beyond lockdown

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

John 20:19

The disciples were in lockdown, afraid for their lives, confused about the empty tomb of Jesus, huddled together with no peace and no plan. Suddenly there was Jesus. He stood among them. No locked door could keep Him from them just like no sealed grave could contain Him.

And in His presence was comfort and strength. His first words to their anxious hearts: “Peace be with you”. And it could be with them because their Lord and Savior was with them.

Jesus showed the stunned men His crucifixion wounds. The confusion was gone. He was risen from the dead! And then He gave them His plan: “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). They could not stay hidden in fear. They were sent to share the peace of Christ with the world.

And so even now, there are temptations to fear as we shelter at home. But let’s not do so out of fear of disease. Let’s do so out of love for our neighbor and to ease the burdens of first responders, nurses, and doctors who may see more suffering than ever. Let’s let the peace of Christ live here with us. And by every means available in a networked world, let’s believe and speak out that Jesus has sent us into this world, right now, to make His presence, His peace, and His people known. 

God of judgment... God of restoration

The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.

Haggai 2:9

Here in this small book of the prophet Haggai we see that the God of judgment is also the God of restoration. Haggai’s prophetic ministry was directed to the Jewish exiles who returned to Jerusalem in order to rebuild the temple of God under the decree of Darius (Haggai 1:1). The book has two main messages. The first message, a call to repentance, came about because the exiles had gotten complacent and discouraged with the task of temple building. They abandoned it in favor of concentrating on building and upgrading their own houses in selfish consumerism. They also were discouraged when the aged among them still wept at the memory of the glory of the original temple comparing it to the now ruined edifice they were called to rebuild (Haggai 2:3).

After they respond in repentance to God’s rebuke and judgment on their complacency, the people then needed a vision of hope to get to the task of rebuilding. That’s the second message of the book. And a vision of hope is exactly what God gave them, assuring that the new temple would outpace the former temple, with the wonderful picture of one day all nations contributing to the worship of God in Jerusalem (Haggai 2:6-7). This is ultimately fulfilled in the future reign of Jesus.

God thus enabled the exiles to do the work of rebuilding. They did not need to fear, His Spirit was among them to equip them to face the task of rebuilding toward that future glory (Haggai 2:5). They only needed to accept God’s call, look to that future hope, and get to work on the temple re-building project. It was hard work... lifting stones, and mixing mortar, but it could be done. They would do this work. God would make His glory known among them as they did so, turning their fear and discouragement into His great peace.

He Who orders the stars

Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?

Can you establish their rule on the earth?

Job 38:33

At the end of Job’s painful conversations with friends that are no comfort to him in his loss and suffering, God shows up. God is with Job, but He does not offer to answer why Job is suffering. God instead peppers Job with questions (41 in the first round of the conversation by my count). It’s like a pop-quiz turned into a semester final exam on overdrive! God particularly focuses His questions on the subject of the wildness of the universe and what Job has control over in his world.

Of course, Job can see that God is in control. Job cannot make the stars shine where he wants them too in the night sky. He cannot control the daily weather. He cannot compare His power to God’s power in any possible fashion. They are worlds apart.

All of God’s questions lead Job to one conclusion: God is in control of it all. He Who hung the stars through the universe also controls the details of my human existence. Humans must submit to that understanding, which is very complicated and hard (like almost everything becomes difficult) when we are suffering.

So today, I will look to One much greater, much wiser than myself. God is in control. And Christ has suffered for me, knowing death on the cross so that I might know life in Him. The stars proclaim His control, beauty, design, and wisdom. I will be content that God orders them... and me... for His glory.

waiting in a borrowed tomb

So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

John 19:42

Immediately after Jesus’ crucifixion, it appeared that death had won. The Roman soldiers drained the body of blood with one spear thrust. A shy follower of Jesus named Joseph of Arimathea received official permission from the Roman governor to take the body and together with another secret disciple, Nicodemus, prepared the body according to Jewish custom in burial. They then laid Jesus to rest in Joseph’s own tomb.

There was no doubt that Jesus was dead. A death squad of Roman soldiers confirmed it. A government official signed the dead body over for burial. Two Jewish leaders prepared the body and entombed Him in the garden.

But Jesus only borrowed that grave! He would not stay in that tomb. Yet, for His disciples there was sadness, fear, and seemingly no end to the waiting. It had to feel awful! There world turned upside down in the matter of just a few days. This man had done nothing worthy of the kind of humiliation, ridicule, cruelty, and abuse that He suffered. The waiting in this sadness was unbearable.

