perfect obedience to what God commanded

And Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing that the LORD has commanded to be done.”

Leviticus 8:5

Before Aaron and his sons could begin their priestly duties they needed instruction from the Lord on the proper sacrifices and work that they would perform. And they also needed to obey God for a whole set of special sacrifices meant to cleanse them and dedicate them to service before the altar. When the time came for these sacrifices to be performed, Moses made a public declaration, clearly explaining that they were carrying out God’s careful instructions for this unique dedication.

All of Israel could then watch this obedience take place. They could see to what great lengths Moses, Aaron, and the priests went to in order to keep the Law and properly prepare for their duties. This pointed to two clear truths: 1) The holiness of God, and 2) the enormity of sin. A holy God demanded this explicit obedience so that at least temporary atonement for sin could be made in Israel.

The Law magnified a holy God and demanded sacrifices to atone for sin. And now in the gospel we too may align our understanding with that of a holy God. At the cross the ultimate sacrifice was made by our Great High Priest Who was also the Lamb of God. He glorified and satisfied a holy God by His offering of Himself as the final, perfect sacrifice. He offered a complete atonement for every sin, not just a temporary appeasement. He did all that God commanded in a perfect life, a complete sacrifice, and was raised to life to rule as Lord of all!

Lord Jesus,

Your work as both priest and sacrifice was done exactly as the Father commanded. I look to You for my salvation. I trust in Your saving sacrifice. I seek to follow You so that Your saving life may live in me. You are the true and better Priest. You are the true and better sacrifice. You are my atonement so that a holy God now sees me forgiven, living in Your perfect obedience!

Amen

gospel wisdom

When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the gospel.

Acts 14:5-7

Gospel wisdom compels us

to proclaim Jesus

everywhere

Unafraid of the consequences

the saving message

we will share

Gospel wisdom tells us

to preach Jesus

every day

Recognizing opposition 

works against us

we watch and pray

Gospel wisdom advices us

when threats are

near our attention

Wisdom guides us to

preach still but

under God’s protection

Gospel wisdom then

recognizes when

to move on

Keeping our witness going

to new places

God has shown

Gospel wisdom will respond

to danger still

trusting Jesus

We can live fine under threats

always knowing

His grace frees us

The gospel transcends oppositional culture.

And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,

“‘You are my Son,

today I have begotten you.’

Acts 13:32-33

Preaching the gospel had a profound response in Pisidian Antioch. The Jews gathered for Saturday synagogue there were enthusiastic for the initial preaching of the gospel by Paul. He showed from the scriptures that Jesus is the risen Lord and Savior. And by the second sabbath in town, Paul and Barnabus had become minor celebrities just by preaching Jesus. People were overflowing the synagogue to hear the gospel again. And that’s when the opposition began (Acts 13:45).

But the gospel just kept gaining new converts. What the Jews there would eventually reject, the gentiles excitedly embraced and believed. In fact, the gospel spread not just to the gentiles in that one city, but it began to make a regional impact. And a joyous church was born, even as persecution drove Barnabus and Paul on to the next big city, Iconium. You cannot stop the Holy Spirit working in the gospel to outrageously change lives of those who find life and forgiveness in Jesus!

The gospel still advances. I suppose Paul and Barnabus could have chosen to focus on the unfair cultural bias against the gospel. They could have gotten sidetracked into a “culture war”, or complained to the local magistrates, or formed their society’s version of a political action committee to focus on the lies and opposition. But they wisely let the gospel transcend a culture that hated it. And they just kept preaching the gospel and moving on to those who DID listen and WERE transformed.

