tossings, tears, and trust

You have kept count of my tossings;

put my tears in your bottle.

Are they not in your book?

Psalm 56:8

When life is hard

when sleep will not stay

I will trust You, Lord

and not wander astray

I toss and turn

for morning I pray

in my anxious time

with You I will stay

Every flip from side to side

every troubled thought I fear

every prayer with tears

I am confident You hear

Precious are the tears I weep

You are the Keeper of my sorrow

bottled in Your loving hand

kept close to show to me tomorrow

My journal covers joy and pain

but You keep a much better book

and in eternal safety one day

You will let me take a look

Written there by Author’s hands

are the words, the story of my days

We’ll laugh and smile and understand

together it will make sense always

So count my tossings, Lord.

Bottle up those tears.

Write our book together.

I will trust You amidst these fears.

God is for me.

God is with me too.

Nothing happens You do not control.

So I will always trust in You!

resurrection confidence

But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.

Matthew 26:32

On the night that Jesus was betrayed, He prepared His disciples for what was ahead. Jesus knew He was going to be betrayed by Judas. He knew that He would be charged with capital crimes by the Jewish religious authorities. He knew He would be handed over to the Romans. He knew He would die by crucifixion. Jesus was not taken by surprise because He knew that His atoning work was why He had come to this world in the first place.

The real surprise for the disciples was not that He knew this. He had been predicting His death by this means for quite some time. The part that had to be puzzling was He insistence that He would be brought back to life. The disciples were familiar with crucifixion. Nobody survived it. It was a brutally, if not excruciating, effective means of permanent execution. Crucifixion meant death. But Jesus very confidently claimed that He would be the first and only crucifixion victim to be raised back to life after such a tortuous death. And when that happened, He would walk away from His grave and back to Galilee where they would see Him and walk with Him again.

Resurrection changes everything. Resurrection defeats death. Resurrection confirms everything Jesus taught. Resurrection secures His atoning work on the cross for our sins. And resurrection guarantees forever our future in Christ with God. Jesus, facing the cross, is already confident in His resurrection. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Continual Hope

But I will hope continually

and will praise you yet more and more.

Psalm 71:14

Feeling sad in the twilight

I’m just trying to cope

I look for some comfort

I long for some hope

I’m trying to reach out

with mixed emotions I grope

needing more than these feelings

I’m reaching for hope

Others may notice

how I’m sad and I mope

yet come short of full comfort

I need much greater hope

Looking to Jesus

I do more than just cope

I find a Savior Who suffered

to bring continuous hope

Not alone in my suffering

I now climb up this slope

strengthened in His mercy

by my continual hope

Timing is perfect

for at the end of my rope

is One who holds me forever

in His continual hope

I will praise the God of all comfort

eternity is the width of His scope

there is healing purpose now in me

I prosper with His continual hope

Jesus is our judge.

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.

Matthew 25:31

Christians should be expecting the reality of Christ’s return. When He does return, he will judge the world. He will reward the righteous. He will cast away the unrighteous into eternal punishment. This is the authority of the risen and reigning Christ. He is our judge. And this is the Jesus with whom all people must one day stand. This is the future we all face… the Son of Man seated as judge upon His glorious throne.

There are three things I notice about our future encounter with Jesus that give me reflective pause. First, Jesus returns in a different glory. We first beheld His glory as the Lamb of God. He was born as a child to peasant parents in simple poverty. He lived as a carpenter and then as a rabbi. He displayed a unique glory in miracles and authoritative teaching. He gave His life sacrificing as the Lamb of God. And He was raised to show His true glory, no longer a Lamb but now a Lion! And it is this second Jesus yet to come that arrives in a blinding flash of power and judgment, seated on a glorious throne Who is our glorious God of justice, commending the righteous ones and condemning those who reject Him!

Secondly, there is a different audience including angels. In His first advent a few angels sang His birth, attended to Him in the wilderness, and announced His resurrection. In His return to judge, ALL the angel hosts of heaven will return with Him, bringing the very throne of heaven to earth. This will be like nothing anyone has ever seen!

