Resting in Grace and Mercy: Lessons from Hebrews 4

Hebrews 4 is one of those chapters that we can easily read "over" ... having heard it a lot, the concept of "rest" often becomes just another Christian buzzword.  And unfortunately, it becomes one of those principles we extol verbally but inwardly question. It sounds good, but we sometimes question whether anyone ever experiences it. Or worse, we think everyone but us experiences it!!!

Digging into Hebrews 4 the last few weeks in preparation for leading it in Bible study this week, I was blessed to see multiple layers of richness. It helps to remember that the author is writing to Jews. Here, the author draws on commonly-known Jewish history to illustrate the Christian life. God not only wanted to deliver them from Egypt, He wanted to bring them to a place of rest in the Promised Land.

What do we need to know about entering God’s rest? What the author is going to tell us is that we enter the rest by faith, the rest goes hand-in-hand with obedience, and ultimately, it is a rest in relationship.

Rest in Faith

(1) Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. (2) For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. (3) For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, "AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST," although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. (4) For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: "AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS";


Warnings are calls to self-examination. The examination called for here is: Are we in His rest? So, how do we know if we have entered His rest? Scripture gives us the answer: by faith. Hearing the word is profitable only if it is combined with faith. We enter His rest by faith. In essence, believing God equals rest!

How can we practically come to a place of believing God more? In some ways it’s not up to us – faith is a work of the Holy Spirit. In other ways, we do have a part to play. The faith “muscle” has to be exercised. Scripture highlights two key ways we grow in faith: hearing God’s word (Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.) and obedience.

Rest in Obedience

(5) and again in this passage, "THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST." (6) Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, (7) He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, "TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS." (8) For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.

Today we can choose: Harden our hearts or keep them pliable. 

• Pliable hearts want to understand. Pliable hearts repent and seek to walk in obedience.
• Hard hearts don’t want to see because repentance is required (Matthew 13:15)
• The path to a pliable, listening heart is worship.

(6) Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. (7) For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, (8) Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness, - (Psa 95:6-8 NASB)

K.P. Yohannan speaks of the importance of pliable hearts by comparing to a potter near his high school in India. He says: “If the clay is hard, the potter will spend days pouring water on it and pounding it thoroughly until it becomes soft. It took God 20 long years of ‘pouring and pounding’ until Jacob’s heart became soft enough. Moses needed 40 years of desert life to become the meekest man on earth who could lead Israel out of Egypt….It is possible for us as believers to have a tender heart for a season, but then when God speaks to us about an issue, to choose not to humble ourselves but rather to harden our hearts….The Lord will not just let us go. He will allow circumstances to pound us so our hearts will once again become soft and pliable.”

(9) So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. (10) For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. (11) Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. (12) For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

In many ways this is the heart of the chapter. Joshua could not grant rest – only Jesus. Failure to enter this rest is a form of judgment. So, what is this rest?

If we believe, we have entered His rest (verses 3, 9) … resting from our works. Salvation is by faith, not works.  Obedience is not works – rest frees us from works and allows us to pursue a deeper level of obedience. Heart obedience, not works obedience, is what is desired. Spirit obedience is more, not less, obedient than legalism. The letter (legalism) looks for ways to get around the law; the Spirit looks for ways to obey God.

(1) Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. (3) For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, (4) so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (5) For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (6) For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, (7) because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, (8) and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (9) However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. - (Rom 8:1-9 NASB)

The rest spoken of in most of this chapter is a refreshing rest. It is associated in other passages with encouragement and relaxation. We might call it "R and R". It’s a rest that depends on Christ and not self.

(28) "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (29) "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. (30) "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." - (Mat 11:28-30 NASB)

(4) "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. (5) "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. - (Jhn 15:4-5 NASB)

In Heb. 4:9, however, the word is very specific: literally “Sabbath rest” or rest as it relates to “Sabbath keeping”. Some interpret this to mean that Christians should keep the Sabbath in the same way that Jews did; however, Paul makes clear in Colossians 2:16 and Romans 14:5-6 that such observances are matters of conscience for individual Christians. So Hebrews 4:9 must mean something different than a command to keep the Sabbath.  This word is used only here in the New Testament, so we have to look to the Old Testament for a context to understand what this means and interpret that in light of the full counsel of the New Testament. I think the best answer is found by looking at Exodus 31:12-17 when God gave the Sabbath to Israel:

(12) The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (13) "But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. (14) 'Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. (15) 'For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death. (16) 'So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.' (17) "It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed." - (Exd 31:12-17 NASB)

The Sabbath is a sign between God and Israel that God is the one who sanctifies. The Sabbath was a day set apart to remind Israel they were a people set apart. For those of us in Christ, the Biblical principle is called sanctification. Thus, I believe that “Sabbath rest” is a rest of sanctification. This fits with the context of obedience spoken of in verse 11 (in contrast to the Israelites’ disobedience). So when we enter God’s Sabbath rest, we enter His sanctification as we rest from our works and move by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is an important concept as we will see in the next section, because through the Holy Spirit, God’s Word will show us areas of disobedience – and the revelation of God’s Word happens in relationship.

Rest in Relationship

(Heb. 4:13-16) (13) And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. (14) Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. (15) For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. (16) Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Only after we enter His rest can we embrace Him as our faithful high priest. We have confidence to draw near and receive mercy and grace when we come through Christ, not works. He was fully God, but also fully man. In His humanity, His incarnation, He faced every temptation and overcame by the power of the Holy Spirit in His life – and that same power is at work in us. This links His incarnation and obedient life to our sanctification.

The help is in times of need, of weakness, of humanity. We get a rich understanding when we compare Hebrews 4:16 with 1:14 and 2:18.

In Hebrews 1:14 "help" actually means “minister” or “render service”; same word is used to refer to disciples. Practical acts of service. In Hebrews 2:18 "help" means “succor”, help in the idea of relief or rescue. But "help" as in Hebrews 4:16 is used ONLY twice in the New Testament, the other time in Acts 27:17:

(Acts 27:17) After they had hoisted it up, they used supporting cables in undergirding the ship; and fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the sea anchor and in this way let themselves be driven along.

John MacArthur describes this: “They would throw ropes around during the midst of the storm. throwing ropes around and securing and tightening and...with winches, to literally tighten the boards together so the whole ship wouldn't fall apart.” In classical Greek this word was used of the device used to make a ship secure, to help in times like Paul experienced. What are our supporting cables? Mercy and grace.

Jesus comes to our aid to relieve and rescue us from temptation – He knows what it is like. When the temptation builds, He provides the way out.  (1 Cor. 10:13) However, there are other times when we need more than a way out. We need to be held together! We need to be saved from falling apart due to our weakness. In those times He wraps His “supporting cables” around us to give us the two things we need most when we come face to face with our weaknesses: Mercy and grace.

I know God’s grace is there for my temptation – but sometimes I think my weaknesses don’t deserve it. Sometimes weaknesses aren’t even sins – physical illness; limitations due to disability; fatigue from having too many toddlers pulling at you all day. At those times, I don’t just need “succor”. I need His supporting cables of mercy and grace to hoist me up out of myself so I can see the throne of grace – the throne where He waits with nailscarred hands to welcome me to His table.

Even after salvation, even walking in freedom and wholeness and obedience, we still have weaknesses – physical and emotional, sometimes spiritual. Paul had them – 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 records what he learned:

(7) Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! (8) Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. (9) And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (10) Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. - (2Cr 12:7-10 NASB)

We can be strong when weak, because He supports us. In the storms of life, He puts His supporting cables around us, lifts us up, and undergirds us with mercy and grace. Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve.

Baldwin Hall Bible Study describes it this way: “For those who have trusted Christ for salvation, mercy and grace are available in these tempests. Instead of being beaten by the waves and taken away to isolation in the deep, the grace of God secures us in place. A rope has been tied to our boat to secure us so we do not drift away in the storm. We are helpless on our own, but the grace of God keeps us from sinking or wandering away. His grace does not promise that the storms will not come, only that He sovereignly keeps us through them.”

Scripture says that David was a man after God’s own heart. We see a picture of this type of help in weakness in David’s dealings with Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth.  Mephibosheth was crippled in both feet – 2 Sam. 4:4 says he was lame. He couldn’t walk. Here’s the story from 2 Samuel 9:

(1) Then David said, "Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" (2) Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David; and the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" And he said, "I am your servant." (3) The king said, "Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?" And Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet." (4) So the king said to him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said to the king, "Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar." (5) Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. (6) Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, "Mephibosheth." And he said, "Here is your servant!" (7) David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly." (8) Again he prostrated himself and said, "What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?" (9) Then the king called Saul's servant Ziba and said to him, "All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. (10) "You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master's grandson may have food; nevertheless Mephibosheth your master's grandson shall eat at my table regularly." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. (11) Then Ziba said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king commands his servant so your servant will do." So Mephibosheth ate at David's table as one of the king's sons. (12) Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth. (13) So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate at the king's table regularly. Now he was lame in both feet. - (2Sa 9:1-13 NASB)

Verse 5 is key to our point. David sent and “brought him” to the palace. The word used here is used in a form that can literally mean “carry”. Since Mephibosheth was lame, someone likely did carry him, quite literally, to the king’s table.  This reminds me of Deut. 33:26-27: “There is none like the God is Jeshurun who rides the heavens to your help, and through the skies in His majesty. The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”


A dwelling place. John 14 invites us to join Him and promises He will make His abode with us. Through the Holy Spirit, He does just that. When that happens, we are at rest in Him. We have His everlasting arms underneath us. One is Mercy – not getting what we deserve. The other is Grace – getting what we don’t deserve.

