Hope

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Isaiah 35:10

Obedience and Trust

Don Carson post:  Deut. 7; Psalm 90; Isaiah 35; Revelation 5 is a post from: For the Love of God

SEVERAL COMPLEX THEMES intertwine in Deuteronomy 7. Here I want to reflect on two of them.

The first is the emphasis on election. “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession” (Deut. 7:6). Why so? Was it on the ground of some intrinsic superiority, some greater intelligence, some moral superiority, or some military prowess that the Lord made his choice? Not so. “The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deut. 7:7-8).

Two observations: (1) In the Bible, God’s utter sovereignty does not diminish human responsibility; conversely, human beings are moral agents who choose, believe, obey, disbelieve, and disobey, and this fact does not make God’s sovereignty finally contingent. That is clear from the way God’s sovereignty manifests itself in this chapter, that is, in election, even while the chapter bristles with the responsibilities laid on the people. People who do not believe both truths — that God is sovereign and human beings are responsible — sooner or later introduce some intolerable wobbles into the structure of their faith. (2) Here God’s love is selective. God chooses Israel because he sets his affection on them, and not for anything in themselves. The thought recurs elsewhere (e.g., Mal. 1:2-3). But this is not the only way that the Bible speaks of the love of God (e.g., John 3:16).

The second theme is the encouragement God gives his people not to fear the people they will have to fight as they take over the Promised Land (Deut. 7:17-22). The reason is the Exodus. Any God that could produce the plagues, divide the Red Sea, and free his people from a regional superpower like Egypt is not the kind of God who is going to have trouble with a few pagan and immoral Canaanites. Fear is the opposite of faith. The Israelites are encouraged not to be afraid, not because they are stronger or better, but because they are the people of God, and God is unbeatable.

These two themes — and several others — intertwine in this chapter. The God who chooses people is strong enough to accomplish all his purposes in them; the people chosen by God ought to respond not only with grateful obedience, but with unshakable trust.

Open Our Eyes to Reality

843 Acres post:  Living an Alternate Reality

Reality: What if there was an alternate reality that put our reality into perspective? Things that seem powerful and significant in ours may be meaningless in the other; things that seem small and insignificant to us may be magnificent in the other. What if we could catch a glimpse of that alternate reality? Would it change how we live?

Heaven: The apostle John was given a vision of heaven, and a throne was at the center. The living creatures danced around it, singing, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” And the people of God—from ancient days to modern times—fell down before it, casting their crowns and saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” [1]

Treasure: What seemed powerful and significant in John’s reality—crowns, monarchies, allegiances—was cast down in the alternate reality. This was not, however, merely an emotional response; it was a rational one, too. When we find something of infinite worth and preeminence, we sell all that we have to obtain it. As Jesus taught, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” [2] This was joy rooted in truth.

Prayer: Lord, May we see you as you are—preeminent, lovely, sovereign, glorious, enthroned—and then live in response to that. It is not mere emotion to love and cherish you; it is driven by logic and reason, too. Therefore, open the eyes of our heart and mind so that you become the most important priority to us in how relate to our money, our voice, our relationships, our work, and our opinions. Let the value and worth of Jesus fill our hearts so that we respond with a wholehearted reorientation of our lives—seeing what he is worth and giving what he is worth. May we relinquish that which does not matter and turn in confidence to that which does. Amen.

Liberate

Scotty Smith post:  A Prayer for Living at the Pace of Grace

     Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”  Luke 10:38-42

     Dear Lord Jesus, I begin this Lord’s Day—this day of Sabbath rest, with a yearning to live less of a driven life and more of a called life—less by frenzy and more by faith, with less concerns about the future, and more contemplation of your beauty. In short, I want to live at the pace of grace—more like Mary, less like Martha.

     As I get older I just don’t have as much energy to juggle as many balls or spin as many plates as I used to. This is both humbling and freeing. For if greater grace comes to the humble, then accepting my limitations is essential for my liberation. Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

     It’s not difficult to see that my busyness is rooted in fear—the fear of not being enough and having enough; the fear of losing face and losing control; the fear of missing the mark and missing out. Come, Lord Jesus, come. Your perfect beauty and love, alone, can liberate this performer and perfectionist.

     I trust you, Jesus; I would trust you more. I find rest in your presence; I want to linger there forever. I love you; I want my love for you to grow exponentially. One Day I will be made perfect in love, all because of your finished work on our behalf—and that Day has never been more attractive and alluring. May your love continue to drive out all the fears still lurking around the chambers of my heart. So very Amen I pray, in your merciful and mighty name.

