Shaker of Mountains

Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.

Exodus 19:17-19

The entire nation of Israel, led by Moses, came to the foot of Mount Sinai where the LORD met with them in awe-inspiring power. All of the mountain is shrouded in dense smoke and fire, and the ground there trembles as if alive. Moses speaks amid what sounds like repeated trumpet blasts. And God has a conversation with Moses in booming thunder. It is an intense part of Israel’s commitment to God. They had just promised Moses they would obey what God would say (Exodus 19:8). And God says it this way! Now the power of God on display in the transformed Sinai gave substance to what it meant to come to God and commit to be the people of God. This mountain shaking changed their world.

It is very serious business to commit to following a holy and majestic God. God is about to give His Law to Moses, beginning with the Ten Commandments. He commands serious commitment by this display of His great power. The God of the fiery mountain is the sole focus of attention here. If this is what the ground does at His touch, what must it be like to stand in His presence? God has to issue a warning for the people to stay put and to only let Moses be the sole person among them to come to Him atop Sinai... the consequence of disobedience would be death (Exodus 19:24).

God has not changed. He is still glorious. He is still the Shaker of Mountains. He is still quite dangerous. And He is still holy and very good to us! Another mountain shook with thunder and darkness when Jesus died. And three days later the ground shook as the Son of God was raised from the tomb! And with it death was defeated so that we might have sins forgiven to live in the very presence of God, with His Holy Spirit residing within us. Look at that in the burning light of trembling Sinai and it makes the whole conversion reality a vivid experience! Jesus did this so that I might worship Him and be in relationship with my God. I am in awe of this God Who shakes mountains to change the world!

@home

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8

One of the unique perspectives from the midst of this perplexing pandemic is the increase in awareness of our own mortality. I’m not trying to be gloomy, just realistic. In America, God has graciously been stripping away all our normal distractions as we must focus on the reality of life and death. We can’t participate in our normal sports idolatry. Entertainment has been nearly all shut down... no concerts, movies, or shows. Medical science hasn’t spoken with unified authority. Politics is in complete disarray, an even worse fragmentation than it has ever been. Add to all this the disorder of “organized protests” by anarchists in many major cities, and even the justice and legal system has little assuring presence for us. We have to face life and death personally in ways this generation has never had to do.

Despite all this, I find my courage with Paul the apostle who penned these words two millennia ago in the midst of a world in turmoil. If we read ahead in 2 Corinthians, we see that Paul tells us what that turmoil was like for him in his first hand experience. Here’s the short list: rejection, public floggings, stoning and left for dead, three different shipwrecks, being lost at sea, robbed, lied about, sleeplessness, hunger, thirst, cold, and exposure. Yet despite these nearly constant realities, Paul chose to live proclaiming the gospel (which kept getting him these results) and was confidently ready to be at home with Jesus if he were to die preaching the gospel story.

Paul had a courage that God was in control whether Paul was “at home in the body” or “at home with the Lord”. Knowing that God had his mortality directed toward eternity in God’s presence kept Paul confident and strengthened him despite uncertainty in all his circumstances. And that truth also enlightens me in my own uncertain days. With false trusts swept away, I am confident to believe these words: “away from the body, at home with the Lord”!

the beautiful, costly gift

She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.

Mark 14:8-9

This un-named woman who anointed Jesus in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper did what Jesus Himself called a “beautiful thing” (Mark 16:6). Her gift of great cost foreshadowed His coming death. It sets in motion in Mark’s gospel a clear shift in direction to focusing on the events that led to Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus went so far as to declare that this extravagant “waste” on her part would go on to be an important piece of the gospel story. It is included in other written gospels in fulfillment of Jesus’ own commendation of her generous love and worship. One gift can impact the world!

Her gift foreshadowed what Jesus Himself was about to do. Once broken and poured over Jesus, the fragrant nard could never be taken back. It was given once and memorialized for all time. Jesus would pour out His life once, and His gift would be sufficient for all eternity as a “once for all” sacrifice for all humanity.