That’s the thought I want us to close with. Entering God’s rest happens by faith; the rest results in heart obedience; and we are carried along in that rest by relationship. When we enter His rest, we have the assurance of knowing that no matter how weak we are, His grace and mercy sustain us. We are always welcome at the throne of grace … even if He has to carry us there Himself.



Carried to the Table by Leeland

Wounded and forsaken
I was shattered by the fall
Broken and forgotten
Feeling lost and all alone
Summoned by the King
Into the Master’s courts
Lifted by the Savior
And cradled in His arms

I was carried to the table
Seated where I don’t belong
Carried to the table
Swept away by His love
And I don’t see my brokenness anymore
When I’m seated at the table of the Lord
I’m carried to the table
The table of the Lord

Fighting thoughts of fear
And wondering why He called my name
Am I good enough to share this cup
This world has left me lame
Even in my weakness
The Savior called my name
In His Holy presence
I’m healed and unashamed

You carried me, my God
You carried me

Flinging truth to the ground

"(the horn) will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper." (Daniel 8:12) 

It's a shaky vision for Daniel. At the end, he is exhausted and physically sick. There was no explanation. Among the many shocking things was a vision of truth being flung to the ground by a future ruler. Because Daniel is a favorite of teachers who emphasize end-times prophecy, I'm pretty familiar with the standard teaching that this passage was fulfilled partially by Antiochus Epiphenes and will be fulfilled completely by "the antichrist". But I've never really looked at the book devotionally until now. Asking God to show me something personally applicable from the midst of all these future prophecies has been enlightening.

What I learned today is that we so easily throw truth to the ground.

Oh, we don't go in our churches and toss the Bibles on the floor. Most evangelicals today don't question the inspiration of Scripture. But in our own way, day after day we fling truth to the ground. We see the results of this in our society and in our churches ... and in our own lives.

It's probably easiest to see the impact in our society. When we as a society call good evil and evil good, when people are encouraged to indulge in sin and promised no consequences, when a major children's filmmaker finds voodoo and images of the demonic an appropriate scene for six year olds -- we see what happens when lies are believed. When a society becomes enmeshed in a web of lies, the resulting fruit can be nothing but dark.

I think it's harder to see the impact of throwing truth to the ground in our churches. Maybe that's because we don't want to see it. Maybe it's because we're self-righteous. Maybe we've been too influenced by the culture. Or maybe we've just spent too much time learning how to study our Bible, and not given enough time to actually living out the truths written on its pages. I'll never forget a sermon I heard on James 1:22 ("be a doer of the word, and not a hearer only"). The speaker expressed God's reaction to all our Bible study like this in the form of a parable that went something like this:

A man went away on a long journey. He told his servants that they would be okay because they would have letters from him to help them know what to do. Be ready for my return, he said, and do what the letters tell you.

Years later he returned from the journey. He looked around at field with fruit fallen to the ground and rotted, at vineyards unkempt and lamps unlit. He gathered the servants together. They were ecstatic to have him back, and quickly came to his side.

"What's going on here?" he asked. "Why haven't you taken care of things? Didn't you read my letters?"

"Oh, yes, we read them" the servants answered. "In fact, we read them all the time. We get together and read them aloud. We have special dictionaries to help us understand what all your words mean. In fact, some of us even get together to talk about your letters one line at a time. Many of us have memorized large sections of the letters. We love your letters."

The man was at a loss. "But why didn't you ever do anything they said?"

That's how we can be in the church sometimes. If we don't outright deny God's word - increasingly a temptation in a postmodern society - we turn it into something to discuss and dissect and define. We find it easier to parse a Greek verb than to obey a hard command.  And little by little, as a church we fling truth to the ground.

Possibly the hardest to identify are those times when we individually fling truth to the ground. We do it so smoothly, rationalizing away the hard verses one at a time. We'd never say we don't believe God. But there's that verse that is just a little too hard to apply in our modern context (or so we think). So we turn away rather than face the limits of our own humanity. In the process, we miss a chance for deeper intimacy with Jesus as He helps us in our weaknesses.

The temptations and details are unique to each of us. "Do all things without grumbling or complaining" is a challenge for me at times - such as this week when I've spent hours on phone and email and chats with technical support at major companies. It's easy for me to think "all things" means less than "all things". I can face my weakness - or I can turn away and focus on something easier to achieve or worse, on the ways "the world" flings truth to the ground. The reality is, the upholding of truth in society will never be stronger than it is in the church. And the upholding of truth in the church will never be stronger than it is in the people who make up the church. One by one, day by day, our approach to truth defines our world.

So, how can we keep from flinging truth to the ground? How can we be sure we are embracing truth and not becoming legalistic about culturally-related passages such as "greet one another with a holy kiss"? Well, entire books have been written on the subject, so all I can really do here is share my own personal approach. I'd be interested in hearing your insights. Because I want to always lift truth up, not fling it to the ground.

How to embrace truth

• First and foremost, be in the Word - all of it. Don't pick and choose favorite topics. If you have never read through the Bible, start. It doesn't have to be in a year or in a certain order. I read one chapter a day - takes 3 1/2 years. But it's amazing how much I see that I never grasped when I focused on favorite sections. 
• Second, rely on the Holy Spirit. He is the One who leads us into all truth. Bible reading and prayer should go hand in hand. Pray before, during, and after your reading. Turn the passages into prayers. If there is a command, ask God to show you how to obey it. 
• Third, be willing to obey. Always be willing to follow through a command in Scripture to its fullest extent. One of the principles of the New Testament is that while we are not under the law, our Spirit-obedience is always more, not less, than legalistic obedience which tries to do "just enough to get by". We should want to obey God because we have new hearts. Practically speaking, this principle means approaching each passage as if it means just what it says. Now don't get me wrong - we will discuss cultural context in a minute. But our "default" should be, "OK, how can I obey this passage?" 
• Fourth, seek to understand the historical and literary context of your reading. There are several great books about principles of interpretation, but some of the key ones I use include: Let Scripture interpret scripture. Look up other books by the same author or other verses with the same subject. Get a full-orbed view of the topic, not an isolated passage. Never build a doctrine on an obscure passage. There is a lot in Scripture that is clear; God will shed light over time on what is unclear. A great Bible dictionary or encyclopedia, or a commentary written by someone with a high view of Scripture (as opposed to someone who doubts its inspiration) can often shed light on cultural elements that might impact an interpretation. One example would be Paul's instruction about women covering their heads. A comparison of all Paul's writings, will show this is an isolated command. Why? A good commentary will tell you that in Corinth, the prostitutes went uncovered and other women covered their heads. Paul was teaching them to avoid even the appearance of evil and approach their worship with covered heads out of respect and in contrast to the society in which they lived. In this way, you will begin to see principles that can be applied even when specific commands might be culturally driven. 
• Fifth, seek immediate application of the command or principle that you uncover. I assume if a command jumps out at me in Scripture that God has a place for me to apply that passage. Often I ask Him to give me the opportunity that day; other times an event occurs and the passage jumps to mind, and I know I have the opportunity to obey or disobey. Obeying lifts up God's Word; disobedience flings it to the ground. 
• Finally, believe God. When the command is hard ("leave everything and follow me" comes to mind!) - it's even more important to press in to find "mercy and grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16-17). It's at those times that we are most tempted to rationalize throwing truth to the ground and pick up our own understanding instead. But when God's word is clear and the only barrier is what makes sense to us, we need to STOP - surround ourselves with believers - and remind ourselves of Solomon's wisdom: 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

And lean not on your own understanding

In all your ways acknowledge Him

and He will direct your paths. (Prov. 3:5-6)

Psalm 125

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forevermore.

The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous,

for then the righteous might use their hands to do evil.
Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart.
But those who turn to crooked ways the Lord will banish with the evildoers.

Peace be upon Israel.

For true peace to reign, true justice must be established.

This principle lies at the heart of salvation in Christ, of course -- we could not have peace with God until His justice was satisfied, so He sent Jesus.

But the principle is true in the affairs of men as well. All true justice gives us glimpses of the character of our God, who among other attributes, is wholly and completely just. That means that He rightly and accurately, consistently, judges between right and wrong, good and evil. Scripture, especially the prophetic books of the Old Testament, is filled with admonitions that human judges reflect that same discernment.

Simply put, the good guys should win and the bad guys should lose. Without that assurance, peace is elusive and transitory at best, non-existent at worst. In our deepest heart of hearts, we know that something is not right when evil triumphs. As I write this tonight, I'm hearing stories of price-gouging from Europe, where thousands are stranded due to grounded flights. Most of us instinctively know that taking advantage of people in that way is wrong. We rightly recoil at the glimpse of humanity's potential for evil when such greed is on display. We want justice.

