Restored: once sick and wounded

For I will restore health to you,

and your wounds I will heal,

declares the LORD,

Jeremiah 30:17a

I was sick.

I was helplessly afflicted by my sin.

I had no way to enter in

to the presence of a holy God.

But Jesus made the cure.

He brought me in.

My soul now secure

and my disease now purged

I am pure by the power of His blood!

I was wounded.

I was hopelessly bound in my grief.

I held to hope, sought relief

in the power of my God.

Jesus brought me joy!

He carried my sorrows.

My soul consoled

and my losses all swallowed up in

a gracious new life

by the power of His resurrection!

I sought. He saved.

I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

Jeremiah 29:14

There is a lot concerning Israel being promised in this verse. I am careful to note that the restoration referred to here in this prophecy has a multi-faceted way to be understood. There is a sense to the original audience, a sense to a bigger future plan for Israel, and also a principle that helps me analyze my own experiences.

First, to Jeremiah’s original audience there is hope after judgement upon their disastrous idolatry and sinful rejection of God. Yes, a nation would be exiled to Babylon for 70 years after a horrific siege of Jerusalem. But God assures them He would lead them back after that experience. And they would once again seek Him. He would restore them.

Secondly, the clear broader language that speaks about exiles scattered “to all the places I have driven you” indicates that a second, yet-to-be-realized restoration that affects a worldwide Diaspora of Jews is yet to come. There is a global return to God among professing Jews… a trust in Him that will compel them to return to the physical land of Israel. That is happening and yet to be completed.

Finally, a principle to help me understand my circumstances: In my awareness of needing God I will “find Him”. But it is actually God who does so much more than I do in pursuing Him. He pursues me! God restores. God re-gathers. God brings me back to peace and safety. I must submit, but God does the saving. I must seek, but God does the transforming of my heart and my life. It is all God’s work for His glory! He restores my soul! He gets the credit! God deserves the praise!

restoration for a weary prophet

Therefore thus says the LORD:

“If you return, I will restore you,

and you shall stand before me.

If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,

you shall be as my mouth.

They shall turn to you,

but you shall not turn to them.”

Jeremiah 15:19

God promises to use His disillusioned and dejected prophet. Jeremiah faced opposition to the Word of God that he had faithfully preached. He lamented this to God, wishing he had never been born (Jeremiah 15:10). This is what we would call depression, by the way. He prayed for God to act on his behalf (Jeremiah 15:15). He readily and joyfully embraced the words of prophecy that God gave him to speak (Jeremiah 15:16). He separated himself from the evil that God was going to eventually judge (Jeremiah 15:17). And yet the persecution against him increased and for Jeremiah God felt absent… life felt dry (Jeremiah 15:18). Why did his obedience lead to such pain and increased hatred? It didn’t make sense.

God spoke four promises to His weary prophet that restored him back to ministry power and purpose:

1.  “I will restore if you return.” Jeremiah needed to just trust God again. God would do the rest.

2.  “You shall stand before me.” God would be the audience Jeremiah sought to please. God would the prophet’s support.

3.  “You shall be my mouth.” God would speak, not Jeremiah, words of precious truth to combat the worthless way the prophet currently felt. So God would be ultimately responsible for the results since these were HIS words.

4. “They shall turn to you.” The prophet would be heard as his focus was on God, not the people.

And so, when our eyes are not myopically self-centered in our personal experience, when our hopes are not dependent upon the response of other people, when our worth is measured by the God Who made us to serve Him, we can trust that a God with a much bigger periphery than our own will use us… even if we feel worthless… even if our lives seem dry. It isn’t about us! It is all about the God Who renews, saves, and restores for His glory!

5 restoring promises

I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;

I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners.

Isaiah 57:18

It is important to know just who the “I” and the “him” are in this verse. The “I” is God. He describes Himself as “the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy” in Isaiah 57:15. The “him” in this verse is the person who is repentant, also described in Isaiah 57:15 as “him who is of contrite and lowly spirit”. God loves to restore those broken in their sin and sadness who are ready to confess and forsake sin!

I see that there are five unique promises that the Lord makes to whose who humbly come to Him in repentance with broken hearts. These promises bring encouragement especially as we experience them in full measure through the gospel today!

• God promises that He sees us. No repentance goes unknown. God sees and responds.
• God promises to heal us. Sin damages, diseases, and destroys. God’s mercy and grace bring us back to spiritual and emotional health.
• God promises to lead us. A new direction from God’s Word and His Holy Spirit guides the repentant heart.
• God promises to comfort us. Sin and the circumstances of our sinfulness and loss in a broken world will grieve us and break us down. God comforts us.
• God promises to comfort those who hurt with us. This is the unexpected aspect of His mercy. God promises to bring His healing perspective to those who grieve with us, to comfort all who mourn, to restore all who hurt and who need healing. He brings true hope again! Amen!

Make me live.

O Lord, by these things men live,

and in all these is the life of my spirit.

Oh restore me to health and make me live!

Behold, it was for my welfare

that I had great bitterness;

but in love you have delivered my life

from the pit of destruction,

for you have cast all my sins

behind your back.

Isaiah 38:16-17

The Lord has purposes for our good, even in our most profoundly painful experiences. And what tastes most bitter in our tears is turned sweeter than honey by Christ’s saving grace. God always has the welfare of His beloved in mind, even in our most difficult losses. And He can and will restore in love, delivering us from the worst we know in life’s downturns AND the worst things we do in our sin.

I have been in a season of fervent prayer, begging for deliverance that would lead me to know a comforting level of peace and security that I lost when death robbed me of a the best part of my daily life. My emotional, physical, and spiritual health shattered. But I can rejoice today for God has moved and made me live again! I see now that an intense season of suffering was used to trim me down, build me up, help me trust in real ways I never would have done, taught me to relate and to feel life anew, and through it all God has loved me well and led me to love well. And in a “needle in a haystack” sort of way, God has answered my prayers for restoration. Most importantly, God has shown me how much I should appreciate my true deliverance… not just from grief… but from the finality of the grave.

God, You have cast all my sins behind Your back and I am new in Christ! Jesus, You bore my sorrows so that I never sorrowed alone. And as my welfare has been restored, I rejoice! You wisely led me to thrive even as I felt dry and dying at times. That was a feeling but Your deliverance was the fact all along. You make me live! Hallelujah! Amen.

two pictures of restoration

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,

like streams in the Negeb!

Those who sow in tears

shall reap with shouts of joy!

Psalm 126:4-5

God restores with a clear new difference that changes everything. The two poetic images that stand out in these two verses remind us that God brings dramatic change when we are broken and hurting… if we will patiently endure.

The first image evokes needed refreshment and renewal. New streams flow through a desert landscape. Cool flowing waters in the wasteland are a precious, life-giving supply. God, in restoring us, is that pleasant surprise! He waters what was once dry. He revives a thirsty soul. He quenches our deepest needs with cool, clear, sustaining waters of grace and mercy. And beside the streams of His renewal, supplied miraculously in the desert, we can thrive by His sustaining presence! O God, I thank You for such streams that have come to me in my desert. The landscape now blooms with Your gracious supply to me. Jesus gave this to me by giving His life so that my life is made new.

