What Love Sees

You are altogether beautiful, my love;

there is no flaw in you.

Song of Solomon 4:7

Love sees the best

in the beloved

it celebrates

all that is loved

Love forgives the flaw

beholding only beauty

caring more to hold close

more than what it sees

What makes love true

is character

the inner strength in beauty

is what he sees in her

When one thinks of a lover

one sees the attraction

but a faithful love

brings compliments to action

A perfect person

will never be found

yet somehow this love

is still all around

Because the inner draw

is dearer

two hearts can keep

growing nearer

Because character

beautifies the soul

bride and groom are attracted beyond

mere outer glow

And in Christ a couple

can be complete

beautiful together for

the world to see

believing what God is

The LORD is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Psalm 145:8

One short verse in a massive song of praise is packed with four truths of God’s character that encourage my soul. These truths show me Who God is. They let me know how God will work in my life. They provide perspective. They lead me to worship.

God is gracious. David had a sense of this even as the Law had its harsh demands. God was gracious to the king in forgiving sin, bestowing blessings, protecting all of his life, and using David, even in his brokenness to lead Israel. I can trust and lean hard into this God of grace Who treats me so much better than I have ever deserved.

God is merciful. God will forgive sin. He will withhold His judgment on the truly repentant. He will pardon those who put their hope in Him. He does not treat us as our sins deserve, but grants bountiful new mercies every morning of every day. I need His mercy. He is there with it for me.

God is slow to anger. His patience and forbearance are remarkable. He wisely rebukes me through His Word. He convicts of sin by His Spirit. He holds me accountable. And when I repent, He forgives and forgets! He is not capricious. He wants nobody to perish but truly desires that all people everywhere would repent. This magnifies His grace and mercy all the more, even if it leads me to sometimes question why it seems He will not act against sin. It is because He is making the gospel offer clear and granting time to repent for all sinners.

God abounds in steadfast love. He is faithful to us even when we struggle believing Him. When our faith falters, God is still steadfast. His love never fails. His grace is always available. His mercy is at the ready. His smile awaits me when I trust in Him. And He pours this out on all believers in abundance. God’s love isn’t rationed… it is extravagant! And because of this, our lives can overflow with all the abundant gifts of God.

Lord,

You are gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. I worship You, trust You, and love You, my Savior!

Amen

the praise party

For long ago in the days of David and Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.

Nehemiah 12:46

When Jerusalem’s walls were finished, Nehemiah led the citizens of the city to gather all around the walls in a massive celebration ceremony that was really a worship service and concert of praise loud enough to be heard beyond Jerusalem. Earlier, as the Jews read and recommitted to the Law they had celebrated with a preaching party. But now at the official dedication ceremony of the walls they threw a praise party.

Once again it appears that Nehemiah enlisted the expert skills of scribes and priests to orchestrate the event biblically. Those who led wanted to follow the pattern from Israel’s past. They knew that king David and Asaph had organized singers, musicians, and Levites to conduct corporate worship long ago in God’s house. And so the old songs of praise and thanksgiving were made new again! The preaching party celebrated the book of Deuteronomy. This party was rocking to the rhythm of the Psalms!

The Jerusalem walls were more than just an achievement in civil engineering. They were more than a political statement. They were a gift from a gracious God Who empowered His people to do the work and kept them safe as they completed the work. And now the city was safe again. Jerusalem could rise up and be blessed again as the Jews worshiped God, loved His Law, obeyed His call, and joyously sang His praises!

Praising Jesus today should have similar motivation. It isn’t about music style or stage production values. It is about a heart lifted up, secure in Jesus, working for Jesus, because of Jesus, rejoicing in the grace of the gospel. And if that won’t make you sing, then nothing will.

six blessings

Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

Deuteronomy 28:3-6

Six blessings are promised to Israel in this passage. These blessings come in covenant with God as Israel worships the Lord and commits to loving and obeying God’s Law. They cover all facets of life for any observant Israelite:

1) Urban life is blessed.