Sure, it's not always easy to know where the line between good and evil, between justice and injustice lies. My husband and I love to watch "Hogan's Heroes". It's about Allied soldiers in a POW camp during World War 2. It's totally unrealistic and silly, but I realized why I enjoy it: with few exceptions, the good guys and bad guys are clearly defined. I will always get to laugh as the wise "good guy" Allieds outsmart the evil Nazis yet again. It's justice served up with a side of humor, and it rings true this side of history because the evil of the Nazis has been confirmed repeatedly for 65 years and counting. In the middle of the battle, though, it's not always easy to sort things out.

That's why I think the Psalmist just totally puts the emphasis on God's ability to judge here. After encouraging the believing community to trust God - flowing perfectly from the end of Psalm 124's praise of God's deliverance - the Psalmist lifts up good and evil into God's hands to sort out. Verse 3 is so significant: God doesn't let the wicked reign over the righteous too long - but why? Because He doesn't want the hands of the righteous to do evil. Our hands were made to do good. God knows how much wickedness we can bear before we use those hands for evil. He protects us from ourselves. That doesn't mean we never do wrong - but God will guide us back to the right path.

Verses 4-5 illustrate God's judgment at a level we can never view - the heart. God knows who is upright in heart but burdened by the rule of the wicked and the injustice of the day. He knows equally who has turned to - embraced - crooked ways and rejected God's better path. And He will judge. We cannot.

I wish everything was as easy as Allieds vs. Nazis. It's not. Until the day when God makes all things right, we do the best we can ... trusting God with unshakeable faith, trusting that He surrounds us even as we see the shadow of the scepter drawing closer, trying with all our might to use our hands only for good, and keeping our hearts soft and pliable so we don't embrace and love crooked ways ... knowing in the end, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things (1 John 3:20). He'll right the wrongs and lift up those who were right all along.

"Peace be upon Israel." And peace be upon us ... peace that rests in God's perfect justice.

Grace

reflections during my quiet time today - an example of how God sets me straight! 

"Another day, another chance to get things right" -
    My first thought as I sit to pray.
A self-centered mantra,
     it reflects the American way.
For "if it is to be, it's up to me", you know -
    Who could question that?

But in the throne room,
     "Rugged individualism" has no place.
I sit before my Maker
      in desperate need of grace.
"His mercies are new every morning"
     What do I need more than that?

"Daily He bears my burdens"
    as at His feet I fall.
Learning anew that while my mistakes and sins are plentiful,
     His grace covers them all.
"Abundant grace to the worst of sinners"
     Is there any news better than that?

Authenticity

Faking it always came easy to me.

There's a lot of reasons why, from the earliest ages, I remember pretending not to know something I already knew, or to have answers I didn't have, or to hide my feelings or pretend in one area or another. One of the first things God began working on when I started walking with Him was the need to be real. Since that time, authenticity has been vitally important to me. It's become quite a buzzword in the church these days, as well.

In my journey toward authenticity I've had to learn and relearn a basic principle: Authenticity is not the greatest expression of a redeemed man or woman, Christlikeness is.

Instinctively, I think we know this. When I first started walking with God and He began peeling back the layers to show me the depth of my artificiality - so deep that even I didn't know who I was - my initial reaction was repulsion. I couldn't possibly be authentic, because I hated much of who I was. I didn't want  to have to show who I thought I really was. I still remember the prayer I prayed years ago when I began a Kay Arthur study on the Beatitudes: "Lord, if I'm going to be authentic, you're going to have to change who I am, because I don't want to be authentic the way I am today."

Ah, but that was the point. I had to learn that He loves me just the way I am, but too much to leave me there. There were things in my life that desperately needed to be changed. There were other things that I had to learn how to exhibit in the Spirit and not the flesh. For example, God gave me the personality that I have. That personality is fairly strong-willed and quite opinionated. I love to think and study and research. None of that is wrong, but I've had to learn to bring my will and my tongue under the control of the Spirit (correction: I'm still learning!), and to focus my time and energy on thinking and studying and researching things that truly matter. I can be fascinated by any number of topics, but I don't need to give years of study to each of them. Furthermore, authenticity has been as much about learning what not to change as what to change and what to control. I don't need to seek change in areas that are just different. God's Word is filled with marvelous examples of unique individuals that were different from each other like night from day. Each had a mission that the other would have been ill-suited to fulfill.

As I've reflected on my journey toward authenticity recently, I realized that I had drifted away from the basic principle that Christlikeness, not authenticity, is the greatest expression of a redeemed man or woman. As I look at the trend within the church toward authenticity, my concern is that authenticity has become an idol to us. We rightly want pastors and teachers who don't act superior and let us know they, too, are flawed. But we need pastors and teachers to take it to the next level and help us learn how to take our flaws to Jesus and ask Him to make us authentically Christlike in that area. We need to be walked through the steps of 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 and other passages that can help us submit our flesh to Christ.

What we need in the church is an expanded understanding of all it means to be Christlike - not a deeper glimpse at our own humanity. Too often we've limited Christlikeness to moral actions and failed to explore His deeper emotions and motivations. Scripture records Jesus as feeling compassion, sadness, anger, joy. He sought the prayers of others. We see Him resting and eating and walking through the fields. As we behold Him, Paul tells us, we are transformed more into His image.  Keeping our eyes on Jesus, studying what is revealed in the Gospels about who He was in all His humanity and deity, will help us to know all that it means to be fully human - and we'll be changed in the process.

Seeking authentic transformation to Christlikeness is not hypocrisy. We'll still mess up, and we should never claim to have "arrived". Hypocrisy is pretending to be something that we're not. If we're believers, we should be on a journey toward Christlikeness. Authenticity is simply letting others walk that journey with us.

"He's Alive"

He's alive. 

I fear we've pretty much lost the sense of the power behind those words on that glorious Lord's Day long ago. We've relegated the resurrection to doctrinal treatises, theological statements, and a familiar story. We forget that to the earliest followers of Jesus, the resurrection equalled HOPE.

Go with me for just a moment back to that week in Jerusalem. Pretend you haven't read the end of the story.
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You've watched your leader - the one you hoped would bring an end to Roman rule in Jerusalem and restore Jewish leadership - enter Jerusalem to fanfare. Your hopes were high that day. How proud you were! The week was action-packed, with teaching and confrontations with religious leaders. You hardly knew what to think and hardly had time, as the crowd was pressing from every side with the Passover feast coming up on Thursday night. All you knew was that people wanted to be around Jesus as He continued His ministry of teaching and healing. But the crowd wouldn't be around for the private Passover feast in the upper room. You would, though. You could hardly wait to celebrate the feast - you knew the words by heart, having repeated them annually every year of your life. This year, though, with the Lord, and filled with such hope - what they would mean to you.

And yet, the tone of the evening was so different than you anticipated when you eagerly prepared the lamb and the table. Jesus was talking about going away ... about laying down His life ... and betrayal ... nothing made sense. Judas left, and you didn't really understand why. You followed Jesus outside, by the temple and across the Kidron Valley to the Garden where you've gone before. All the way, He kept teaching. He told you how to know when "the end" comes. He talked of abiding in Him. He prayed. And then, He went on further still, to a place alone with God, and asked you to watch and pray. You tried, you really did, but sleep overcame you. Before you realized it, the time in the garden came to an abrupt end. There was a Roman guard, and Judas - betraying Jesus? Jesus allowing them to arrest him? You wanted to fight, but He said no. Everything blurs together after that ... fleeing the guards ... Peter's denial ... the crowd chanting "Crucify Him " ... before you realize what happened Jesus was headed up to Golgotha with a cross. He was really letting them crucify Him. Only one of your group was there when He died, and was charged with caring for His mother. Surely, if Jesus planned to stop this madness, He wouldn't have given that responsibility of the oldest son to someone else.

So after the Sabbath, you awoke to the second day without the One whose movements had defined your life for 3 years as you traveled the countryside together. What could be done? It was all so hopeless. Was it all in vain?

But then - here come the women. Mary Magdelene leads the bunch. "He's alive! He's really alive!" she proclaims. It's too good to be true. But Peter and John run to the tomb. Sure enough, it's empty. But what does it mean? You gather the group together in the upper room ... locking the door for fear of the Roman guard who had thought you might steal His body ... and two of the group talk about how Jesus had appeared to them on the road to Emmaus. Could it be? He had said something about resurrection, hadn't He? What was that again? While you are still talking, He appears ...

Luke 24:36-43 (ESV) As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

He's alive!! He's really alive!! It wasn't meaningless after all! A later apostle would write If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Cor. 15:19). Tonight, you know there is no need for pity. You have a message for the world. He's alive.
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We still have that message. We lose it sometimes, amidst life's busyness and routine and the ritual we are prone to make of our faith. But for the earliest believers, "He's alive" became a greeting and a confession. It was a reminder of hope when they were in the extreme minority. "He's alive" means that the Gospel is true. It means that we serve a risen Savior who is living and active and involved in our lives intimately. He makes intercession for us eternally at the right hand of the Father, where the scars in His hands serve as a permanent reminder that He went to the cross for our sins, but that He conquered death.


He's alive. May the whole world know the hope behind those words.

Holy Week 2010

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." - 2 Cor. 5:21

After my last post, God did something He is prone to do in my life: He called me on what I said to you. You'll recall I blogged about the challenge of seeking to be devotional rather than just focusing on what to write or teach. Well, the rest of Holy Week was definitely about what God wanted to say to me ... and to make sure I didn't forget it, He kept the circumstances just enough out of my control to keep me off the computer and away from the blog.