But beyond Friday’s crucifixion would come a bright resurrection! We know that now. We rejoice, knowing Jesus only waited in that borrowed tomb so that we might be forgiven and know life forever in Him! Death does not win. It did not defeat Jesus. It will never have the upper hand on those who are His! Praise God, death has lost its sting and the grave is never the end!

reason for silence

But the LORD is in his holy temple;

let all the earth keep silence before him.

Habakkuk 2:20

Here is a command to worship God as the futility of idols becomes apparent by His judgment. The prophet Habakkuk keeps bringing questions (really complaints —- see Habakkuk 2:1) to God about both the spiritual state of Israel and also the choice of God to judge His people with cruel Chaldean conquerors. God reveals the idolatry of Israel and its ultimate impotence. They had trusted in idols made by men, and that trust would fail them. God revealed the stupidity of idolatry (Habakkuk 2:18-19).

In hard times, idols will be revealed and leveled. This is a good thing. God is glorified in it. As idols fall, as faith in them fails, human eyes and hearts turn to God, Who all along is still enthroned in His holy temple, ready to be worshiped in the silence of grieving contemplation. Oh, may idols like this be purged from our hearts right now! Now is the time to turn from them.

Today we cannot turn to sports and entertainment for our joy. Today we do not see government solving our crisis. Today we cannot see science with all the answers. We must be silent before God, embracing the limitations we are overwhelmed with in the moment. Can we pray this prayer? “Lord, we are ready to let Your will be done. We will worship You, Who levels our idols, Who reveals Your power, Who is the Savior of our souls!”

the King on the cross

Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

John 19:19

The world was grossly unfair and snidely casual about the execution of Jesus. Pilate, out of expediency, agreed to Jesus’ crucifixion and in a dark “proto-meme” had a caption put on the cross as Jesus was dying. Forever in the scene now is the caption: “Jesus, the Nazarene, the King of the Jews”. This image will always be part of the gospel, impossible to erase. Mockery right in the midst of the unimaginable. 

Pilate’s dark sense of humor actually upset the religious leaders who had demanded the execution from the Roman governor. Yet Pilate coldly sneered on, content to have the last laugh with his own public inside joke, at Jesus’ expense.

And still today many might pass by the cross, looking back at it in history and wondering why it matters that a Nazarene peasant religious leader died that way. But the truth is, the dark comedy of the inscription was the ultimate truth and reason for the cross. The King came to save us. The King of the Jews, the Messiah, was delivered over on Passover to be the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

This King on a cross rose from the dead three days after this awful execution, turning His mockery into victory. Christians may be challenged right now. A health crisis worldwide has us safely sheltering home, limited in social interaction, unable to see many face to face, in the fight against the current epidemic. Normally this season of Lent is filled with gatherings of worshipful reflection on the power and presence of our King. But we can still worship Him as we prepare for a unique Easter morning, celebrating in our homes and hearts. Yes, the King was mocked. Yes, the King was beaten. Yes, the King was executed. But the King entered into it all willingly. He gave His life. And the King now lives! And so do we! Yes, we live, because of Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews!

...wait for it...

But as for me, I will look to the LORD;

I will wait for the God of my salvation;

my God will hear me.

Micah 7:7

Everything was uncertain except upheaval. That’s the circumstance in which Micah the prophet wrote these words of trust. God had decreed severe judgment upon Judah and Israel for their disregard of the covenant. Families would be uprooted, people would die, and cities would be burned to desolation.

Yet Micah would wait and trust because God promised His people that a surviving remnant would be faithfully restored. Micah knew that they must willingly bear the revealed punishment for which they were guilty, knowing God would also bring vindication and restored hope to them. Faith accepted the times as the plan of a wise and just God. Faith trusted that salvation too would arrive from God’s hand in His promise.

And so, now, in uncertain times I will trust God. I am NOT SAYING that I know this current crisis is God’s judgment. I AM SAYING it is a painful process to endure, and God has a purpose in it, like He does for every experience of life. Christianity has weathered all sorts of societal upheavals. This isn’t the first time the gospel has been our hope in a crisis! And so I cling to the cross, trust a Savior Who is victorious over death, and believe in the wisdom of God Who does not find a viral pandemic to be a surprise, but in grace is in control of all things for His glory and for the good of those who love Him! He has always called us to wait for the God of our salvation. And He will hear us!

what hard times bring

For all the peoples walk

each in the name of its god,

but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God

forever and ever.

Micah 4:5

Hard times will call out from our hearts what we will truly worship. As the prophet Micah preaches a message of coming, certain judgment on Israel and Judah, he chastises their false beliefs, their greed, selfishness, and idolatry. The coming judgment is promised to certainly bring this all to light.