The second image is of a harvest of joy. But the seeds of sorrow are first sown. This image reminds us that there are seasons where we sow in our sadness and loss. It hurts. And then we must wait for what may feel like a long time. We plant seeds of grief, watered by our tears and desperate prayers. God, Who is beside us all the time as we have sown and as we wait, then brings about an abundant harvest of unfathomable joy. He transforms by His restorative work our pain into praise, our sorrow into joy, our grief into rejoicing! God, this harvest I am now starting to see brought into my life, is clearly Your work alone. I planted painfully the seeds of sorrow. I am amazed at the new joy Your mercies have brought to me. It has been worth the wait. And with shouts of joy, I worship the God Who is faithful to restore with a new harvest to me.

restoration and revival

Restore us again, O God of our salvation,

and put away your indignation toward us!

Will you not revive us again,

that your people may rejoice in you?

Psalm 85:4, 6

When God does His saving work, He restores a relationship broken by our sin. He restores us in love even though our sin was worthy of His anger. He looks upon Jesus Who bore all God’s wrath in our judgment on the cross, and He lifts us, unworthy sinners though we are, to be His children… to be loved family now… recipients of mercy, grace, and restored relationship.

The God Who restores in salvation also lovingly restores in circumstances. He comforts the broken-hearted. He breaks the chains of captivity. He tears down the wall of hostility and releases those once hostage to sin’s suffering. He restores us again!

And this psalm reminds us that God cares not just about our spiritual condition, but also our emotional state. He revives the spirits of the souls He restores. Restoration and revival walk us hand-in-hand into the presence of a loving Father… they lead us, by Jesus, to not only be forgiven, but to feel the joy of revived life and restored fellowship. This is a relationship we know and feel. It moves us. Christians are on a long journey home, but it is a road of joy, renewal, grace, and revival. Restoration and revival are my soul’s growing place even as Jesus keeps leading me home to the Father step by step each day. Thank You, Lord!

Restoration’s Light

Restore us, O God of hosts;

let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Psalm 80:7

my life grew grim

my light grew dim

sorrow and pain

clouds and rain

I saw faint light

through that stormy night

I needed to see

where You would be

amidst chaos and shaking

What were You making?

in the darkness I waited

dawn anticipated

Your face like sunshine

dispelled those clouds of mine

hope dawned a new day

as You began a new way

of working in my heart

a new direction to start

You restored blue skies

and much to my surprise

joy came in the morning

You ended my mourning

with Your smiling face

poured out love and grace

Saved from sin, loss, and sorrow

to a bright hope for tomorrow

I call now on Your name

and I praise God’s great fame

in Your power outpoured 

my life is now restored!

repentance and restoration

O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;

you have been angry; oh, restore us.

Psalm 60:1

Sometimes we long for restoration because in our own sinful doing we have been disciplined by God. In this psalm David laments over the result of sin and judgment by God that followed in its wake. It feels like God has rejected His people. But what has happened is that God had broken through their misplaced values so that they would learn to trust in Him. The anger of God brought hardship with a purpose. And that purpose brought this prayer of repentance and heart-felt plea for God to restore lives.

David knows that Israel can in repentance run under the banner of a mighty God Who will save them (Psalm 60:4-5). He begs for God to fight for His people again because human might is a vain hope that only disappoints (Psalm 60:11). The only hope for restoration after a true repentance is the power of God to restore (Psalm 60:12).

I draw then this principle: When my experience senses a decline in divine blessing, I will first assume it is a call to examination of my heart for some needed repentance. And in confession I will plead for a gracious God to restore. With confidence, I know He will restore!

restore and sustain

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Psalm 51:12

God restores what sin destroys. And that grace is known fully in Christ when by faith in Christ’s death and resurrection a new life is reborn (John 3:3). God is so committed to restoring sinners that a kind of personal realized eschatology takes place spiritually… belief in Christ makes a person a new creation… a precursor to the day when God remakes the universe in a new heavens  and a new earth. The old has gone. The new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).

And with the rebirth and rebuilding comes joy. God brings joy when He restores. This is what David prays for in repentance in Psalm 51:12. David knows God‘s saving forgiveness will restore the joy that his sin had stolen away. Sinners need restoration. God, in Christ, gives it to us! And we can rejoice in that work.

When God restores He also sustains… with the joy of God‘s salvation comes the sustaining work of God as we are willing to obey Him. This is true in salvation in Christ to the greatest degree. God’s Holy Spirit comes to indwell, empower, and ensure our salvation. So what God restores He also carefully keeps. May the joy of my salvation and the sustaining presence of God‘s Spirit be known in me today!

restoring shepherd

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

Psalm 23:3

Jesus is my restorative Shepherd. As I meditate on Psalm 23 this morning, this most familiar passage of scripture, last expounded to me at a season of unfathomable grief, emphasizes for me the way that Jesus has shepherded my soul through the darkest experiences and into new sources of joy and seasons of intense renewal.

I am kept by Jesus, the Good Shepherd. I do not lack (Psalm 23:1). I can rest in fields of plenty and refresh myself by still waters of His peace, my soul no longer anxious or troubled by lack or by loss (Psalm 23:2). And this is how my soul is now restored. I am led by a tender Shepherd down the best paths of my life… even though I was once personally unsure at the path He had for me.

Jesus walked me through the valley of the shadow of death. And the evils around me, though real, and painful, did my soul no harm (Psalm 23:4a). Jesus has brought comfort in His Word, by His Spirit, and among His people (Psalm 23:4b). He has fed me, He has healed me, He has held me, He has kept me from the worst that my troubled soul has known (Psalm 23:5). And my Shepherd has restored life by His grace, goodness, and mercy as I dwell in worship of my restoring Shepherd forever (Psalm 23:6)! I truly live! My Shepherd restores my soul.

Restoration’s rejoicing

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people,

let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

Psalm 14:7

Even though a world of God-haters seems to be getting the upper hand, believers can trust that unbelief is not winning the day. Psalm 14 opens with the clear observation that denying God’s reality is a fool’s pursuit (Psalm 14:1). The psalm then shows how an active God is seeking those who seek after Him (Psalm 14:2). But such people are unfortunately a rarity (Psalm 14:3). To make the situation even worse, the wicked who deny God prey upon those who seek after God which seems to be counter-intuitive to what God promises (Psalm 14:4).

But God is well aware of this situation and the mistreatment of the righteous by the wicked. He is with those who seek Him. He is a refuge to the oppressed (Psalm 14:5-6). And that is why Psalm 14 ends in confident faith and a call to praise the God Who restores what an evil world works so hard to destroy! Restoration is preceded by salvation. God moves to save His people. God restores to us as He saves us. It is cause for worship, celebration, and praise!

Living as we do in a broken world, we will at times feel that life is impossibly hard. We will experience the sting of death and sin’s curse. We will know times of loss and heartache. We feel it as a twisted, sinful world mocks God Whom we love and serve… the God we know as great and good. But in the foolish denials around us, in the painful losses we experience, God is still moving in a mighty way. It may be an undercurrent, but it is a flow of grace that moves us along as God intends. Salvation has come out of Zion because salvation has come in Christ at Calvary! God restores and we will rejoice as His hand changes our perspective and we confidently hope in Him! Amen! Let’s rejoice! Let’s be glad! God restores our souls and He cannot be denied!

God will restore.

…then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you.

Deuteronomy 30:3

Last week I completed a three year chronological reading and reflection on the Bible. Before I begin a new Bible Reading Plan later this summer, I want to do an extended study on the concepts of restoration and renewal in scripture. I imagine it will take me most of this spring and a big chunk of summer to finish. And I have personal reasons to do so. The last half of the chronological study I just finished was interrupted by a season of grief and intense personal loss. To survive, I found myself diving into God’s Word for understanding. I studied lament. I studying what it meant to “wait on God”. I emerged from those studies with hope again and then recommitted to finishing the chronological reading of scripture.

