own, casting it toward Deity in quiet and still desperation in the midst of ordinary lives. We need. And the pronouns in these three verses reflect that need. All the first-person words of "my," "I," and "me" saturate this prayer because David has need. He starts by confessing the LORD, but David's reality is that there is difficulty and pain, and so His confession of faith is quickly peppered with the lacking in himself.
There's nothing immediately wrong with this. The Apostle Paul readily admits that "we do not know how to pray as we should" (Romans 8:26). This desert rat has no problem affirming that. I have walked many times under a massive blue sky on a broad and trackless land, knowing that this beauty that dwarfed me was itself unable to be considered before the majesty and transcendance of the Creator. How can I speak to Him without praising Him, and if I praise Him as He is due, I will never move to my small requests! How can I speak to Him in my selfishness, knowing He gave the best He had to die on the cross for my sins? How can I speak to Him as I am thoroughly immersed and glutted on the gross stuff of a world that hates Him? How?
You know I cut the Romans verse off. Let me read you the second half: "...but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He Who searched the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:26,27). I can pray to God because God the Holy Spirit helps me pray according to God the Father's perfect will, and my sinfulness is covered by the mediatorial work of God the Son on the cross. One God, three Persons, all bringing me close. But that's not the only way I am helped in prayer. Back to David's bittersweet Psalm.

"All Scripture is inspired by God" (2 Timothy 3:16). David may have voiced this song, but God the Holy Spirit created it. How does the Holy Spirit help us pray? By giving us a prayer-book in the Bible: the Psalms. It was not just the prayer-book for the Old Testament faithful, but continues to play a role in New Testament believers' lives:

We read of the early Church, that they "were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer" (Acts 2:42). In the original Greek, "to prayer" would more literally be translated "and to the prayers." I strongly suspect that "the prayers" were the Psalms. The New Testament believers incorporated elements of worship that were inspired by the Holy Spirit and part of the liturgy of God's people for a thousand years (at that point).
Paul, in sorting out the mess that was the Corinthian church's gatherings, gives them some important elements that must be present: "When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification" (1 Corinthians 14:26).
Paul tells the church in Ephesus to "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18) and then gives a long list of supernatural behaviors that will automatically, inevitably, unavoidably be shown by those truly filled with the Spirit. These include a mutual submission the context of the church gathering (5:21), marriages that reflect the Good News of Jesus Christ (5:22-33), children who obey their parents (6:1-3), fathers who teach their children in the ways of the Lord (6:4), servants who serve their masters as if the master was Christ Himself (6:5-8), and masters who remember their Master (6:9). But before all of these things, we are told that if we are truly filled with the Spirit, we will teach each other in corporate worship with hearts that are sincere before God: "...be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:18,19).
In Paul's letter to the Colossians, the presence of the Psalm is a sign of loving unity (3:14), thankful peace (3:15), and the filling of one's life with the matchless Word of Christ (3:16). With these things in place, and with supernatural wisdom (given by the Spirit, not experience or expertise), we are to be "teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16).

I know I've digressed (several times), but you see the importance of the Psalms in guiding us in prayer as the church. The Psalter doesn't pray from sterile, inhuman lips. It prays from broken hearts, questioning minds, and lives of turmoil and stress. And it does so with the affirming stamp of the inspiring Holy Spirit of God. Back to Psalm 23.

David confesses the LORD, his Shepherd, then goes on to list the things the Shepherd does for a wandering sheep: "...I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me..." If we were writing this Psalm, we'd stop there. In our fallenness, we'd never go beyond what He could do for me. But this is inspired, and gives us a perspective that is astoundingly more real than what we experience as "reality." So David, in the inspiration of the flawless Holy Spirit of God, continues: "...He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." This is the "why." The King does all things for His own glory. If He did all things to satisfy our perceived or felt needs, we'd never be filled, and would never see Him as He is. But He operates in the way we need. He operates as King over all, and Filler and Completer of all, the ultimate, unimaginable, and never-ceasing Absolute Beauty, Joy, and Pleasure. So He does all for "His name's sake," because nothing else will truly bring us to where we need to be. So the path upon which we are guided is not one that brings us immediate-but-temporary answer to our list of needs. It is on "the paths of righteousness" the Shepherd guides us. Where do these paths lead?

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" (23:4). Yes, the Shepherd sometimes takes us - as Jesus said to Peter - "where you do not wish to go" (John 21:18). But there He is still Shepherd, still Present, still Comfort. And faith becomes real - as a wise young man once said - when the Shepherd is all we have.

"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies..." (23:5). I would like to suggest to you that this table is set "in the valley of the shadow of death," and that the "enemies" of the Psalm are, in this case, those who do not believe the Shepherd can find "green pastures" or "still waters" or "the paths of righteousness" in that valley. These are the faithless who ask the mocking questions of the faithless in every generation. "If there is a God, why is there evil?" "If there is a God, why do you have cancer?" "If there is a God, why is there an empty cradle still in your mind's eye?" "If there is a God, WHY?" He can make a table in the valley, for He's made a table in the wilderness.

You know the story of the Exodus. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, running from famine in Canaan, seek refuge in Egypt. There they stay for over 400 years, multiplying until they are a threat to the Pharaoh, who turns them into slaves. God delivers them through monstrous plagues, a parting of the Red Sea, and the stuttering Moses. After deliverance, then what? "He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths. He brought forth streams also from the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. Yet they continued to sin against Him, to rebel against the Most High in the desert. And in their heart they put God to the test by asking food according to their desire. Then they spoke against God; they said, 'Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?'" (Psalm 78:15-19). "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?" Well, can He? Where is it? How can you be sure? It sure is hot, dry, and hungry here in the desert. It sure is dark, dank, and deathly here in the valley. Where is the table? Can your Shepherd-God deliver on His promises even here? How long is He going to make you wait? Forget Him and trust in yourself, trust in us, trust in anything other than some wishful-thinking fairy tale. Make your own table with "food according to your desire." Go ahead.

David the Psalmist, an instrument of God the Holy Spirit, teaches us how we should pray: "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows" (23:5). I have been led to the Father by the Son, and He is with me without fail in the Person of the Holy Spirit. I have all I need. Let the enemies of my faith mock. I cannot hear them, for the voice of my God comforts me here. No matter where "here" is.

The Psalm starts with the image of the pasture. A wandering life. David never lost this perspective, even when he was the wealthy and powerful King over Israel, even when he was the living foreshadowing of the King of kings Who was to come and Who now reigns over all. At the end of his life he accumulated the materials for the great Temple of the LORD his son Solomon was to build. Blessing the materials, David confessed, "Who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You. For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were" (2 Chronicles 29:14,15). The shepherd-king never lost sight of the Shepherd-God and his own temporary and wandering state in this world, even when he lived a magnificent palace. But our Psalm doesn't end with the nomadic confession of its beginning, does it?

"Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life..." (23:6). "Lovingkindness" is His covenant-love, a love based on an agreement, sealed in blood. In the Old Testament this was the blood of animals. In the New Testament, it is the most precious commodity in the universe: the blood of God the Son, or, as Acts 20:28 says of the faithful in the valley, they are "the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." This love doesn't waver based on our performance. This love doesn't grow cold or bored or get distracted by illusionary foolishness. This love is promised by God's decree and sealed with the blood of Jesus. And it hunts us. That's the meaning of "follow." No matter where we find ourselves, this goodness and love will always be there. "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38,39). Nothing.

What began as a wandering through fields, deserts, and valleys, ends with utter permanence: "...I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever" (23:6). This was not the Temple, for it would be built by David's son Solomon after his death. David is led to this "house" after "all the days of his life." It is gloriously found when the pastures have been exhausted, when the desert has done all it can, and when the valley opens up to a new and bright land. Home.

Can God make a table in the desert? Oh, yes. Yes, beloved.

Fear, Dread, Sanctuary

2009-12-29T09:56:00.009-07:00

It's around 735 B.C. The tiny land of Judah is all that is left of the Golden Age of unified Israel, which spanned from the Euphrates to Egypt (gone at this point for almost 200 years). It is but a vassal state - one of countless others - to the mighty Assyrian Empire. Judah's neighbors to the north - godless Israel and Aram - grow restless against the Empire, and begin planning a rebellion. They approach Judah to join with the conspirators, but Judah refuses. Unwilling to have an Assyria-loyal state on their southern border during a rebellion, they besiege Judah in order to replace king Ahaz with someone more friendly to their interests. The Israelite-Aramean alliance first conquers Judah's southern port city of Elath on the Gulf of Aqaba (2 Kings 16:6). The Edomites join in, attacking middle Judah and taking Judeans prisoner. Then the alliance crosses the Israelite border to the north, travels the 10 miles to Jerusalem, and besieges the city. King Ahaz sits on the throne in the city of David, but "he did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God, as his father David had done. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even made his sons pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had driven out from before the sons of Israel. He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places from before the sons of Israel" (2 Kings 16:2-4). A dark day in which to live. A pagan Empire controls the world. The last place in the world to bear the LORD's name is on the verge of being utterly overwhelmed from the outside by its neighbors (and relatives), and the political and religious leadership within the little land are completely corrupt and no different from the peoples of the world. Where is the LORD? Is the only thing left of Him Solomon's Temple, now stripped of gold to offer as tribute to pagan conquerors, filled with images, shrines, and altars to false gods, and managed by a priesthood who don't even have the Law in their possession? Millennia later this situation will be called the Syro-Ephraimite War (Isaiah 7:1,2). And we think we live in tough times.

Into this situation steps Isaiah. He is given children, who are both his disciples (faithful to the LORD) and sermon illustrations (every preacher's child can identify with that!). Isaiah and his son A-Remnant-Shall-Return (whose name comes back in 10:21,22) meet Ahaz as the king is inspecting the waterworks of Jerusalem. Isaiah and son tell the king not to fear, for the threats against Judah will not be successful. The invitation to the message is given: "If you will not believe, you surely shall not last" (Isaiah 7:3-9). Is Ahaz going to listen to Isaiah? No. Not just because of Ahaz's evil nature, but because it is part of the plan communicated to Isaiah at the prophet's commissioning (6:9,10). What if God told you to do something that He guaranteed would not be popular or successful? What does that say about our modern standards of ministry success? Is it significant that Jesus (Matthew 13:14,15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40) and Paul (Acts 28:26,27; Romans 11:8) both appropriate these words for their own ministries? Ahaz won't listen to Isaiah, prophet of the LORD. So the LORD Himself speaks to the king who sits on the throne of David (7:10-16).

The LORD tells Ahaz to ask for a sign. Ahaz refuses, mocking God, for the war had made him even more rebellious against the Lord: "...in the time of his distress this same King Ahaz became let more unfaithful to the LORD" (2 Chronicles 28:22). The "you" in 7:13 is plural, so it's likely we're back in the royal court now. The LORD mentions that Ahaz has already tried the patience of men - 120,000 Judean warriors have been killed, along with Ahaz's son Maaseiah, the chief steward of the house of David, Azrikam, and Ahaz's second-in-command Elkanah (2 Chronicles 28:6,7). Like I said, bad days in this tiny country. So the LORD Himself promises a sign. A "virgin," probably Abi, daughter of Zechariah (2 Kings 18:2), will bear a child. Before the child is old enough to be morally responsible, the threat to Judah will be gone. The boy's name will be God-with-us (appropriate name seeing the boy's role as a sign from God). The boy's given name will be Hezekiah, one of the most godly kings of Judah's history. His symbolic name, given in Isaiah, also serves to begin the centuries long process of preparing the world for the birth of Jesus, Who will perfectly be God-with-us and will also be a sign of deliverance. But don't lose sight of the scene in the royal court. Soon-to-be Queen Abi has just heard that the baby she will bear will grow up in days much brighter than the ones of her engagement and nuptials.