This gift this woman gave was very costly, the equivalent of nearly a year’s income for the average worker. Yet she had no reservations in pouring it all out. Similarly, the life of Christ is beyond value, yet Jesus willingly poured it out for us so that in giving His life, our sins would be atoned.

Her gift was part of the gospel “good news” as she foretold His death by pre-anointing His body for burial. And the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus comprises the gospel “good news” that all sinners should be told so that they may hear, know, believe, and trust in Jesus alone for eternal salvation. In that full truth of how and why Jesus died and was raised again is the joy of the greatest gift!

no hiding

“Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.”

Jeremiah 23:23-24

When I sin, I usually act like these words which God has declared, are a lie. I answer His rhetorical questions with a defiant “NO!” But really, I am lying to myself. God is always near. He is at hand. There are no secret places where I can hide my sin. I may feel like I successfully hide my darkest thoughts and most selfish actions away from other people, but I never hide them from God. Every sin I commit, in thought, in attitude, or in action, is done in the full view of God from whom nobody can hide.

My heart, my whole life, is completely transparent before my Maker. He sees me, He knows me, He understands me, and I am accountable to Him. This heart must accept that I am an open book before the LORD.

Lord,

I can’t hide. And as I read here in Your Word, it is foolish to do so. So I won’t. I will cultivate clear confession. I will train my mind in transparency. I will embrace Your eternal, constant presence. I will confess to You my sin, repent, and turn again when Your constant Spirit shows me the sin I think I am hiding. Thank You for being always near, and for providing, through Christ, for sinners to come clean!

Amen

the equalizer

Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 49:20

What is being said here is significant. A life uninformed by the wisdom and truth of God’s Word is not only devoid of wisdom, but really will be without true meaning and purpose. Human beings left to their pride and pretentious thinking are no better than animals. We need the wisdom of God. We need the redeeming grace of God.

Look how this psalm describes the very “best” someone can achieve without God. They can become rich and gain fame (Psalm 49:16). It seems like that is a pretty decent outcome. But when death takes them, that’s it. Done. Game Over. When they join the Dead Club, the grave doesn’t recognize them as anything special. They are all just... dead (Psalm 49:17). In life this person seemed to have it all, but in the end, they are as dead as anybody else. The grave is a humiliator for all human achievement.... the ultimate equalizer.

This psalm also points to a reality beyond the disillusionment of death’s permanence. Wealth cannot ransom the soul, this is quite apparent. Rich people don’t live forever (Psalm 49:7-9). But God ransoms the souls of His people (Psalm 49:15). He provides the means to have them live beyond the seeming end. The ransomed of God are not shut down by the grave. Their souls are ransomed from the power of death as they are received into the presence of God (Psalm 49:15).

As a Christian, these observations from Psalm 49 and the hint at living beyond death in God’s presence are joyously confirmed and celebrated in Christ Who has defeated the great equalizer! Jesus by his resurrection had made the grave not an end, but the doorway to eternal life. And in that truth we confidently entrust all we are in the hope of our Savior (1 Corinthians 15:20-28)!

distinctly worshiped

Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?

Who is like you, majestic in holiness,

awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

Exodus 15:11

Moses led the children of Israel in a worship service after they crossed the Red Sea on dry land. Israel was saved by passing through the sea and then God drowned the Egyptian army behind them in that same sea. Both of these were mighty, wondrous actions. They were delivered. Their enemies were destroyed. God showed His power and His love. God displayed both mercy and judgment. But the worship goes further in this song of Moses than just marveling at what God had done. The song worships God for all that He is.

God is unique. There is no other object of worship that truly does all that God will do. The Egyptians were polytheistic. They had more gods than they could count. But the Lord triumphed over their false worship as the only true God. The Egyptian polytheism ultimately led to their demise. The Israelites literally saw the Egyptians drown in their false worship and then experienced God’s unique power as He delivered His people. This proved that only the LORD is God.