Thankfully, the Lord does not just rail on their sin, or delight in punishment. Instead, He calls them to repentance. He promises a better future once His cleansing justice has done His work. Micah points to a future where the worship of God is the actual visible and cultural focus of God’s redeemed people. Nations would flow to Jerusalem to worship God (Micah 4:1-2).

God’s disciplining of His people would not only make them better, but would eventually bring about a better world. And God’s heart still works among the nations so that He will be known. May He show Himself in His people even through hard times!

peaceful union with Christ

I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

John 17:23

There is a lot to be tempted to worry about right now: The worldwide chaos brought on by an incurable viral pandemic... An equally viral economy in a historic free fall fueled by the uncertainty... An indeterminate quarantine and potential loneliness building up. Yeah... there is a lot to be tempted to worry about. But God’s love is not on that list.

In this prayer, Jesus is praying for those who will believe in Him (John 17:20)... that’s right, if you are a believer in Jesus, He prayed this prayer for you... right now... in this moment. And Jesus wants His followers to know the joy of being in relationship with Him and with the Father, and through Him, with one another. Union with Christ should be our great, constant hope and joy! We always have Jesus! We always have God’s love! We always have Christian community! Nothing can separate us from Him (see Romans 8:38-39)... not even death.

No chaos then can take me from Jesus. No virus can separate me from His love. No economic downturn will remove His riches and care from me. I am never alone because He has promised to be with His people always (Matthew 28:20). I am in Christ, in God’s love and care... forever. Nothing changes that! I am “found in Him”. I am “in Christ”. Christ is my life. What then is there to truly worry about?

sanctified in truth

And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

John 17:19

Jesus set Himself on the path to crucifixion in order that those who follow Him might be made holy through Him. He gave us salvation. He gave us saving truth through the power of the gospel... a truth that came at the cost of His life and in the power of His resurrection!

I should never doubt the love of God. The gospels make it clear that Jesus was well aware of His life’s purpose and mission. His redeeming work was no accident. By it we are made clean and clear before a holy God. Jesus did this all for our sake.

Lord Jesus,

You were willing to suffer, die, and then be raised from the dead so that I might be made holy by Your work and know the truth that set me free. Thank You for that encouraging reality in which I live today!

Amen

praise at the throne

“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!... Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Revelation 7:10, 12

This is the praise John witnessed before the throne of God in heaven. The sound of glory to God is what God’s creation gives to Him. It is what we are made to do... stand in God’s presence and offer our worship. And this scene gives us clues as to how to worship God.

Worship God, rejoicing in salvation! God, in Christ, has provided our salvation. It comes only this way. It belongs only to us in Him. This is worth making exuberant, joyful praise! God rules... and He has saved us... that is glorious!

We acknowledge what are uniquely God’s attributes in our praise... His glory, His blessings, His honor, His wisdom... we are thankful for His power and might that all extend forever to His people. Oh praise Him Who sits on the throne, and the Lamb!

with great relationship comes great responsibility

You only have I known

of all the families of the earth;

therefore I will punish you

for all your iniquities.

Amos 3:2

This is a harsh statement for a reason. Israel was God’s chosen people, set apart by Him to show His glory to the nations and to call the world to know God. But they did not keep this covenant. Though blessed by God, they turned from God to serve idols. They did not show the world what life was to be like in God’s family.

So, although the were in a unique relationship, they suffered very severe judgment. God would make Himself known in judgment even as they failed to make Him know in relationship. It is a serious thing to be God’s people.

And as a Christian, I am called to live as a child of God in Christ. I display my family likeness. Should I turn from this and deliberately hide my family resemblance, or be embarrassed of it, I would be in danger of my Father’s discipline. With great relationship comes great responsibility!

fear of God and faith

For I was in terror of calamity from God,

and I could not have faced his majesty.

Job 31:23

This is the statement of a man who truly fears God. Job is making his final defense as friends accuse him of sinning and “earning” his difficult circumstances as punishment from God. In defense, Job asserts he has been a righteous, holy, and just man. He has taken deliberate measures to turn from sins both internally (greed and lust), and externally. He has obeyed the Lord, helped the needy and helpless and defended the vulnerable. He has a solid reputation as a just, caring, and loving man. And he did so because he feared the consequences of sin and worshiped the majesty of God.

In Job’s quick summary, we find motivation for holy living. I too, out of love for the righteousness of Christ now applied to me - a forgiven sinner, should shudder at the thought of God’s judgment on sin. I should worship in respect and awe of my majestic, holy God. Respect and worship — fear of God and faith — all combine in serious trust and obedience to God in Christ.

Worthy are You...

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they existed and were created.”