2) Rural life is blessed.

3) Increased blessing abounds with children, produce, and livestock.

4) Even household utensils used for daily sustenance are blessed.

5) Blessing would come when entering home.

6) Blessing would follow when leaving home.

Although Israel would eventually find it totally impossible to keep all of God’s Law, God’s grace and blessing would still attend them. God would bring prophets to graciously issue course corrections. God would bring a Messiah to eventually bless all the world through them so that by the obedience of Jesus all the Law would be fulfilled and all the world, both Jew and Gentile, would be abundantly blessed in Him.

In a time when #blessed is way overused and abused in underrated experiences and gross materialism, the true blessing of Jesus warms my life. Blessing isn’t about showing off my social media enhanced lifestyle with a false humility. Blessing is about a worship style that recognizes that every part of my life, all my day, in every way… from where I live to what I eat… all my life is a blessed gift from a good God that I enjoy thoroughly in the love of my Savior Jesus Christ!

what we always have

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love.

2 John 3

There is a lot of powerful comfort and life-changing perspective packed into this greeting from the apostle John. The little book of 2 John may be just a tiny postcard of an epistle, but we should still take the time to unpack its message. In the case of this greeting, there are five unique distinctives of the Christian life that are truly a lifetime’s worth of exploration in their depth. All of them are gifts from God and are also the character of God displayed to us.

We begin with GRACE. Grace is God’s good favor displayed to us in countless ways. It is favor we did not earn or deserve. God gives it each day with the new sunrise. It is as common as our home, our health, and our regular happiness. It is as spectacular as the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus so that we could be made holy and right with God again. Grace runs the entire gamut of God’s goodness and defines our life in Him.

MERCY is related to grace, but emphasizes even more our inability to please God on our own. He did everything to change that. And like grace, His mercies are faithfully new every morning, treating us not as our sins deserve, but loving us in His Son as we have believed and trusted Jesus.

And because of grace and mercy we know PEACE. This peace abides in us. It brings hope. Peace gives us perspective. It is eternal and extends beyond our temporary, earthbound circumstances. It is above and beyond this world. Peace too is a gift of God in Jesus Who is our peace.

God has given us TRUTH in His Word and in the Living Word, Jesus Christ. I never need to question the reality of truth found in the entirety of scripture for God has spoken! I can know this truth, and the truth sets me free!

And God has spoken in LOVE, forever displayed in the cross of Christ. How could I doubt the love of a God Who did not spare His own Son, but willing gave Him up for us all?

one word brings the hate

And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’

Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.”

Acts 22:21-22

One word turned the Jerusalem religious authorities into a violent mob seeking Paul’s death. One word so incensed them that a squad of heavily armed Roman soldiers had to intervene to stop their mob actions. What was that one word?

It wasn’t the name of Jesus. Paul makes it clear early in his defense that Jesus saved him and called him uniquely. It wasn’t Christian baptism that offended them. Paul gave a clear account of how he followed that ordinance quickly after his conversion and nobody was rankled by that fact. It wasn’t that Paul twice called Jesus “Lord” in his testimony, making Jesus equal with God, although that was a reason the Jerusalem Jews had insisted Jesus be crucified. 

What was “the word” that led this crowd to shut Paul down and refuse to hear more? It was the word “Gentiles”. As soon as Paul shared his call by Jesus to go preach to the Gentiles, that was when the crowd had heard enough. Their hatred for the Romans and all non-Jews was so strong that they could not bear the thought that God would want His gospel brought to those hated, awful Gentiles. And so here we see a racial hatred so deep that it rejects God Himself just to go on hating people. And it wanted to murder anyone who would not share in that hate.