God now has me in a new season of life. I am seeing love restored. I am seeing hope restored. I am seeing joy returning to me in ways I would not have imagined before. God is regathering my soul from a scattered exile of sorts. And I am truly grateful. I want to dig into scripture to understand this renewal. Restoration is actually a major concept in the Bible, especially in the story of Israel in the Old Covenant, but also in the gospel truth of the New Testament. 

And so I embark on this new study, in a new time, with new purpose, filled with new hope. A God Who restores, renews, and showers mercy and grace on me will gather me to Himself as I learn even more about how He restores souls and rebuilds lives for His glory! Restore my fortunes and have mercy on me, O God!

coming soon

“And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

Revelation 22:7

Lord Jesus.

Just as Your promised the apostle John alone on Patmos, so I hear and keep Your words: You are coming soon. I am awaiting this! Nearly two thousand years have come and gone since You gave this promise. And Your church, Your bride, is comforted and kept by You awaiting Your return. We trust in this truth. We are not left alone in this world. We have Your promises. We have one another. We have Your Spirit. We have You! And in these experiences we await Your return like a bride longs for her groom’s arrival!

Jesus, You are coming soon! We trust this promise right now. We live with hope. We await Your voice. We keep Your words. We live in this world while longing for the next one. We know that the Day of the Lord is not far away where You will return and the nations will flee, sin will be eradicated, and Your rule will return humanity to Your original created desires.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Amen

They shall be Mine.

They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Malachi 3:17

They shall be Mine,

says the Lord,

on the Day He judges the world.

They shall be Mine.

They shall be spared.

They shall be free.

They shall be Mine

saved by My hand

as I shake all the land.

They shall be Mine.

They shall be treasured.

They serve me.

They shall be Mine,

the Lord of hosts,

in His holy children boasts.

They shall be Mine.

They shall be blessed.

The world shall see.

They shall be Mine,

declares the Lord,

kept by the power of My Word.

They shall be Mine.

Now and on that day,

they belong to me.

God cares how we treat people.

Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

Malachi 2:10

How we treat other people is a direct reflection on our relationship with God. These three questions in this verse press into that truth. The first two questions are rhetorical. Yes… there is one God Who is our Father. Yes… that one God is also our Creator. Because of this truth, we must deal with the way in which we worship this God Who created us. We answer to an almighty Creator God.

The third, longer question is the heart of this section of Malachi’s message. Judah had become dismissive of God, not in terms of an official theology, but with a practical reality. They officially still believed God, kept a temple going, and went through the motions of sacrifice there. However, men were blatantly disobeying God, divorcing their Jewish wives and then marrying foreign women (perhaps pagan temple prostitutes) and then embracing idolatry while still culturally showing up at the Jerusalem temple with meager sacrifices to Yahweh. They profaned God by profaning the way they treated their families. God would not stand for this!

If I love God I will obey Him. If I obey God I will truly love people that are made in God’s image. I will honor my commitments to people… to family… to friends… and to my community. Anything less than this is lip-service and displeases God. God cares about how we care for others!

It is done.

And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.”

Revelation 21:6

And it IS done! Jesus is firmly in control right now and forevermore. This very moment He is the One Who was and is and is to come! He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Jesus is our risen Savior and Lord and the coming King over all the earth. He rules right now. He will rule forever.

Jesus gives refreshing new life. He offers this to all who will trust in Him, surrender to Him, and worship Him. He gives eternal life forever to all who believe. He is our new beginning. Jesus will be our end! Jesus gives life, sustains life, and is our life and it is He Who will rule tenderly all the hearts who come to Him in repentance and trust in His sacrifice and resurrection life.

And so my thirsty soul drinks in what you give to me, Jesus! It is done! Salvation and satiation are fully accomplished in You! When this soul flies from my worn out body, it will join with those around Your throne right now. And You will one day resurrect a new body for me that will serve You joyfully forever. Praise to this King! It is done!

true words

And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Revelation 19:9b

Why would the apostle John, in the very process of receiving direct prophetic revelation from God, mediated by the voice of an angel nonetheless, be told to record that those very words are “true words of God”? It would seem obvious. Yet God wanted to remind not only John, but the readers of the Book of Revelation, that the very words being spoken were the words of God and they are true.

Truth is in short supply these days. In fact, with the onslaught of “new media” and “social media” and “deep fakes”, we must assume that a great deal of what we are exposed to is in fact, not at all truth, but propaganda with an agenda contrary to God. This is true among Christians as well as non-Christians. Human generated content is full of lies.

So what should I believe? Is it the evening news? Is it a video on Facebook? Is it a Twitter (or whatever the new devilish name for it is) feed? I should believe God’s truth. Where do I find God’s truth? I find it in the Bible, God’s holy Word. God speaks clearly there. His Word is the only trusted source of truth in my life. I’ve lived all my life to understand Him in His truth. I open my Bible each day to expose my heart to truth. I seek to order my thoughts and actions around what is said there because God speaks truth. These words, in scripture, are the true words of God.

God remembers.

Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses…

Nehemiah 1:8a

Often when I think of remembering the Word of God, that thought is directed to myself as a reminder to remember. I must regularly remember and trust God’s Word. I must commit it to memory, filling my mind with scriptural truth, and recalling its importance and application. That is certainly something Christians should do.

But the way in which this prayer of Nehemiah’s talks about remembering God’s Word is completely different in focus. It is a prayer of trust in a faithful God. Nehemiah calls upon God to remember ALL of the covenant with Israel. He acknowledges Israel’s past sins and knows those sins were the reason the nation went into exile. Yet God also promised to return those who returned to Him. That time had come. The call to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls was proceeded by God remembering His covenant with His people.

This is now Passion Week as I write these words. Tomorrow will be Good Friday. As I have thought upon and will continue to reflect on Christ’s death and resurrection, I remember God’s promise of salvation. I claim it. But in Christ, God the Father also “remembers” me. He sees me through His Son’s sacrifice and I am now by faith in Christ alone clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Jesus brought about a new covenant in His blood that God remembers fully. Thank God He remembers!

Blessed endurance, Jesus is mine.

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

Revelation 14:12

There is a promise of blessing here in this passage and in verse thirteen. It is for Christians who endure in a world that rages against Christ. In the book of Revelation this raging against God, against the gospel, against God’s people reaches a fever pitch. We think it is difficult right now with today’s cultural climate. But it will get much worse. Revelation tells the future account of an AntiChrist and a government/religion that combine as one to unite a world against God.

Christians are called to endure in that day, as well as right now. We keep ourselves committed to obeying the gospel and trusting Jesus. We do not give in to the spirit of the age. Cultural pressures to cave in to renouncing Christ will be resisted by the faithful.

And the promise of blessing follows. To die… to endure to the end… with determined commitment and faith is to enter rest as Christ rewards those who faithfully endure. Just keep believing the gospel despite the pressures! Hold on to Jesus! He is worth it. He is Truth. He is the Way. He is Life! He will surely bless those who endure.

in Your rule

She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne…

Revelation 12:5

To Your rule, Lord

we submit

we trust

we worship

we wait

as in heaven You prepare

our place

By Your rule, Jesus

nations bow

people surrender

kings tremble

armies fall

before Christ our King’s

shining face

Through Your rule, God

we renew

we rejoice

we restore

we remember

a cross and empty tomb

in our place

In Your rule now

we believe

we receive

we proclaim

we exclaim

as in glory over all, Jesus

You now reign

keep silence

When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Revelation 8:1

In every description in scripture of the throne of God there is ceaseless praise in God’s presence. It is loud. It is musical. It is antiphonal. In the book of Revelation many beings are ceaselessly celebrating a glorious God around His throne:

• living creatures (Revelation 4:8)
• elders (Revelation 5:9)
• angels (Revelation 5:11-12)
• church saints (Revelation 7:9-10)

Yet at this juncture as the Lamb breaks the seventh seal all the music halts. For half an hour there is silence as the dreadful judgments about to unfold upon the earth are contemplated. There is precedence for this sort of silence before the significance of God’s judgment.