God is holy. In fact, He is majestic in His holiness. His perfect holiness is splendorous, and we as fallen sinners in need of forgiveness and holiness come to worship Him knowing only God is holy. We are in need. He is holy. And thankfully, He is gracious to receive sinners who will believe and trust in His provision for them. This is a reason that we seriously worship a holy God.

God brings glory to Himself. His actions among us magnify His name and call us to worship.They are glorious deeds. His care for us, His power among us, His gracious salvation of us, all call us into praise, for His deeds bring Him glory. Every act of God shows His great glory.

God does wonders. No creation of God is mundane. No deliverance is routine. No saving grace is a waste of His time or effort. God’s work is wondrous. When we see what God has done, whether in creation around us, or salvation by Christ within us, we are filled with wonder as we praise!

unshakeable community

Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

2 Corinthians 1:7

God has wisely created His church, the Body of Christ, to be a place of strength in all our weaknesses, a bright hope when things feel hopeless, and an enduring comfort in seasons of suffering. I have seen this now for half a century. My life has been full as I’ve lived in this place of strength, perspective, hope, and comfort. This doesn’t mean I’ve never known weakness. I am sometimes very powerless. I doesn’t mean I’ve never been confused. I have faced perplexing circumstances... even complex ones right now. It doesn’t mean I’ve never felt despair. I have... and only the hope of the gospel keeps me going, especially as I see it lived out in community. I have had my share of grief... and I know comfort in the loving understanding and mutual worship of Jesus that exists among my brothers and sisters!

God gives us, by His wisdom and grace, both trials and triumphs. He brings times of suffering so that we might grow close in mutual comfort. He brings seasons of change so that together His redeemed people might grow to be more like Jesus. The difficulties are often the brightest points when we look back at what God is doing.... they are the moments we have seen God the most. That is the power of the comfort of the gospel. Sharing in that builds Christian community that is unshakeable.

Lord,

I thank You that You are helping me stay stable is shaking days. My present difficulties are shared in Your church, and as together we look to the cross, the empty tomb, and lift our prayers to You, Lord Jesus, we are kept strong! You have us. We are yours. These times are Your plan and we will trust, make You known, and be comforted together as we live by Your grace.

Amen

deadly wrong religion

And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

Mark 12:38-40

There is a huge difference between faith in the gospel and acts of works-based religion. The place of most difference is at the core of inner motivation. Jesus fought hard against pretentious, showy, prideful religion. The religious Jews hated Jesus. They succeeded in getting Him crucified. He was preaching good news that literally overturned their profitable, ego-stoking religion.

Here is why works-based religion is a bad thing according to Jesus in this passage: 1) It appeals to human pride. The scribes liked their long religious robes, their showy religious greetings in public view, their owners box suite seating at the synagogue. Religion gets you noticed. It deflects glory from God to humanity. 2) Religion is parasitic... it thrives at the expense of the less fortunate. In the case of Jesus’ observations, the scribes lived quite comfortably on the donations of the very poorest, devouring widow’s houses. This literally happens right after Jesus’ condemning remarks as a widow gives her last two cents (Mark 12:41-44). 3) Religion is all outward pretense and no inward substance. The scribes enjoyed their long prayers which weren’t about worship of God, but rather about attention to self. This was not real prayer at all.

The gospel counteracts all these things. The gospel dismantles pride through the process of repentance and faith. Jesus does it all. I can’t take pleasure in what I’ve done because it is not good enough. I trust Jesus alone. The gospel comes at the sacrifice of Jesus. And this frees us. It does not bind or hurt others in any way. Jesus bears all the pain in the gospel. The gospel changes the inside. We are given clean hearts and new ways of seeing ourselves and our world. We constantly grow as we continue to repent, believe, worship, and trust Jesus alone every day that we live and into eternity!

stable faith through inevitable chaos

O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous,

who sees the heart and the mind,

let me see your vengeance upon them,

for to you have I committed my cause.