The truth is that even right now the gospel still transforms lives… and it seems to advance most in climates that actively are hostile to it! Imagine that! Why can’t so many American evangelical Christians get that? It’s right here in the scriptures for us to see! I think that sadly we have sold our gospel birthright for a sad pot of political porridge. Like pouting Esau we sit hungry for weak power in the moment. Look what it has got us?! Powerlessness… as we abandon the gospel and true care for souls who need it while we grasp for weak human political power. Let’s return to the good news! Let’s preach Jesus! His kingdom always wins.

the enormity of His sacrifice

He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

Leviticus 1:4

I’ll admit it: Leviticus is not my candidate for favorite Pentateuch book. Its dense details of priestly duties and difficult lists of laws and their fine-print violations is kind of tedious reading. Yet… as we say each Sunday in our scripture readings, “this is the Word of the Lord and it is true.” The seriousness of sin is a consistent theme. The necessity for blood sacrifice drips through each gory page of Leviticus. The means for atonement provided by those sacrifices is repeatedly and purposefully brought to the attention of Israel over and over and over. Leviticus is a litany of constant reminders of the holiness of God, the sinfulness of humanity, and the need for sacrifices to cover the serious consequences.

We may not enjoy reading these reminders, but we need them because they point us to the power and the efficacy of the gospel. There was a final sacrifice for our sins in Jesus, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. A crown of thorns was laid upon His head… the crown of suffering I deserved. He was offered in my place and willingly gave Himself for me. His blood was spilled. He made atonement for me and the sins of everyone, everywhere, for all time.

How can Christians not worship a mighty Savior when we consider the magnitude of His sacrifice? The depth and breadth of His death and resurrection is made apparent in the way Leviticus seriously and exhaustively confronts our need for a sacrificed Savior.

Man of Sorrows! What a name
For the Son of God, who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned he stood,
Sealed my pardon with his blood:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile and helpless, we:
Spotless Lamb of God was he;
Full atonement! Can it be?
Hallelujah, What a Savior!

Lifted up was he to die
“It is finished!” Was his cry:
Now in heaven exalted high:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When he comes, our glorious King,
All his ransomed home to bring,
Then anew this song we’ll sing:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

the investment

And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.

Acts 12:25

Where would I be without the people God put into my life who invested in my Christian growth? God placed a vacation Bible school worker in my life to keep me focused for a week until a gospel story lesson broke through and convicted me of my need for Jesus’ forgiveness. She prayed with me when by faith I turned to Jesus for forgiveness. Where would I be without her faithful service in a first grade VBS classroom?

Where would I be without a telephone network repairman who was also an AWANA worker who took me out for ice cream and invested time with me when my mom was sick and my dad was pre-occupied with caring for her while trying to provide for us? That man taught me that men in the church could be caregivers and spiritual dads too! 

Where would I be without a group of youth workers who invested heavily in me when I was a young teenager with a goofy grin and a “not so serious” attitude about life who needed to learn how to follow Jesus by their examples? Where would I be without a youth pastor who at that time taught the youth group how to dig into and LOVE scripture for themselves and spent hours of time investing in me one-to-one, seeing something others did not see?

Where would I be without Christian school teachers who didn’t just educate me, but were example of believers and patiently discipled me too? Where would I be without Bible College and seminary profs who did the same? What about pastors who gave me preaching reps in their pulpits? What about missionaries who let me live with them and serve alongside them?

I needed every one of those experiences as the pathway to fill my life with kingdom service. And each of those relationships turned a young “John Mark”-ish immature kid into a much more serious follower of Jesus. I needed to be invested into and at the time, probably looked like a very risky investment. Thank God some people took that risk! Thank God there are still people and relationships God uses to mature me, And for that reason, I hope to always invest, best as I can, even with difficulties, with sacrifice and commitment, in others.

how to be righteous in this world

…in whose eyes a vile person is despised,

but who honors those who fear the LORD;

who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

Psalm 15:4

There are three ways a righteous person acts toward others. These actions are commended by God in this short psalm. These descriptions give us insight into how to interact in a godly way with others around us. And the truth contained here is worth considering in all social settings today.