Ahaz still refuses to believe. He will appeal to Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria, a pagan Emperor, to come save him. The Emperor will come and destroy the rebellion of Israel and Aram. He will not stop, but will crack down even on Judah to insure that the rebellion is not contagious. The LORD reveals the deliverance brought by Assyria will be oppression for Judah (7:17-25).

Isaiah's second son Swift-is-the-Booty-Speedy-is-the-Prey is born nine months after Isaiah has an intimate evening with his wife the prophetess (she must be able to hear from the LORD directly to agree to name her son Maher-shalal-hash-baz, right?). Men, I think our lives would be more interesting if we started referring to our wives as "the prophetess." Isaiah's wife serves in ministry with him, faithful to the LORD. She doesn't have to preach. The children she bears in her relationship with her husband are the prophecies. I think we can see both of them living Deuteronomy 6:7. So the boy is born and the prophecy is given (8:1-8).

All of this great story has been introduction to the point that seems to be relevant to Christians today.

Isaiah issues a challenge to the entire world to throw their best plans and obstacles at the small remnant of the faithful of God (8:9,10). What is Isaiah's confidence? Immanuel. A godly king will be born and rule in the house of David again, but that's only a sign of the true power. The true power and true source of confidence is "God is with us."

Isaiah is told "with mighty power" by the LORD "not to walk in the way of this people." Ahaz ignored the LORD. Isaiah and his disciples, his family - they will not ignore the LORD. Will we?

"You are not to say, 'It is a conspiracy!' in regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, and you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it. It is the LORD of hosts Whom you shall regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread. Then He shall become a sanctuary" (8:12-14).

The LORD doesn't call them "My people," but "this people" (6:9,10; 8:11,12; 9:16) - the distancing between Himself and Judah reflects their unfaithfulness. He identifies Himself as "the LORD of hosts," or armies. Not just the heavenly armies, but all the armies of the world, be they pagan-earthly or angelic-heavenly. He is in utter control as mighty Sovereign over all. This is His name throughout this section. We are not to focus on the conspiracies of man, the little motes of dusts swirling around the pieces on God's chess board. We are to fear, yes, even dread the One Who is holy (set apart, transcendent, radically removed and different and above us and all the powers of the world). When He becomes our fear and dread, that stripped-down, watered-down, thoroughly syncretized religious symbol of yesterday's glory (Solomon's Temple) is vastly overshadowed by the LORD Himself, Who Personally becomes "a sanctuary" to His people. Even the future generations of the faithful, forced into Exile when their homeland was destroyed, knew Him as "Sanctuary" (Ezekiel 11:16), even with the great Temple completely wiped off of Temple Mount. Why are we obsessed with the conspiracies, the truth of which no human will ever know? We are we so distracted? Where is our Fear, Dread, and Sanctuary?

Because the peoples have their eyes, ears, hearts, and minds focused on the conspiracies of man, they are shocked by the LORD, Who breaks them (8:14,15).

Isaiah speaks now, and every time I read this I want to stand up and roar! "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait for the LORD Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will even look eagerly for Him. Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, Who dwells on Mount Zion" (8:16-18). His disciples/children become the ark of the covenant to the remnant, for they hold the testimony and law of God within themselves. "Mount Zion" here is not the physical hill with that dilapidated building, but heaven itself (Isaiah's seen the intrusion of heaven into that place...he's had a vision of the Real in 6:1-7). Even with God bringing massive judgment on the land, God's people stand firm and wait on their King. On one hand we are so distracted and fearful of what the great powers of man might do to us; on the other hand we love this world so much that we're afraid our comfort, entertainment, and pleasures will be threatened. Isaiah and family (disciples) stand alone in a great roiling sea of unfaithful humanity, but their eyes are on the LORD of hosts.

They consult false spiritualities and walk in darkness (8:19-22), but Isaiah stands in contrast: "To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn" (8:20).

Let us stand firm, waiting on the King, refusing to lower our eyes to the games of the bugs crawling at our feet. Children of the King, prophets and prophetesses of the land, FEAR, DREAD, SANCTUARY!!

"Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, Who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory" (Colossians 3:1-4).

doing what rats do.

2009-12-28T06:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I scurried out to watch the sunrise in the glory of all lands this morning, and lo! I had cactus mail, delivered from the mysterious ether.

"What of Ezekiel chapters 40-48 and the temple? Different in several ways to any other temple, no mercy seat, no ark, no high priest, etc. In your replacement theology, how do you 'figure' these truths away? What of the eternal promise to the sons of Zadok? And what part of the church is in the house of Israel and what part is in the house of Judah?"

Well, I've got to be honest. I had no idea anyone ever read these sermons to the rocks and cacti, mountains and sky. And a fellow believer, no less, just as put off and offended by my holistic view of the Bible (including eschatology and ecclesiology) as I am of his/hers. Sarcasm is a really bizarre phenomenon...but while it is the lowest form of wit, it is the funniest (while being the lowest form of wit, it is the highest form of intelligence!). I'll try to keep it to just the barest of answers (though there is no frivolity in that!). Oh, and I'm a lousy debater, so I'll answer the question, cast it carelessly to the ether, and end it here. That way you, dearest fellow disciple, can claim a victory in defeating any challenge to the reigning eschatology in pop-Church America.

I love Ezekiel, and have for a long, long time. One of these days I'll lead a group through a study of it, which in my mind will be akin to group bungy-cording with collected shoelaces. It'll be great! At that time I'll do a verse-by-verse exposition of Ezekiel 40-48, and maybe I'll put some of it online. I've always thought it very interesting that Ezekiel dates the vision as "fourteen years after the city was taken" (40:1), and then describes the visionary Temple as "a structure like a city" (40:2). He's also told to "see with [his] eyes, hear with [his] ears" (40:4), while giving a prophecy to a people who probably won't believe him - the prophecy itself is to be a sign to them of their own disobedience (2:1-3:11). What makes us think 40-48 must be built? Perhaps it's a monument to the way things could've been if obedience had been present, but instead 40-48 is a sign of their disobedience.

The futurists' (this includes you Dispensationalists) last stand is Temple Mount. Every aspect of your eschatology must have a fourth Temple (after the Temples of Solomon, Cyrus, and Herod). Without it, you're on indefinite hold. Sigh. I wish this would shut up the speculators, the endless parade of experts saying the end is just around the corner. What edition are we in with the "Late Great Planet Earth"? Oh well. To throw Matthew 24/Mark 13/Luke 17 & 21 into the future rather than the A.D. first century you have to have a Temple, so anti-Christ can desecrate it. We'll ignore the fact that it happened almost 1,940 years ago. No worries. I have no doubt there are a lot of Dispensationalists financially supporting those fringe loony Jews in Israel (a very small minority with no political power in that secular State) who are breeding red heifers and drawing up schematics based exactly on Ezekiel 40-48.

I call the second Temple Cyrus' since he claims it by decree, mandates its construction, and provides the finances (2 Chronicles 36:23; Ezra 1:2-4).

The plans to the Temple are conditional (I'm trying to speak your language!). In 43:11, Yahweh tells the great prophet, "If they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the house, its structure, its exists, its entrances, all its designs, all its statutes, and all its laws. And write it in their sight, so that they may observe its whole design and all its statutes to do them." Remember in Cinderella when the evil step-mother says, "if"? That's how I typed it. They had two chances to build this very Temple, didn't they (Cyrus' and Herod's)? Ezekiel writes out these plans in their presence, three or four decades before they'll have a chance to build them. They don't. There is no ark mentioned in Ezekiel's plans because the ark disappeared with the destruction of Solomon's Temple, never to be seen again (unless you can break into that warehouse in Area 51). Don't ever forget that the heart of Cyrus' Temple and Herod's Temple was empty.

I would suggest to you, fellow disciple, that the plans in Ezekiel 40-48 are conditioned on the people's shame. Apparently there was not enough shame! OR Ezra-Nehemiah, in building Cyrus' Temple, did try to build Ezekiel's Temple, but the people's concern with resettling the land proved more important (they are constantly tearing clothing in leading the people to repent, and a few decades later in Malachi we see things have degraded already). Zechariah-Haggai did, after all, have to twist their arms to get them to even finish the thing.

The presence of God leaves Solomon's Temple in Ezekiel 10. The last verse of Ezekiel promises that the Temple of 40-48 will have God's presence. When does it return? Not for Cyrus' Temple, or Herod's. When does God's presence return in a way similar to the event at the dedication of Solomon's Temple? Pentecost, when God returns to His Temple, so much more than a building. His glorious and beloved Church. Stephen, in the most incredible God-perspective giving of Jewish history, quotes the O.T. as they're picking up stones, reminding them (with their own Scriptures) that God can't be contained in a building (Acts 7:46-50). Are we really going to argue, given the trajectory of the N.T., that God's plan is for another building? Do we wink knowingly at each other over Jesus' naivety in insisting that the Father wasn't looking for worshipers in Jerusalem, but worshipers in Spirit and in truth (John 4:21-24)?

I don't see the "eternal promise to the sons of Zadok" in the Bible. The post-exilic priesthood was certainly to be led by the Zadokites, but "eternal" doesn't enter into the discussion. Zadok was high priest under David. Zechariah and Haggai's emphasis on Zerubbabel (the governor) and Josiah (the high priest, a descendant of Zadok) certainly point to a restoration of a Davidic ruler and Zadokite priesthood. So at least that part fits pretty good with Ezekiel's instructions to the Exiles. There were high priests from the Zadokite line at least until the Maccabean period. By the way, great resource book: "From Joshua to Caiaphas: High Priests After the Exile," by James C. VanderKam (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2004). It's scholarly, and not written from the viewpoint of either of our eschatological camps, so it's actually worth reading (yes, there are topics aside from eschatology that are important).

There was no "mercy seat" or "ark" in either Cyrus' Temple or Herod's Temple, since the ark of the covenant disappeared with the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. So I don't think we can say Ezekiel's visionary Temple is "different in several ways from any other temple." With this criteria, Solomon's Temple was the oddball.

Just because Ezekiel doesn't mention a high priest doesn't mean one wasn't intended for this Temple. Besides, what was the role of the high priest? Isn't the primary role entry into the Holy of holies on the Day of Atonement to pour blood on the mercy seat? With no mercy seat/ark, this became a largely political/symbolic role in the post-Exilic period.

This is not "replacement" theology. Jesus, the perfect Israel, contains the people of God in Him (read Galatians some time). He became the remnant. In Him all the promises and blessings of Abraham are fulfilled. I'd mention Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 2:11-22; Colossians 3:11, but I know the counter-arguments of Dispensationalists very well. Sophistry.

And I know the last question of yours wasn't serious. But in case it accidentally was serious, the goal of God is a restoration of His people in Ezekiel 37.

I used to be a Dispensationalist. I had the Clarence Larkin book with all the charts, the Walvoord compendium, the Left Behind series. I loved it. Dispensationalism cuts up the Bible in a scrapbooking theology that re-arranges events separated by centuries, throws 90% of them into the future (the Church is just a place-holder in the middle of the really cool story, Yahweh and Israel), and creates a fantasy world with all the drama and narrative of Narnia (without - sigh - the talking animals). Then the rat heard his pastor one night after Bible Study mention Acts 2:16, where Peter applies Joel to the events of Pentecost, not with double-meaning, not with a gap of millennia, but to his day. I quietly starting re-reading the Bible after that, throwing away (in some cases burning) my Dispensationalist stuff, leaving the safety of the charts and the psychotic excitement of imminent eschatology. I left behind (haha) the double-covenant and the insistence on imposing hyper-literalness on Hebrew poetry and thought. Most of all, I stopped believing this current day and time are the most important in all of the history of the world, things can't get much worse, and the anti-Christ (what a sham) is about to take over the United Nations with his charisma...of course, anti-Christ is not mentioned in Revelation or any "prophetic" material, so he is only a ridiculous straw-man for the end-times experts.