Jeremiah 20:12

The words of Jeremiah in this very personal prayer recorded in Jeremiah 20:7-18 are sort of his journal entries as he processes his persecution for speaking God’s truth to ruling authorities who reject God. For the “crime” of preaching God’s impending judgment upon Judah, Jeremiah was beaten and then locked in stocks for public view. This humiliation was meant to shame and silence him (Jeremiah 20:1-2).

Instead, the prophet privately turned his frustrations to the Lord, but very publicly, and immediately, confronted the official who beat him, calling all the leaders who rejected the Lord’s message “false prophets” who were misleading God’s people (Jeremiah 20:3-6). The prophet of God cannot be silenced when God has decreed that His truth be broadcast! Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry actually thrived when the truth was rejected. The more officials tried to silence him, the bigger the message got!

That is why, in this private prayer for God to act, Jeremiah can long to see God’s vengeance without himself being vindictive. God had already decreed that these things would happen. Judah would fall to invaders, her cities would be ransacked and burned, and her people would be led away as captives. Since this was God’s will and was going to happen, Jeremiah simply longs for the glory of God to be known even as His judgments are revealed. It sounds harsh, but seeing God’s Word fulfilled in His power, even in harsh judgment, is truly cause for deep and impactful worship.

So no matter what, God’s people can always worship the Lord. Even in the hardest of times. Even in societal turmoil. Even in war. Even in the chaos of changes that show our need to trust God. Thank God that today Jesus remains constant! Thank God that He Who sees and tests hearts has given Christians new hearts that can trust Him even as their world will burn!

lousy camouflage

...if I have concealed my transgressions as others do

by hiding my iniquity in my heart...

Job 31:33

Secret sins don’t fool God and ultimately they will not go unseen by others. In this chapter, Job is making his summary defense appeal to his accusing friends. He is not defensively covering anything. He honestly defends his integrity as a wise man who has done his utmost to worship and obey God. He knows God knows because he knows God knows all hearts.

It is the inner person that is who we really are. It is where our thoughts, our choices, our emotions, and our passions live. Outwardly we can try to mask all of that part of us, even concealing the worst things about us. But God cuts through all our pretense. His Word and His Holy Spirit pierce our lame disguises and see our hearts. We cannot hide from what God knows about us.

The best way then to live my life is in the constant awareness that God knows all my faults, and has forgiven them in Christ. I keep no secrets from Him. He loves me in spite of this, giving His Son as my Savior even though I was and still am a person who thinks I succeed as a skilled deceiver of others. My heart must be as open as Job describes. I must not think I conceal my sin and hide my iniquity. Instead, I confess it to God, I turn from it, I humbly claim only the grace of Jesus, and I don’t flaunt my prideful sanctimony. I share in the misery of sin with others so we can rejoice in the holiness Jesus gives to us!

Lord Jesus,

Today I will be tempted to hide my sin from You. I will be tempted to think sanctimoniously that I am holier than other people. That is lousy camouflage. Remind me that You peer down into this heart, You see the darkest corners in Your light, and I hide nothing from You! You see the dirt there and still long to forgive me, to cleanse me, and to create in me a clean heart that can love Your faithfully!

Amen

why we sing

Sing praises to God, sing praises!

Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

For God is the King of all the earth;

sing praises with a psalm!

Psalm 47:6-7

The simplest reason for why Christians sing in worship is this: God is the king over all this world. He is worthy of our joyful praise. Music sets that praise forth in a way no other expression can. As we sing about the love, care, and rule of our wonderful God, our hearts engage with His love. Our minds understand more of Who God is and what God is doing. Our lips tell of His greatness. Our bodies engage in the music motion of worship.

Worship in song engages us more fully. The truth of Who God is enlightens our minds. The experience of His grace touches our hearts. The choice to believe Him is an act of our will in worship. Singing praises aligns our hearts and bodies to the call to praise. Being together with God’s people as we do so engages our culture and creates Christian community. Worship in song is a part of what it means to love and worship God well.