1. A righteous person despises those who openly oppose and reject God. The term “vile person” here means “one who treats with contempt”, a “rejector”, the old term we don’t hear much these days, “reprobate”, works well to describe this kind of person. This isn’t just any old sinner, or else we’d have to apply this principle to everyone, including ourselves. Instead, this is a person who is strongly and defiantly opposed to God. Interestingly, the word translated  “despised” also means to reject. So righteous people reject the those who violently reject God.

2. A righteous person honors those who honor and respect God. This is in contrast to the first statement. It is classic Hebrew parallel poetry. We lean into relationship with others who will acknowledge, trust, and obey God. I believe the broader principle means that human relationships will work best when all parties mutually worship God.

3. A righteous person is a keeper of promises even if they are costly. The meaning of “does not change” is consistency, honesty, and integrity. A righteous person can be trusted. Such people keep their word. And even if such integrity costs them, they maintain that integrity.

So righteous dealings with the world around us generally means that with God-haters we reject their attitudes and actions. With God-fearers we join in honor and worship of God. With our own commitments we model integrity, and when necessary, sacrifice. And it is in Jesus we see how we can do these things. He will ultimately judge the ungodly. He will reward the righteous. He Who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, will keep His Word and help us to keep our word.

church

So Barnabus went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

Acts 11:25-26

Gathering… Christians worship, sing, pray and hear…

to the gospel we attend and draw near…

with each other life we share

gathered in Jesus we believe and care

Teaching… Christians center on God’s Word

saturated with truth of the Lord

our holy Savior we follow and obey

as we heed His call in what we do and say

Following… Christians seek to be like their Savior

with one another we seek Christ’s favor

it is from Jesus we seek for His “well done”

and run with patience until this race is won

Leading… Christians spread the gospel to all who will hear

and preach good news both far and near

many people encouraged to grow

new life established in all who know

zooming in

Who can discern his errors?

Psalm 19:12a

I find it interesting that David has gone on an increasingly introspective journey as he contemplates what God has revealed about Himself in the music of Psalm 19. There is a pattern to this poetry as it swings from panorama of creation to personal confession. The psalm can be outlined something like this:

CREATION: God’s works reveal His glory. (Psalm 19:1-6)

God has not hidden Himself by creation, instead He has revealed Himself by the very universe that shows Him to be both approachable and knowable.

REVELATION: God’s words reveal His glory. (Psalm 19:7-11)

What God’s Word is and what God’s Word does…

complete —-> revives

sure —-> makes wise

right —-> brings joy

holy —-> endures forever

true —-> completely righteous

CONFESSION: God’s grace leads to awareness and hope. (Psalm 19:12-14)

The works of a mighty God and the words of a holy God lead me to be aware of my sins and failures and my need of my Savior.

Lord,

My eyes look heavenward and the skies tell me of Your vast wisdom… a universe so broad that all the brightest human intellects cannot quite figure out how it all works. The stars shine as mere pinpoints of Your greater glory. The sun keeps each day shining here on earth with Your purposes. I can stand on mountains and survey a planet fine-tuned to point me to Your love for this world.

My eyes look to Your Word and Your voice declares Your wisdom, Your grace, and Your provision in this beautiful yet very broken world. I can trust what You say!

My eyes look inward in the light of creation and revelation and I tremble at the worst in me. I saw it just last night again. I awoke with my brokenness and sinfulness this morning. I need to discern my errors. Though it now is unhidden in Your light and shown me in Your mirror, the worst is called into redemption as I confess my errors, own my hidden faults, release my pathetic desperation as I try to control my evil heart, repent of willful sins, and in Christ am now given in THE GREAT EXCHANGE His blameless righteousness. Now His innocence is my excellence before You! Praise God you show me all this!

Amen

still witnesses

And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

Acts 10:39-41

One of the reasons I enjoy reading the book of Acts is the steady stream of new experiences it relays in its factual history of the earliest days of the Christian Church. And each new event has a strong common core thread: the reality of the gospel. Here, as Peter under the leadership of the Holy Spirit shares the good news with a Gentile household, the reality of Jesus’ life, teaching, death, and resurrection takes center stage. The Roman centurion, Cornelius, must confront the truth of the gospel of the God He has come to worship. He must believe that Jesus died for his sins. He must accept that God raised Jesus back to life to rule now as both Lord and Savior.