• “Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the LORD is near…” Zephaniah 1:7
• “Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself…” Zechariah 2:13

In silence I think about how God is judge of all the earth. I remember. Jesus bore my judgment on a cross. In silence at the wrath of God poured out on the dying Lamb I am in awe. “The Lord is in his holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before him…” Habakkuk 2:20

The King’s secret, thriving kingdom

And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation,

and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

and they shall reign on the earth.”

Revelation 5:9-10

Jesus is worthy of my praise because of His gracious love and the blood He spilt as the Lamb that was slain to redeem people from every tribe, language, ethnicity, and nation on this earth! He is redeeming even now people to Himself, placing them into the Church, His Body and Bride, and building a subversive counter-kingdom in a world that opposes Him.

This current reality will one day lead to a permanent eschatology in which He will return to rule His kingdom which will no longer counter this fallen world, but will conquer and lead it. And He will create a new heavens and a new earth, having burned away the mess that humanity has made in past evil resistance to Him. The kingdom is already secretly thriving! The reign of Christ is already unstoppable.

And so I pray: “Lord Jesus, rule in me! God, may Your kingdom come! May Your will be done… in me… in earth as it is in heaven!

Amen!”

He gives by storm.

Ask rain from the LORD

in the season of the spring rain,

from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,

and he will give them showers of rain,

to everyone the vegetation in the field.

Zechariah 10:1

The Lord refreshes, renews, and rewards the earth in the rain storms of the spring time. From those waters new growth re-greens the world. In the tenderness of His provision that renews the world from a dry, frozen sleep, the mercies and grace of God’s control and care come to surprise us.

Like a bold little spring hyacinth daring to poke its purple bloom up in the rain, my soul drinks in the mercies of God’s renewal. This is a pattern that God has been bringing to the earth since the very beginning. The world is His garden to water. So is my life. My heart rejoices in the rhythm of His rain. My soul responds and bows down to the rhythm of His reign.

Lord,

Your storm clouds brought the powerful tempest and although it got dark and the wind’s fury threatened, You brought along with it the spring rain to revive my dry soul. And in the renewing work of the gospel my soul blooms again. You give by storm and shower! Thank You then for the storm! Amen

One upon the throne

At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.

Revelation 4:2

Lord God,

Today You are on Your throne. You reign over all the universe. You rule over all this world. Nothing happens that does not adhere to Your sovereign decree. All of the movements of the stars follow Your direction, all of the motion of the smallest particles of matter are touched by Your fingers, all the myriad galaxies dance for Your delight, and all of the mess of mankind is firmly under Your hand to work all things for good.

I see You on Your throne as John’s revelation details You. You shine with more brilliance than the brightest lighted jewels. You are surrounded by angels and a worshiping heavenly multitude of souls who glorify Your name and cast the crowns You gave them at Your feet. People I love are there right now. The song they sing: “Worthy are You, our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power…” (Revelation 4:11). This symphony of praise echoes in the enormity of Your throne room. I worship You now as You are enthroned on high over me.

From Your ruling throne, now, my Lord, I ask You to order my chaos, lead my life, show Your mighty arm to save, and bring glory in my worship of You today!

Amen

God’s vision for social order

“Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”

Zechariah 7:9-10

The love of God for all people, especially the most vulnerable, is displayed for us in this series of commands to the Jews returning from the exile. God wanted them to be different. God wanted them to obey His desires. God wanted a social structure in Israel to show His kindness and mercy to a watching world. God’s expectations are clear in these two verses. They provide insight into what God expects in any human society.

God expects people to act with true judgment… for justice to be done in such a way that there is no favoritism. We do not show favor to the rich and powerful so that they can get away with poor behavior or mistreatment of others. Put simply: Nobody gets to be a jerk.

This only happens when people of character are valued as leaders. It isn’t about the platforms they claim or the speeches they make to grab power. It has to do with true character. And leaders should be people of justice. They should be known for their kindness, not their brashness. They should embody kindness, respect kindness and mercy, and in their actions both give and receive kindness and mercy. They should look out for the needs of the vulnerable: the elderly, the widowed, the orphaned, the immigrants, the sick, and the poor. And the actions, words, solutions, and activities they promote are not to be hateful, isolating, self-centered, unjust, or evil. The implication is that lack of proper concern for the vulnerable is itself an evil we should never accept. Calloused leaders are disqualified.

And that is what God expected of Israel. In it we see His heart for how we love our neighbors well. Christians should want the heart of God to drive how we see our world. The church is the best place for this kind of character to thrive. The gospel liberates us from evil so that we can care in this way. Will we? We should guard against a society that does not create this kind of social structure.

The time is near.

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

Revelation 1:3

The time is near.

Lord, let me hear

and keep the words written here

in Your Word. I fear

I may forget that You are near.

And so today

I will read aloud what You say.

Help me to listen and obey

the truth, the life, the way.

This I pray.

Blessed are these words I read

You furnish all I’ll ever need

as Your promises I heed.

From sin and death I am freed.

Jesus will return. It’s guaranteed.

Near is the coming of the Lord.

I will read and hear His Word.

I’ll pay attention to what I’ve heard.

In His promises assured

I’ll keep my focus heavenward.

The time is near.

Lord, let me hear

and keep the words written here

in Your Word. I fear

I may forget that You are near.

This I know.

Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

2 John 9

Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, has come into this world. He Who created the universe, the earth, and all that lives upon it is the Savior of the world! God became man, took on human skin, walked among us, taught us, loved us, and was rejected by those whom He loved. His death on the cross was not a tragic loss, but it was a marvelous victory, freeing us from the curse of sin and hell. Jesus is God. Jesus is “the Christ” — the Promised Deliverer and Savior of the world. Jesus is God.

I confess this as a core of my Christian faith. I throw my soul into a confident eternity based on the facts I have known for over half a century. It is tested and true. It resides at the very center of all my life. Without Jesus as God, nothing makes sense. If He is not God I should just burn down all my life’s work and be ashamed. But I AM NOT ashamed. Jesus has proven Himself over and over again. He is God. He is good. He is loving. He is merciful. He is holy. He is just. He is Savior. He is Lord. This I confess. This I believe. This I experience first hand. This I know.

at odds with evil

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

1 John 5:19

Is there any more powerful description of the status of the Christian in the world than this simple observation from the apostle John? Christians have been born of God, remade as His agents of glory. We live in a world of evil. Simply put: Christians represent a holy God in a world owned by Satan and his forces. We are at odds with evil. We are opposed by evil. We are God’s people living in a society that is gripped by the devil who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy all that is good.

We have escaped the devil’s grasp. His long, crooked claws cannot hold us any longer. He knows this and is wickedly frustrated by it. So he will keep squeezing the rest of our world around us, and certainly makes life as hard as he can for us. The evil should therefore not surprise us. We aren’t controlling the world and never will. It’s Satan’s playground! Instead, this situation should burden us. We are the holy rebels fighting Satan’s evil empire! We should be alarmed. We should stay alert. God calls us to wear the full armor of God and compels us to bear the light of the gospel in one hand and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God in the other. Our mission: bring the light of the gospel into the darkest recesses of the devil’s den where we pray that Christ might charge forward and rescue many others from the power of the evil one. We are from God, used by God, for God, to bring Christ into this dark, broken, evil world.