It's not that He doesn't want me to write ... I've had confirmation after confirmation, most notably through my husband, that I should be writing. It's just that He didn't want me reading those significant words for any reason other than relationship with Him. He wanted this Holy Week to refocus me on the cross and away from my own efforts - because even those efforts that are God-glorifying, Christ-honoring, and Spirit-led can easily become "works", especially in our results-oriented society.

But for 2 1/2 years now, God has been teaching me that a relationship with Him and me joining Him in His work is a lot more about process than it is about results. Oh, results happen. But as my life verse at the top of this blog reminds me, they happen because of Him, not because of me! I have to focus on the process and what He wants to teach me and where He wants to place me and who He wants to connect me with and what HE is doing that He wants to invite me to join. For a task-oriented person like me, that is incredibly hard. I'm so grateful that He knows when to intervene more radically and protect me from my own tendencies ... like this week.

I have really had an amazing Holy Week. God has spoken to me in dramatic ways through each day's readings. This year, He seemed to give me an overall "theme" for each day, which He allowed me to see threaded throughout that day's readings. This helped me tie together sometimes large chunks of Scripture around one central lesson. Here are the "themes" for the days since I last wrote:

* Tuesday of Holy Week: "What am I doing with what He has given me?" We are all given truth and resources. What am I doing with them? Jesus took what He was given and served. Luke 22:27 "For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves."

* Wednesday of Holy Week: There are no readings for this day. This has been called Jesus' "silent" day. But it's a reminder that the silence is always only from our side. He is always at work.

* Thursday of Holy Week: "My great need and His great supply." The disciples had a great poverty of understanding, of love, of strength to stay awake. As I read this day I realized how much of it reflects the needs of humanity. Jesus' teaching and prayer in John 14-17 especially underscore this truth.

* Friday of Holy Week: I can say it no better than C.J. Mahaney: "We never move on from the cross, only to a deeper understanding of the cross." As I read all the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion at one sitting, I was hit with an incredible sense of the injustice of it all. The one perfect man, God in the flesh, beaten and mocked and spat on and rejected and betrayed. Everything in me wanted to stop it, to say it was wrong. Imagine how the Father felt. And yet Scripture tells us that on the cross, God demonstrated His justice. Why? Because a holy God cannot ignore sin. He loved us enough to make a way for relationship with Him, but that way had to deal with the sin that stood in the path. He dealt with my sin ... with your sin ... with the sin of the world ... on the cross. If Barabbas had been executed instead, none of us would say it was injust. He earned execution due to his crimes. Jesus' crucifixion would have been injust -- except for the fact that He bore our sin. All the sins of the world were heaped on Him and God's justice - the justice due every person in the world - was satisfied. And He went beyond justice - after judging our sin on the cross, He gives those who embrace the work of Christ on their behalf His righteousness. He makes us new. As the Scripture above says, He became our sin so we would have the chance to become His righteousness. That should take our breath away and cause us to fall to our knees in worship. My sin is what kept Jesus' crucifixion from being an injustice and instead, made it a demonstration of God's perfect justice.

* Saturday of Holy Week: The women, ah the amazing women. They couldn't wait to get to the tomb! After Sabbath was over (about 6 p.m. Saturday evening), they got things ready to go to the tomb. I'm not sure exactly what all this looked like, as we know they discovered the empty tomb at dawn on Sunday. But what spoke to me was their eagerness to get to Jesus. They didn't know He would be risen. They just wanted to do what they could for Him. Mary Magdalene represents so many of us who have been forgiven much and so love much. May I awaken every morning with her eagerness to get to Him!

I can't wait for tomorrow. Here's a little secret: I am happy to have friends who live where it's already resurrection morning, so I can send them greetings tonight a little ahead of time. But there will be something special about those early morning hours tomorrow. I want to look ahead in my Bible to the empty tomb. But that isn't how it works. Tomorrow, along with millions around the world, I'll turn to those timeless words and discover that the tomb, nearly 2000 years later, remains empty.

For tonight, I close with one of my favorite modern hymns. The lyrics are below. Tonight, remember the wounds which marred the Chosen One are the wounds which brought us to glory. Hallelujah.




How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
And make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulder
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Monday of Holy Week: Follow the Leader

Today's readings: Matthew 21:12-13, 18-19; Mark 11:12-18; Luke 19:45-48; John 12:20-50
 
As I sought the Lord about the word He had for me today from Monday of Holy Week, I noticed many interesting things about these passages. I noticed that there was a lesson from the withering of the fig tree. I observed the obvious missional message of the coming of the Greeks signaling Jesus' "hour has come". I saw the sad truth that many fail to confess Him because they "loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God." But none of these, I sensed, were His word to me.

Here's a secret about teaching and writing: There is a constant temptation to read Scripture for lesson preparation and God's Word to "them" - whoever the audience might be at a given moment. This morning, as I dialogued with God about Monday of Holy Week, I was reminded of a basic lesson that the Teacher taught this teacher: If I'm not digging into His Word devotionally and studiously for myself, just for what He wants to teach me, then I have nothing to say to you or anyone else. One of the earliest prayers He taught me to pray over my teaching was "Lord, make the lessons that I teach manifest in my life." He has never failed to do that. I'm convinced one reason Scripture tells us that teachers incur a stricter judgment is just this very principle. Nothing will shut my mouth faster than realizing I'm about to say something that I only know academically. Because God is far too faithful to His body to let me get by with that one. So please, pray for your teachers and pastors and church leaders. You can rest assured that God won't let them get by with an abstract understanding of truth.

So - back to today's lesson. As I processed all of the above yet again, I told God to show me what the lesson was for me. What I needed to be reminded of in these familiar words. Two verses jumped out at me:

John 12:26: "If anyone serves me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant also be; if any one serves Me, the Father will honor him."


John 12:49 "For I did not speak on my own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak."

When I read these I immediately thought of Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God Bible study. One of his key teachings is that God is always at work and invites us to join Him in His work. That's key because it's His work, not ours; we don't invite Him to join us, He invites us to join Him. I should look for where He is at work and join Him. The first passage reminds me to follow Him - where He is, His servant should desire to be. The second passage tells me that He models what He expects of me; He spoke not on His own initiative but the Father's.

All of this reminds me of the childhood game "Follow the Leader." I am in a season of rest following an intense focus on getting a master's degree. I don't know what God has next for me, but this is yet another remind that He wants me to let HIM be the leader. I have to trust Him.

Here's the beautiful thing about this level of submission: Colossians 3:3 tells me, "For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Yes, I am not "the leader". But in that death to self, I am in the most secure place possible. As Corrie Ten Boom described it, Christ cups me in His hand and God cups Christ in His ... so I am doubly-covered.

It's a lesson that I can never learn enough!

Palm Sunday of Holy Week: Do we recognize His presence?

Today's passages: Matthew 21:1-17; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44; John 12:1, 9-19

For over a decade now, I've set aside whatever Bible study I've been doing, pushed the pause button on wherever I am in my on-going read-through of the Bible, and pick up my Parallel Gospels to focus on the happenings of Holy Week. Each day, I read through all 4 Gospel accounts of the events leading up to Jesus crucifixion. This practice has helped me stay focused on the cross, fully feel its crushing blow to the disciples, and rejoice on Resurrection Morning as I realize afresh why the message of the early church was, "He is Risen! He is risen indeed!"

Another habit I've developed in conjunction with this is praying for God to reveal something at a deeper level each time I read the now-familiar passages. I don't want to check something off a list. I've learned that Scripture is like an onion with many layers and as we seek to know and obey Jesus, the Holy Spirit will peel back more layers. As I prayed that prayer this morning, I began to see a theme throughout the Palm Sunday readings: Do we recognize His presence? The passages give us several portraits of individuals at various points on a spectrum of awareness that can be instructive to the church today. I pray that the Lord will use these portraits in your life and in the life of your church or small group as we seek Him during this most significant of all weeks on the church calendar.

Clued in: The owner of the colt and Jesus' 2 disciples. (Mark 11:1-7; see also Matt. 21:1-3 and Luke 19:29-34)

(Mark 11:1-7 NASB) - As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, and said to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. "If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' you say, 'The Lord has need of it'; and immediately he will send it back here." They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. Some of the bystanders were saying to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it.

On our spectrum, these individuals are as aware as they could be prior to the day of Pentecost and the eye-opening Holy Spirit. What strikes me the most about these individuals is their unqualified obedience. The 2 disciples, of course, had been around Jesus and realized that He could make some, shall we say, unconventional requests (see: Loaves and Fishes, Water to Wine, Mud for healing blind man). What intrigues me about these disciples' obedience is that as far as we can see in Scripture, there is no questioning or second-guessing. While the disciples certainly felt the freedom to ask questions - Scripture records numerous occasions - by this point these two disciples apparently had learned enough to just go along. They were clued in to His presence enough to know that if He asked them to go do something, He had a reason.

The owner of the colt also exhibits a high level of "clued in". We don't know any more about this man other than an important quality: He surrenders what he had to the Lord. Did he know "the Lord" was Jesus? We really don't know. But for nearly 2000 years his obedience has set a high bar for believers in Jesus. Like this man, anything in our possession should be available if "the Lord has need of it". 2 Corinthians 8:12-15 provide our best understanding of how this might look in our lives: God wants us to meet the needs of others with our resources. If we have more than our basic needs, then "if the Lord has need of it" through the needs of one of His people, we should be willing to supply.