Revelation 4:11

I believe this song that is sung before the throne of God in heaven. The Lord my God is worthy... more than worthy... to receive all glory, honor, and power. He is God. He is the Creator of the universe. By His will all that exists is ruled. By God’s power I am sustained to worship Him for His glory.

Worthy are You, my God. You are glorious. I honor You. I yield to Your power and control over my life. You made me. You control me. I will recognize and surrender to Your Lordship.

In Christ I am re-created to live for Your glory. I will seek to honor You Lord, in all I do. May Jesus be known in my living worship of You. And may all those You have made for Your glory bring praise to You.

One day, I will stand before You, O Lord, singing this song, in this same way, to Your face in wondrous worship. May I sing it now... until then.

Amen

personal work of the Holy Spirit

But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

John 15:26

The Holy Spirit, sent from the Father, helps us understand, appreciate, obey, and know Jesus. That is what this text means when Jesus said “he will bear witness about me.” Making Jesus known to us is the Holy Spirit’s work. When I am drawn to know and appreciate Jesus, when I feel it deep inside, I know that God’s Spirit is at work in me.

This is an amazing work of God, to have the very Spirit of God Who hovered over all creation at the beginning now intimately at work in my heart! And every thought I have of loving Jesus is a work of God’s Spirit within me. Every moment of gospel clarity is a gift of God by the work of His Holy Spirit.

Father,

I thank You for the gift of Your Holy Spirit Who testifies to the truth of Your Son in my heart every day. In this way I am intimately aware of the Trinity. Your Spirit shows me Your Son so that I might please my Father in heaven!

Amen

God’s longing to restore

Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,

for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.

Hosea 14:1

The prophet Hosea has had a lot of harsh criticisms and pictures of coming judgment delivered to Israel. There are thirteen chapters of it detailed in his writing. But the book ends with a call to repentance. Even in all the coming judgment, God longs to restore His people in mercy.

God promises to heal them of their apostasy and love them, a promise that came true when the Jews returned from exile after the judgment of the captivity. God doesn’t delight in judging sin. He delights in forgiving and healing broken lives (Hosea 14:4-7).

Jesus is the way that I know this today. Jesus forgives and heals broken lives (even my one) with mercy and grace. Jesus restores beauty from ashes and brings joy from sorrow! Jesus is how God loves us freely and forgives our iniquity.

life in Christ

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

John 15:8

Bearing fruit can only come in union with Christ. I can glorify the Father because I am living in the Son. And that is how I prove to be His follower. Disciples are vitally connected to the Master. They are blessed in that relationship, yielding the fruit of further blessing to others.

Jesus is the vine, the source of our life and sustainer of our efforts. We are branches vitally joined to Him (see John 15:4-5). Without the saving life of Christ that lives in us as we are in union with Him, we have no life. It is really then the life of Jesus that lives in Christians.

Lord Jesus,

I am in You. You are my life. I am called to let Your life bear fruit in my life. Keep me close, give me life, help me to show Your life and be Your disciple.

Amen

reaping the whirlwind

For they sow the wind,

and they shall reap the whirlwind.

Hosea 8:7a

The prophet Hosea rebuked Israel who as a nation had abandoned trust in God for their protection, and instead made flimsy, faithless alliances with Assyria and Egypt hoping to hedge their bets with two competing superpowers seeking political solutions to their spiritual problems. Trusting in power politics is sowing the wind. And God promises that it will yield His displeasure and judgment. They sowed the wind. They reaped the whirlwind. Both Assyrian and Egypt eventually decimated the Jews.

Faith trusts God in every aspect of life. And the gospel calls Christians to that kind of faith. Will we trust Christ, or self? Will we believe Jesus, or some competing philosophy like materialism, naturalism, self-reliance, capitalism, socialism, or humanism? Trusting the competition will sow the wind. And it will always reap the tornado of moral and spiritual chaos.

Christians should be so very cautious of any human system of power or provision. We do not trust the work of sinful humanity, be it commercial, institutional, educational, or political. We can only trust God. No social program devised by any politician, philanthropist, or educational leader can outperform the gospel that brings the peace of God that surpasses all understanding in Jesus! All that other stuff is the vacuum of wind... empty, cold, and destructive. God in Christ is strength and power! We can only escape the coming F5 twister in the shelter of Jesus.

Not Alone

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

John 14:18

Everywhere I go

I’m not alone;

in Jesus I know

I’m not alone.

He is with me.

He will never forsake me.

He will take me on the journey

to my eternal home.

All the time never orphaned,

and never alone.

Soon He is coming

to take us home

so that in eternal joy

we are never alone.

Jesus is returning.

For this we are yearning.

Until then our journey

is always learning

that we are not alone.

Never orphaned.

Never abandoned.

Never alone.

Coming again

victory to win

to take us home!