But God loves the world and so should we. The gospel is for all people, all nations, all people in a nation whether natural born or immigrant (legal or illegal). The good news has no barriers. And Jesus is building a kingdom that will cover this globe in every nation among humanity. No human ethnic barriers can blockade the love of Christ in the gospel! The church lives under that view of the world.

three reasons not to stop

I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Revelation 1:9

There are three facets to fellowship that the apostle John mentions as he introduces himself at the beginning of the book of Revelation. John experienced these three things even though he was exiled alone to Patmos in a last ditch attempt to silence his apostolic message. Accounts from the time say he survived an attempted execution and Rome thus exiled him far from the influence he could have. Although he was persecuted and separated from the church, John as the last surviving apostle still loved and embraced the gospel of Jesus and His followers. And this extremely personal longing comes out in his introduction of himself.

Three things John shares with the readers of his book were on his heart. He considered himself a brother (family) and partner (fellow servant) with all Christians even in tribulation, for the kingdom, with patient endurance in Jesus. John was suffering persecution, as were all Christians at the time that the book of Revelation was written. He was confined to the island of Patmos where legend says he lived all alone in a cave, cutoff from ministry. But his apostolic work continued as did his love for Christ.

John saw the bigger picture… quite literally! He was not confined to an arid island. He was living in Christ’s kingdom! Rome did not control him… Jesus was His Lord. And the fact that the book of Revelation came out of the island proves that Christians cannot be silenced when God overrules even their persecution for His glory. Bigger things were happening, as John’s revelation makes very clear.

And John lived in patient endurance, modeling for all Christians in all the world to do the same. We will face misunderstanding and hatred in this world for the gospel that we so patiently proclaim and we will have to endure that treatment. We live, love, worship, and serve the true kingdom led by Jesus, and it will not cease to rule… so again, we must patiently endure. All Christians around the world serve a Mighty Savior, and as John’s Revelation will show us, Jesus will come again in power! And so we must patiently endure awaiting that day.

the epic chase

I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

by the gazelles or the does of the field,

that you not stir up or awaken love

until it pleases.

Song of Solomon 2:7

Three times in this epic love poem this warning is repeated to “not awaken love until it pleases.” It is a refrain throughout this little love story. What does this poetic refrain mean? How does it help bring perspective to romance and marital love?

Song of Solomon is a poetic retelling, a romance novel, of King Solomon’s epic love story with one specific woman. it is written like a sort of play with the bride, the bridegroom, and the wedding party all taking speaking roles back and forth in the text of the poem. Each time that this particular warning is given, it is spoken by the bride and she is addressing her “bridesmaids”… the daughters of Jerusalem. It is a caution to procede carefully in matters of the heart, especially as they draw closer to the natural desire for sexual expression.

The caution is to be slow, deliberate, intentional, and proper when it comes to moving toward the “arousal” stage of a courtship. This has its consummation in marriage and not before. And both the bride and her groom-to-be could be tempted to explore it too soon. The refrain calls engaged couples to exercise a degree of shyness in that respect with each other. The bride should be like a gazelle — beautiful, nimble, and shy. She should be pursued and not afraid to lead the chase for his love, and both should be wise to wait for marriage for its full physical expression.

This caution sounds absolutely antique in the 21st century. Every romantic comedy on the screen puts the couple in bed quickly, assumes sex is a forgone conclusion, often a fast experience, and winds up removing this relationship building chase from the storyline. And hook up dating app culture bypasses such romance altogether. In Solomon’s Song, the bride wisely helps create this love chase. And the wildness of love is grown in this beautiful story. Everywhere the couple goes, a verdant garden and wild animals follow, because this chase is like paradise itself! Purity is hardly dull! Romance is wild, beautiful, and filled with life! God has designed love, marriage, and sex to always feel so epic. 

You know my way.

When my spirit faints within me,

you know my way!

Psalm 142:3a

You know my way, Lord.

You know my way.

When I am lost and helpless,

You know my way.

You know my way, Lord.

You know my way.

When my spirit faints within me,

You know my way.

You know my way, Lord.

You know my way.

I cannot see a way out, but

You know my way.

You know my way, Lord.

You know my way.

I am troubled by the wicked, yet

You know my way.

You know my way, Lord.

You know my way.

You have provided my salvation.