Interestingly, neither the disciples nor the owner of the colt are named. Like so many shining examples of the faith, they remain anonymous except in His eyes. It didn't matter that we know their names. What mattered is that He knew they were willing to obey ... and that they were clued in to His Lordship.

Getting a clue: The crowd. (Matthew 21:8-17; see also Mark 11:8-11; Luke 19:35-40; John 12:12-18)

(Matthew 21:8-17 NASB) - Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!" When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" And the crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee." And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER'; but you are making it a ROBBERS ' DEN ." And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these children are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, 'OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF'?" And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

Further down the spectrum we find the crowd that welcomes Jesus into Jerusalem, the Triumphal Entry that fulfilled prophecy. This crowd always intrigues me, since we know that it is likely many of the same people who, 5 days later, will be calling for Jesus' crucifixion - people in Jerusalem for the great Passover feast. In that, the crowd represents our human condition and the fickleness that we have toward those in whom we place great hope. But today, I see something different in the crowd. I see glimpses of understanding. I see a group of people who don't completely realize the significance of what they were doing, and yet who still present a picture of praise.

The crowd gets a lot of things wrong. They have Messianic expectations that are focused on political solutions - treating Jesus as a king coming to overthrow the Romans and retake Jerusalem. They readily recognize Jesus as a prophet, but fail to submit to His unqualified Lordship as the disciples and owner of the colt do. They praise God for the miracles that Jesus had done and continues doing even in their midst as He heals the blind and lame in the temple. John tells us that many were drawn to the gathering after hearing that He raised Lazarus from the dead (see John 12:17-18). Their focus seems more on what He can do and what they hope He will be, than on who He has revealed Himself to be. From the vantage point of 2000 years, we could pick apart their theology for hours. And yet ...

Jesus does not condemn the crowd. In fact, He defends them. When the Jewish leaders call for Him to rebuke the crowd in Luke's account, Jesus responds: "I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out." (Luke 19:39-40). In the passage above in Matthew, when the leaders are indignant over the children's worship of Jesus, He pulls out a passage from the Psalms and defends their praise. In Jesus' reaction I see both the obvious - He was the Messiah, and He was being very public about it - and the subtle. He doesn't condemn them not only because what they are saying is true, but because He is the Messiah who, in the words of Isaiah, does not break bruised reeds or extinguish faintly burning wicks (Isa. 42:1-3). He doesn't condemn us for our less-than-perfect understanding, our faltering faith, or our human errors in methodology. He knows when the focus is on Him, and when our eyes are rightly focused and our hearts willing, He can teach us and correct us.

Don't get me wrong. Sound doctrine is critical within the church on essential matters. When we have the full counsel of God's Word and the indwelling Holy Spirit, we should not be easily swayed (see Ephesians 4). However, I see the crowd as more like those who are trying to understand, who have a limited awareness of Jesus because they come from a background where He wasn't known or if known, not honored and His Word not taught. Even within the church, our awareness of Him should constantly be growing (compare 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians and rejoice!). But especially for seekers and new believers, I believe it's important to point toward Jesus as the object of worship, and the Holy Spirit and Word of God as the tools for revelation. If those with the Ephesians 4 gifts (apostles, evangelists, prophets, teachers, pastors) consistently teach and speak God's Word and point new believers back to it, helping them learn to discern the Holy Spirit's voice, those early errors will quickly be corrected. When dealing with those 'getting a clue', let's learn to match the gentleness of Jesus as He defends their imperfect praise.

The clueless: The Pharisees, the chief priests and the scribes. (Matthew 21:15-17; Luke 19:39-40; John 12:10-11, 19).

Jesus' words of rebuke are leveled at the religious leaders who, in their minds at least, knew the truth. Never mind that Jesus had made clear early in His ministry that they sought the Scriptures but missed Him (John 5:39-47). These "leaders" clearly had their own agenda already; they determined to put Jesus and Lazarus to death after He raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:53 and 12:10-11). John 12:19 reveals the heart of their concerns: The Pharisees therefore said to one another, "You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him."

"The world has gone after Him." What a clueless reaction. Of course the world would go after Jesus - the Messiah, the Savior, God incarnate. They had tried unsuccessful to thwart His ministry and now, on the day of His triumphal entry, failed to stop the praise that He was rightfully due. Their plan to kill Jesus now begins to gather steam and it will culminate later in the week.

What a rebuke to the "religious elite" whose focus lies everywhere but Jesus and who, by their actions, try to stop what God intends to allow. We see it every day: established churches critique a new start-up; denominational churches denounce non-denominationals; non-denominationals judge denominationals; we hold up this or that method and verbally blow holes through it; and on it goes. Again, I'm not talking the fundamental doctrines of the faith. So much of this happens over non-essentials, preferences, even cultural issues like whether to use African drums in worship! We fail to take a step back and see if we can recognize His presence in a non-traditional format. We fail to examine whether the unfamiliar paths lead to the cross.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to be "clueless" - I want to be "clued in". Hopefully I'm at least "getting a clue", because I don't want Jesus to say to me, as He said of Jerusalem in Luke 19:44, "you did not recognize the time of your visitation." May we always recognize His presence.

See previous Palm Sunday posts here and here.  

Psalm 124

If the Lord had not been on our side - let Israel say -
If the Lord had not been on our side when men attacked us,
When their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive.
The flood would have engulfed us,
The torrent would have swept over us,
The raging waters would have carried us away.

Praise be to the Lord who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler's snare;
The snare has been broken and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
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Wholeness. That's the word that comes to mind when I think about what the psalmist was dealing with in these verses. Again flowing perfectly with the previous Psalm in which they entrusted themselves to God's mercy, here the Psalmist leads Israel in remembering a time when God's mercy led to deliverance.

The anger is pictured vividly in these verses - words like attack, flare, and raging; animal imagery like tearing by the teeth and a bird in the snare, all combine to help us visualize the problem facing Israel. We don't know exactly which struggle was remembered here, and that's okay, because we know what happened. God stepped in.

Anger is probably the emotion I struggle with the most. For a host of reasons, nothing shuts me down like being around an angry person. And there is no emotion I have a harder time expressing. So as I've memorized this Psalm, I haven't had any trouble at all personalizing the deliverance.

But this Psalm also reminds me of another type of deliverance: spiritual. When I look back over my life and the person I was 20 years ago, I know without a doubt that "the snare has been broken, and [I] have escaped." I also know that "if the Lord had not been on my side" ... I wouldn't even want to finish the sentence. I don't want to know where I would be.

One thing God's been teaching me this year is wholeness. A new insight for me is that freedom in Christ doesn't truly come until there is wholeness. Deliverance from a besetting sin or captive situation doesn't equal freedom until something healthy is embraced instead. For example, I've been struggling to lose weight for years now. I've embraced the concept that overeating is a sin and that I need to be healthy. But my "default" until recently has been unhealthy choices. I would eat healthy because I "had" to, not because I wanted to. But on a vacation my husband and I had trouble finding a meal with veggies one day due to limited choices in the small towns we visited. By the next day, we both wanted salad. I knew then that I had turned a corner. I knew that true freedom was coming because I had replaced an unhealthy desire with a healthy one.

Wholeness is a critical concept. There are a lot of false teachings out there about freedom. One places everything on "the devil". I call this "devil made me do it" theology. There's a demon around every corner, and an entire industry exists to help you get rid of them. There is a much stronger focus on the enemy than on God.

Another false teaching about freedom is a belief shared with Buddhism; it's the idea that the desire itself is the problem. Now many Christians would be shocked at being accused of harboring Buddhist beliefs; but the reality is that while we rarely put it in those terms, we act as though desire is the problem. This is especially seen in areas of sexuality but can be reflected in any number of spheres of life. I work at a University and I have talked to Christian students who were taught, implicitly or explicitly, that considering their passions and interests in determining a career choice was wrong and even selfish. They had truly never considered that God had placed within them a unique set of skills and interests and that He might be using their passion to guide them to the field in which He had uniquely designed them to excel.

Another area I've seen this tendency to squelch "desire" - and been guilty myself - is personality. When I began walking with the Lord I thought that my personality had to go. I had to become this "ideal Christian woman" which meant quiet, unopinionated, always spiritual, and loving to work on crafts and shop at Branson malls on the way home from retreats. Well, none of those things are me. I'm frequently loud, very opinionated, growing spiritually but not always spiritual, hate crafts, and would pull my hair out if after 3 days with a group of people I had to stop and shop at a mall. I had to learn to quit denying who God made me to be. I had to embrace my personality to be free - and whole.

Freedom is a journey. If the Lord had not been on my side, I wouldn't have even known I was in a snare. He set me free. I could list the ways for hours. But tonight, I am most grateful that when He freed me from that fowler's snare, He didn't just turn me loose. He cupped me in His nail-scarred hands and began the lifelong process of making me whole.

Psalm 123

I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven.
As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till He shows us His mercy.
Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt.
We have endured much ridicule from the proud, much contempt from the arrogant.
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"Eye-hand coordination." That's what ran through my mind the entire time I was memorizing this psalm. When I memorize, I look for repeated words that can help me link sections of the passage. So as I studied this psalm to find memory cues, what quickly jumped out was the repetition of "eyes" and "hand".