A third observation: Jesus will sit on a different kind of throne. In His first advent He was the perfect obedient Son and Servant Who proved He earned the “well-pleased” commendation of the Father. In His second advent Jesus is clearly the God with Whom we all have to answer! The world will be judged by the Son of Man. All the nations of the earth, every last person on the planet, all the world will face Him in order to answer for their choice about Him and His people. It is clear: Jesus is our Judge!

Godly people confess their sin.

Therefore let everyone who is godly

offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;

surely in the rush of great waters,

they shall not reach him.

Psalm 32:6

Thank God that He does not expect His people to be sinless. The message of Psalm 32 is this: be quick to confess sin. This is the personal testimony of David. He did not do well covering or hiding his transgressions. When he kept silent about sin he become physically ill and emotionally depressed (Psalm 32:3). He lost all energy as the weight of his unconfessed sin bore down on his soul (Psalm 32:4). When he was finally confronted by the guilt of his sin, David confessed it and found forgiveness from God as a result (Psalm 32:5).

David’s conclusion was to call all people to live confessionally before the Lord. Everyone should confess sin. Confession of sin is the activity of the godly person. And David’s repeated admonition is to do so quickly… not to hold onto the guilt and shame of sin. When the rushing waves of painful guilt threaten, THAT is the time to fall to our knees in confession. This is the activity of the godly. Yes, it is a holy thing to confess sin, repent before God, humbly receive His mercy, and be washed in the flood of His forgiving grace through trusting Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf! Godly people may sin… but godly people are quick to inventory iniquity, turn from it in confession and repentance, and realize that they only have understanding in how to live in righteousness by God’s Word and His work in them (Psalm 32:7-9).

Lord,

I will not be like a stubborn horse or mule that lacks understanding and must be jerked by bit and bridle to obey. I willingly acknowledge that I too, like David, am guilty of sin. I must inventory my iniquity as Your Spirit convicts and Your Word instructs. I must see how in all ways… in thought, feelings, selfish words, or pride-filled disobedient actions I too have sinned against You, often hurting others in the process or aftermath of my sin. I release that guilt to the forgiving blood of Christ, my perfect sacrifice, Who forgives the iniquity of my sin. I will pray in confession so that His righteousness will clean me and declare me a godly man, clothed by His righteousness, clean in Your sight!

Amen

four end times dangers

And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray.”

Matthew 24:4

When asked by His disciples to teach about the signs of His return and the end of the age, Jesus begins with this stern warning. He looks right at the men who left everything to follow Him and warns them they are vulnerable. The first sign of His coming and the end of the age would be that the loyalty of His own disciples would be attacked. Some would fall away. Many false teachers will claim to be what only Jesus is and will seek to lead many disciples astray from truly following Him.

Doctrinal divisiveness and heretical teaching combined with messianic personalities will come at the end. Jesus states that it will be so deceptive that only the most discerning disciples will stay with Him. And that has been unfortunately a problem in every era of church history, with an explosive profusion of false teaching and popular figures luring many people away from the truth of the gospel as we near His return.

Some current dangers readily visible that are dangerously sucking away Christians from the centrality of the gospel:

• Popularism. The internet and social media have created swarms of Tik Tok teachers spouting every kind of old and new heresy. They may even claim biblical support and authority. But just because millions “follow” or they sound persuasive does not make them right at all.
• New Ideas. Many claim that Christians have had it wrong for a long time. Or like Dan Brown they may insist that early on in church history Jesus’ original message was suppressed and hijacked by a controlling monolithic church. But they are instead hijacking the gospel to New Age thinking. Many in this camp link modern casual ethics and liberal sexual mores to re-interpreting Christian teaching, thus rejecting what the Word of God says.
• Tribalism. You want to believe that Jesus advocated the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms? Someone out there has a Youtube channel and followers who buy into that. Want to withdraw to a cave and wait out until the end in a monastic cult? The Internet will lead you to a group somewhere that you can join. False teaching, no matter how outlandish, is easier than ever to find and to propagate.
• Christian Nationalism. Yeah… that is definitely on the rise thanks to politicians both liberal and conservative hitching their wagons to every Christian group enamored with celebrity and worldly power. And it is not just limited to one side of the aisle… you can easily find the political messiah of your choosing. But be careful. That leader will lead you astray from Jesus!