You know my way.

You know my way, Lord.

You know my way.

I will trust You now and forever.

You know my way.

preaching and partying

And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

Nehemiah 8:12

This was a party, And what was the occasion for throwing this shindig? The citizens of Jerusalem were celebrating that they had understood the Law as it was preached to them. Yes, this was a preaching party!

The walls around Jerusalem had been rebuilt. The exiles who returned to a city of rubble and ruin had done the hard work of restoring and rebuilding the walls. This happened in spite of constant threat of attack. Even Nehemiah himself, as the leader of the effort, was conspired against during the construction. He wisely kept himself and the city safe and stayed completely committed to the task at hand, never distracted by the threats. And when the work was finished, the worship and joyful celebration began.

Ezra the scribe, along with Nehemiah the governor and all the priests and Levites gathered before the Water Gate on a large stage built for this specific moment. Then the Law (perhaps just the book of Deuteronomy) was read aloud to the people clearly. Various small groups stopped, section by section, as Levite expositors, positioned throughout the crowd, huddled people together and explained the text as they went. They read the text, paragraph by paragraph, stopped to give interpretation and application, and made sure that the people understood God’s Word (Nehemiah 8:8). That was some great preaching.

As God’s people heard and understood, they started to mourn and weep over past sins. And the leaders directed them beyond confession to enter into celebration. The Law was meant to lead hearts in obedient joyful obedience and worship as well. And that’s exactly where the celebration went. Priests and Levites directed folks to fire up their grills, throw the best meat on the fire, drink the wine, and share the good times with friends and family! It is a joy to know God and follow His Word. It is a celebration to walk in His provision and worship Him while believing and understanding His truth. What should follow from good preaching? Grateful and fun partying of course!

care about the poor

You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the LORD, and you be guilty of sin.

Deuteronomy 24:14-15

God cares how people treat one another. And economic advantage of the poor is an ill treatment God despises. The Law spoke up for the poor and the lowliest day laborer. All hired hands were expected to be treated respectfully by their employers with fair wages never withheld regardless of whether they were natural born citizens or immigrants. Oppressing labor is a sin in the eyes of God. He expects those with the means to employ others to treat those who work for them honestly, forthrightly, and respectfully. Wages were expected to be paid on time every time. This was to keep poverty at bay.

But money has a way of corrupting our view of people. When the rich look down on the poor, it is wrong. When a wealthy person or business puts profit ahead of the poor, it is seen as an awful sin (See Deuteronomy 24:10-13). Those who administered justice were to enforce law without partiality to every person in society, regardless of their wealth or status (Deuteronomy 24:17-18). Farmers were to allow the poorest to glean from fields and orchards so that they too could work to sustain themselves with dignity and respect (Deuteronomy 24:19-22).

From a New Testament perspective, there is kingdom opportunity everywhere if we refuse to sin by discriminating against the poorest among us. Jesus too cared for the poor. He did not like the systems that abused them. Read again very carefully the story of the “Widow’s Mite” in context: Luke 20:14-21:4. After warning His disciples not to be like the Jewish leaders who “devoured” widow’s houses for personal gain, Jesus immediately looked up to see a widow drop her two copper pennies in the offering box — vividly illustrating the evil He had just condemned, giving all she had to live on to a corrupt system. God hates economic manipulation of the poor. HE HATES IT. Jesus hates it. We should never tolerate it either.

a community of care

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:7-8

Christians experience and demonstrate true love. We know love only because of God’s love for us. We love on another because God has changed us, loved us, taught us to love, and by His Holy Spirit now enables us to truly love our brothers and sisters in Christ. The church is Christ’s community of care, where the love of God is born, known, shown, and grown in a world that is impossibly short of true love.