I'm focusing on improving health lately, so eye-hand coordination is a concept I'm familiar with. It's one thing that can be an indicator of cognitive function as well as physical ability. This Psalm helps us to see that eye-hand coordination is significant spiritually as well.

At the heart of eye-hand coordination is a simple concept: Where are you looking? Where do you trust? Where do you look to have basic needs met. "Give us this day our daily bread." That's a Biblical prayer, and one that reminds us where we should be looking. Whether basic needs, significant problems like the Psalmist will address in the next chapter, or ridicule and contempt that he addresses here ... we need to look to one place: the hand of God.

The Psalmist's request is interesting. When he looks to God, he doesn't ask God to come against those who are ridiculing him. There's a Biblical basis to expect that God would take seriously ridicule and attacks on one of His own. Acts 9:4 records Jesus asking Saul "Why are you persecuting me?" when he was attacking Christians. Gen. 12:1-3 records God's call of Abram and His promise that those who bless Abram would be blessed and those who curse him would be cursed. As the descendant of Abram, the Psalmist could have prayed this passage and asked God to curse the enemy. In fact, we see other Psalms where the Psalmist does just that. But here, we see the Psalmist's cry at what I believe is a deeper heart level: mercy.

Mercy has been defined as "not getting what we deserve" while grace is "getting what we don't deserve". That's a good Biblical definition of each from a New Testament perspective. The Old Testament word for mercy, however, combines the concepts. So the Psalmist is saying, Lord, we're waiting on you until you give us what we don't deserve and not give us what we do deserve. It's a concept that is echoed three times in two verses; they beg for mercy because of the ridicule and contempt they have endured. They leave it in God's hands how that mercy will look.

Sometimes ridicule and contempt are important in shaping us. I love a quote from Francis Frangipane:

To inoculate me from the praise of man,
He baptized me in the criticism of man,
until I died to control of man.

If God knows that I need to be inoculated from the control of man, removing all ridicule and contempt would not be merciful. Yet in His mercy, God can strengthen me to focus on Him and enable me to learn the lessons I need to learn. Other times, God's mercy might step in and apply a balm to the relationship to end the contempt. Still other times, His mercy might remove me from the situation.

God has a character of mercy. He is ALWAYS merciful. Yet each of us have our own walk with God and our own lessons to learn. As a result, the application of His mercy will look different for everyone. When you cry out to God for mercy, He knows how to respond.

Psalm 122

I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord."
Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together.
That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, to praise the name of the Lord, according to the statute given to Israel.
There the thrones for judgment stand, the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels."
For the sake of my brothers and friends I will say, "Peace be with you".
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your prosperity.

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Just as Psalm 120 seemed to flow seamlessly into Psalm 121 - a distress call becoming a turning to the Lord - Psalm 122 continues the thought of Psalm 121. Knowing these were sang as a unit on a journey to Jerusalem, I can really see the connections that our artificial chapter divisions hide.

Psalm 121:7-8 contains a promise that God will watch over our lives, and over our coming and going. Psalm 122 opens with a rejoicing in going to the house of the Lord. This speaks to me of what He wants us to do with the freedom we have in the Lord. He gives us security. As believers we know that He is FOR us (Romans 8:31). We know that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:4). So - what to do with all that security and freedom? Psalm 121:7-122:1 gives us a portrait of the Psalmists answer to that question: WORSHIP. Free in the knowledge that God would watch over all his comings and goings, he chooses to go to the temple and rejoices at the journey.

Wow. What an amazing thought - that our joy, our freedom, could be so wrapped up in Him! That is upside-down thinking, but completely Biblical. Our joy and worshipping Him are not at odds. In fact, only in Him will we find true joy. John Piper puts it this way: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." He is about creating willing worshippers - people whose heart wants to worship Him - not reluctant religious robots.

Worship is far more than the service we have on Sunday mornings - though we should gather as believers and experience the unity of corporate worship. Worship, according to the whole counsel of the word of God, is a life focused on loving God and loving others, on glorifying Him through our thoughts, words, and deeds. Worship is what we do at church and at home and at work and at the Wendy's drive-through. Worship occurs when we gather and sing and hear the Word; it also occurs when we turn off a movie that dishonors God and blasphemes His name; when we embrace the outcasts of our society; when our passion for God exceeds our passion for food or money or drugs or sex or work. All these things aren't bad. Some are quite good, under the control of the Spirit. But they are to be experienced secondarily to a passion for Him.

How can we have that kind of passion for Him? I think verse 2 contains a hint: "Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem." How easy it was to worship when standing in front of the temple ... when the Holy of Holies was only feet away ... when the Shekinah glory fell. In my life, the times of strongest passion for God have occurred when I recognized the reality of His presence ... when I knew that through Christ I could get closer to the Holy of Holies than these travellers ever dreamed of - I can go right into His presence (Hebrews 10:19-22). I can confidently enter His sanctuary - and He has made ME His temple! That is almost unfathomable. No, it is more than that. It IS unfathomable, because my past is anything but glorious. I'm not just talking about my pre-Jesus past. I'm talking about last week - yesterday - this morning! Yet because His Spirit indwells me, because His blood covers me, I am His temple. And so are you. Are you feeling the passion with me yet?

When things get routine or ritualistic, when I struggle to have that passion, inevitably I realize that I have stepped into my own flesh and quit believing Him for the dailyness of His presence. That doesn't mean that we don't go through what St. John of the Cross called "the dark night of the soul." We all at times don't have the feelings of passion. But we can still have it by faith, by trusting that He is with us and for us and in us and using us and hearing us, and we can rejoice at what He is doing or will do ... even if we don't "feel" it at the moment.

So the Psalmist then moves into a focus on Jerusalem. This passage is rightly used to challenge us to pray for Jerusalem, and we should. This Scripture even tells us HOW to pray. I love that we have permission to pray for Jerusalem to have peace. If there is any place in the world that needs it, that town does. And yet I seem something more in this passage. I see a missions Scripture (surprise!).

Acts 1:8 tells us that the disciples became Jesus' witnesses in "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth." I'd like to use verses 3-9 to challenge you to prayer for YOUR Jerusalem. I want you to think about this along two tracks:
1) Your spiritual Jerusalem (your place of worship, a church or small group)
2) Your ministry Jerusalem (the town in which you live and work and do life)

The answers are going to be different for each of us, but I'd like us all to follow this pattern for both your spiritual and ministry Jerusalems based on vv. 3-9:

1. Describe how your Jerusalems are designed (not necessarily literally) (v. 3) - for example, for my hometown I can say that God has placed me in "Fayetteville, an eclectic city filled with people from all over the world." For my church I would say, "Calvary Chapel, a church devoted to sound doctrine and the teaching of the Word of God." Your approach will be unique to your situation.
2. Next, describe what happens in your Jerusalems (vv. 4-5). This can be related to your description, or unrelated if you have something else on your heart. For Fayetteville, I have said, "You have brought the nations to our door. They have a chance here to hear of Your name, to know You through our love." For my church I would say, "This is where people come to hear truth and find a place that tries to find a Biblical balance to many of the non-essential issues that divide Christians."
3. Write a prayer for your Jerusalems. (vv. 6-7)
4. Determine what you will do out of love for God and others (vv. 8-9).

I hope this exercise helps you as it has me. It's hard to know how to turn passages like this into practical application for today, but I believe that the pattern it sets is one that can help us whatever the current situation of our church and ministry "Jerusalems".

The Priority of Love

You study the scriptures thoroughly because you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these same scriptures that testify about me, but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life. (John 5:39-40)

My friend has a book title in her head: "Exercises in Missing the Point." She constantly files away examples when someone majors on minors to the point that they miss the forest for the trees. In John 5, Jesus address the Pharisees who have completely missed him in their deep searching of Scriptures. This is a passage that should give pause to all of us who love Bible study, because we too can miss the point.

I love truth. Perhaps because I walked in deception for so many years, I am vigilant about not believing any more lies. This vigilance, however, has a shadow side. I could easily become a portrait in my friend's book if I allow myself to miss the priority of love.

Love - the greatest commandment. Love God, love others. Love permeates the New Testament. We're told it's the way we fulfill the law. We're instructed to love deeply, sincerely, and continually. Even our presentation of truth is to be done in love. In fact, in one of the most well-known New Testament passages, Paul tells us that without love we are "nothing". We're not just falling short, we're completely failing to communicate when love is not behind every word we speak. Love is our defining mark as believers in Jesus. Our love for God, for each other, and for the world authenticates our message. Our failure to love speaks louder than any words.

Within the body of Christ, we are called to pursue sound doctrine. But even here, love should reign. The reality is, sound doctrine does not equal perfect theology. As you read this blog you will find times when my theology falls short. Bible studies, however well-researched, well-written, and well-presented, are not Scripture. The only perfect theology is found on the pages of the Bible, and the minute we start interpreting our biases and prejudices and cultural lenses can lead us astray. That's why God gives us the Holy Spirit and the body of Christ.  The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth, and we can help each other stay within the bounds of sound doctrine on the essentials of the faith.