You can insist on two returns of Jesus (the rapture and then the end, separated by the seven-year Tribulation), but if I suggest a coming in A.D. 70 to judge God's enemies (so-called "Second Temple" Judaism of the A.D. first century) and an unknown coming the future, I'm unorthodox. I remember an issue of "The National Liberty Journal" (which I used to read) about five years ago that declared a person heretical if they didn't believe the modern State of Israel played a role in God's eschatological/soteriological plan ("The New Last Days Scoffers," by Dr. Edward Hindson, May 2005). I embraced heresy proudly at that point (at least heresy as defined by Dispensationalists). We can both point to different Church Fathers who seem to support our views. We aren't going to convince each other. So I suggest we both just walk away at this point...not stopping in 10 paces for a duel, but just keep walking.

Well, back to the quiet (and cold) desert. I'm harmless out here, so don't worry about it, okay? Do say a prayer for those small congregations who must endure the rat's teaching...

"Dear, damned, distracting town, farewell!
Thy fools no more I'll tease:
This year in peace, ye critics, dwell,
Ye harlots, sleep at ease!"

"A Farewell to London," 1715
Alexander Pope

The Glorious Church, Part 1

2009-12-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

What's heaven going to be like? Gold streets, celestial buffet lines, mansions on hilltops? Who told you these things? Where in the Bible are these things promised or described for you? Maybe not where you've always thought...

Prophetic books like Revelation very often gives us the keys we need to make correct interpretations (so we don't have to rely on the imagination of specialty teachers or today's newspapers). In the case of the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21-22, the keys help us understand not a future heaven, but a present reality for Christians: "And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away'" (Revelation 21:2-4). What do these verses tell us?

The New Jerusalem is not heaven, but comes down from heaven.

It is compared to a bride adorned for her husband.

It fulfills the promise of God's presence with His people.

There are elements in these verses that sum up everything God has ever promised in all of Scripture.

A few verses later the apostle John says, "one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, 'Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb'" (Revelation 21:9). He's going to show us "the bride, the wife of the Lamb." Who is called the bride throughout the New Testament? The Church (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:22-33; Revelation 19:7,8)! So, as we go to the next verse, we are told we are going to see "the bride, the wife of the Lamb." What do we see? "And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God" (Revelation 21:10,11). The "holy city, Jerusalem," is the Church, which has the glory of God and is given from heaven (not created or built by men). In all the descriptions that follow, we are not being given a picture of heaven, but a highly figurative picture of "the Church of God which He purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28).

So why the architecture and all the physical details (Revelation 21:11-22:5)? Remember the original recipients of Revelation (it wasn't written primarily for us). A.D. 1st-century Christians faces incredible opposition from the religious establishment of Jerusalem, which spread its desire to eradicate Christianity all over the Roman Empire (read the book of Acts). In addition to this, the Roman Empire got in on the action in the years leading up to the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and the descent of the Empire into chaos in A.D. 70. The Church is described in such glorious terms of unmatched architecture to show them who had the real Temple of God: the Church. If you think the New Jerusalem is a literal cube with 1,500 miles per side (21:16), you've been watching too much Star Trek (most of it would extend into the vacuum of space and need to be pressurized; no problem for God, but do we seriously think He would communicate this to comfort persecuted A.D. 1st-century Christians?). By the way - it's literally "12,000 stadia." 12 x 1,000. Every number in Revelation is symbolic. All of this figurative architectural detail is to assure the Christians that no matter what is built on Temple Mount in Jerusalem or on the various hills throughout the Roman Empire, there was one Temple of God, and it was them.

The Church has both the authority of the apostles (Revelation 21:14; cf. Ephesians 2:19-22) and the blessings promised to the patriarchs of Israel (Revelation 21:12; cf. Galatians 3:14,29).

There is no need for a Temple cult: the only sacrifice ever needed has been made (Hebrews 7:27; 9:12; 10:10; 1 Peter 3:18).

There is no need for the lights of heaven to signal feasts and rituals (Revelation 21:23; cf. Genesis 1:14): it is all accomplished in the work of Jesus Christ, and the only sign we need is His glory.

We have all the light we will ever need, "for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb" (Revelation 21:23). This glory, this lamp we were given out of heaven on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on the Church, never to depart (Acts 2:1-4,16-21). This Spirit is the Spirit of truth, Who teaches us, reminds us of Christ's words, and guides us (John 4:23,24; 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 4:6; 5:6). We have no need of other light that the Spirit and truth (the Bible).

The apostle Paul gives us another witness to this assertion of Revelation. Paul never uses the term "Temple of God" or "House of God" unless he is referring to the Church (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:21). Even his warning of a "man of lawlessness" in God's Temple makes more sense in the original context of the letter if we realize he is warning that Church of an apostasy that will arise within it, not of the violation of a distant Temple that has no personal significance for his largely Gentile audience (2 Thessalonians 2:3-9). Jesus Himself refers to His own body as the Temple (John 2:14-22). Not to add another metaphor, but...the Church is that body (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 1:22,23; 4:12).

The bride's job is to clothe herself in the works of God (Ephesians 1:10; Philippians 2:12,13; Hebrews 13:20,21). "Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints" (Revelation 19:7,8). How has she made herself ready? By clothing herself in that which was given to her. She doesn't create her own righteous acts, inventing them out of her own creativity, marketing plan, morality, or business model. They are given to her (clearly in the letters of the apostles). By the way, the marriage feast is the destruction of God's enemies at the hand of Christ, the bridegroom - not a the Church (Revelation 19:11-21)...I'm sure there's an unimaginable celestial buffet, but that's not what Revelation speaks of here!

Consider: "And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:22,23). Jesus is head over all things, and head over the Church. The Church is Christ's body, and Christ fills everything. These verses are stunning to me. Twice Paul calls the Church "all things." What does that mean? Maybe I should digress a moment. In other places Paul says that all things belong to believers, even things we may not want, like death (Romans 8:32; 1 Corinthians 3:21-23). This means that even the unbelievers have a purpose in God's plan for believers (Proverbs 16:4; Romans 9:22,23). All of reality exists for one purpose, to bring about God's purpose for the Church. What is God's purpose for the Church? Conformity to Christ (Romans 8:28-30). God loves His Son more than anything in the entire universe. I would even say that God loves only His Son, and we experience God's love solely by our place in the Son (Romans 8:38,39; Ephesians 1:4-6). The apex of this creation is the Church, because it is being made into the image of Christ by the work of God the Holy Spirit. Even the things outside the Church exist as contrast to what the Church is and the character of her Lord.

Get this scriptural teaching firmly in your mind, and it will radically change your view of the Church and how gullible you are to the "end-times experts," i.e., snake-oil salesman (I think reading Revelation 21:9-11 as it demands to be read requires that we re-visit our interpretations of all of Revelation...and the New Testament...and the Old Testament!). God's presence is here, now, and real in the Church with His people. Instead of trying to re-create the "good old days" or investing all our hopes in tomorrow, we have God Himself here and now - maybe we should stop insulting Him by wishing for so much more. Maybe we should stop ignoring Him by staying away from the entity where He has promised His presence. Maybe we should stop treating the Church like it belongs to us or our denomination, or like it is something we have built for ourselves with our own ingenuity and efforts.

Thank God for His glorious Church!

The Glorious Church, Part 2

2009-12-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

What about Revelation 21:1, where John sees "a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea"? What does this mean in light of my assertion that the Church is the keystone for the entire universe? Aren't we just sitting here waiting for something better than all this to come along?

The term "heavens and the earth," when spoken in poetic language by either psalmist, prophets, or Jesus Himself, refers to the Temple (or by extension, Jerusalem), and the system of rituals/sacrifices there. I'll demonstrate this thesis by illustrations from Scripture and from Jewish writers contemporary with the writers of the New Testament. First, though, I'd like to describe one of the most important skills to have while reading the Bible.

Let me talk about the way the Jewish writers of the Bible expressed their thoughts. The most important aspect of Hebrew thought pattern and expression is the parallelism. If you don't understand parallelism, you won't properly understand most of the Bible. We thinkers/writers of Western Civilization think sequentially. We categorize. We write lists. We tell things in a linear, logical order. The Hebrew writer/thinker does not do this. To be a great writer according to the Hebrew tradition represented in the Bible means to say one thing as many different ways as possible. The biblical writers construct parallelisms at virtually every level, in both poetry and often prose. This same cultural literary phenomenon shows up in the New Testament, as well. I usually begin an explanation of parallelism with the illustration of train tracks. Our parallel lines of tracks represent ideas in Hebrew-minded writing. The train moving over the tracks is the meaning carried by the ideas. Two or more ideas, one meaning. Let's look at a biblical example: Psalm 19:7-9. We take these six statements about Scripture and want to start making lists and charts: the different names, their nuanced meanings, and their quality. This is the point the writer is making! He's giving us a single, multi-faceted view of the glory of the Word of God, and we're deconstructing it so it will make a better "how to" manual! Psalm 119 is a giant example of parallelism, as the psalmist comes up with more "pet names" for his love (Scripture) than Shakespeare in all his sonnets! So when reading every part of the Bible, we must look for parallel statements that mean the same thing, and often shed complementary light on each other. I cannot over-emphasize this point. Adele Berlin wrote a fantastic and annoyingly horrible book about parallelism exquisitely and painfully detailing the pervasiveness of parallelism in Hebrew writing called The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism (published by Eerdmans). Every seminary student and Bible teacher should be beat half to death with this book until they agree to never again read their Bibles or pretend to teach without applying Berlin's magnificent torture device to themselves while exegeting. Again, without mastering parallelism as a literary concept, you will not understand the Bible. Let's get back to the thesis: the "heavens and earth" language of psalmists, prophets, and Jesus refers back to the Temple and its system of worship, not the universe or cosmos in which we find ourselves. Let's start looking at examples from the Bible.

"And He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which He has founded forever" (Psalm 78:69). There are at least two sets of parallelisms in this verse. Do you see them? First is the parallel between "sanctuary" and "the heights...the earth." The second is in the verbs "He built" and "He has founded." The Temple of Solomon is figuratively described as being like the heavens and the earth. In this example, it's easy to understand because of the repetition of the word "like" - God sometimes gives us obvious similes to introduce us by baby-step to more subtle parallelisms.

"I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, 'You are My people'" (Isaiah 51:16). God's work of creating the heavens and the earth and His work of speaking His people/Zion into existence is the same. His people, gathered at Zion, are representative of the heavens and the earth. They are the reason for Creation, and are figuratively "the whole world" to Him.

"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing and her people for gladness" (Isaiah 65:17,18). The language of "new heavens and new earth" from Revelation 21 is an allusion to Isaiah 65 (very little of Revelation is totally original - understanding the O.T. is key to interpreting Revelation...throw the newspaper away!). What does Isaiah mean by it? Well, we handicapped Western Civilization thinkers/readers are given a little help by the repetition of the word "create." We are told what the "new heavens" and "new earth" are; they are "Jerusalem" and "her people."

The prophet Jeremiah gives us a little background on why Isaiah 65 needs to speak of "new" in relation to "the heavens and the earth." You see, the original "heavens and earth" were undone for a time. This happened in 586 B.C. by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, when his army utterly destroyed Solomon's Temple, Jerusalem, and Judah (this was the hand of God for Judah's unwillingness to be faithful to God alone). Jeremiah, in writing of this event, says, "I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light" (4:23). Read the whole chapter and you see the prophet is describing the destruction of Judah as being the undoing of creation itself - which it was, to the Jewish mind. The language of "formless and void" and darkness come from the Genesis account of creation.