This love among followers of Jesus is unique. If you aren’t in it, you won’t know it. It is a bond together that is worth celebrating. It is one reason why I can NEVER imagine myself NOT in Christian community believing the gospel. It was the experience of real Christian love, when I was at my neediest, that led me to passionately follow Jesus and not look back. I learned and knew God’s love by the care of other Christians (imperfect though they were) in a local church. These were people who let me into their lives. It is why I want to care for others well. When I need direction, God uses His Word, His Holy Spirit, and His people in His church to care for, lead, instruct, and encourage me. The only way to know this love is to know forgiveness and love from God the Father through Jesus Christ.

Yes, I acknowledge that Christians, myself first among them, have our faults. And sometimes selfishness and false doctrine will take us off track and remove expressions of this love. But these are exceptions that prove the rule! And even in my rare experiences of this lack of love, there have always been a faithful group of authentic Christians calling me to continue on in Christ’s love. And their love, rooted in Christ’s love, never fails.

No matter what outsiders think of Christian faith, I KNOW this truth. And right now the church is as viciously hated as it has ever been. But the love of God among the people of God is undeniable for me. And I will love my perfect Jesus and His imperfect people with the love of my Father because God has loved me so well… so faithfully… so intensely through them.

twisted words of wolves

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

Acts 20:29-30

I have been blessed to have devoted my life in nearly three and a half decades of Christian pastoral ministry. This is hugely rewarding. The lives I have had and continue to have the joy of pastoring are very precious to me. And shepherding Christ’s flock has been a most serious and joyful calling. I will never regret it. I will never tire of it. I do not intend to retire from it. I expect to die as a pastor.

Yet the past two years have seen this ancient warning from Paul to the Ephesian pastors renewed in my own ministry experience. 2020 was really challenging with so much worldwide disruption in the first waves of the coronavirus pandemic. 2021 has not been any easier even though churches have been able to meet in person in America. In many ways it has become much harder. When all the change first hit, Christians in my circles tended toward stability and flexibility. But the pressure cooker of isolation, cultural upheaval, and political polarization clamped down on Christians in America. Wolves started prowling. Wolves came along I had never seen before, eventually speaking twisted things I had never heard before within the church broadly. Some of the twisted words of 2021:

• “Church leaders should (pick one…A) abandon, B) follow) health guidelines.” This has become a measure of Christian fidelity for some people.
• “Churches should (pick one… A) ignore B) acknowledge) racial injustice in America.” This also has become more important to many people than preaching the gospel or making disciples.
• “Churches should have a public political alignment.” This has become a moral issue for many that in the amount of attention they give it supersedes the gospel.
• “Churches should have a vaccination policy.” Again lending moral authority to either side of the issue.

This is a brief (and admittedly controversial) list. All the issues on it have this in common: They are unique to recent events AND scripture is not explicit about the cultural issues they raise. Pastors therefore have to use wisdom and scriptural principles to love people on ALL sides of these important issues while staying on mission preaching the gospel and making disciples. Shepherding when people are so susceptible to the twisted words of wolves is very hard. The call I have right now, that all pastors have right now, is stated in the command from Paul in Acts 20:31 — “Therefore, be alert..”

a world accountable before God

Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the LORD beyond the border of Israel!”

Malachi 1:5

God displays His power and His sovereign Lordship over all the nations of the world. God, through His prophet Malachi, promised a rebellious Israel that they would know His justice by first seeing Him deal with close neighbors who had oppressed Israel. This would be a warning to them. In Malachi 1:1-5, that oppressor was Edom, the descendants of Esau.

God promised that the Edomites would not be blessed by His love (1:3). The fertile hill country of the Edomites would become a wasteland and unproductive desert (1:3). Edom would be regularly ransacked, and each rebuilding would just be torn down again by a new invader (1:4). God’s anger was kindled against the Edomites forever, never to be relieved (1:4). Their wickedness destined them for complete judgment.

