unopposable

As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

Luke 11:53-54

The very best “experts” in Jewish law and custom tried to trip up Jesus. They went after Him tooth and nail with everything they had, relentlessing hoping to find fault with Him. And yet they could not succeed. They could not catch Jesus in a sin. They could not out debate Him either publicly or privately. This is significant. It should have given them pause. They should have realized that surviving their kind of scrutiny should have led them to believe what Jesus said and did.

Yet here they were claiming to hold true to God’s law while rejecting the One Who had given it. They claimed to believe the miraculous deliverance of the God of Exodus while rejecting the true Messiah come to deliver the world from sin. They were blinded by minutia and truly missed the Messiah and His miraculous message.

In an indirect way the failure of the opposition to find fault with Jesus is proof of His Person and purpose! He truly is the Son of God. He truly is the Son of Man. He truly came to seek and save the lost. He truly spoke as the Living Word of God. He could not be silenced or shut down. He is never successfully opposed. Their later murder of Him backfired as He offered Himself as the last sacrifice and then rose again to forever be our Savior!

Reasons to sing

Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD.  Zechariah 2:10

This is a command to sing and rejoice again in Jerusalem. Why? The exiles had returned to rebuild the city and restore the temple. They came back to a sad situation and a lot of hard work. Eventually there was opposition to the rebuilding of homes, walls, and the temple. The people became discouraged. They grew weary. The work stopped.

God brought visions of hope and a call to repentance through the prophet Zechariah. By faith again the people would see the hard work for what it was: a daily form of worship welcoming God in their midst. He would work in their work. He would restore as they rebuilt. He would lead them to sing and rejoice while doing so. The reason for their joy was that God was with them and had promised to restore all that was hoped for again.

O God of restoration,

I sing to You and will look to You as You dwell in our midst through Your Holy Spirit right now. How I long for broken walls to be restored, for a home to arise from rubble, for fractured relationships to heal, and for Your worship to always stay at the center of every part of my life. You give me reasons to sing!

Amen

the best reason for joy

Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Luke 10:20

Jesus reminded His followers that the most amazing experience was yet to come. Seventy-two were sent out into the villages of Israel to spread the good news, heal the sick, and cast out demons. They were joyful at their return over the reality that demons were subject to them in His name. Of course Jesus Himself had given them that authority. They had power over the enemy and nothing Satan could do to them would hurt them. They were right to find joy. But there was a greater truth in which to truly rejoice. 

Their names were written down in heaven. The present victory of the gospel was certainly something to delight in, but the future in the kingdom of heaven was immensely more wonderful. The greatest joy would be yet to come. There would be no more need for power over the devil and his deeds… for then all will be perfect. This is what Jesus came to bring and it is the culmination of the gospel.

Oh to see that bright day! I am ready to cross the Jordan if heaven is the Promised Land. I will fight the good fight until then! But I will rejoice that in Christ I am redeemed and that my name is written down in glory’s great book.

Survivor

Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,

yet they have not prevailed against me.

Psalm 129:2

This stanza was sung in a song recounting to some extent the history of suffering by Israel. The nation began with hardship. Even the promise of a nation to come that was given to Abram was hard and long and difficult. It turned Abram into a nomad of faith. The promise took three generations to even begin to sprout into the hope of a nation, passed down from Abraham, to Isaac, and then to Jacob who was renamed Israel and fathered twelve sons who became tribes to the nation.

God used hardship, suffering, and famine to eventually settle the fledgling nation that was an extended family in the land of Egypt. And within another few short generations the Israelites became enslaved, suffering under the harsh treatment of Egyptian taskmasters. A nation in its youth, forced into servitude, kept from freedom, yet loved by God Who saw it all. And He did not let their affliction prevail. 

God raised up a deliverer in Moses who led them out of bondage. After another generation suffered faithlessly, wandering in the desert wilderness, God led a faithful generation to the land that He had promised Abram so long ago. Their afflictions and sufferings did not prevail. Their afflictors and abusers were cut down. Delivered, set free, and blessed, God made them His own.