Fast-forward to the New Testament. Jesus sits atop a hill teaching His followers, and He makes a statement about the Law of Moses that leads Christians into theological trouble to this day: "For I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished" (Matthew 5:18). "Pass away" is paralleled with "all is accomplished," and "heaven and earth" is paralleled by "the Law." Jesus is speaking of the destruction of Herod's Temple by the Romans in A.D. 70, the utter and complete end of Temple Judaism. It was a conclusive statement by God accomplished 40 years (a hugely significant number in the Bible) after the death of Christ for sins.

In Matthew 24:4-25:46, Jesus gives an extended teaching about the destruction of the Temple that was to occur 40 years later. Wait...someone told you this was about the end of the world? Read it again. What prompts Jesus to give this teaching? The disciples, in Jerusalem with Jesus, admiringly point out the great buildings of the Temple complex to Jesus. The Lord responds, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down" (Matthew 24:2). This is too much for them. Later, in a private moment on the Mount of Olives, they ask, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" The teaching from 24:4-25:46 answers this question. It is totally inexcusability and shameful self-centeredness on the part of the modern reader to believe that Jesus ignores the questions of the disciples and proceeds to warn them about events not to happen for millennia! Back again to our thesis...Jesus, in this discourse, says, "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away" (Matthew 24:34,35). The future tries to redefine "generation" to fit their charts and cut-and-paste approach to the Bible. Read it for what it says and the O.T.-saturated language the Lord uses.

What about the apostle Peter's language? "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with an intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells" (2 Peter 3:10-13). The apostle, in writing this last letter to the Church, continues the language of the psalmists, prophets, and his Lord. Without a holistic understanding of biblical language, this dramatic-sounding end of the world was useful fuel to the Bible-teachers of the 20th century as they shepherded flocks under threat of global nuclear war. Do you see now what Peter is pointing to, what was less than a decade away as he penned these words? There is a slight variation to the language we've seen so far. What is it? The word "the elements." To understand Peter's variation from the other biblical language we've seen, we're going to look at similar uses of this exact word written decades earlier by another apostle. Paul doesn't write with the same Hebrew stylings, but his use of the word "element" will be very helpful to us. Writing about the Law, Paul says that we "were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world" (Galatians 4:3). He then asks, "now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years" (4:9,10). To another Church Paul says, "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ" (Colossians 2:8). He then asks, "If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, 'Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!' (which all refer to things destined to perish with use) - in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?" (2:20-22). While the apostle Peter speaks of the "elements" of the old heavens and earth being undone in fire, and a new heavens and earth built on righteousness, Paul describes the Law followed by the Temple and its worshipers and being "elements," obsolete under Christ. Peter and Paul are speaking the same ideas with different cultural language.

I told you I'd give you some examples from Jewish writers contemporary to the writers of the New Testament:

"As for the inside [of the Tabernacle], Moses parted its length into three partitions...this proporation of the measures of the tabernacle proved to be an imitation of the system of the world: for that third part thereof which was within the four pillars, to which the priests were not admitted, is, as it were, a Heaven peculiar to God; but the space of the twenty cubits is, as it were, sea and land, on which men live, and so this part is peculiar to the priests only..." (Flavius Josephus, A.D. 37-100, The Antiquities of the Jews, Book 3, Chapter 3.4).

"...if anyone does but consider the fabric of the tabernacle, and take a view of the garments of the high priest, and of those vessels which we make use of in our sacred ministration...he will find they were every one made in way of imitation and representation of the universe. When Moses distinguished the tabernacle into three parts, and allowed two of them to the priests, as a place accessible and common, he denoted the land and the sea, these being of general access to all; but he set apart the third division for God, because heaven is inaccessible to men. And when he ordered twelve loaves to be set on the table, he denoted the year, as distinguished into so many months. By branching out the candlestick into seventy parts, he secretly imitated the Decani, or seventy divisions of the planets; and as to the seven lamps upon the candlesticks, they referred to the course of the planets, of which that is the number. The veils, too, which were composed of four things, they declared the four elements; for the fine linen was proper to signify the earth, because the flax grows out of the earth; the purple signified the sea, because that color is dyed by the blood of the sea shellfish; the blue is fit to signify the air; and the scarlet will naturally be an indication of fire. Now the vestment of the high priest being made of linen, signified the earth; the blue denoted the sky, being like lightning in its pomegranates, and in the noise of the bells resembling thunder. As for the ephod, its showed that God had made the universe of four [elements]; and as for the gold interwoven, I suppose it related to the splendor by which all things are enlightened. And the girdle which encompassed the high priest round, signified the ocean, for that goes round about and includes the universe. Each of the sardonyxes declares to us the sun and the moon; those, I mean, that were in the nature of buttons on the high priest's shoulders. And for the twelve stones, whether we understand them by the months, or whether we understand the like number of the signs of the circle which the Greeks call the Zodiac, we shall not be mistaken in their meaning. And for the miter, which was of a blue color, it seems to me to mean heaven; for how otherwise could the name of God be inscribed upon it? That it was also illustrated with a crown, and that of gold also, is because of that splendor with which God is pleased" (Flavius Josephus, A.D. 37-100, The Antiquities of the Jews, Book 3, Chapter 7.7).

Moses "chose the materials of this embroidery [of the veil], selecting with great care what was most excellent out of an infinite quantity, choosing materials equal in number to the elements of which the world was made, and having a direct relation to them; the elements being the earth and the water, and the air and the fire. For the fine flax is produced from the earth, and the purple from the water, and the hyacinth color is compared to the air (for, by nature, it is black), and the scarlet is likened to fire, because each is of a red color; for it followed of necessity that those who were preparing a temple made by hands for the Father and Ruler of the universe must take essences similar to those of which he made the universe itself" (Philo Judaeus, 20 B.C.-A.D. 50, On the Life of Moses II, XVIII).

"...the dress of the high priest...is a copy and representation of the separate parts of the world...and our argument will be able to bring forth twenty probable reasons that the mantle over the shoulders is an emblem of heaven" (Philo Judaeus, 20 B.C.-A.D. 50, On the Life of Moses II, XXIV).

"The high priest, then, being equipped in this way, is properly prepared for the performance of all sacred ceremonies, that, whenever he enters the temple to offer up the prayers and sacrifices in use among his nation, all the world may likewise enter in with him, by means of the imitations of it which he bears about him..." (Philo Judaeus, 20 B.C.-A.D. 50, On the Life of Moses II, XXVI).

Fred Asaire, in the 1951 film "Royal Wedding," dances around his hotel room singing "You're All the World to Me." He compares His love to Paris, New York, the Swiss Alps, Cape Cod, Lake Como, Sun Valley, a museum, a Persian palace, Christmas, and a tropical sea. The Jews of Jesus' day could sing that song, too, about the Temple, the Law, and the priesthood.

We don't get to read the Bible with our definitions and understanding in mind. The Bible tells us how to read it. The results may not conform to our self-centered worldview, which says, "there's never been a time like this" and "this is what the Bible means to me," but the results will be accurate to the message God desires for His people to receive. The destruction of the heavens and earth language of the Bible refers to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, first in 586 B.C. and second in A.D. 70. In both instances, the people bearing God's name and Word in the world had rejected Him, and re-created was required. The Church, free from centralized worship, human-efforted sacrifices, and ethnic homogeny, is the new heavens and earth (see the first essay again for elaboration on the grandness and all-encompassing nature of the Church).

Time to read our Bibles again!

P.S. "No longer any sea..." Don't worry, you beach bums. I'm sure heaven will be acceptable to you; but this speaks of the Church. Revelation has already defined the symbol "sea" for us: "The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues" (17:15). I don't think it's necessary to look much further. In the Church, there is no "us and them" from an ethnic standpoint, as in the Old Covenant, where the people of God were marked out first by ethnicity. In Christ that barrier is broken down (Ephesians 2:11-22), so in the "new heavens and the new earth" (a term symbolizing the New Covenant), there is "no longer any sea."

In the Name.

2009-11-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

He received the Name of God. Barefooted in the presence of an unconsuming fire and a staff with a double personality (the other a serpent), Moses asks for God's name and gets it (Exodus 3:13-15). It'd been lost to the ears, lips, and minds of men for a long time, at least since the days of Isaac (Genesis 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 16:13; 21:33; 26:25). God gives the Name to Moses, who goes forth as God's prophet. But certainly not the last. Over and over God sends prophets among His people who utter messages with the attention-grabbing subject line: "Thus says the LORD." What irony, that the Name of the LORD - which should be the secret password to unlock the hearts of every created being in the universe - is taken for granted, misused, ignored, and relegated to superstitious silence. "The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy" (2 Chronicles 36:15,16). There is no remedy for a people who continually take the Name in vain. "...the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain" (Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11).

So the voice of the LORD, spoken by the prophets in the name of the LORD, goes silent. Another would come, as Moses himself prophesied: "I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I commanded him. It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him" (Deuteronomy 18:18,19 - quoted in Acts 3:22,23; 7:37). Another Moses, giving another Law. And so He came, as the Church considers this Advent season.

He brought the words of God, but just as importantly He brought the Name:

"I have come in My Father's name..." (John 5:43).
"I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, these testify of Me" (John 10:25).
"Hosanna! Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the LORD, even the King of Israel" (John 12:13).
"I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word" (John 17:6).
"Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled" (John 17:11,12).

So the King dresses as a messenger and goes through the land proclaiming His own word as if it were not His word, but the King's. More faithful than the most faithful servant of the house, this hidden King is faithful as a son (Hebrews 3:1-6). This one, for a time hidden in "the form of a bond-servant," was so faithful and obedient that it took His very last breath to proclaim the message. That last breath was honored and given back for all eternity, and the servant-King's name is exalted on high: "God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).

He received the name of God, and God received GLORY.

In awe of a stuttering and lisping God.

2009-10-26T07:54:00.000-06:00

We have no idea how different He is than us, how much more He is than us, how absolute and incomprehensible His utter transcendence is. We are not capable of even beginning the intellectual, spiritual/mystical, or emotional act of conceiving of Him. When we quote, "'My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts,'" (Isaiah 55:8,9) we barely understand this divine confession. One of the most serious indictments in the Bible - to this rat - occurs in Psalm 50:21, where the LORD laments, "you thought I was just like you." May it never be, O great God! How far down do you have to stoop, to condescend, to speak to us? To surround us with your glory, how dumbed-down did You have to make Your "invisible attributes" to paint the inconceivable detail, joyous beauty, and humbling grandeur of this creation? O Christ, O eternal God the Son, how does an Infinite Beyond get poured out of Your Being so that it could be said of You: "...Christ Jesus...emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant...being made in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:7)? Every day of eternity will bring a greater, unending, ever-satisfying measure of what has been lost in translation here on this earth. You, the all-sufficient pleasure of the soul, will have to bring us up that unimaginably lofty ladder between this sod we walk and Your throne. We cannot wait!

Let me quote the great Reformer of Geneva:

"For who is so devoid of intellect as not to understand that God...lisps with us as nurses are wont to do with little children?" (Institutes of the Christian Religion, I.13.1)

"If we heard God speaking to us in His majesty, it would be useless to us, for we would understand nothing. Therefore, since we are carnal, He has to stutter or otherwise He would not be understood by us" (Sermon on 1 John 1:1-5).

And so I journeyed with family from the rim of the Rio Grande Gorge to the river itself, descending 700 feet in less than a mile. Beautiful. Stunning. Awesome. This is the most basic, vague, and childish way He communicates Himself to us: His creation.

* * *

If this is the lisp, if this the stutter, how beyond the most glorious descriptions of a million writers of human masterpiece, laboring for a billion years, is our great God and Savior?