And all of this was meant to get the attention of the Jews in Israel. They were to see God’s judgment in action against Edom and take warning, seeing God’s greatness beyond their border as a wake up call to take God seriously at home. The rest of the prophet’s message in the book of Malachi is directed toward the sins of Judah and God’s coming actions against His people. A quick summary:

• Priests had polluted temple sacrifices (1:6-14).
• God would humiliate religious leaders who had misled His people (2:1-9).
• The covenant with Yahweh was profaned by hypocritical, insincere, “going through the motions” worship (2:10-16).
• God would send His messenger to purge the priesthood and the people of their sin (2:17-3:5).
• Tithes and offerings were being withheld by the people (3:6-15).
• God calls the people to repent, and a remnant among them writes in a book their repentance and willingness to follow Him (3:16-18).
• God promises a future worldwide Day of the Lord to bring universal justice and settle all wrongs (4:1-5)

And like Israel, we should be warned that God is great beyond any borders we think may “protect” us. He holds the world accountable to Him. We worship a God Who is moving all things to a future day where He will be known both for His grace to the repentant, and His judgment on the wicked.

Now is the time.

He who observes the wind will not sow,

and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

Ecclesiastes 11:4

Is there a “perfect time” to begin to do a good work? The eleventh chapter of Ecclesiastes is something like an investor’s book of wisdom. It advocates:

• entrepreneurial risk (11:1)
• a diverse portfolio of investments (11:2)
• warnings of potential loss as well as of success (11:3)
• trust in God because the best things in life often grow unseen (11:5)
• taking risk at ALL times (11:6)

And here in verse four we have a reminder that our analysis of potential risk really has little value. There are no perfect seasons. If one waits for the perfect forecast, it will never come. You just have to do your homework but take your risks anyway.

Now here is the thing… Ecclesiastes never specifies money as the entrepreneurial currency. The chapter actually ends talking about youth and old age, explaining to us the true currency that we all will invest. Solomon’s point is that LIFE ITSELF is an investment for every person. We are given it by God. How we use it… where we live it… when we risk it… are all parts of how we “remember” our Creator in our youth (12:1), and rejoice in Him in our many years (11:8).

And so I am reminded that today is the best time to pour my life and energy into kingdom investment. Right now, Monday, July 12th, 2021, is meant to be lived to the fullest, for Jesus, in the riskiest way I can do so today. I should want to see Jesus made much of, looking at each interaction I have today as a means to diversify a portfolio that brings eternal dividends.

God knows.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

Psalm 139:1-2

God knows me. God has full, intimate knowledge of every person on this planet… always has and always will. Of all the billions of souls now living and the countless billions who have lived, God has known them all, loved them all, uniquely made them all. That’s a lot of lives. It is also a lot of broken lives.

The reality of God searching me and knowing me is that my darkest motivations, my hidden sins, my “grievous ways” (see Psalm 139:24) are all known to Him as well. He knows not just my actions, but my thoughts. He knows how even sometimes what other people see as good in me actually comes from a motivation less than noble: pride, anger, or selfishness.

The God Who knows me still loves me fiercely! I cannot flee from His searching presence because He loves people too much to ever let them be alone in their broken pain and sinfulness. He uniquely knit me together when I was yet unborn… a truth for every human every conceived! All of us are fearfully and wonderfully made by the God Who never stops knowing us and loving us. He loves us and reveals His “precious thoughts” to the person He has put together before any of them were ever aware of Him (Psalm 139:17).

The God Who made me, knows me, loves me, and saves me will lead me forever! He wants me with Him always! And so Jesus came to live, to die, and to be raised again from the dead on the third day so that I could be saved from what God knows is my awful sin and its hellish consequences. And He has saved me to love Him back, worship Him, and follow Him forever. God knows me better than I even know myself! “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me!” (Psalm 139:6).

build & defend

When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work.

Nehemiah 4:15

Nehemiah’s wall-building crew faced opposition from Judah’s old enemies. For Jerusalem to have walls again meant several things: success, regrowth, power, protection, economic security, and the blessing of God. As the wall encircled the city and had been built to half its height, the enemies who had at first mocked the Jews who were led by Nehemiah to build those walls raised their threat level. They secretly devised plans to attack the construction crews and stop the progress.