Lord,

The devil has no grip on my life! He is impotent against You and Your Spirit! I am Yours. I pray that I can be useful to bear Your truth in a satanically saturated world that hates You. I do not lie in the power of this evil. I fear no evil because You are with me. But I take seriously this reality. I am from God in Christ. My world is in the grip of a murderous evil. Keep me thinking rescue thoughts! I am grateful for my own rescue by Christ. I am compelled to serve You as You rescue others as You live in me.

Amen

distinguished Christian living

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

1 John 5:1

I see five distinguishing characteristics of a true Christian in the first five verses of the fifth chapter of 1 John. As I reflect upon them I know these five things set the course of how I approach my life. In fact, they are what my life as a Christian is all about.

1. I believe Jesus is “the Christ” (1 John 5:1a). There is a lot in that Messianic title “the Christ”. It means Jesus is exclusively God, Savior, Lord, and Deliverer. He is the One promised to save us, sent by God, prophesied of old, anointed by God the Father, …the only means of eternal salvation is faith in the gospel of His death and resurrection. He is Lord over ALL my life.

2. I love the Father (1 John 5:1b). God is my Father. Faith in Christ provides a new relationship with God as my Father. I am in God’s family. He loves me. I love God.

3. I love the people of God (1 John 5:1c-2). Jesus is my Lord, God is my Father, and Christians are my family. I live my life tightly in those concentric circles. I learn to love the people God is saving by Jesus. Yes, like me, they are highly flawed at times and they are broken by sin and suffering. They are however always my brothers and sisters and I cannot reject them, hate them, or ignore them if I truly believe Jesus and love God.

4. I keep the commands of God (1 John 5:2-3). I keep them because I believe… because I love God. And I keep them in the community of believers, encouraging them to do the same. This is not a drudgery. It is a delight to love God’s Word and obey its truth by faith in Christ.

5. I will overcome the world (1 John 5:4-5). By faith in Jesus Christ, by loving the Father, by living in Christian love and community, and by obeying the Word of God with the Spirit’s enablement, I can overcome the sinful inertia of a broken world. I can be different. I can have true life beyond just an average existence. I have my feet on the earth and my eyes toward heaven. I see the need for Jesus in my world and I fix my heart on Jesus looking beyond this world. The life Jesus gives me is greater and always wins as I believe in Him!

Spirit given

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

1 John 4:13

This life of mine is spiritual.

There is a way I always know

that what I do and say here below

is under my God and Savior’s control:

My heart is where God’s Spirit dwells.

God lives in me, I live in Him.

I feel conviction of my sin.

I know He makes holy within

all that I surrender to Him.

Heaven’s breeze brought on a Spirit-wind.

I live in Christ. Christ lives in me.

By His Spirit now I am set free

to love and move and have my being

right now and through all eternity.

God will draw me near and live with me.

Sin no longer from my Lord has riven

since God His only Son has given.

I am made new. I am forgiven.

And I know I’m headed toward heaven

through the comfort of His Spirit given.

Lord, I praise You for this gift I receive

as in Jesus I firmly now believe.

The sorrow and brokenness You relieve

from death and hell my soul’s reprieve.

I have life beyond what I can conceive.

blessed assurances

By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.

1 John 3:19-20

This third chapter of 1 John has within it six marks of assurance that give the believer confidence in Christ. I need not worry about my eternal salvation when Jesus saves my soul. He does good and lasting work. Here are the marks that the apostle John gives us:

1.  Love for the family of God (1 John 3:13-18; 3:19). This is an active love that is shown in what we do with fellow believers. These become our dearest relationships. “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18). In short, we live out love with each other, showing we are indeed transformed by Christ.

2. Spiritual sensitivity.  It is what we “know” here in 1 John 3:19. We know we are in the truth and like Jesus promised in John 8:31-32, the truth sets our hearts free from worry.

3. Confident prayer. “We have confidence before God” (1 John 3:21). We can ask of God with kingdom values driving us as we serve Christ. And that confidence along with answered prayer assures us.

4. Obedience. “…we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him” (1 John 3:22). The fact that I can truly obey Christ is assurance that He has saved me.

5. Faith in Christ. “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ…” (1 John 3:23). My obedience is directed solely to my Lord and this faith is now evidence of His work giving me the capacity to follow Him. Faith in Christ comes from Christ.

6. The indwelling Spirit of God. “And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whose he has given us” (1 John 3:24). I’m not highly mystical at all, yet I know, feel, and experience God’s Spirit at work among the saints and daily in my own heart. Yes, I feel His presence and work. Sealed by the very presence of the Holy Spirit of God, I am confident then that I am Christ’s saved one! Amen!

A love that lays down life

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

1 John 3:16

Love is a basic human emotion and a real human need. It is also part of what God created for us to know in Him and with one another. Love led God to create humanity with His own hands. Love would later drive Jesus to spread His arms and have His hands nailed to a cross. Love was shown to the world by the Father sending His only Son to save us. And it is only through experiencing this saving love that we can truly love God and other people.

Christians proclaim this love to the world. And we celebrate the love of God in Christ in our worship, in gospel preaching, and at the Lord’s Table when we remind ourselves of the amazing way God loves us. We also celebrate God’s love by loving each other well. And as the apostle John reminds us here, just as Jesus laid down His life for us in love, so we should humbly sacrifice ourselves in love for one another.

These two loves are always linked together in John’s practical theology. Because we have been loved in Christ, we now love our brothers and sisters. And the only way to truly love our fellow Christians is for us all to love as Christ loves… giving ourselves for and to one another. We lay aside self and devote ourselves to the need of another person.

Lord Jesus,

I do not always love like You do. I often appreciate Your sacrificial love. I may even selfishly demand it from others. Help me first to give myself to living and giving love as You do. My life is not my own. I lay it down for You to use as I lay my life and love down for others.

Amen

This is the promise.

And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.

1 John 2:25

With the words of this one verse I pin all my future hope forever.

And this is the promise… God has made a promise. The God Who from the opening pages of holy scripture reveals Himself, makes His promises to us, faithfully keeps ALL His promises, will continue to do so in Christ. These are not just mere words. These words constitute a promise from a covenant-making, promise-keeping God.

…that he made… This promise is unilateral. It is not that we had any part in making it. We can add nothing to this redemptive promise. God made it in Christ. Jesus did all the work of our redemption. God provided all the means and method of our salvation. I bring nothing of my own merit to receive this gift. It is all Christ’s work. He made the promise. He keeps the promise. He is the promise. 

..to us… Believers in Jesus receive this promise. A unique gift from God is given only to those who believe Jesus. God reaches out to us. And we possess this promise from God right here… right now.

… eternal life… Wow! The promise that we now possess, that is given by God, secured by Christ, given to us… this promise will last forever! We will live forever in Jesus. We pass from death to life in Jesus. We possess the guarantee of life forever in Jesus. The gift we need the most in a world of brokenness, death, and destruction is eternal life. And this is exactly what God gives us now in Jesus.

Lord,

I rejoice right now as I hold the promise You have made to me — eternal life. I believe it for those I have loved who have died, but yet who by faith in Jesus now possess eternal life. I can see them safe with You, Lord Jesus, as Your promise is reality. I hold to the hope of this promise for the people I love in life as well… that in the death and resurrection of Jesus sins are forgiven and eternal life is offered to them. Oh, that they believe and trust Your promise with me! I claim this promise as my real future, trusting You, keeper of all Your promises, entrusting You with the fact of my eternal salvation. I hold onto Your promise of eternal life… holding all my hope and all my best in Jesus!