Preaching Together at the Table

2009-10-05T06:22:00.000-06:00

The Table. Yesterday morning the Spirit highlighted, like turning a crystal in the light, an aspect of the Table liturgy I don't think I'd noticed before: "This is My body, which is for you..." (1 Corinthians 11:24). Not for the world of the children of wrath, but for "the Church of God which He purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28). In the Lord's Table we proclaim not a general atonement, but a particular atonement. Curiously, there are many congregations who will go out of their way to exclude visitors from other congregations or denominations, repeat the "for you" aspect of the liturgy, yet spit and get pretty worked up about the issue of limited atonement. Interesting. This rat finds it calmly joyous that the truth of the doctrine of God's grace is proclaimed at His Table, whether or not the participants fully realize what they are saying...we are but little children gathered at the Table...pray we don't make too much of a mess.

I love the corporate preaching of the Table: "...as often as you eat this bread or drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). Shouldn't we want to make this proclamation every time we gather? I love it, pray the Spirit will inflame greater love in me, and pray He will do so among the clay lanterns He inhabits. Paul, as he writes this to the Corinthians, is cognizant that there is a potential audience to this corporate preaching of the Table, for later (speaking of tongues and prophecy) he mentions "ungifted men or unbelievers" (I think this is a parallelism referring to one type of person) entering into the congregation's worship gathering (1 Corinthians 14:23,24). All that we do to reach out to visitors (from gimmicks to gift bags), when the sure prophecy of the Word and the corporate proclamation of the Table are the given tools to meet all the needs of the gathered congregation! Sunday after Sunday the Table is mute, lest "it stops becoming special," while we would sing "Amazing Grace" every Sunday if possible! The problem isn't the Table, but our hearts. The answer isn't quarterly observation tacked on to the end of the service, but repentant prayer for a reclamation of the hearts of God's people. Bind us to the Book, O eternal Spirit, and bind us to the Table. Should we stray, break us and bring us back. Teach us to love what You have given rather than seeking new thrills and emotional highs in things that are peripheral.

What about the music? It's not given to be a sacrament linking us to God, but a teaching tool to help us catechize each other through the expression of truth and a heart devoted to God (Ephesians 5:18-21; Colossians 3:14-17). I like how Matthew and Mark record the first Lord's Supper. It was not added as an afterthought to teaching and dynamic music. It took its place alongside the teaching, and a hymn was added at the very end (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26). I have nothing against music, especially good music that teaches deep doctrine (www.reformedpraise.org), but let's keep it in the perspective it belongs. Let's keep it tamed under doctrine. Let's keep it respectfully under the authority of the preaching of the Table and the preaching of the Word.

Pray God chains our hearts and our hands to the corporate preaching of the Table. Not as a window into revival, greater blessing, or "church growth," but because it is one of the three things we are to do when we gather, and it is the most neglected by the children.

Pray.

Everything.

2009-10-01T06:58:00.000-06:00

"The Bible is authoritative on everything on which it speaks - and it speaks on everything."

Cornelius Van Til, Defense of the Faith

This Most Beautiful Theater...

2009-09-25T23:08:00.000-06:00

"Meanwhile, being placed in this most beautiful theatre, let us not decline to take a pious delight in the clear and manifest works of God....it is...the first evidence of faiths to remember to which side soever we turn, that all which meets the eye is the work of God, and at the same time to meditate with pious care on the end which God had in view in creating it."

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, I.14.20.

Meditations on Word-Focused Praying

2009-09-04T07:58:00.000-06:00

Reading Psalm 119 this morning, I was struck by the prayers of the Psalmist to God over the Word. Coming to the Word should always be a prayer-filled event, asking for God the Holy Spirit to be present and teach us through His Word. It's not enough to schedule time and make ourselves read...we must seek the presence of the Author and that He'll bring us to the Word in His timing…let’s look at a few of these prayers.

* * * * * * *

Oh that my ways may be established to keep Your statutes (119:5)! Who establishes our ways? The God of the Word. The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps (Proverbs 16:9). This is a prayer of the Psalmist, that God would establish his ways in a certain way – not the way he wants, but according to what God wants and has shown in His Word.

* * * * * * *

With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me wander from Your commandments (119:10). Why do we struggle through times when we wander from the Word? Well, it’s not just a book. It’s the living Word of God, breathed by the Holy Spirit. When we have divided hearts and our singular desire is not His presence and glory, He gives us over for a season to those things that damage our inner faithfulness to Him. Whether it’s stuff, non-Kingdom priorities, relationships, our own pleasure, His name is Jealous (Exodus 34:14 – we don’t pray to Him using that name, do we?) and He will not allow divided loyalty (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13), anymore than spouses would allow it in the marriage relationship (which is nothing more than a picture of the relationship with God). Even when we go through a period of closeness and outward fidelity to Him, He knows the heart. Sometimes we are Providentially sent on a period of miserable wandering to highlight the infidelity in our hearts (Jeremiah 29:12,13 – a promise to those exiled for spiritual infidelity). The Psalmist pleads with God to save Him from such a time of wandering from the Word, the place of our primary communion with God. Pray this for yourself, and pray it over those who are wandering.

* * * * * * *

Incline my heart to Your testimonies and not to dishonest gain. Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, and revive me in Your ways (119:36,37). More “defensive” prayer. Consider this preventative to wandering. It’s also almost confessional, isn’t it? I’m reminded of the hymn: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it; seal it for Thy courts above” (“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” Robert Robinson [1735-1790]).

* * * * * * *

We’ve all been blessed in life by great Bible teachers. They are all conduits themselves for the Holy Spirit, Who longs to teach us directly (in addition to His gift of human teachers in the Church – Ephesians 4:8,11).

Blessed are You, O LORD; teach me Your statutes (119:12).
I have told of my ways, and You have answered me; teach me Your statutes. Make me understand the way of Your precepts, so I will meditate on Your wonders (119:26,27).

* * * * * * *

Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word (119:17). This is the basis for a prayer for life; not fear of sickness, calamity, or death, but a prayer for a life keeping God’s Word. How backward is this to our fallen nature, which places itself first! The new creation puts God’s Word first. Life serves the Word, not the twisted view of the fleshly christian, who sees the Word as a means to get what he/she wants. Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live (119:144).

* * * * * * *

Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law (119:18). The Psalm recognizes Who the Teacher is. Prayer is the most neglected part of Bible study for us. We have such an intellectual (even the least intellectual among us) attitude about it. It’s a book. Books are read with the intellect. It’s something to be dissected and categorized scientifically, its facts absorbed like so much history or trivia. No! This thing is the breath, the voice, the essence of God. It is alive, and contains more wonderful things than our tiny minds can pull from it. Pray to see the wonder!

* * * * * * *

My soul cleaves to the dust; revive me according to Your word…My soul weeps because of grief; strengthen me according to Your word. Remove the false way from me, and graciously grant me Your law (119;25,28,29). Grief, depression, sorrow. O, would that God would put this conviction in our hearts, that the remedy is not an outward change in circumstance, but an inward application of the Word of life to our weary souls! Even in moments of joy, pray that the next valley is lit by the light of the Word.

* * * * * * *

Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, and I shall observe it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law and keep it with all my heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it…Establish Your word to Your servant, as that which produces reverence for You (119:33-35,38). The Psalmist doesn’t ask once, does he? Look at all the ways he has to describe the Word: statutes, law, commandments, word. It’s always reminded me of lovers who have a multitude of secret names for each other. The Psalmist isn’t a “five-minute devotion” kind of guy. God has gifted him with a wonderful, multi-faceted, passionate, singular fidelity and intimate love for the Word. If that’s not something worth praying for, I don’t know what is! What’s the goal: “…that which produces reverence for You.” How can we say we love this God without showing Him reverence? How can we show Him reverence when we aren’t devoted to the source of that reverence?

* * * * * * *

The earth is full of Your lovingkindness, O LORD; teach me Your statutes (119:64). Natural revelation, the imprint of God’s character and attributes on creation (Psalm 19:1; Isaiah 6:3; Romans 1:20), inspire the Psalmist to go back to the Word. Nature doesn’t teach us the Word, though. It inspires us to a conception of a God of beauty, order, and power, but we still ask God to teach us through His Word.

* * * * * * *

Teach me good discernment and knowledge, for I believe in Your commandments (119:66). Do we really believe His way is best, or is this just some religious confession that isn’t reflected in our lives? The Psalmist comes to the Teacher with this offering: belief.

* * * * * * *

O accept the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me Your ordinances (119:108). Part of our prayer before studying the Word or hearing it taught (and during and after these times, too) is not just asking for teaching only, but an offering of praise for the previous times of teaching, for God’s promise and provision to teach, for the marvelous fruit the Word has produced in your spirit-life, and for the closeness of relationship with the matchless God the Word provides. Let my lips utter praise, for You teach me Your statutes (119:171).

* * * * * * *

Deal with Your servant according to Your lovingkindness and teach me Your statutes. I am Your servant; give me understanding, that I may know Your testimonies (119:124,125). God is not the cold, impersonal professor. He deals with us and teaches us according to His character, the embodiment of lovingkindness. He knows the reason and purpose of our creation. He knows what is best for us (an existence of giving Him praise and enjoying His glory). On this basis (a God-centered reality as opposed to the false self-centered reality) He will teach. Your hands made me and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments (119:173). Not only does the Creator enable His creation to enjoy His love through His Word, but His goodness: You are good and do good; teach me Your statutes (119:68).

* * * * * * *

Make Your face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes (119:135). The Word itself is an unfathomable expression of God’s radiant glory. The more we spend time in the Word and Spirit (as He answers our prayer to give us opportunity), the more we’ll reflect and enjoy that “shining.”

* * * * * * *

Let my cry come before You, O LORD; give me understanding according to Your word (119:169). Job’s experience is not unique – when difficulties come, we all seem to be surrounded with people who don’t give us God’s wisdom for dealing with the situation. Their advise will often appeal to our fleshly desires for revenge, justification, or wallowing self-pity. The Psalm asks for correct, God-oriented thinking. This takes a maturity and a willingness to die to those parts of ourselves that want to come out on top in difficult situations (rather than embracing the cross).

* * * * * * *

I am a stranger in the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me (119:19). We need to confess this every day. Unless we remind ourselves before God of this truth, there is an almost irresistible tendency to start feeling at home here. His Word should be the constant flag of a foreign country lifted up before us here on our pilgrimage. If He hides His commandments from us, we would immediately forget our true home. Your statutes are my songs in the house of my pilgrimage (119:54). Songs! Not brief times of study we force ourselves to endure to assuage a guilty conscience! Songs touch the emotional seat of our souls, don’t they? We don’t sing songs to stimulate ourselves intellectually. They are capable of radically modifying our mood, and equally capable of expressing the inexpressible. This is how the Psalmist views the word in land far from home. Pray this becomes your passion!

* * * * * * *

I hope this has given you some ammunition as you pray for yourself, those close to you, and all of the Church of Jesus Christ. O, that we, the Bride, would come to desire to enjoy all we can of the Bridegroom in His Word. May this be our prayer.

Approaching the Brockman Hills

2009-08-17T12:08:00.000-06:00

The images in the Bible of God as a pillar of smoke or a whirlwind come to mind when facing something like this in the desert. A creation of heat, this towering plume crossed my path on a windless day, making the barest of whispers. I stand in awe of something so big and silent, knowing it is a reflection of a Sovereign Glory I can barely comprehend.
Even after moving into an area void of dust, these vortices are still present. Driving through them while they are invisible is a surprise. A great day would be to follow one on foot, baking in the desert sun, being covered in dust, greeting the occasional desert dweller with a wave - wouldn't want to break the silence with speech, except for the occasional lifting up of "a song to Him Who rides through the desert" (Psalm 68:4).
God is good.