And although this was the first time a disciple of Jesus spoke the gospel to a Gentile, it would certainly not be the last. In fact, this good news is still spreading around the globe to generation after generation. The eyewitness testimony of the apostles is still compelling as thousands of years later generations of men and women have been changed by believing in these encounters with Jesus as told by lives changed by Him! The Holy Spirit still falls on those who in faith trust Jesus. And we are still witnesses to the transforming power of the gospel!

Lord,

May I today, with the confidence of the call to testify about You, be Your witness as well. May the gospel go forward. Fill me with the confidence of Your life, death, and resurrection in what I do and what I say, I pray.

Amen

The gospel is our story.

And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

Acts 9:20

Every life transformed by the dramatic saving work of Jesus can, like Saul, soundly proclaim “Jesus is the Son of God”. The gospel changes us. It calls us to more than just a new theology. It calls us into relationship with the God Who saves. And God will show that transforming salvation to us in Jesus, maybe not as dramatically as He did on the Damascus road with Saul, but we will know it and willingly embrace it as our story.

The gospel was Saul’s story from the moment of his conversion. The first chance he got, Saul was preaching about Jesus being God’s Son and the Messiah, arguing his case convincingly to anyone who would listen to him (Acts 9:22). The man who hated Christians became one! The one zealous to end gospel preaching by death boldly preached the gospel to great effect at the risk of his own life. The persecutor became the persecuted.

I may not have the kind of conversion that merits a Damascus road kind of categorization, but it is my duty and privilege to share Jesus with passion and purpose. Jesus saved me from a disastrous disbelief and ignorance of Him. My family needed His salvation. And in 1971, after redeeming both my parents from the brink of brokenness, Jesus shone the gospel upon me. I know that seven years of age seems young, but I vividly remember the day that I understood that Jesus died for my sins and rose again to defeat death. And suddenly I knew Jesus had transformed by parents. And I knew I needed a Savior too. The gospel came alive in my mind, and when I believed, my heart was changed. And this began my life of following Jesus. I will always tell my story unashamed. Jesus saved me not just from sin, but from what could have been an empty life without Him!

my personal encounter with the Wonderful Counselor

I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;

in the night also my heart instructs me.

Psalm 16:7

I have received more caring counsel in the past two years than at any other season in my life, with the possible exception of my late teenage years. And I have needed it. When the unexpected hits us, when loss compounds with life changes that overwhelm us at a new season, we need other steady voices to help us keep it together. I know I did. And God was faithful.

I am so blessed that my core care team came from the Christian community God had already put around me. God had lovingly surrounded me with hearts that loved me, felt with me, and challenged me when I needed it. They showed up. Physically there were arms around me, hugs, meals, and help. Emotionally there were tears falling alongside mine, laughter sounding out with me, and hope shared even in the sorrows. When God began turning things around, they rejoiced and felt my relief with me. Spiritually, there was perspective from scripture and in serious conversations that let me ask hard questions, express “difficult to get out” emotions, and together we were led to grace and truth in love.

God used the church to help me. And many people were part of that love. Yet, I know what it means for God to give me the best counsel.To be honest, humans fall a bit short, not out of intentionally doing so, but in our own brokenness we are not perfect counselors. It was disappointing that there were not a lot of resources for widowers to be found. If you are woman who has lost her husband, well, there is a plethora of books, devotionals, and support groups. Guys, at least this one, have to grieve in a desert. Except… God was very faithful to me. A biblical counselor helped me keep focused during the fearful unknown. Careful biblical study on how personal lament will work feelings out of the soul, how waiting on God is a real life experience worth doing… all that showed me that God is indeed a good counselor. Jesus is the Prince of Peace and the Wonderful Counselor. And in that counsel God created a whole new place for me, new love, new hope, new peace, quite literally a whole new life right now, out of the confusion and pain… with very clear direction! Praise the Lord!