Even as a worldwide health pandemic changes temporarily how we do this, we must still praise the Lord “with a psalm”! I can do so while joining an online worship service even though I cannot hear a congregation around me doing it. I can still engage. I can do so in an outdoor service and have been blessed to experience this kind of worship all summer. I can still engage. I can sing and make melody “in my heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19) by reflectively joining in without singing physically in order to worship indoors in a meditative manner. And I can stand a couple yards away and sing with a protective mask if that is the best way to both love my brothers and praise my God! I can still engage. Nothing about any of these expressions of worship prevents me from recognizing that God is king over all the earth. Nothing about any of these expressions keeps my heart from worshiping my great God!

powerless before the Lord

The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers.

1 Samuel 31:3

This is the end of King Saul. He died in battle like brave kings should. Yet Saul took his own life in the end, fearful of what the enemy would do to him. He died still at odds with David, still at odds with God, still fighting Israel’s enemies and running from the will of God. And in complete irony, Saul’s end is a metaphor for his leadership. His decisions always hurt himself. He willfully chose to end his life in the way he chose to live it... in a desperate act to maintain his own control all the while having a sovereign God overrule all the circumstances around him.

God told Saul, through the ghost of Samuel (that weird story is another instance of Saul’s impulsive rush to disobey God to get what he wanted) that the king and his sons would die battling the Philistines. That is told for us in 1 Samuel 28. That would set the stage for David to finally lead on Israel’s throne. And just as God said, Saul was dead the next day. Saul’s impulsiveness was no match for God’s sovereignty as God, the true king of Israel, ruled over His people.

Saul, the powerful, impulsive, self-preserving, mood-swinging, power-hogging king would not be able to maintain his control. It drove Saul crazy... literally! It destroyed his family and his kingdom. It led to his own suicide. There is no human power worth seeking that is better for us than submission to the powerful will of God!

Jesus,

You are the Servant Who perfectly submitted to the will of Your Father. And even though it meant Your death for us, You obeyed God’s will. Yet now You are highly exalted as King of kings and Lord of lords! You promise us an eternity of reigning with You if we will believe and submit to Your saving rule! I reject my own hope of power and control over my life. I submit to You, my Lord.

Amen

exodus principles

All the people of Israel did just as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron. And on that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.

Exodus 12:50-51

It took ten supernatural plagues and long confrontational conversations with the leadership of Egypt, the leading world superpower, for the stage to be set for the deliverance of Israel from slavery. This was God’s liberating power at work. But it was a deliberate story, not an unforeseen accident. God used a cast of characters that He scripted, and a series of dramatic events that His power directed, to release the powerful hold Egypt’s government held on His people.

I see two interesting principles from Israel’s exodus. First, God will take His time to produce His result. From the perspective of Moses and Aaron, God moved very deliberately. He kept telling them He would bring a specific plague, and that Pharaoh would not respond in favor of their demand. This was repeated nine times. The final plague created the feast of the Passover for the Jews and required time for them to prepare themselves for what God was going to do. By using this elaborate and long process to write a story into the memory of His people, God showed His power both to the Egyptians and to His people. The long and careful story brought glory to God as He is clearly the deliverer of His chosen nation.

The second principle: God’s power is often dismissed in unbelief. That is what Pharaoh did nine times. God displayed awesome supernatural power by Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh initially was moved by it, but once the threat of any specific plague was lifted, he dismissed it smugly... seemingly unwilling to believe anything like it could happen again.

Those same two principles apply to the gospel today. God delivered us, in Jesus, by bringing the Savior to us over centuries of careful story writing. The Old Testament shows us this. Jesus then became our Passover Lamb to save us from death. That’s the New Testament. Yet this gospel is so easily dismissed by worldly powers. We should not be surprised, We can still celebrate and worship because in Jesus we are set from from slavery to sin!

death loses

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

1 Corinthians 15:54-55

Mortality is what

we live and know

all around us

life will show

us: birth, growth, decay, then death.

And all of us

will see one day

our own physical bodies

start the decay

with sickness, pain, limitations, then death.

Nobody escapes

the effects of the curse

we grow older

and go from bad to worse

knowing birth, life, entropy, then death.

But Jesus halts

the sad refrain

there is eternal life

to all who believe His name

He came to give life and change death.