Black-necked garter snake near Gila River, West Fork

2009-08-05T07:20:00.001-06:00

Bull snake just south of Brock Ridge.

2009-08-01T13:20:00.000-06:00

Stand, therefore.

2009-07-30T09:34:00.000-06:00

Apologetics have always given me the hives. "...sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence" (1 Peter 3:15). Read the rest of 1 Peter, and you quickly understand that this "defense" (apologia) is not a debate in the arena of ideas and worldviews, but in the context of criminal trial! Jesus spoke of the same situation, and of the source of "defense" (apologia) for the believer on trial:

"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given to you in that hour what you are to say. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father Who speaks in you" (Matthew 10:16-20).
"But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit" (Mark 13:9-11).
"But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute" (Luke 21:12-15).

Father, Holy Spirit, Jesus. Our true "defense" (apologia) finds its source not in clever arguments, scientific/archaelogical/logical proof, appeals to "felt needs," or bullying polemics. The source of our "defense" (apologia) has nothing to do with us - it is entirely Trinitarian. What is our role? Making up our minds not to prepare a defense!

I fear most believers study apologetics to steel themselves against the onslaught of the hurricane that is opposition to the absolutely authoritative, divinely inspired, infallible Word of God. Apologetics is a security blanket as they huddle in the dark clutching a Bible they weakly hope is what the preacher said it was. This is not our sure foundation or the position of a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ!

"...our conviction of the truth of Scripture must be derived from a higher source than human conjectures, judgments, or reasons; namely, the secret testimony of the Spirit...those who are inwardly taught by the Holy Spirit acquiese implicitly in Scripture; that Scripture carrying its own evidence along with it, deigns not to submit to proofs and arguments, but owes the full conviction with which we ought to receive it to the testimony of the Spirit. Enlightened by him, we no longer believe, either on our own judgment or that of others, that the Scriptures are from God; but, in a way superior to human judgment, feel perfectly assured - as much so as if we beheld the divine image visably impressed on it - that it came to us, by the instrumentality of men, from the very mouth of God" (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, I.7.4,5).

We (the Church of the living God) exist for this sole purpose, to be the "pillar and support of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). This is not a human-centered or human-empowered endeavor, since "it is the Spirit Who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth" (1 John 5:6). We are but vessels! "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth, for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth" (John 4:23,24). This is who we are. It is not a method, program, or system. It is not man-made. It is not one of many options available to the inhabitants of this hurtling rock. It is absolute reality. We testify to it in the power of the Holy Spirit, and trust that He will open the minds and hearts of those who hear. Where is the glory in a person convinced by our pseudo-philosophical, weakly logical, satirically scientific, humanistic apologies?

To the outside of the gates of the world's way of debating, saints (you're speaking the language of Babylon)! Come out of the city of man with its equality of viewpoints, people! Be nailed to the cross and determine to know nothing but its reality splayed over the pages of the Bible and standing unmovingly over the days of human history.

Rest.

2009-07-29T13:32:00.000-06:00

Why can’t we delight in Him? Because we don’t desire His Rest.

“If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word, then you will take delight in the LORD” (Isaiah 58:13,14).

When have we turned ourselves from doing and seeking our own pleasure? When have we done anything but our own ways? When have we paused from speaking our own word? When have we done all these things, forsaking our cravings and expression in exchange for His Rest? How can we delight in Him when His Rest is not a priority?

“…with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His Rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:17-19).

Obedience is preceded by trust, and trust by a vision-as-yet-unseen that becomes more desirous to us than all the fancies of the vision-seen. As Jonathan Edwards said of the will, “it is that motive which, as it stands in the view of the mind, is the strongest, that determines the will.” Which, in the view of the mind, is strongest: the surrounding dust or the exalted Rest?

For the sake of His rest, trade your pleasure for His holy day (the “Today” of Hebrews 3:13). Trade your ways for His honor. Trade His Word from speaking your own word.

The fruit of embracing His Rest is a life that delights in Him.

Proverbs of the Court.

2009-07-29T09:49:00.000-06:00

Numerous proverbs speak about the character, actions, and effects of the lives of kings. Rather than applying these as a means of judging our current civil leaders, can I suggest that we apply them to our own lives, since we are "a royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9), made by the Lamb to be "a kingdom" that will "reign upon the earth" (Revelation 1:6; 5:9,10)?

Proverbs 8:15; 14:28,35; 16:10,12-15; 19:12; 20:2,8,26,28; 21:1; 22:11,29; 24:21; 25:2,3,5,6; 29:4,14; 31:3,4.

After all, the kings of Israel were but a foreshadowing in their office of the King of kings, Jesus Christ. Our authority (Matthew 16:19; John 20:21-23) is not of us, but solely an extension of the Father's through the Son, exerted only in the power of the Holy Spirit through the Body. This is Kingdom authority and power, not of us.

We, as royalty, have an obligation to mirror the character, actions, and effects of the Absolute Sovereign. Perhaps the Proverbs of the Court can be guides for us as we steward the Kingdom.

worthless rambling rat far from the desert...

2009-07-27T13:16:00.000-06:00

Time is short for all of us, so make "the most of your time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16). Or, more hauntingly, a day comes when "all the daughters of song will sing softly" (Ecclesiastes 12:4). Bury the calendar, be filled with the Spirit. To paraphrase 1 Corinthians 1:25, "the chaos of God is more organized than the organization of men."

rambling of a worthless rat far from the desert from desert rat of Morgan on Vimeo.

Example.

2009-07-27T10:53:00.000-06:00

Listen and read: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Biographies/1471_The_Divine_Majesty_of_the_Word/.

An epic, inspiring sermonic biography of a life utterly sold out to the Word of God. Would it be that God would bless our generation with such grace.

Angels, Colossians 2, and my Self-centered Reality

2009-07-25T15:01:00.000-06:00

Colossians 2:18 condemns the “worship of the angels.”. That’s usually thought of as some New Age or perverted Christian doctrine. It’s not. Read the entirety of Colossians 2. The problem with the church in Colossae (and the problem of most of the churches of the N.T.) was elements in the church trying to impose rules (usually Old Testament rules) on the church that didn’t reflect the new covenant church. These were usually Jews who had been saved, were now part of the church, but couldn’t let yesterday’s religion go. At first, “worship of the angels” seems out of place in a discussion of the freedom from legalism we have in Christ. But let’s look closer.

1. Stephen addresses the Jewish mob listening to him as “you who received the law as ordained by angels” (Acts 7:53).

2. Paul tells the Galatian churches (struggling with old covenant legalism in the new covenant church) that the Law was “ordained through angels” (Galatians 3:19).

3. The writer of Hebrews (obviously dealing with the same problem as Stephen and the churches of Colossae and Galatia), describing the punishment of the old covenant law, says, “For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Hebrews 2:2,3).

So you see, Paul’s admonition that the Colossians not “worship…the angels” is not a Gentile (non-Jewish) sin thrown into the middle of a sin of first century A.D. Judaism. It is directly tied to their obsession with a Law now made obsolete for the new covenant church.

Any time you put non-scriptural mediators between God and man (Mary, priests, rituals, angels), it puts God at a distance and makes it easier to ignore His desire for a relationship with us. I can have warm fuzzies about the holy Mother, nostalgic rituals (which can even be favorite “old time” songs), or guardian angels, but that mean, demanding old grouch far away in heaven can’t trouble me. After all, I’m free to live however I want and still go to heaven (a place where my every desire is catered to) a long time from now, right?

The mystic-warrior.

2009-06-17T11:47:00.000-06:00

“Cease striving and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). I was hiking alone six years ago, on my way to seeing the figure on the water (a story for a later time). Somewhere along the way, I thought about this verse. Look at what it says. If a lack of striving is equal to or flows naturally into knowledge of God, then striving imposes an ignorance or unknowing of God. It frightens me that I am unknowing more than I would like. This is a war-Psalm, by the way (like Psalm 2) – God’s battle against a humanity that wants to do it their way, no matter Who sits on High. Our striving, battling…they are against the Unseen-on-High. The more we battle, struggle, strive, the less we know of Him. God is in the business of Creation; sometimes it is His answer to unknowing (see Jeremiah 4:22,23…no, really, look it up!). “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters” (Genesis 1:2).

My prayer: to only be moved by the exhale of the Ancient One. I will be that perfectly still water that reflects the parade of the Heavens on a winter’s night, ready for Creation.
My salvation: “…what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate…I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not…the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want…I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord…there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 7:15,18,19,22-25; 8:1).

Walls, trenches, death, and wine.

2009-06-10T11:14:00.000-06:00

"...he must desire life like water, and yet drink death like wine."

Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

* * * * * * *

“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death” (Revelation 12:10,11). Don't you just love that overcoming doesn't involve survival? That Jesus can say things like, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:28-31), and keep a straight face? They'll kill my body, but my soul and hair will look good!

* * * * * * *

I'm thinking of sandcastles at the beach. I enjoy building them, but also enjoy trying to come up with moats and seawalls and trenches to divert the tide. I know it's futile, but I still can't help myself. It doesn't really matter how many ways I try to protect the castle, the sea will take it on the next high tide. I'm not going to apply this as you might think.

* * * * * * *

We never know how we'll face that last moment. It's inevitable, but no matter how much we consider it, I suspect it's nothing like our imaginations. "He who has found his life will lose it, and He who has lost his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 10:39; 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; 17:33). As much as I enjoy building the castle itself, I enjoy the walls and trenches a whole lot more; away from the center of attention, away from the imaginary throne room and luxury suite at the top of the tower, away from the games of the courtyard and the hierarchy of the grand table in the dining hall. Let me build walls and trenches. Instead of living for the accouterments of Babylon (build of the grocery lists of Revelation 18:12,13), let's make a daily habit of facing the inevitable tide, embracing the moment in Christ, knowing it to be a taste of the eternal. Work, work, work, knowing that it will be swept away tomorrow and the deeper sea imagined in the trenches and ignored in the court will be all the reality there is tomorrow.

* * * * * * *

"...let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1,2). Where the the throne of joy? Just over the hill (mixing my metaphors now). Hmm. There seems to be something in the way. Cross, shame. Ah, but the other side...drink deep the cup, choke down the dregs, practice that wildly insane look, and smile as the tide comes.

Three Markan Silences.

2009-06-09T11:23:00.000-06:00

Many of us have wondered about the commands to silence that Jesus gives throughout the Gospels. I’ve always assumed it was Jesus’ way of controlling the situation, adjusting the heat, if you will, so that the opposition didn’t reach a fever pitch until the Providentially-ordained moment. I’m sure that’s true to a certain extent, but I think there’s a greater purpose behind the commands to silence. It has to do with Jesus’ stated purpose for stepping down from heaven: the Message.

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (1:1).
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14,15).
“…immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach. They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (1:21,22).
“Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for” (1:38).
“He was speaking the word to them” (2:2).
“He was teaching them” (2:13).
“He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach” (3:14).
“He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables” (3:23).
“He began to teach again by the sea…He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching…with many such parables He was speaking the word to them” (4:1,2,33).
“When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue” (6:2).
“They went out and preached that men should repent” (6:12).
“He began to teach them many things” (6:34).
“He was teaching His disciples and telling them…” (9:31).
“He went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds gathered around Him again, and, according to His custom, He once more began to teach them” (10:1).
“Every day I was with you in the temple teaching” (14:49).
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation…they went out and preached everywhere” (16:15).
“…they went out and preached everywhere” (16:20).

We see from the amount of these verses in this short Gospel that one of Jesus’ main purposes on this earth was the presentation of His Message. It was a treasure to Him, something precious. His commands for silence throughout this Gospel should be seen in that light. He is not controlling events, but taking care that the Message is treated with the respect it deserves.