Amen

not home here

And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

1 John 2:17

I’m not home here

in a world passing away

in a place that is temporary

in a life that is not stationary

this world is not going to stay

I’m not home here

with Jesus do I live

I will take the future He will give

an eternity dwelling with and in Him

is where I am destined always to live

I’m not home here

a better light I see

shining ahead to guide me

to where I’ll live eternally

finding joy, love, and life completely

I’m not home here

I’m on a journey through

a land I sojourn to be with You

Lord, show me what I am to do

to reach this home beyond the blue

“I know Him.”

Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. 

1 John 2:4-5a

“I know Jesus.” With that statement I have put my life upon the stage of public inspection. To know Jesus is to know forgiveness. To know Jesus is to be changed. To know Jesus is to know and commit to the truth. To know Jesus is to experience the supreme love and to learn to love as Jesus loves… selflessly, completely, sacrificially, and for the glory of God the Father.

In what sense then do I know Jesus? I know Him as Teacher, Savior, and Lord. This has been revealed to me by the Word of God. 

Jesus is my Teacher. I am His disciple. I know Him by understanding and constantly growing in what His Word says. I study His life in the gospels. I see His story build in all the Old Testament to make the gospel the ultimate truth of all time. I learn how to live in His Church as His follower in the New Testament epistles.

Jesus is my Savior. His death made Him the advocate… the mediator… the satisfactory sacrifice before God the Father atoning my sin and that of the entire world. His saving work is complete, effective for all who will receive Him in this way. I add nothing good enough to please God. Jesus did it all. And I throw all my soul onto His cross and find my life now resurrected in His empty grave!

Jesus is my Lord and my God. He directs my life. He is perfecting me in His love. I must work at obeying Him. I still fight sinful and selfish impulses. I fail and throw myself again on His sufficient sacrifice. I let His Holy Spirit convict me and His Word instruct me. My will must bow to Him in worship AND obedience. In this way I keep His commandments. In this way my life practice, transformed by His work, is radically different as His disciple. And through Jesus, God keeps working His love in me until I stand complete before Him. I will know this fully in eternity. Yes… I know Jesus! I am changed by Jesus forever!

Dream-driven disaster

Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.

Jude 8

Our Disney-derived cultural advisors tell us to follow our dreams. Bad idea! Look at what dream-driven people do in this assessment of apostate teachers found in the book of Jude: 1) They defile the flesh. That means they are sensually motivated and become sexual sinners. 2) They reject authority. This is probably in context apostolic authority and the authority of the Word of God. They only accept their own “authority”. 3) They blaspheme what is glorious. They disregard the supernatural for the natural. Jude mentions a disregard of God’s angelic messengers, but ultimately this is a disdain for the glory of God. Yeah… dream following is dangerously destructive.

Is it wrong then to have a dream? Does this warning mean that I dare not have a vision for my future and goals that I desire to achieve? No… that is not what is going on here. As long as my hopes and desires for the future are Word-derived and Holy Spirit led, I can trust in a “dream”, a God-given vision of what can be. It is good to dream God’s dream. The danger comes in making my dreams and not God’s dreams my controlling vision. I cannot hope in myself. I cannot hope in human visions. I must hope in God.

And so, Lord, I look to You to bring me every day, from Your Word, hope for each day and a vision for tomorrow. I will trust in You. I turn from fleshly dreams that do not uphold resurrection but end in defilement and death. I turn from autonomous dreams that lead to disorder, chaos, and human disappointment. I turn from purely naturalistic dreams that short-circuit the vision of Your glory and cloud the future in Your judgment. I turn to You, Jesus, to the gospel of God, to the Word of God, and to the Spirit of God to set my hopes and dreams.

Amen

Don’t get carried away.

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.

2 Peter 3:17

At this point in my life I have participated in over half a century of American evangelical Christianity. And I will say this: Peter’s warning stands. I’ve seen a lot of Christians (and sadly still witness it) get carried away from biblical Christianity. It is so very tragic. And in my opinion the Christian in American culture may more than likely already be carried away and NOT EVEN KNOW IT! This scares the heck out of me. Here are three ways I’ve seen Christians carried away by the error of lawless people:

FUNDAMENTALISM. Yep… the “F” word. The movement began as a necessary correction calling Christians to the authority of scripture for doctrinal clarity as modernism and theological liberalism began eroding confidence in God’s Word. And actually the historic doctrines of fundamentalism are part of the core of my own beliefs still. However, fundamentalism got off the rails when in zealousness it crossed over into legalism, making preference equal to essential doctrine. And then it got really angry and became antagonistic. Today I reject “fightin’ fundamentalists”. It became lawless by becoming loveless.

PRAGMATISM. The mega-church kind of “Let’s do what it takes” philosophy of ministry has softened the gospel, ignored key doctrines, diminished the authority of scripture, and created a generation of consumeristic, cafeteria-fed, spiritual customers. I’m not sure that even a few of them are authentically Christian. Church growth culture is lawless by design, being suggestive with scripture rather than authoritative and refusing to insist upon faith founded in the clarity of scripture. There are not enough “essentials” to any doctrine… in fact doctrine is hard to find in the movement.

LIBERALISM. By this I mean theological liberalism that considers scripture to be a mere human invention and theology a pliable silly putty of human thought and cultural speculation. It literally squishes to the mold of any cultural pressure. There is no law of God. There probably is no God for liberal theology! It became lawless by redefining love outside of the gospel. As such there is no basis to say anything with authority. I find it an intellectual joke.

These three pressures (and many more) call us to watch the line of scripture very closely and adhere carefully to historic Christian faith. It is way too easy to get carried away.

Christendom is a lie.

…then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.

2 Peter 2:9-10a

Christians have always lived in a world that opposes the gospel. And we should expect nothing less until Jesus returns. There is however a dangerous heresy that has begun to show itself in my lifetime. I think it began in the 1980’s with the “moral majority”, but shows itself in many different ways today as Christians look to politics to save the world. Some even suggest that a new “Christendom” (a Christian government or a government whose laws are solely derived from scripture) is the call of the church. Christian Nationalism is gaining a following and it is so very anti-gospel that the very reputation of the gospel is at stake if it is allowed to gain traction. Christendom is absolute heresy. It replaces Jesus and the gospel. It does not fit the history of the biblical narrative from its earliest pages. It does not fit with the teaching of Jesus. It does not fit into any of the apostle’s doctrine. Christendom theology is a destructive heresy expounded by false prophets.

God does not handle evil with a light touch. And in the very worst evils imaginable, God saves His people and carries out His plan. He never does so by the use of human means. Peter gives three examples in the context of 2 Peter 2 to establish these facts.

1) Angels sinned and were cast into hell, chained in darkness for a yet future judgment (2 Peter 2:4). This was the worst rebellion… angels, the ministering spirits in the very presence of God’s heavenly throne, were led into rebellion by Satan. God dealt with them definitively and soundly. He did not slowly change their minds! He swiftly executed judgment.

2) The pre-flood world of men that were evil in God’s sight were swiftly judged in Noah’s time (2 Peter 2:5). God spared Noah and his family, but wiped out everything else. He did not make Noah influential to turn the culture around or create a new kingdom or political system. He washed the world clean in a flood, preserving a remnant for His glory.

3) Sodom and Gomorrah were made extinct (2 Peter 2:6-8). Again, Lot and his daughters were spared but God did not reform the twin cities by Lot’s kingdom politics! He instead judged completely, kept a remnant, and showed His power in the smoldering sulphuric ruins of His swift judgment. In fact, it appears from the text that Lot’s attempts at influence were part of the problem and he barely got out alive!