And so it is in Christ. Those once in bondage to sin, afflicted at birth with sin’s wasting work and in want of a Savior are set free by Christ our Deliverer. We simply trust and believe the gospel, submitting to His good rule in His kingdom. Our affliction will never prevail because Christ is for us!

Nation Shaker

For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.  Haggai 2:6

The Lord Who hung the stars in space,

Who sets the seas their watery bound,

Will rise in sovereign pow’r and grace

to shake all kingdoms to the ground.

Mountains tremble at His Word;

Oceans stir beneath his hand.

No throne can stand against the Lord;

No edict apart from His command.

Nations boast of wealth and might.

Their banners wave, their armies rise;

Yet human glory fades from sight.

Fleeing like clouds across the skies.

Heavens shake and earth gives way,

Mighty nations bow in fear;

Crowns and scepters crushed as clay

When God’s appointed hour is here!

Through this shaking stands a throne,

A kingdom time cannot destroy;

The Son lays claim to a world His own,

To fill His people with His joy.

Now let the trembling nations know,

Though earthly powers rise and fall;

The Lord commands the winds that blow,

And Christ shall reign — King over all!

astonishing majesty

​And all were astonished at the majesty of God.  Luke 9:43a

They were astonished at the majesty of God displayed in Jesus healing a boy trapped by a demonic darkness. The majesty of God excels above the destructive work of the devil’s dominion. It exceeds the destruction. it rebuilds shattered lives. Jesus in majesty and power defeats the devil.

Crowds were astonished at Jesus the Healer. God’s majesty was displayed by Jesus as the blind were given sight, the deaf were made to hear again, the lame could walk, and lepers were cleansed. The majesty of God over restoring all of His creation through His Son is revealed in Jesus. He gives us a preview of the day when He makes all things new.

Jesus was majestic in His teaching. An authority that only God could have emanated from His words. And as the Living Word, the majesty of God’s truth transformed the Law, liberated hearts, and made followers of Jesus. He spoke with majesty and no one could deny His authority to speak the Word of God.

Jesus is majestic in our salvation. He predicted how He would be betrayed, tried, crucified, and raised again to life. This majestic salvation that only Jesus could provide would forever lead to His rule as Lord and Savior of the world. It is this majesty that I know every day. It is the majesty that I need each day as well.

Lord Jesus,

I worship Your majesty. To You be all glory, praise, and honor, now… and forevermore!

Amen

A verse of bane and blessing

​Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,

the fruit of the womb a reward. Psalm 127:3

This is generally true of parenting and grand parenting. Those blessed with children can find a reward in the next generation. They can see a heritage. I would always encourage young parents to believe this, trust God’s good gifts, and seek to instill godly values in their kids. The future depends on it.

But… I also know many parents who now should be reaping the heritage harvest and the fruit of their rewards but instead feel the deep pain daily struggling as this promise seems to come to them unfulfilled. There are a lot of reasons this has happened and I do not list them to excuse any mistakes in parenting or to explain away the decline of a generation. I want to talk about them so that I can share in the suffering of the saints who trust God to yet bless the next generation.

Why does the fruit turn bad? Let me briefly share two observations that I know. First, some were part of a church culture but did not have a Christ commitment. I have see many good church kids leave the church because they could not sustain a “youth group fun time” mentality which is woefully unrealistic once adulthood starts bringing responsibilities. This is shallow experience and lack of discipleship on the part of the church. Parents perhaps overly relied on programs. And fake “Christianese” cultures develop. This fake culture gets confused with real Christian faith. A few come back by the power of the gospel. Some never get past this criticism and confusion.

Secondly, some were not prepared for worldview clashes. They went off to college or the job market and a psychology course or an office supervisor wickedly attacked Christian perspectives as irrational, outdated, or abnormal. Pair that with a campus or office life of moral “free-for-all” culture and it is easy to fit in by quietly phasing out of Christian pasts. Again, some young adults return after a prodigal party. Many others, however, do not. Some even turn on their families, calling Christian upbringing toxic, uncaring, controlling, manipulative, and even evil. 

This is an epidemic among Boomer and Gen-X parents right now in the church. I have met hundreds of parents in this state. Pray! Pray for a generational heritage that has heard the truth to return to the truth. Pray for hearts to come home to the Lord!