A better hope

For all whom Jesus chooses

they gain so much more

as ultimately, death loses

with new birth, new life, death, then eternal life!

the impossible thing God has done

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

Mark 10:27

This powerful statement by Jesus has too often been misapplied. It has been misunderstood by Christians and scoffers alike. It truly is absurd to take this truth out of its context and use it to claim that God must do all sort of things for us. It is not why football teams win Super Bowls, or unhealthy people lose weight. Scoffing comedian George Carlin used it in an anti-religion stage routine with his mocking question: “Could God make a rock so big He couldn’t lift it?” Of course those absurdities are not in the realm of what Jesus is claiming here. Neither is the “health and wealth” prosperity gospel.

We need to understand why Jesus said this. This story is not unique to Mark, but is repeated in other gospels. Putting the details together we see that a rich young man, a “social influencer” in today’s jargon, had come to Jesus and proposed becoming a disciple. He seemed to have his act together in every way. He was rich. He was young. He was a ruler. He knew and followed the Jewish Law. Jesus truly cared about the guy. Jesus asked him to do one thing that he asked of all His disciples: leave it all and follow. He had to leave the wealth behind and follow Jesus. It was a legitimate call to discipleship. But the young man turned away, choosing his material wealth over following Jesus, showing what his heart truly followed. Then, in an aside to His disciples Jesus comments how hard it is for those who trust in wealth to follow Him and find salvation. The disciples ask in astonishment: “Who then can be saved?”

The impossibility that is being addressed is the salvation of sinners. It is quite specific. And that is the basis for understanding Jesus’ answer back to His disciples. Man cannot save himself. That is impossible. But God can save sinners. Only God can do it. God must work in hearts first. God, Who sent His Son as our only Savior, must do the imposible. He must save us. And in Jesus, God is doing this impossible work. Through His Spirit, God is doing the impossible in the hearts of people. In every person who trusts Jesus for eternal salvation, God has done the impossible!

foot races with horses

If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,

how will you compete with horses?

And if in a safe land you are so trusting,

what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?

Jeremiah 12:5

Jeremiah the prophet has come to God with his questions. He has seen things he does not quite understand: wicked people prospering as God’s justice seems far away (Jeremiah 12:1-2). This disregard extends not only to the wrong treatment of people, but also creates environmental damage and spiritual apathy (Jeremiah 12:4). Jeremiah is grieved and broken by this wicked damage that incenses his moral compass and makes God seem distant and unconcerned (Jeremiah 12:3).

God’s answer to Jeremiah puts the prophet in his place and is essentially this: “You think you are hurting now, Jeremiah? Wait until I do unleash my judgment... it is about to get even harder to witness what is happening in your world!”

Jeremiah was weary from running the foot race against these wicked people. But he would not stand a chance of running against the coming war horses! Jeremiah dwelt in secure borders... but God’s people were about to be scattered to desolation like rabbits hiding in a bramble! God was about to answer Jeremiah’s prayer. And his judgment would also increase the prophet’s pain.

I think Christians should be careful about our potshot observations of our broken world. We ourselves are not without sin and the need to answer to God. I have seen a lot of holier-than-thou attitudes come from the Christian community in my lifetime. I was at one time deceived by legalistic spirituality that defied grace and constantly took pride in taking potshots at “the world” in order to make graceless living look “better”. I learned that it was Pharisaical pride and sinful self justification that created the sense of feeling better about myself that this practice generated. It is very wrong. And it fails to keep pace when the horses burst on the scene! 

Jesus blessed the meek, the peacemakers, the poor, the hungry, the grieving, the pure in heart, and the persecuted. It is when I am weak that Jesus is strong. It is when I recognize my utter need that the kingdom of heaven is closest to me and provides the grace that richly sustains. It is in that humble realization that I repent of my pride and let God by the judge of all. It is useless to legalistically foot race with the horses!

soul talk

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.

Psalm 42:11

Emotion overwhelms:

sorrow, pain,

bewildering change.