One Father, One Teacher

And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.

Matthew 23:9-10

With earthly father

I was born to grow;

yet many men like fathers

I have come to know.

They cared for me.

They taught me Your way.

I am grateful, O Lord,

for all of them today.

Many men like fathers…

but only one Heavenly Father.

Like Jesus too

many have sacrificed

to teach me Your truth

and invest their lives.

I have learned the Way

to live pleasing to You Lord

as many teachers 

instruct me in the Word.

Yet only one Instructor

has taught me: Jesus Christ.

Caring like family

Christians have taught me.

And I have tried to do the same

to other disciples that surround me.

I too am a father

by flesh and by Spirit

I too an instructor

to those who will hear it.

Yet You, Lord, are Our Father.

Yes You, Jesus, are Our Teacher.

abundant mercy

Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions.

Psalm 51:1

Psalm 51 is David’s journal of confession and repentance. It was written after sin with Bathsheba and confrontation by Nathan the prophet, in which Nathan delivered God’s verdict of judgment. The enormity of David’s sin (adultery, lies, murder, conspiracy, and cover-up) demanded firm justice from God. All the painful details are found in 2 Samuel 11 and 12. Suffice it to say, under the penalties of the Law, every detail of David’s sins deserved the death penalty. The king knew this too well.

This is why David’s opening poetic prayer in this psalm became a model for clear confession. He knew only God’s mercy could save him from death. He knew only God could remove consequences by a permanent blot out, an expunging of the record of his sins. The very first verse is a sandwich of cries for mercy: “Have mercy on me!…Blot out my transgressions!” You can hear the tears of terror begging to be saved from a deserved destruction.

David knows only an undeserved mercy could eliminate the true charges against him. And so he asks his judge for that mercy. He appeals to God’s own character in between his pleas. He knows that God is gracious. “Steadfast love” is the way the Old Testament Law repeatedly describes what the New Testament calls “grace”. David’s first appeal is to the grace of God. He knows that he does not deserve God’s favor. Yet only grace can release mercy to forgive every one of David’s awful sins.

The second appeal is to God’s abundant mercy. David knows that God possesses not just a little grace and mercy. God has it abundantly. He is rich in mercy. The call then to God is to be generous with forgiveness. The God of grace and mercy is not miserly with His mercy. This is an appeal to what David already knew about God. God had chosen him, least of his family, to be king. God made a covenant with David to bless the world through his kingly line. And wildly enough, in a display of overarching grace and abundant mercy, David’s sinful beginning with Bathsheba would be ultimately redeemed as God leads to her inclusion in the genealogy of Jesus. Our Savior descended from these kinds of sinners! Abundant mercy indeed! God forgave David, and ultimately all who believe the gospel, in Jesus, Son of David!

The Astonisher

And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.

Matthew 22:33

This crowd was astonished about how Jesus put the technically-detailed, self-proclaimed, liberal legal experts, the Sadducees, in their place with His masterful answer to an impossible hypothetical question. The Sadducees were the minority religious group among the Jews in charge of copying scripture. They were comparable to academic university elites of today. They were the religious party of the professional scribes. They also had their own brand of theological and legal experts. They were horribly non-biblical and secular for being so “into” their scriptures. They denied miracles and the possibility of life after death. They taught that the Law was for “this life” and rejected a future resurrection.

Yet they came to Jesus in mock suspension of their own beliefs, hoping to stump him in front of the crowds. They desperately wanted the attention. They created a scenario of a woman widowed seven times who then herself died. Their question: “Which of the seven husbands would be hers in heaven?” They thought this would trick Jesus into a theology where sin would exist in the resurrection. But they were foolish to try to corner the wise God Who wrote the book!

Jesus decimates their argument with three powerful assertions:

1) They deny scripture and the power of God so they have absolutely no authority to speculate on the nature of the resurrection (Matthew 22:29).

2) Resurrected people do not marry as their relationships are complete in the presence of God. Their is no need for one flesh relationships in heaven (Matthew 22:30).