Silence #1: The Messenger Must Not Taint the Message (Silencing the Unclean Spirits)

The Examples

· “Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, ‘What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are - the Holy One of God!’ And Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet, and come out of him!’” (1:23-25).

· “And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew Who He was” (Mark 1:34).

· “Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ And He earnestly warned them not to tell Who He was” (Mark 3:11,12).

Ignoring the Message Because of the Messenger

The Pharisees ignored the message of Jesus by saying He cast out demons by the power of Beelzebul.[1][1] Those who hate the message will rarely attack the message; no one wants to be in the position of opposing the Word of God.

The Way the Message Is to Be Shared

In contrast to the disruptive and undisciplined announcements of those possessed by unclean spirits, the sharing of the Message by the saints is completely directed by God.

It is God the Father’s message:

· John the Baptist’s final testimony: “He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure” (John 3:34).

· “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works” (John 14:10).

· “…the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me” (John 17:8).

It is shared because of the love of God the Son:

· “…the love of Christ controls us” (2 Corinthians 5:14).

· “…speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).

It is given through the power of the Holy Spirit:

· “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22,23).

Silence #2: The Physical Must Never Become More Important Than the Spiritual (Silencing the Healed of Humanity)

The Examples

· "And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, ‘If You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, and He said to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’ But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere” (Mark 1:40-45).

· Jesus, after raising the little girl from the dead, gave these directions: “…He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this, and He said that something should be given her to eat” (Mark 5:43).

· After healing the deaf and dumb man: “And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it” (Mark 7:36).

Miracles Don’t Save – the Gospel Saves

Look at 1 Corinthians 12-14. While chapter 12 mentions the spiritual gift of healing (12:9,28,30), the focus is on the multitude of gifts all serving the unified body of Christ. Chapter 13 deals with the motivation for our mutual service: love. Chapter 14 deals with the heart of the matter: we must speak words that build up the entire body, motivated by love. Healing is a work of the Spirit, but not the greatest!

Silence #3: Nothing Is to Become More Important Than the Cross (Silencing the Disciples)

The Examples

· “Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ They told Him, saying, ‘John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.’ And He continued by questioning them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered and said to Him, ‘You are the Christ.’ And He warned them to tell no one about Him” (8:27-30). After this Jesus shares the purpose of His mission with the disciples (8:31).

· “As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, ‘Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead’” (Matthew 17:9//Mark 9:9). The heart of the Gospel, the cross and resurrection, had to occur before these stories of visions and miracles were to come to light.

Giving the Wrong Impression

“Christ” was a politically charged term in Jesus’ day, and He wanted to avoid the impression that He had come for political or military purposes. When Jesus was on the cross, they taunted Him, daring Him to fulfill their vision of the Christ: “this Christ, the King of Israel” (Mark 15:32). While Jesus was, by rights, King, He did not come for that purpose. Deliverance of Israel from the rule of the Roman Empire would have done nothing to show the Jews God’s true nature, would not have saved the Gentiles, would not have saved us from our sins. Our wishes for the laws and culture to become Christian do not always serve God’s ultimate goal.

“Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, ‘You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (10:42-45).

I hope these few thoughts about the three silences in Mark bring these verses into a unified focus. They all are commanded to keep the testimony legitimate, in proper perspective, and given the proper honor it deserves.

[1][1] Matthew 10:25; 12:24,27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15,18,19.

Thoughts on the reign of the saints.

2009-05-05T11:51:00.000-06:00

“Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6).
How do we understand the reign of the saints? I think to adequately understand this passage we have to find the biblical roots to the idea of a “kingdom of priests.” The earliest place I can find that contains this idea is in the founding of the old covenant between Yahweh and Israel at Mt. Sinai: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself. Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:4-6). This is what Israel was supposed to be before God to the world. In a long history highlighting the fallen nature of humanity, we see the continued failure to be this sort of people before God to the world. So Jesus, the true Israel, comes to be what His Father intended for His people. Now, in Christ, we are part of the true Israel, the Church.

Numerous passages point to our reign:

“Grace to you and peace, from Him Who is and Who was and Who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him Who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood - and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father - to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:4-6).
“Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth” (Revelation 5:10).
“There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:3-5).

So, how do we reign?

KINGS PROCLAIM - we reign by proclaiming the salvation found in Jesus alone: “…you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
KINGS TEACH - we reign by proclaiming the truth of God: “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37).
KINGS SUFFER - we reign by suffering for Christ: “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. This is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering” (2 Thessalonians 1:3-5).
KINGS ARE THANKFUL - we reign by offering sacrifices of thankfulness to God: “…since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28,29).
KINGS ARE APPOINTED BY GOD – we do not choose, gain, or earn our thrones, for we cannot: “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you” (2 Peter 1:10,11).
KINGS ARE SERVANTS OF THE LOWEST OF THE KINGDOM – we serve the brothers of Christ in their struggles: “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me’” (Matthew 25:34-40).

It is not a call to a worldly throne, but an everlasting throne, and it brings the King of the universe joy to give us this reign: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

I don’t desire the throne of the world; it is destined to crumble to dust. The priestly kingdom of which this rat is a part will never be destroyed. Reigning here may not bring the prestige that so feeds our prideful desires for power, comfort, and domination, but it makes us more like Christ, which is the goal of all existence.

let Facts be submitted to a candid World.

2009-04-16T14:29:00.000-06:00

From the Declaration of Independence:

HE has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harass our People, and eat out their Substance.

A worthy quote.

2009-03-28T17:08:00.000-06:00

“Reader, you must know that an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform.”[1]

True.

[1] Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereaux (Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2003), 25.

Sine qua non.

2009-03-20T10:18:00.000-06:00

"By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:5,6).

Faith is the only way to please Him. How did Enoch obtain this witness? Three times in verse 5 the verb "to take" is used. What Enoch does to obtain this triple-taking is not mentioned. Unless it is (1) faith, (2), believing God exists, and (3) believing He rewards those who seek Him. Wait. I left something out, didn't I?

It's not just enough to believe that "He is" (a reference to God's name?). The one with faith "comes" to God. It's not just enough to believe. We must also be coming to Him, approaching Him.

And no one comes to Him unless He is drawn: "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44). There's the answer, eh?

He draws, by faith we come. The reward? Being taken, raised up.

Sine fide autem impossibile est placere Deo.
Credere enim oportet accedentem ad Deum quia est,
et inquirentibus se remunerator sit.

Lots and witnesses.

2009-03-09T09:46:00.000-06:00

There’s a lot of doubt about Esther. The book of Esther is not directly quoted in the N.T. It doesn’t mention God. Here’s my contribution to the defense of Esther in the canon.

“Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually, because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor” (Esther 9:20-22).

Here’s my thoughts. If you can even find a celebration of Purim (or “lots,” after Haman cast lots to determine the day of the Jews’ extermination, Esther 9:24) in the N.T., this will lend a lot of credence to the authority of Esther.[1] I think I found it. “Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 11:9,10).

"Earth" should be translated "land," as in the rest of the Book of Revelation and in most of the O.T. Prophets.

Three and a half days? Other than the obvious connection to the time between Jesus’ death and resurrection, the events that inspired the Jewish festival of Purim lasted at least three days: “…the Jews who were in Susa assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth of the same month, and they rested on the fifteenth day and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing.” (Esther 9:18). This is interesting since Mordecai and Esther, when establishing the celebration of Purim, made it a two-day celebration. The first event, however, for those in the Persian capital, lasted three days.

The ministry and murder of the two witnesses occur in Jerusalem, the Babylon of the Book of Revelation: “And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified” (Revelation 11:8). Identifying this “great city” as anything other than Jerusalem does damage to the context of Revelation and good interpretation. In our discussion of Purim, it doesn’t matter; Jews didn’t have to be Jerusalem to celebrate this feast. It would have been celebrated throughout the Empire.

I suggest to you that the celebration over the dead bodies of God’s witnesses is the celebration of Purim, explained, established, and mandated in the book of Esther. Just as Purim commemorates the defeat of the Jews’ enemies throughout the Persian Empire, the Purim of Revelation 11:9,10 recognizes the apparent defeat of the Jews’ enemies in A.D. first century: Christians (probably during the first great persecution of the Church under Nero Caesar, the “beast” of Revelation). The witnesses are symbolic of the Church, the witnesses for Jesus in the world (Acts 1:8, and 10 other times in Acts).[2] Why two? Revelation breathes the Old Testament in every verse and idea, including this one: “On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness…a single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed” (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15). Our witness for Christ is a legal matter; it fulfills the requirements of the Law.

I don’t think this conflicts with the other place in the Bible that describes two witnesses. In Zechariah 4, the prophet sees two olive trees beside a great menorah. Twice he is asked if he knows who they are. Twice he says he doesn’t. Then the angel tells him, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth” (4:14). They were Zerubbabel (the civil leader) and Joshua (the religious leader). They were used of God to finish rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem after its destruction by the Babylonians some 70 years earlier. This fits nicely with a preterist understanding of Revelation 11. The Church is the true Temple of God (no new Jewish Temple is foretold in the Bible after the destruction of Herod’s temple in A.D. 70 by the Romans). We now are God’s house. So the Church being the two witnesses doesn’t conflict with Zechariah 4.

On the matter of interpretation, let me say this. A lot of time is spent in N.T. interpretation making the Romans the primary enemy; the Gnostics get a lot of press, too. Here’s the problem. The overwhelming weight of biblical evidence goes to the A.D. first century Jews as being the biggest threat to Christianity. This isn’t racist to say.[3] While a small percentage of Jews accepted Christ as Messiah, a larger percentage greatly persecuted the young Church, including one who became Her greatest apostle: Paul.

“He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11).

I know I got off track. But just as Reformed Theology is a beautiful Grand Unified Theory that makes the theology of the Bible come together perfectly, Preterism brings the N.T. into a unified focus with the rest of the redemption history of the Bible.

Anyway, there it is: Esther and Purim in the New Testament.

By the way, you know this, but I’ll say it anyway: witness and martyr are the same word in Greek.

[1] Admittedly, this is faulty because of another example: Hanukah, or the festival of lights. Just because this festival is mentioned in the New Testament doesn’t mean we recognize 1 Maccabees as canonical.
[2] We have to make an interpretive choice between the two witnesses of Zechariah 4 as our template (and then spent time trying to find two biblical figures like most interpreters do) or look to the N.T.’s use of the word “witness,” which almost exclusively is used of believers.
[3] And just as a prod to my Dispensationalist brothers and sisters, God isn’t racist or xenophobic, either! Here is His favor and preference for the Jews: Jesus was a Jew and all peoples of the earth (including Jews) can find salvation only in Him. There is “one Body” (Ephesians 4:4). The promises of God to Abraham are completely fulfilled by the giving of the Holy Spirit to disciples of Jesus (Galatians 3:14).

Panem et circenses.

2009-01-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

Roman satirist Juvenal (1st century A.D.) spoke of the blasé carelessness of the masses, who were happily trading in their democratic responsibilities and freedoms for comfort: panem et circenses. Bread and the Circuses. Food and entertainment.
“…these days we’ve no vote to sell, so their motto is ‘Couldn’t care less.’ Time was when their plebiscite elected Generals, Heads of State, commanders of legions: but now they’ve pulled in their horns. Only two things really concern them: bread and the Games. ‘I hear that many are to be purged.’ ‘That’s right, and the oven’s a big one, and no mistake.’”
Juvenal, Satires, X.77-82

The children of Israel, thinking Moses dead from forty days and forty nights lost in the darkness and glory of God, looked for another leader and another god.
Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play (Exodus 32:1-6).
How do you “make…a god”? Do we make gods from our “gold rings,” or our wealth? What kind of spiritual blindness and metaphysical smallness does it take to see a thing made before your eyes and call it “deliverer”? Isaiah 44:9-20 records similar idiocy. A man takes a log and cuts it up. With one part he makes a fire to bake bread. He makes another fire with another part to warm himself. With still another part he fashions a god and bows down before it, praying, “deliver me, for you are my god” (44:17). Here’s the thing about a god of your own making: you can give it whatever you want, and it doesn’t complain. You can live however you want, and it won’t complain. A God that makes you, however, can makes demands of you. They “sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.” A party around a man-made god is a party without bounds.