But that won't mean we won't have differences on non-essentials, or approach essentials from different angles. That's why we need to be in unity with other believers who can enrich our understanding within the bounds of sound doctrine. For example, sound doctrine about Jesus attests to both His full humanity and full divinity. Some churches emphasize His humanity without diminishing His deity; they remind us that He knows our weaknesses, understands temptation, and entered into His suffering with full physical consequences, so He has compassion on our physical suffering as well. Other churches emphasize His deity without diminishing His humanity; they remind us that He is Lord, that He gave up communion with the Father to come to earth, and that His priority for us is spiritual and eternal. Approaching a different emphasis with love rather than judgment will enable us to learn from the best of each other.

Paul had plenty of people picking him apart. In Thessalonica, Jewish leaders acting out of jealousy led the citizens in an uproar against Paul's team, picking out the doctrine of the Lordship of Christ and using it as a hook to get the people to reject the teaching. Paul's next stop introduced him to a completely different bunch of people. The Bereans are often held up as examples when assessing doctrine. However, it's not usually noted that they weren't looking for errors; instead, they were seeking to confirm truth. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. (Acts 17:11). 

The Bereans were eager, and they went back to Scripture for confirmation. The Bereans give me to the sense of someone who wonders if the Gospel could be too good to be true and then find out that it is indeed true! What joy, what thrill to hear an awesome teaching and then see it confirmed in the Word! I'm so thankful that God gives us teachers, evangelists, prophets, pastors, to teach us His Word and help us see things from a different angle. Yes, we have to go back to Scripture. We have to test everything against the Word of God, and He's given us the Holy Spirit to assist in that process. But in an attitude of love, we can seek what we can learn from others who are sound on the essentials, even if they differ on non-essentials or approach Scripture from a different angle or with a different cultural background.

In our quest for truth we must never forget that truth is ultimately a Person, Jesus Christ. We encounter a person, not a boxed-in set of beliefs to check off  our list. When we pursue Him, He will lead us to a unity of faith around some key doctrinal essentials. As we walk together in those truths, we must never forget the priority of love. What we do will speak louder than any theology textbook or Bible study, regardless how accurate it might be.

Love God, love others. Take it in and live it out. And let's help each other not miss the point. Like John wrote in his second epistle, let us love in truth.

Ezekiel 8 Moments

Idolatry. That's not really a word we think about a lot these days. Few Christians in the west have to decide what to do with the household idols. We mistakenly think that idolatry is outright, blatant worship of a false god. Scripture gives us a vivid picture to the contrary. In Ezekiel 8, we see idolatry as a spectrum, ranging from false compromises to false worship, with stops at false beliefs and false focuses along the way. 

As I read this chapter today, God immediately struck my heart with the realization that there are many ways idolatry can take place right on the grounds intended to worship God - in our personal temples and corporate places of worship. The visual associated with this text would be that each stage of idolatry was associated with a more intimate part of the temple. On the grounds of the temple, a "statue of jealousy" was erected - blending worship of Yahweh with worship of a false deity. At the entrance to the court of the Israelites, tools intended for worship of Yahweh were used in idolatry, because the people rejected the truth of God and embraced a lie. At the Nicanor gate, women focused on a false god. And in the inner court, the people's backs were turned to the temple and they engaged in full-blown idol worship of the sun. The closer to the holy of holies, the worse the idolatry became. Why? Because it was accepted at the earlier stages, by the time it reached the inner court the people were experts at rationalizing.


I thought a lot about this. The reality is that the more we accept false compromises, the easier it becomes to believe lies and focus on the wrong things and ultimately find ourselves worshipping someone or something other than God. The examples in italics below helped me wrap my mind around how incredibly easy it is to exchange the truth of God for a lie.

It seems like such a small thing. Nothing, really, if you think about it logically. Talking about God and spirituality without reference to Jesus and the cross just makes me more relevant, opens more doors, keeps me in a place of influence. I'm just waiting for the right moment. Paul did it in Acts 17 - appealed to the people of Athens from their level of understanding. Of course, he did make it clear that he was there to proclaim truth. I haven't quite gotten to that point yet. But I will, really. I'm just waiting for the right moment. A false compromise.

8:5 He said to me, “Son of man, look up toward the north.” So I looked up toward the north, and I noticed to the north of the altar gate was this statue of jealousy at the entrance.

8:6 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing – the great abominations that the people of Israel are practicing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see greater abominations than these!”

There is no way that I can reconcile this tragedy with the sovereignty and goodness of God. I can't really admit it at church, but I think God isn't as involved with our lives as we'd like to think. So now as I face these people at work and try to help them, I need to give them something they can understand. I used to think God was watching everything I did but now I'm not so sure. I think I'll just Google some self-help phrases, and lead the staff in a positive thinking exercise. That should be sufficient. When I go to church I'll try to think about this from God's perspective but right now, I just need something that makes everyone feel better. A false belief.

8:7 He brought me to the entrance of the court, and as I watched, I noticed a hole in the wall. 8:8 He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and discovered a doorway.

8:9 He said to me, “Go in and see the evil abominations they are practicing here.” 8:10 So I went in and looked. I noticed every figure of creeping thing and beast – detestable images – and every idol of the house of Israel, engraved on the wall all around. 8:11 Seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel (with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them) were standing in front of them, each with a censer in his hand, and fragrant vapors from a cloud of incense were swirling upward.

8:12 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in the chamber of his idolatrous images? For they think, ‘The Lord does not see us! The Lord has abandoned the land!’” 8:13 He said to me, “You will see them practicing even greater abominations!”

Our church has to be relevant. People just don't want to hear doctrine and sit through long sermons. Besides, who are we to say we have a handle on the truth. It's a new century. Some people say we have to hold on to our roots in the midst of a shifting landscape. Maybe that's not the case at all. Maybe letting go of our roots is the only way we can see where this new world takes us. Besides, look at all the failures of the church through the ages. Those roots haven't really helped, have they? A false focus.

8:14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house. I noticed women sitting there weeping for Tammuz. 8:15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see even greater abominations than these!”

Seriously, did people ever believe that? We have found a new idea, a new way to relate to truth. Our church has embraced this new approach and we boldly move forward. A false worship. 

8:16 Then he brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house. Right there at the entrance to the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the Lord’s temple, facing east – they were worshiping the sun toward the east!

8:17 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? Is it a trivial thing that the house of Judah commits these abominations they are practicing here? For they have filled the land with violence and provoked me to anger still further. Look, they are putting the branch to their nose! 8:18 Therefore I will act with fury! My eye will not pity them nor will I spare them. When they have shouted in my ears, I will not listen to them.”

I wrote these examples not in judgment but in understanding, because at one point or other in my life I've faced each of those struggles. The answer for me - for all of us - can be found in the first verses of the chapter, before Ezekiel was shown these visions.

8:1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth of the month, as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting in front of me, the hand of the sovereign Lord seized me. 8:2 As I watched, I noticed a form that appeared to be a man. From his waist downward was something like fire, and from his waist upward something like a brightness, like an amber glow. 8:3 He stretched out the form of a hand and grabbed me by a lock of hair on my head. Then a wind lifted me up between the earth and sky and brought me to Jerusalem by means of divine visions, to the door of the inner gate which faces north where the statue which provokes to jealousy was located. 8:4 Then I perceived that the glory of the God of Israel was there, as in the vision I had seen earlier in the valley.

When we encounter the glory of the living God ... when we perceive His presence and His hand seizes us ... when our focus is on Him and we are increasingly knowing Him ... when we love Him more than life itself ... we find Him fully sufficient. We find clarity that allows us to compromise on non-essential things like worship style but refuses to yield ground on essentials like the object of our worship. We find intimacy that gives us an understanding of the character of God and the person of Christ, and we quit believing lies. We find ourselves so enthralled with Him that we can't focus anywhere else. And we find that false worship holds no appeal whatsoever. Like a newlywed madly in love, we simply don't want anyone else. And in His presence, we find true wholeness.

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip - He who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you - the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm - He will watch over your life;
The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
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What a beautiful pilgrimage Psalm. I can't imagine a better prayer over a traveler - especially one who would be camping outside and traveling over deserts and facing enemies of both the animal and human kind.

It's important to remember that these Psalms of Ascent were not "chapters" but were just a collection of songs that, among other uses, travelers would sing on the way to Jerusalem for the feasts. So as I have reflected and focused on memorizing this Psalm this week I can't help connecting it to Psalm 120 - which would be what they sang immediately prior to this one. In Psalm 120 the Psalmist honestly cries out to God about the problems of living among those who hate peace. He is among deception and violence on an ongoing basis. In that context, Psalm 121 sounds like a declaration of faith: Yes, here is what is bad - but guess what ... my help comes from God.

That is exactly what we need to hear right now. When you memorized or reflected on Psalm 120, what realities did you cry out to God? He wants us to do that - but equally He wants us to follow that cry with a declaration of faith. Our help comes from God - the creator of heaven and earth. I think that is very intentional terminology used by the Psalmist ... He links the Lord, Yahweh, to creation. The God is Israel isn't just a territorial God, He is the God who created the earth. When we need help, we need someone who can handle a big job. I would say creating from nothing is a big job!

Verses 3-8 move into the arena of protection. We often spiritualize these verses, and they have a definite spiritual application. But as I picture a traveler singing this on a pilgrimage, I can't help but think how literal these travelers would have taken these verses. If I'm on a journey, I want to know God has my back! Asking God for safe travels is Biblical - but in a context.