Jesus, Wonderful Counselor!

I bless You. You have been my Counselor. You are bringing peace even as at times my soul might still wobble a bit. You have kept writing grace into my story. And You will continue to do so as I embrace a new life, with new experience, deeper relationships, a bigger family, a better perspective, and a heart instructed by You day and night!

Amen

transforming glory

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.

Exodus 34:29

This is the immediate effect of Moses encountering the glory of God on the mountain. For a second time Moses ascended Sinai. There God give him his request to behold God’s glory, even though it was just the “back” of God as He passed by, it was enough to physically transform Moses unknowingly. The glory of God left an afterglow. The face of Moses became radiant from talking with the God of glory.

The result when Moses came back to Israel’s camp was evident to all who saw him. The face of Moses shone in such an intense way that the sight was disturbing to everyone. The people were afraid when they saw it. Moses felt perfectly normal. But encountering God had changed Moses. And that encounter affected everyone with whom Moses came into contact.

I am not expecting to physically encounter God this same way, but this story reminds me that were it to happen, it would be significant and probably very overwhelming. So any person casually claiming to have spoken with God face to face has got some explaining to do if their face isn’t ultra-bright! Yes, I do want to encounter God. And as I open His Word each day, I see stories of His glory. I am witness to the power of God. I gain a language of worship. And I hope to convey the glory of God as I find Him in His Word. I know He will lead me to a final Day where the shining face of Jesus will beam upon me!

Jesus, through the work of the Holy Spirit, transforms me now as Paul reminds me in 2 Corinthians 3:18:

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

where You send

Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.

Acts 8:5

Where You send me

the gospel will go.

Your grace and truth

that I know

will be the message

I will show.

I will tell it and

watch Your kingdom grow.

Where You lead me

will be the place

where I will sing

Amazing Grace.

The familiar

in my rear view,

I will go forward, 

Lord, with You.

Lord, You show me

the place to be

and I will confidently

move these feet.

With my two hands

I will care

for the people

that are there.

My home a tent —

a nomad’s rest

is how I view

my life the best.

Lead me on, Lord,

my life to use

for telling others 

Your good news.

A tabernacle

in which You live

— my life in service

I will give.

Making Jesus

always known

until You lead me

forever home.

In glory He stands

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

Acts 7:55

Stephen began his sermon before the Sanhedrin with the account of how God began His covenant with His people in the call of Abraham. “The God of glory appeared to our Father Abraham” (Acts 7:2). And as Stephen ended his message and an enraged mob swallowed him up, carried him outside Jerusalem, and stoned him to death as the first Christian martyr, Stephen, like Abraham encountered the glory of God as Jesus stood in vindication of him.

Stephen’s short sermon is filled with the glory of God as he recounts Israel’s history of rejection of the God of glory. There is glory at Abraham’s call. There is the glory of God at the burning bush in the call of Moses. There was the glory of God at Sinai in the giving of the Law. God’s glory was known first in a tent in the wilderness where Israel worshiped, later in a temple that Solomon built. 

Yet in every instance, the people of Israel resisted God’s glory. They rejected patriarchal salvation in Joseph. They rejected a deliverer in Moses. They rejected God’s Law to worship a golden calf. They rejected the prophets, killed them, and worshiped the Baals. And finally, they rejected Jesus when God sent His Son to them.

It was this litany of rejection that was the theme of Stephen’s sermon and the crowd was enraged to the point where they rejected God again. And His glory shows up. They again turned against the glory of God. The fact that Jesus stood at God’s right hand to defend and receive Stephen shows that this was no petty religious disagreement. Once again, in a historically significant event, Israel was turning against the God Who had promised them Himself as their possession.

O God of glory,

I call on You now. Be the glory I may see! Jesus, be all I want and worship. I receive Your salvation. I believe Your Word. I know that You stand for me. May I never wander into rejection of You, my glorious God!

Amen