3) Denial of resurrection rejects the very core of Judaism. God is the God of the living: “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” The scriptures attest that the patriarchs are very much alive with a God Who is presently in relationship with them (Matthew 22:31-32).

This is what led the crowd into appreciation of Jesus’ teaching. Jesus had authority as shown in His grasp of the Word of God and the miraculous display of the power of God. Jesus knew what heaven will be like because He came from there and would return there. Jesus knew the profound theological implications from even the most foundational aspects of God’s covenant with Israel. As such He is a great Revealer, a great Savior, a great Teacher, and the great Astonisher!

God answers and saves.

O LORD, save the king!

May he answer us when we call.

Psalm 20:9

The last phrase of this last verse of the twentieth psalm echoes the first phrase of the first verse: “May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!” This psalm is a call and than also a call back to the God Who saves His people. The answer to the beginning and end call is sandwiched right in the middle of the psalm with God’s salvation in verse 6: “…he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand.” So we have a prayer for God to answer our need and a confidence that His salvation will be the answer to that prayer. The rest of the psalm then tells how God answers and saves.

The structure looks like this:

I.  May God answer in trouble! (Psalm 20:1a)

     A.  His name protects. (Psalm 20:1b)

     B.  He sends help. (Psalm 20:2a)

     C.  He gives support. (Psalm 20:2b)

     D.  He remembers offerings. (Psalm 20:3a)

     E.  He regards sacrifices with favor. (Psalm 20:3b)

     F.  He grants desires. (Psalm 20:4a)

     G. He fulfills plans. (Psalm 20:4b)

II.  God’s salvations brings joy. (Psalm 20:5a)

     A. He answers our petitions. (Psalm 20:5b)

     B. He saves His anointed. (Psalm 20:6a)

     C. He answers with saving power. (Psalm 20:6b)

     D.  His people trust not in physical deliverance but in His power and reputation. (Psalm 20:7-8)

III. CONCLUSION: God answers and saves! (Psalm 20:9)

O Lord Jesus,

You answer me when I call out to You, my Savior. You see me. You know me. You answer me in all my trouble! You are my protection, help, and support. I offer all that I have and all that I am to You. You grant my desires and fulfill my plans. You are my joy. I trust not in the things of this world, but in You because You provide for me, protect me, and save me!

Amen 

Who is this?

And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Matthew 21:11-12

Who is this man

who dared to enter this town

riding on a donkey

like David’s kingly son?

He is Jesus…

a prophet who speaks

with an authority

we have never seen.

Who is this man

who touches the outcast

heals the sick and afflicted

and lifts up the downcast?

He is Jesus…

a healer for everyone

who needs His great power.

Look at what He has done!

Who is this man

who says He will die

crucified by our leaders

yet in three days rise?

He is Jesus…

a suffering Savior Who gives

His life for our sins

so with Him we will live!

Who is this man?

He is Jesus!

hard work / generous reward

So the last will be first, and the first last.

Matthew 20:16

My worth and significance are measured by what I give in service to my Lord. Did He call me to labor in His vineyard? Then, yes, I simply serve my King with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. It matters not how or when others may join me in that work. What matters most is that I give my best to the King. I will also rejoice that others may do the same.

I should never compare my level of commitment to others. There are many with greater gifts who have served longer than I have. There are many generations before me who still teach me. There are some who serve in other ways and may not have my margin or my responsibilities. I do not live to compare. Instead, I should rejoice that the Lord of the harvest knows how to utilize the unique contributions of every one of His disciples who labor in His vineyard. My focus should be gratitude. Gratitude for the grace that saved me to live for Him and serve His kingdom. Gratitude that His grace is equally marvelous for all He has called to serve Him. All of us in His harvest serve and sacrifice.

God exhibits an abundant generosity to all who serve in His vineyard… no matter the different individual investments of their time or talents. It is that generous love that reminds me to serve joyfully alongside my brothers and sisters. A generous reward will come for each of us. All of us get more than our sins deserve! Where I am now is a gift of God’s generous grace. So is where I have been, even in the hard parts of the vineyard that seemed unfruitful for a season. All of us will find amazing, generous, eternal reward in Christ and from Christ. Praise to the One Who calls us for His glory to His labor for His harvest in His kingdom!