It all seems more than

I can take in.

It is all more than

I should manage.

I want to give in.

I want to just feel bad.

I want everybody to pity me...

to be noticed in my suffering

as if that would make me feel better.

It doesn’t.

The flood of feelings, I can’t control.

The desire to empower them to

get me what I want IS

what I do control.

I tell myself to pray.

I tell myself to trust God.

I tell myself to hope.

And by that soul talk I change.

I find God’s Word telling me

what to say to my soul,

how to choose to think

about how I feel, and

Who to believe when 

I am overwhelmed.

Divine irony and a way beyond hate

For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the LORD reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.

1 Samuel 24:19-20

David models a way beyond hate, revenge, and killing. And David was a man of war. In the storyline just previous to this, David led his ragtag army of deserters and misfits to recapture an Israelite city from Philistine invaders. He knew how to fight in battle. David was a soldier. He knew what killing the enemy was all about... as a kid he hacked off the head of Goliath and walked around with it! 

Even though Saul had made David his enemy, David refused to do the same. He refused to go to war with Saul. He saw him as God’s anointed king and waited on the Lord to deal with Saul’s rage against him. David in his heart refused to make Saul the same kind of adversary as Goliath.

At the cave at the Wildgoat’s Rocks in En-gedi, Saul made a strategic error. The king entered the enclosed cave without having someone scout it out first, not realizing David and his men were hidden in it. Saul had more pressing kingly concerns. Nature was calling! It’s sorta comical and my inner ten year old boy imagines all the bathroom humor possible in the situation. Saul removes his robe to take care of business, and David sneaks up and stealthily cuts off a corner of the king’s royal robe. 

This would have been the perfect opportunity to strike Saul down, end the fugitive lifestyle, and claim the throne for David. But David refused to see Saul as an enemy. As the king’s company musters again in front of the cave, David marches to the entrance and then this treaty with Saul is made by Saul as the king acknowledges what God is doing.

Ironically, in 1 Samuel 23, Saul had hoped to capture David in a vulnerable position when David’s troops went to liberate the city of Keilah from Philistine invaders. It was a walled city which Saul hoped would be a trap. God intervened to spare David as Saul was closing in. Now, at the cave, the tables turned and it was Saul that was delivered, not by circumstances, but by David’s own choice. This is what got Saul’s attention... God turned the tables. God saved him, and at least for a while, Saul’s raging against God and against God’s plan for David to become king stopped. God will ironically do His work, for His glory, and no person will stop what God will do!

The One Who does it

Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.’

Exodus 6:6

God has a conversation with Moses in Exodus 6:1-13 that was meant to strengthen Moses for the hard task ahead of convincing Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. In this conversation, Moses asks just one question, revealing his struggle feeling sinfully inadequate for the task God had given him (Exodus 6:12). All the rest of the conversation is a sermon from God about Himself, clearly speaking of His ruling intentions and power to perform what He has willed.

Four times God refers to Himself by His covenant name, Yahweh (the old King James translation of this was Jehovah), and God emphatically states His powerful control over the situation with this repeated declaration: I am the LORD (Yahweh). God is clearly in control of both His covenant people Israel AND their oppressors in Egypt. Both sides were under His authority and in His view. He would soon show the world, through His man Moses, what it looked like for Yahweh to be the LORD. Throughout this conversation God clearly states what He has done and will do. There are 13 of these statements:

• “I will do...” Exodus 6:1
• “I appeared to Abraham...” Exodus 6:3
• “I... established my covenant...” Exodus 6:4
• “I have heard the groaning of the people...” Exodus 6:5
• “I have remembered my covenant...” Exodus 6:5
• “I will bring you out...” Exodus 6:6
• “I will deliver you...” Exodus 6:6
• “I will redeem you...” Exodus 6:6
• “I will take you to be my people...” Exodus 6:7
• “I will be your God...” Exodus 6:7
• “I will bring you into the land...” Exodus 6:8
• “I swore to give...” Exodus 6:8
• “I will give it to you...” Exodus 6:8

O LORD,

You are sovereign, We are not. You do not forget Your people, of that we are sure. So we wait and trust that even now, You are working to bring about Your deliverance through Your Son in this world as the gospel promises and we believe. All the events that are happening right now are not things that surprise You, but are in the wisdom of Your redemptive plan. You are Yahweh... powerful keeper of all that You say. We trust You!