But these plans were not secret to God. They became quickly known and were passed on to Nehemiah. Wise leader that he was, Nehemiah responded with agility and force. Even though it slowed the build time, crews were quick to employ a double duty strategy. Half of them were armed guards watching for attack with state of the art weaponry at their sides while the other half of them labored on the wall. All of them camped out overnight on their construction sites to prevent attack, sharing evening watch duties. When the threats got more serious the response was more earnest, brave, and sacrificial. Construction crews became platoons, and spears, swords, shields, bows, and armor were tools alongside bricks, mortar, and trowels to make sure the job was finished well.

These citizen soldiers would finish the job that God through Nehemiah had called them to do. They both built and defended. And their historic, heroic diligence was rewarded. It serves as a reminder for Christians today.

We are called through gospel ministry to also build and defend. We don’t deal in bricks, mortar, or walls, but rather in the lives of people. We proclaim the gospel, making disciples among the nations. We are kingdom builders. We plant churches, nurture believers, help the poor, minister to the widows, care for the orphans, encourage people to come to Jesus, and most of all live out the love of Christ to all people as we plead with them to come to Jesus for eternal salvation and abundant life. And we also have serious threats that we counteract by prayer, courageous confrontation, and continued conviction to stay at gospel ministry despite persecution, suffering or death. Our enemy has opposed us for millennia. It will continue until Jesus returns. Still, we build. We defend. We advance the mission!

God with you

When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 20:1

In ancient warfare

Israel fought

armies bigger than

there ought

to be arrayed agains them

but God was with them

They exited an empire

having been enslaved

and what they knew

that God still saved

… He marched them out

carrying treasures from Egypt

The God Who ended Egypt

proved He still cared

and a new generation

still shared

in His covenantal grace

God would keep them

No matter the horses, chariots

or army size

God’s people knew

they were in God’s eyes

trusting the God Who delivers

“The LORD you God is with you.”

God sent His Son

to defeat hell

Jesus, Savior,

Emmanuel

over sin and death He has conquered

living now, “God is with us”

God’s kids are misunderstood.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

I John 3:1

The love of God came to us in the life of Jesus. He taught us how to properly live in heaven’s own kingdom. The love of God came to us in the death of Jesus. He died for our sins so that death would not be the end of us because of those sins. The love of God came to us in the resurrection of Jesus. He gave us the very real certainly of eternal life, of life forever with the Father, in a place He has prepared for us to be with Him because He loves us. And that love brings us into relationship with the Father as His beloved children. In Jesus, we are forgiven and made holy. It is what we now are. Christians enjoy the relationship of being God’s kids!

And because we now are children of our Father, as we look more and more like our family, serving our Lord, loving our Father, and proclaiming to others how they can be brought into His family, the world sees something very different. Sin is always opposed to what is holy to the Lord. It makes truth and righteousness its enemy. And so, this world that tried to silence Jesus in a grave will also fight God’s children. We should not be surprised when this happens. We have no “right” to be unopposed and embraced by a broken, sinful, God-hating system. It does not know God. It does not recognize us.

Nowhere in the New Testament do Christians protest against their mistreatment. They instead, make it an opportunity to advance the love of God by proclaiming the gospel, sometimes suffering greatly for the gospel, and sometimes dying for the gospel. And that love actually advances the truth and shows us as the children of God. We are worthy of being treated like Jesus was treated. The world may not know Him, but we do! The world may not love Him, but we certainly do! And nothing can stop us or change us from forever being in God’s family.

responses to resurrection

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”

Acts 17:32

The central tenant upon which the Christian faith’s power and uniqueness rests is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without it there is no good news. With it there is a transforming, reality-transforming truth that changes everything. Because Jesus rose from the grave, every part of the gospel makes sense. And if He did not do so, He did not die for our sins either. That would have made Jesus just another religious scammer because He brazenly declared that the grave would not hold Him.