Peter uses these truths to point to Christianity’s future. Whether the threat to the gospel is a wicked society from without, or false wicked teachers from within the church, God will keep the unrighteous in punishment until His appointed day of judgment. AND God will rescue the godly. The godly don’t “turn” the culture around to some secularized, sanitized Sunday School class. No… God promises to save a remnant and judge the culture. PERIOD. That’s what will happen. Christendom is a lie.

staying stirred

I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder…

2 Peter 1:13

Growth in Christ isn’t so much about learning and doing some new thing every day. Maturity often means rooting in upon the basics, remembering what we have always known, and reminding others of the daily applicability of gospel reality. That is where I am right now. Peter’s words seem very timely.

Rooting in. The first psalm has always been an image of growth that sticks in my head (Read Psalm 1 if you’d like). The believer is encouraged to send deep roots by the rivers of water. It is there that we are constantly nourished. In the gospel stream we find refreshment, sustenance, support, and nourishing truth. And when I root myself into scripture, realizing that all of scripture gives me all of Jesus, I am strengthened to grow in grace and truth. And so I practice daily time with God and commend other Christians to that same nourishing stream so that together we will grow deeply.

Remembering. I want to meditate on the truth, ruminating on the same thing every day in a new way. The gospel is so full, so tasty to my soul, so rich in truth that the consistent memory and rehearsal of Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and kingship over all creation, brings essential perspective on all my past, my current situation in the present, and any anxiety about my future. Remembering isn’t being stuck in the past… it resources me for all my life… all my days… and then into eternity… Praise God!

Reminding. This practice of remembering is a community commitment. I call my brothers and sisters, both in corporate worship on Sunday and in committed relationship and fellowship each day of the week, to believe the gospel, feast in God‘s Word, worship our Savior, share the good news, and care for the needy. That reminding helps us to love Jesus, learn Jesus, and live like Jesus. It isn’t a novelty. It does stir us up in the story of the universe! What’s better than that?!

The Lord will rescue me.

The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

2 Timothy 4:18

The Lord

my God

will rescue me.

I do not fear any evil.

I will not be dismayed.

The Lord will rescue me

so I am not afraid.

The Lord will rescue me

from every evil deed

and He will bring me safely

into His heavenly kingdom.

The Lord

my King

over rules me.

His authority extends

over all human thought and reason.

My Jesus controls me

and my motive is to please Him.

The Lord will rescue me

from every evil deed

and He will bring me safely

into His heavenly kingdom.

To Jesus

my Lord

is all the glory.

I will sing His praise.

His new mercies every day

granted by His decree

lead me to trust Him in all my ways.

The Lord will rescue me

from every evil deed

and He will bring me safely

into His heavenly kingdom.

authentic Christian relationship

As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy.

2 Timothy 1:4

Paul models authentic ministry. It is deeply personal. It is emotional. It is vulnerable. And most of all, it is incredibly fulfilling as it is intensely relational. Serving with others, growing with others, leading others, and discipling others is a passionate and purposeful pursuit. It will involve the stuff of life. It isn’t superficial. It isn’t formulaic (THANK GOD!). It is substantial as well as supernatural.

All of this unpacks from the three parts of this simple opening encouragement to Timothy. And it calls me to carefully consider my own relational commitments in Christ with other Christians. Look at how Paul just lays out his heart…

“…I remember your tears…” Paul feels what Timothy feels. There was a deep attachment to the young man that Paul nicknamed “beloved child” (2 Timothy 1:2). And when Timothy hurt, Paul was also moved. So much so that Paul remembered those tears even after they were long gone. He had shared the hard moments in personal ministry. He joined in the difficulties. He felt the tears. And Paul remembered what God did in and through the pain. We should treasure the unique opportunities we have with fellow Christians to enter their heartaches. Too many Christians are too aloof, giving off an air of perfection and avoiding shared loss and pain. Don’t just send cards! Make phone calls, or better yet, put an arm on a shoulder and weep with that brother or sister dealing with heartache. Authentic ministry hugs the hurting… and remembers the tear-connection long afterwards, seeing it as a building block to solid relationship.

“I long to see you…” Paul was quick to acknowledge his affection for his son in the faith. Just like the best dads readily say “I love you” to their kids, Paul was unafraid to “miss” this relationship with Timothy. He expressed it without shame. He longed to spend time in fellowship and service again. Authentic Christian relationships hurt when separated and long to be in lingering, personal, conversational, intentional relationship. This is real fellowship… beyond cookies and kool-aide and small talk.

“…that I may be filled with joy.” Joy is the outcome of real love in Christ. Let that sink in. How many times would we truly say that interaction with others brings joy? For believers, Jesus is our joy-giver. And authentic relationship will know the joy of the Lord. Even in tears the hope is to find joy together. Even in separation times… when we are filled with longing, the future focus is joy. Paul knew that when he reunited with Timothy, joy would erupt. And that joy is hard to quantify, but powerful to experience. And in the church that joy is deeper than family and is vitally important as we seek Christ’s kingdom and righteousness. Joy is a vision of eternity. And joyful relationships are what we will know forever!

about my leaders

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

Hebrews 13:7

Three words are used here in reference to Christian leadership that are worth thinking through. In a sense I am the product of Christian leadership… the sum of all those interactions with people I respected who showed me how they lived. It started when as a child, church leaders outside my own parents began to instruct and care for my soul. I am told to remember them. And so I do.

I remember the VBS teacher, a simple woman who shared the gospel story with a first grader. The moment I understood it, she helped me at the age of seven to confess my sinful need, trust in my Savior, and embrace His Lordship over me. I remember countless Sunday School teachers and AWANA leaders who faithfully taught me. I was listening, even when it looked like I wasn’t! And to every Christian School teacher who valued my soul’s growth… thank you! Every Bible College and seminary prof who put up with my attitude and questions and poked me into a deeper understanding and real thinking about my faith… to you I owe respect for God’s wisdom you helped instill.

I consider the outcome of men and women who discipled me. My faith got quite serious at 14 years of age, and the people who invested in me at that critical juncture are still models of ministry I can look to today! I hope I can be half as impactful for someone as they were to me. I still look to them for life wisdom. They still bless me as they gracefully age with kingdom commitments clearly in their focus. I want to be the same.

I hope that I am imitating the best of these lives as I care for others in pastoral ministry. I hope I can carry their legacy forward. My greatest achievement will not be measured in wealth or possessions or human acclaim. I pray that I will have a very simple life that is worth imitating. My hope is that if others imitate me they will find Jesus at work in them. The people I have imitated have that kind of faith and impact. Thank God that I can remember, consider, and imitate holy men and women whose lives make a difference for eternity!

Discipline

And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

nor be weary when reproved by him.

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and chastises every son whom he receives.”

Hebrews 12:5-6

The path got hard

but I’m Your son.

I can endure

this discipline.

The day is long

and never done.

I’ll travel with

Your discipline.

I rest my head on

pillow of stone;

wrestle the angel

in Your discipline.

I see Your hand,

my caring One,

providing grace

in Your discipline.

Trusting Your Word

I journey on,

looking to Your home

with discipline.

With high regard

for what You’ve done

I will rejoice 

in discipline.

Lord, You love me,

make me Your son;

You train in love

and discipline.

My soul will sing

as I journey upon

this pilgrim road

of discipline.

homeland hunt

For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

Hebrews 11:14

I am a stranger here, not able to feel quite at home in a world that does not feel like my homeland. Redeemed from a slavery to which I cannot return, yet living so close to my captors that I cannot forget my past, I look for my homeland. But I am still a stranger in this world.