Amen

Where is God when we meet?

So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

1 Corinthians 14:12

The Holy Spirit of God is best known in the Church of God when the people of God are built up in maturity to worship and live like the Son of God. The Corinthian church had an unhealthy fixation with the unusual. They were a church of immature believers but they wanted so desperately to experience manifestations of the Holy Spirit in visible ways. So some of their worship got wildly out of control. Paul issues all kinds of corrective teaching to them in 1 Corinthians 14 to get them over their unhealthy fixation with tongues-speaking. He calls them to emphasize the Word of God in prophetic ministry, focusing on understanding what God reveals clearly. He issues orders for who should speak in a service, when it should happen, and how it should happen. He strictly guides them to emphasize the disciple making message through the process of understanding and applying God’s Word. He calls for order to their meetings and rebukes their chaotic superficiality.

How do we know if the Spirit of God meets with God’s people in any church service? The answer is this: when God’s Word is carefully explained, the gospel is clear, and God’s truth builds up the believers so they can mature in Christlikeness, then God’s Spirit has led their assembly. The goal is not to “feel something”... that is emotionalism. The goal isn’t to see something supernatural... that is sensationalism. The goal isn’t to hear an elaborate sermon or a gifted speaker... that’s celebritization. The goal is to declare what God says, worship Jesus as Savior in the gospel, and grow believers to live more like their Master.

One very real benefit from the COVID creative pivot in our worship services as they have gone online, outdoors, and in smaller settings has been to force us as the church back to the simplest understandings of true worship. I pray this changes us permanently! May we steer clear of celebrity, sensation, emotionalism, or any other false focus as we begin assembling together again! May God’s Word be taught, may God’s people be encouraged and strengthened to believe and follow it, may the gospel be preached so that souls may be converted, and may God’s Church stay strong!

Who is most important right now?

And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”

Mark 8:29

The most important person in the world is NOT the president of the Unites States. It is not the head of the United Nations. It is not the leader of the WHO or any regulating body among human beings. It isn’t Bill Gates, Elon Musk, or Jeff Bezos who are powerful because of their immense wealth. And, it is not, as the rumors circulating in the craziness of COVID say, some shadowy financier in a hush hush deep state secretly manipulating world economies and governments.

Who is the most important person in the world? That question can be answered once we deal with this question Jesus asks in Mark 8:29. Let me rephrase it just a bit: Who is Jesus? You see, there were various guesses about His identity even as He walked this earth, and they were noble, but just off the mark. Some people thought that He was a resurrected John the Baptist. Others reasoned He was some other prophet come back to Israel from the past. But His disciples knew His identity. Jesus is “the Christ”, literally “the Anointed One”, that is, the Messiah sent to deliver Israel and save the world. That made Jesus the fulfillment of all that God had promised. And His saving work would go far beyond Israel,  to go worldwide as people truly believed the truth about who Jesus is.

The world looks for a Savior. It always has, and will continue to do so. Today, the myopic, misplaced hopes for salvation (and sadly I hear even Christians voice this) stop at politicians, financial bailouts, or medical science with the “Vaccine” being the mythical holy grail of hope sought by many. Don’t get me wrong... I want to see treatments and cures come to this pandemic. I pray for it daily. But what humanity really needs is the One Who offers permanent hope and the deepest help. He gives us the solution for the deadliest pandemic that has raged among humans from the very beginnings of human society. The world needs Jesus... the Christ... the Savior of the world... the Healer of lives! His identity, when embraced by faith, transforms lives and brings permanent healing and peace. Who is Jesus? He is Lord, Savior, Healer, Helper, Sustainer, Keeper, Deliverer, and Friend!