Remember Ezra leading the travelers back to Jerusalem? In Ezra 8:21-23 prior to leading the Israelites back to Jerusalem from captivity (another time when the Psalms of Ascent were sung), Ezra declared a fast and prayed for a safe journey. His reason is significant: "I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, 'The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.'"

God's glory was at stake in the protection of His people on a journey! That is pretty amazing. The reality is that Ezra's journey as well as the journey up to the feasts are God-honoring, God-glorifying journeys, kingdom-centered journeys. When we are on a kingdom-centered journey, God is with us. And when we are on that kind of journey, I think we do have permission to pray this Psalm literally as well as spiritually.

In the other window on my computer is an amazing message by Christine Caine from Hillsong Australia. She's talking about purpose, about mission - she said that we are called to take risks for God. We're not called to be tame but to make a difference. She compared our choice to animals living in their natural environment (risky) versus living in a zoo (safe). If we live life in the wild, then we need God's protection. We need His help to keep from slipping and protection from the sun and watching over our every step. She recounted 3 times when she barely missed terrorist attacks. Risky? Sure. But God was with her.

That doesn't mean we'll never have tragedies or trials. But that will happen for God's glory too. He'll still watch over us in the midst of it. However, the important thing for our part is to remain on mission with God. If we do that, we can pray that as we are about God's business taking light into the darkness instead of storing up more light for ourselves, we will find Him with us in a special way.

Psalm 120

I am currently working on memorizing the Psalms of Ascent (Psalm 120-134) with a group of women. I thought I'd cross-post my devotionals on each Psalm here.
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I call on the Lord in my distress, and He answers me.
Save me, O Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.
What will He do to you, and what more besides, o deceitful tongue?
He will punish you with a warrior's sharp arrows, with burning coals of the broom tree.
Woe to me, that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar.
Too long have I lived among those who hate peace.
I am a man of peace; but when I speak, they are for war.

Psalm 120 is a beautiful reminder that not all our prayers find immediate resolution. Sometimes, the point of prayer is just to be heard by God.

To grasp the depth of the psalmist's cry, let's look at the full context of this Psalm. The Psalmist was embroiled in some sort of situation where he longed for peace but others wanted war. In the midst of a conflict we never wanted, Paul's command to live peaceably "as much as it depends on you" can feel insufficient. When we desperately want peace, our hearts wish that Paul had given us a promise instead of a command. Like a child, we just want God to fix it.

The first of our Psalms brings to mind occurrences in all of our lives when we found ourselves desperately wanting peace, but embroiled instead in conflict. Maybe it was a relationship, or a work situation, or even a church setting where we discovered that everyone else wasn't as eager for peace as we were. I've been there, and so have you. I've cried out to God to just make the conflict go away, to make things right again. As I worked on this Psalm, I could identify with the depth of the psalmist's cry in verse 1.

The word used for "distress" in verse 1 is very interesting. It means "anxiety, trouble" as you might imagine, but it is the exact word used in 1 Samuel 1:6 to identify Hannah's husband's second wife, translated in some cases as "rival wife". Imagine the pain of a rival wife. Imagine the distress Hannah felt as this other women kept provoking her over her childlessness. Hannah wanted a peaceful life, but someone in her life kept stirring up conflict ... someone close enough to make it hurt very badly. That's the type of distress the psalmist experienced. And it drove him to God.

Verse 1 recounts that the psalmist called on the Lord and God answered him. We don't see an immediate resolution in the psalm, but we do see an assurance of judgment. The psalmist cried out for God to save him and God's answer wasn't necessarily immediate. Instead, he received the assurance he needed to write that God would definitely punish the deceiver. In our own trials and pain, delayed justice can be hard to swallow. Yet it was just this type of delayed justice that Paul wrote about to the church at Thessalonica:

"God is just. He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you, and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels." (2 Thess. 1:6-7)

God will fix it alright - when Jesus comes. Don't get me wrong - this doesn't excuse us from the responsibility to do all we can to seek justice now, to bring glimpses of His kingdom to earth, for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. We can and should fight injustice and work for righteousness to prevail ... as much as it depends on us. The psalmist testified in verse 7 that he spoke up. He tried. But at the end of the day, when we've done our best and "they" are still for war - when the conflicts in our family and church remain, when the wrong law is upheld in court, when the nice guy finishes last ... we have an assurance of a perfect justice yet to come.

We won't always live in Meshech and dwell in Kedar. As long as we do, we have a lot of work ahead of us. But we can throw our hearts into that work knowing how things turn out in the end!

"Watch Over Your Heart"

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (Proverbs 4:23)

"Guard your heart." That's advice that I've heard ever since I became a Christian and frankly, I never really knew what it meant.

Since I come from a background where I lived by my feelings for years - with horrible results - I really related to  Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" The first time I read that verse, I was stunned. I'd been told all my life to follow my heart. I had never considered that it could lead me astray.

So, I carried my understanding of Jeremiah 17:9 into my interpretation of Proverbs 4:23. I had to guard my heart, I thought, because otherwise it would deceive me. I had to protect me from my heart.

This interpretation was made easier to accept by a heavy dose of guilt. A friend who has lived abroad told me once that the U.S. is a guilt/fear culture. Basically that means guilt and fear influence more of our worldview than we realize. I also happened to grow up in small, fundamentalist churches that communicated an unhealthy degree of guilt and shame. For whatever reason, I was hardwired to translate "guarding my heart" as "waiting for my heart to try to attack me."

So last night as I was working through a couple of verses in Proverbs (part of my bedtime routine this year), I came across Proverbs 4:23. I saw right away that the speaker - communicating as a parent to a child - exhorts the listener to pay close attention to his words which will result in life and health. Then the speaker gives the first specific advice of the section: "Above all else, guard your heart". More than anything else - the top of the list - for life and health, guard our hearts. Why? "For it is the wellspring of life." I decided to dig deeper.

What I found has been nothing short of profound for me. I've been eager all day to share this new understanding. Let me unfold it with a couple of definitions:

"Guard" (or "keep" in some translations) is a word meaning guard, protect, maintain, watch, inspect. It's a word used in the context of guarding or maintaining a vineyard or a fortification as part of the city wall.

"Heart" is the "totality of man's immaterial nature" (Zodhiates), or the "middle of something". Think of the phrase, "the heart of the matter", for understanding.

"Diligence" is really another form of "keep" - it really means "above all keeping". 

So here is where I began to see the pieces fall into place. I summarized these definitions in the following paraphrase of the verse:

"Vigilantly watch over your inner being - inspecting it, protecting it, maintaining it preventively - because it is the source of life itself. (my paraphrase)" 

How do I "vigilantly watch"? Not in the sense of a prison guard, watching so the prisoner doesn't escape. Instead, I "vigilantly watch" as a vineyard keeper or watchman would - watching for cracks in the wall, blight on the plant; protecting by warding off attackers and providing nourishment; maintaining by daily attention to detail. Here's the key to my new look at this verse: You don't look for your wall or vineyard to do something wrong ... you take care of them.

Guarding my heart is a lot more about protecting it from attack than protecting me from my heart. As Jeremiah 17:9 notes, the heart is deceitful -- the old heart. Ezekiel 36:26 tells us that God gives us a new heart in the New Covenant: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26, NIV). My new heart is a wellspring of LIFE. In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament, used by Jesus and the early church and the source of over half of our New Testament quotes of the Old Testament), the word "life" in Proverbs 4:23 is translated "zoe" - the life of the spirit or soul. It's the same word used for our new life in Christ. When God gave me a new heart, He didn't give me a deceitful one. He gave me one filled with life. With Him.

Can my flesh still deceive me? Absolutely. Do I need to make sure that I'm not being deceived and guard myself from walking in the flesh. Of course. Walking in the Spirit will always be a choice I have to make, a choice empowered by the Holy Spirit and the freedom He gives. However, this new insight has given me a new appreciation for God's transformative work in my life. My heart has been under attack lately, and I had wrongly thought that my heart was attacking me. Yet God showed me this new angle, this new prism for Proverbs 4:23 and I realized that I have a new heart, which I am to guard and protect. It won't attack me (though the old one might) - but it can be attacked.

1 John 3:19-20 says that God is greater than our heart. Whenever our heart condemns us, we can set it to rest in His presence by knowing we are of the truth as we see evidence of love in our actions and in our truth. So when the accuser comes in like a flood with thoughts that attack my life-filled heart, I have to protect it. I have to raise up the only banner that works - the cross of Christ - and quiet my heart in His presence with the truth of who He's made me to be, evidenced by the life He lives through me, flowing out of that new heart.

I've learned to see guarding my heart from multiple angles now. Sure, I don't want to be deceived. But I also don't want to sit in fear of my heart when God has so thoroughly redeemed and transformed it. I'm learning to see guarding my heart as watching over something valuable. We guard what we treasure. We protect it. We don't wait for it to attack us. We just make sure nothing attacks it.

Maybe you haven't had the struggle with interpreting this verse that I have. And I'm sure that I'll be learning more about this for the rest of my life. But I'm rejoicing tonight in a freedom, a lifting of a condemnation. I'm singing one of my favorite Keith Green songs - "River of Life". Share it with me as part of this worship medley below. And enjoy the life flowing from your new heart.