Paul brings this story up to the Corinthians, who liked to live like those revelers in Exodus: For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY” (1 Corinthians 10:1-7). When we are given Christ, how do we desire bread and games? Craving “evil things” is paralleled with idolatry in Paul’s mind. “Craving” is not an outward act, yet it is still condemned.

We have to guard against this attitude, repeated over and over by the bitter-at-life Teacher:
“There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good” (Ecclesiastes 2:24).
“Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one's labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward” (Ecclesiastes 5:18)
“So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 8:15).
“Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works” (Ecclesiastes 9:7).
The book of Proverbs is a story of mother and father sending a young man into the world. In effort to get his attention, they describe God’s Wisdom in terms a young man can understand: she is a young lady, beautiful and wonderful, an object of great desire. Song of songs then describes the passions of choosing her. Ecclesiastes describes the cynical sorrow of rejecting her. Nothing but an eating, a drinking, and an enjoying that will be exhausting and emptied.

Jesus is asked to artibitrate an inheritance disbute between two brothers. He gives this warning and parable:
Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:15-21).
Bread and games, or rich toward God?

God gives 8th century B.C. Israel a call to repentance. They respond with bread and games:
Therefore in that day the Lord GOD of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, to shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth. Instead, there is gaiety and gladness, killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.” But the LORD of hosts revealed Himself to me, “Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you until you die,” says the Lord GOD of hosts (Isaiah 22:12-14). God does not take lightly a disregard for His patience and the opportunity He gives for repentance in our lives.

“If the dead are not raised, LET US EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE” (1 Corinthians 15:32). The dead are raised, so be sober about where you find your satisfaction: “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment” (John 5:25-29).

Be fed, therefore, not on temporary satisfaction (bread and Circuses), but on these Two Preachings:
THE WORD:
"You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:2,3). These words were originally given to the sons of Israel on the verge of the Promised Land. Jesus (the true Israel) lived them in the desert, driven by the Spirit, tempted by the tempter (Matthew 4:1-4; Luke 4:1-4).
THE TABLE:
“I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst…I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh…truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:35,51,53-58).

And, to show that the desert rat of Morgan never takes himself too seriously, i end it thus:

TIGRESS
It is said that the Dragon Warrior
can survive for months at a time
on nothing but the dew of a single gingko leaf
and the energy of the universe.

PO
I guess my body doesn’t know it’s the Dragon Warrior yet.
I’m gonna need a lot more than dew.
And, uh, universe…juice.

Kung Fu Panda (DreamWorks 2008), script by Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger

...from everlasting to everlasting, GOD.

2008-12-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

Melchizedek. The story of his meeting with Abraham in Genesis 14 is both mysterious and forgettable…forgettable if the Holy Spirit had not inspired writers centuries apart to use it. Psalm 110:4 suddenly speaks of “the order of Melchizedek.” The writer of Hebrews mentions the enigmatic character in chapter 7. In preaching through Hebrews, I struggled with this strange being. Now, as I spend my days meditating on the eternal nature of God the Son, I find Hebrews 7 to suddenly be immensely valuable. You see, all the passages that speak of Jesus as being with God before the foundation of the world don’t necessarily assert His eternality. Those who would exaggerate this technicality to lessen Jesus’ ontology challenge us to find the forever pre-existent Christ (pre-existence before Incarnation isn’t enough for them, for He could still be a created being and therefore NOT God). We need Him to be forever to be God. The answer that has been provided occurs in this most alien of passages to our contemporary culture!

Speaking of Melchizedek: “Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually” (Hebrews 7:3). Do you know what jumps out at me about this assertion? The writer (inspired by the Holy Spirit) takes an absolutely literal, narrow, rigid interpretation of the Genesis 14 passage. No lineage is mentioned in the Bible, and so none exists. That appeals to this rat. Where was I? Oh yeah, no beginning.

No beginning – like the Son of God.

Eternality is not a communicable attribute. God cannot create a being and make it have an eternal existence. A Son of God with no beginning co-existed with God from all eternity and is therefore also God.

For those who say that “Son of God” is a title implying inferiority and therefore something less than God: God calls the prophet Ezekiel “son of man” at least 93 times. Is God somehow implying that Ezekiel is less than human? Of course not! The son of a man is a man. The Son of God is God.

God the Son has no beginning: “…the Son is eternally begotten of the Father” (Westminster Confession of Faith, II.iii). This is a challenging confession, yet it embraces the scriptural truths.

From the two preeminent apostles of the infant Church:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds (Titus 2:11-14).

Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence (2 Peter 1:1-3).

God is God, and cannot be created. He is eternal.

I never thought I’d say this, but I’m thankful for Melchizedek.

rat claws groping for glory...

2008-12-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

The prophet heard the fiery serpents singing of a glory that fills the whole earth (Isaiah 6:2,3). Therefore it must fill "His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:23). Oh, beloved Body of Christ, it must!

rat claws groping for glory... from desert rat of Morgan on Vimeo.

Parallels from a Thorny Pulpit

2008-12-13T09:41:00.000-07:00

In reading about my favorite Christmas hymn, I discovered a verse not in modern hymnals that expresses the truth of Christ as second Adam, abundantly overflowing in comparison to the first:

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
formed in each believing heart.

“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” by Charles Wesley (1739)

Speaking of comparison, behold: “…if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many” (Romans 5:15).

There’s a parallelism here in the midst of one of the most hermeneutically difficult passages in the Bible that boils my heart to praise and energizes me for battle. This worthless rat has become sensitive this year to any effort to make Jesus less than He is. A kind old man has been frequenting the neighbor, and bestowed on our household a book entitled “The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived.” He, knowing what I am (Baptist pastor – he is yet to encounter the rat, THOUGH HE WILL), gave this subtly blasphemous book. I, knowing what he is (Jehovah’s Witness), suspected from the title the lie for which he was living. There it was, in the first few pages: the assertion Jesus never claimed to be God, that He was, in fact, the first creation of God and not God at all. As I said, these sort of things are creating a roar in this rat that I hope never fades.

With that, I share this morsel from the latest series of Advent wanderings. Someone once said he had a vision of me walking the desert, preaching to coyotes, scorpions, and tarantulas from a cactus pulpit. The desert folk have received from Romans 5:12-21 this season of Christmas.

Look at this parallel:
- “the grace of God”
- “the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ”

He is God, the Giver of Grace, and He is Man, the Embodiment of Grace. Not half of each (you cannot divide true Divinity or true humanity and maintain the integrity of either). Not some new hybrid (for a Being different from what we are cannot pay the penalty for our sin; a Being different from God cannot keep His Law perfectly).

In the Pastorals there are two names given to Jesus that embrace the Definition of Chalcedon (A.D. 451), that Jesus is fully man and fully God:

“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time” (1 Timothy 2:5,6).

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:11-14).

Over and over and over – when we cease to make our assertions about Jesus with any doctrinal purity or theological depth, we lose the true Jesus. A jesus of “anything goes” replaces the true Jesus. Without the true Jesus, we have no salvation.

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us - for it is written, ‘CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE’ - in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:13,14).

Here’s another wonderful parallel to turn things upside-down:
- “the blessing of Abraham”
- “the promise of the Spirit”

Is the giving of the Holy Spirit (the giving of God Himself to His people) the complete fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises? Wouldn’t the gift of God Himself far exceed the gift of land, no matter how “promised” the land may (or may not) be?

“Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Bring us to God, not land! How can the created (land) ever satisfy as much as the Creator (God Himself)?

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools…they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 1:20-22).

Enough rambling,
though I’m content with rambling that names Jesus as truly God, truly man,
and wandering that proclaims God the song of our pilgrimage, not land.

a rat shepherds through the city-games

2008-11-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

A few thoughts from a shepherd on this Election Day 2008:

Continue to be a unique people, intelligently resisting conformity for the sake of the holiness we have been granted in Christ Jesus:
I heard Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) say that if elected, President-elect Obama’s first action (this week!) would be to reach out to those who didn’t vote for him, “to heal the wound in this country.” I’ve seen this attitude in churches and in our Southern Baptist Convention: if you disagree with me, there’s something seriously wrong. Friends, the brilliance of our country and the joy of being a Baptist (at least historically) is this: you can disagree without being punished. As Americans we can disagree with each other without, Lord willing, there being violence. This is in the First Amendment to the Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” A disagreement over civil and political policy is not a “wound,” it is a testimony to the liberty we enjoy in this country! As Baptists, it should be that we can honestly search the Scriptures together and discuss our interpretations of God’s Word in love, civility, and honesty. Sadly, in both the civil and religious sphere, disagreements occur in the emotional realm, not as a discussion of various interpretations of either the Constitution (civic) or Bible (religious). I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, that no where in the Bible are we told to conform to society or to act “normal.” In fact, we are “A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). We are not to conform, but to live as if “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). Resist conformity as a citizen of the United States, because it’s okay to intelligently and peaceably disagree about public policy. Resist thoughtless and emotional conformity as a part of the Body of Christ, intelligently and peaceably examining the Scriptures to see if the teachings of the madman in the pulpit are true, like the Bereans: “…they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Also temper your holy skepticism with this goal, to press “on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude” (Philippians 3:14,15).

Remember Who is in absolute control over the destiny of all humanity and history:
“Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for You have given me wisdom and power; even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, for You have made known to us the king's matter” (Daniel 2:20-23).

Consider the testimony of pagan king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon: “…the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes…” (Daniel 4:17).

Consider the title of our Lord and Savior, to Whom we owe full and uncompromised allegiance: “…Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood - and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father - to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:5,6).

God’s absolute sovereignty has a simple, unavoidable, unalterable, irresistible goal: “He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth” (Ephesians 1:9,10).

We will pray for the President-elect, not for mere national well-being, but so that the saints will live in a land of peace, free to fulfill the Great Commission:
“First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time” (1 Timothy 1:1-6). Paul is alluding to Jeremiah’s letter to the Exiles in Babylon 600 years earlier, who were living as we ought to be living, as strangers in a strange land (Jeremiah 29:5-7).

“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God” (1 Peter 2:11-16).

As the Baptist Faith and Message says: “God alone is Lord of the conscience, and He has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word or not contained in it. Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. In providing for such freedom no ecclesiastical group or denomination should be favored by the state more than others. Civil government being ordained of God, it is the duty of Christians to render loyal obedience thereto in all things not contrary to the revealed will of God. The church should not resort to the civil power to carry on its work. The gospel of Christ contemplates spiritual means alone for the pursuit of its ends. The state has no right to impose penalties for religious opinions of any kind. The state has no right to impose taxes for the support of any form of religion. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power” (XVII, “Religious Liberty”).

I am post-scripting this note with a copy of Article II, Section 2-3, of the Constitution of the United States of America (this is section that describes the President’s job description). Despite the stump speeches of both candidates, I find nothing in this document stating that the President is to cure cancer, unify our country, hold everyone’s hand, affirm your self-esteem, meet all your needs, etc. I know I’m narrow minded – for me, the Christian faith is Bible and nothing else. I guess that approach has infected my civic sensibilities, too. I want the President to do what’s written in the document, and nothing else. Anyway, take the time to read through his job description, and use this as a guide to pray for him. By the way, don’t hold me responsible for the spelling of “chuse” (this is a transcript, and this is how they used to spell it).

Article. II.
Section. 2.
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
Section. 3.
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.