I am an exile… a refugee… a foreigner in a foreign country. This world speaks a foreign language and my accent gives me away as a citizen of heaven. The culture in which I live does not understand the holy call that rests upon me. My customs are out of synch. My dance is out of step. I hear a different tune to which I choose to move. I am an ignored minority in a hell bound culture. I swim against the current. But I know I am not home here. I am far from my true and better home. I live each day seeking to be in that better place.

I am a sojourner. I don’t sit still and try to fit in to a place for which I am not created. I am on a journey through this world to the true world. I travel light. I hold all things loosely. I know that in the end the best stuff will all burn to be remade into a new heavens and a new earth, the home of righteousness. This whole universe is not my home! So this vagabond soul hitchhikes on to heaven… ready to be at that final destination. And this place cannot be my homeland… it is my land of journey. As such, it has a beauty and a purpose. It is scenery. It is journey. But it isn’t home. Jesus awaits to greet me in my home!

May God grant this pilgrim my passage into His kingdom. May the joys of this gypsy journey lighten my soul and keep me knowing God’s care and longing to enter into the joy of my Lord. As I break camp each day, may God help me make more miles toward my homeland. I am hurting for my homeland. I am haunted by and hunting for my homeland. I am happy to be homeless until I am home.

confidence intact

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

Hebrews 10:35

Lord,

This admonition has a particularly deep personal meaning today. And You, my God, know where my soul has been. I reflect back on a season where I was tempted to let my confidence in You wane. I let an unthinkable loss became a seismic soul-shift, and at times I doubted even Your goodness as questions pressed into my pain. I never stopped asking those hard questions of You, and I believe that is how I held to my confidence… my faith… my trust in Your faithfulness… my conviction that Your grace will see me home.

I have learned that asking questions, even if they come out like accusations (see the book of Job and about fifty psalms of lament for precedent), is not a sign of unbelief, but of maturity. I learned from You, my God, that You are a big God Who can answer my big questions. I learned that You are a Sovereign God Who can give and take away and give again… Whose name I can and will still bless. I learned that You are a loving God Whose love and grace carries me all the time… even when I feel like You are absent and I sense no love and spiral down into a self-pitying nightmare of darkness all alone. I never have actually been alone. You’re right here with me. Always!

My anxiety reared up and can still press hard against me in a thousand different ways. Grief can still ambush me in a moment. Yet I know these cannot steal my confidence. And I will not throw it away! You have rewarded me, my loving Savior. I am rewarded with strength. I am rewarded with a peace that accepts my losses and welcomes my new direction with confidence in the God Who in my worst season has been my strength and my song. I have a good Father Who loves me, holds me, and has given to me now a new life from the ashes. You have resurrected my hope as I find confidence in the gospel. I am grateful and confident in Christ.

Amen

on my behalf

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

Hebrews 9:24

On my behalf Christ now appears

in heaven interceding

with His blood my covering

His righteousness is pleading

…on my behalf

For my sake Jesus rose again

my new life God’s intention

now forgiven I will know

my own resurrection

…for my sake

In my place Jesus bore my sin

dying on that cruel cross

bearing my sin, my sorrow, my guilt and shame

and suffering all my loss

…in my place

For my debt my Savior bore

a cross up Calvary

and in my stead He took the nails

that were meant for me

…for my debt

In His steps I will follow

loving, dying, living, victorious Lord

His voice directs me, His hands lead me

I follow truth by His Word

…in His steps

my living Priest

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Hebrews 7:25

Three things that only Jesus does for me… things that bring my soul great peace right now… are found in this verse. They are in my life, fully to be appreciated, right now.

Jesus saves me. To be saved is to be rescued from a threat or peril. This is the case for me. Jesus saves me from the reality of eternal hell. He saves me from the finality of death. He saves me from the control of sin and the kingdom of Satan. My life is no longer in peril but instead is destined for His glorious use and eternal pleasure!

Jesus lives for me. He is alive right now and has His focus on those whom He has saved. His people are His present ministry. Jesus cares for me actively… right now… even as I write down these thoughts. At this very moment He is always for me, with me, and living for my benefit. This is my present reality!

Jesus intercedes for me. Jesus speaks on my behalf before the Father. He is my Great High Priest. By virtue of His sacrifice I find ALL my sin forgiven, ALL His righteousness applied to my sinful soul, and ALL His efforts in current intercession for me and for all who believe the gospel. My living God is actively interested in every minute of every day of my life. My every moment has Jesus’ work in it!

Lord Jesus,

I praise You, my living Lord, my Savior, my Great High Priest, and my God! I confess my sins made me unworthy of such care from You, but by faith, Your sacrifice covers it all and now I am seen clothed in all Your beautiful righteousness. I thank You for Your present saving, living, interceding work on my behalf. I am humbled and blessed. Please help me live like one made holy by the work of my living, perfect priest!

Amen

patience and trust

…so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. 

Hebrews 6:12

There is a temptation in my walk with God to be sluggish and slow… to drag my pace. As I think it over, here is why I can become spiritually sluggish:

• I am afraid of what is ahead of me. I don’t know for certain what is ahead and in a lack of trust start to imagine difficulties that I do not want to experience. So I try to stay where I am comfortable. I drag my feet, slow my pace, and stay back. That makes me sluggish.
• I am too content. I’ve perhaps embraced some life experience as too precious to me. God challenges me to let go of it and move on. He will let me continue to enjoy it, but not if it keeps me from Him. And my lazy self just wants to hang back.
• I just don’t understand. The place God wants to take me is so new to my experience that I hesitate to move toward it. In that case I need His encouragement to trust and pick up my pace.
• I am weary. Sometimes my faith is slow simply because I am tired. I may have made myself that way by busy activity that ignored sabbath rest. This is not good obedience. I need to rest and let God carry me at His pace then set me down to continue trusting, empowered to overcome my sluggishness.

The call here is to counteract the sluggishness and activate through obedience both faith and patience. Faith trusts God. Faith repents of fearful unbelief. Faith finds contentment in bold trust in what may seem unnerving at first. Faith seeks to believe promises it can barely grasp and has yet to know. Faith finds strength in trusting God even while weary from life.

And patience trusts God’s timetable. I am at that kind of juncture right now. A huge part of faith is waiting on God. It is always worth it. Notice that faith and patience both take us to a great outcome: “inherit the promise”. Patient faith in the gospel, following Jesus at HIS pace, trusting our God… all of it is really, really worth it!

Listen…don’t just hear.

For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.

Hebrews 4:2

There are two responses to the good news of the gospel described in this verse. There were those who had questions about the reason some would be saved and some would not. And the preacher of this sermon to the Hebrews shows us how these two distinct responses came to be. It looks a bit like this:

US

Listened to the message

Benefited from the message

Had faith

Believe the gospel

THEM

Heard the message

Did not benefit from the message

Did not have faith

Do not believe the gospel

What do we draw from these observations? To hear the gospel is one thing. But to listen to it is to heed its message. I can hear a tornado siren this coming Kansas spring and go on about my business and risk death. But if I listen to it, I take cover and am saved. Some will listen to the gospel and find deliverance. Others will ignore what they hear. But the result is truly tragic.

Lord,

I am thankful for the good news… for deliverance from sin, death, and judgment by faith in Jesus Who died and rose again for us all. How I pray that others I know and love will also, listen, believe, and trust You! This world just gets darker by the day! Grant mercy to those who only hear so that by faith they might truly listen! Save now, Lord Jesus!

Amen