Paul preached the resurrection everywhere he went. He preached it boldly to Jews in synagogues across the Roman Empire. He also proclaimed it confidently to Gentiles as his sermon on the Athens Areopagus shows us here in Acts 17. The resurrection was a daily message of the early church, and not just an Easter Sunday focus. 

And just like they do today, the people who first heard Paul had mixed responses to the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. To some it was a ludicrous legend to be mocked. It was outlandish to believe any person had ever returned from death. Others turned by faith to this hope of the gospel. And this unique truth changed their lives, gave them perspective, and put them into obedience to a new Savior and Master. They would keep telling the story and Christian faith would keep expanding as the gospel brought good news to the world.

Thank You, Lord, for being the Defeater of death and sin. Thank you for bringing us peace with God. Your resurrection, Lord Jesus, gives me life. Death is a defeated foe because You have been raised from the dead! And I have believed You so that I too walk in a raised life right now, to know eternal life in You!

Amen

living waters

On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one.

Zechariah 14:8-9

Here is a prophetic vision of a day yet to come. Jesus returns to Jerusalem and when his feet touch the Mount of Olives it splits in two forming a wide valley. Jerusalem itself is raised as a mountain and the rest of Israel becomes a fertile plain. And from this new mountain a river of living water will flow down, branching to the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. When Jesus returns the entire landscape of this planet will be transformed. It will need to be.

Jesus is the source of the living water. God had always wanted Israel to trust Him as their fountain (Jeremiah 2:13). Jesus Himself made the offer vividly both to the non-Jews (John 4:10 with a Samaritan woman) and to the Jews publicly in Jerusalem (John 7:37-38). These Jews knew their scriptures and no doubt made the connection to Zechariah’s vision of a future Jerusalem under the rule of the Messiah. When Jesus made this strong statement, it was understood to be a claim to be the Messiah. And the Bible even closes again with a heavenly vision of a place where living waters flow and God wipes away all the tears from our eyes (Revelation 7:17).

Lord Jesus,

I long for this day where living waters flow, on a world You have transformed after Your judgment and by Your peace. And as the waters flow from You and lead to You, may I follow You with that heavenly future framing my present understanding of life. On that day You will be one and Your name one. Until then, help me make Your gospel known so that living waters may flow!

Amen

need to stay sharp

If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge,

he must use more strength,

but wisdom helps one to succeed.

Ecclesiastes 10:10

Splitting wood can be a tedious task. It is repetitive. It is a physical workout. It requires some skill with an axe. And it goes well when it is done with a SHARP axe. Blunt tools require more muscle and make the work much harder than it needs to be. Sharp tools help us succeed.

The metaphor in this verse is that wisdom is what sharpens the axe. Wisdom lightens the work load. Wisdom will require some time and effort to hone our thinking to God’s sharp edge (sharpening the axes takes time away from the wood pile at first), but in the end it makes us better and our lives so much easier. And the wisdom being commended to us is the wisdom of God’s Word. Taking the truth of Ecclesiastes to heart can seriously improve our day to day toil.

An axe gets dull both from use and disuse, and hence must always be regularly sharpened. Repeated work from a reliable tool requires regular sharpening. So it is with my life. Just because I have experience doesn’t mean I don’t need wisdom from His Word. I can’t kid myself into thinking a busy ministry agenda means I am sharp already. It actually dulls me. It means that I need God’s wisdom all the more, least I experience the hardness of swinging a dull axe because I foolishly think I am smarter than the edge of the blade. God’s Word still must sharpen my thinking!

And disuse also dulls tools. Sitting on a shelf, they rust. And that means that if I only casually commit to wisdom, for show, for occasional sermons, or just in my emergencies, I’m definitely going to be working in frustration with a dull blade. Wisdom is best committed to daily. A few passes over the whetstone daily will keep the edge well honed. And so the constant, daily sharpening that comes from scripture, prayer, and meditating on the truth of the Bible can keep me sharp, make ministry more naturally flow in my life, and make short work of tasks that need a craftsman’s commitment to use familiar, well-worn, and well-honed tools.