Overflowing

Daniel Souza post:  Side by Side on Sundays

I’m just not getting fed at church.
The music doesn't really connect with me.
I wish the preacher would use more stories or illustrations.

Have you heard those statements before? Or maybe, like me, you’ve even said them yourself — or something like them? After all, isn’t that the purpose of our weekly corporate worship gatherings — to be fed? Sadly our preferences too often shape our perceptions of worship, and blind us to its corporate-ness. It is important, even essential, that we get from God in worship through the word, singing, and prayer. But it’s not the only thing.

Hebrews 10:24–25 gives us another purpose in our gathering: one another.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Recently these words landed on me with force. There are over fifty “one another” commands in the New Testament — fifty! Most of these are either explicit calls to love one another (like John 13:34–35), or revolve around some aspect of loving one another (being kind, bearing each other’s burdens, seeking peace, and more). After all, the only thing that counts in Christ is faith working through love (Galatians 5:6).

Or to put it another way, “Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:13–14).

Three Calls for Corporate Worship

These verses in Galatians are what I had been turning over in my heart and mind when I was confronted with the punch of Hebrews 10. After celebrating the confidence that a believer has before God through the blood of Jesus Christ, the author calls us to three things:

1. Draw near with our newfound assurance of clean hearts.
2. Hold fast the confession of our hope.
3. Consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.

The gospel doesn’t just help us draw near to God in the confidence of cleansed sins (#1), or give us future hope to hold fast to (#2), but it also yields the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), beginning with love (#3).

A Place Where One-Anothering Happens

Now, here’s the punch line: loving one another requires another. We might live in the most individualistic society in the history of the world. At a time and place like this, some of our Christian subculture seems plagued by a type of “me-centered” consumerism that can be, quite frankly, a mockery of the gospel. But Hebrews leads us in the very opposite direction. The gospel, rather, presents us with the clarion call to consider others. This does not happen in isolation.

As important and essential as the prayer closet is, the “one-another” life resulting from a gospel-transformed life cannot be reserved for the prayer closet. It happens when we don’t neglect the context that God has created for mutual care and “one-anothering” — corporate worship.

The Well of One-Anothering

In fact, perhaps one of the main purposes of the prayer closet is to become so full with the joy of seeing and savoring Christ that we must overflow and share that fullness with others. Brothers and sisters, “let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together.” Do not neglect corporate worship. It is the basket God has given us for the faith-filled fruit of loving one another.

As we prepare our hearts this weekend for corporate worship, let’s hope our only considerations aren’t, “I hope the sermon is good,” or “I hope we sing my favorite hymn.” Rather, let’s ask God to stir our hearts to consider how we might stir those around us to love and good works, encouraging them in their faith.

We need to be getting from God week after week, but that’s not the only goal. What we receive should be overflowing — as often as we meet — into the lives of others. We gather on Sundays to receive from God, and to give to others.

Means and Hope

Excerpt from 843 Acres post:  The Law and Grace Distinction

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Prayer: Lord, We are justified by our faith alone, and it is your grace alone that saves us. Yet we are not merely saved from something, but also for something—namely, a life that is in step with the truth of the gospel. “And this is love, that we walk according to your commandments.” Therefore, Lord, forgive us for using something other than you to make us acceptable. Expose the spiritual roots of our behavior. May we embrace community so that we have eyes to see ourselves better and, in community, may we be like Paul—pointing to the gospel as the means and hope for our conduct. Amen.

A Double Joy

David Mathis post:  Five Benefits of Corporate Worship

Worshiping Jesus together may be the single most important thing we do. It plays an indispensable role in rekindling our spiritual fire, and keeping it burning. Corporate worship brings together God’s word, prayer, and fellowship, and so makes for the greatest means of God’s ongoing grace in the Christian life.

But thinking of worship as a means can be dangerous. True worship is fundamentally an experience of the heart, and not a means to anything else. So it’s important to distinguish between what benefits might motivate us to be regular in corporate worship, and what focus our minds and hearts should pursue in the moment.

According to Don Whitney, “There’s an element of worship and Christianity that cannot be experienced in private worship or by watching worship. There are some graces and blessings that God gives only in the ‘meeting together’ with other believers” (Spiritual Disciplines, 92). Surely, many more could be given, but here are five such “graces and benefits” that we experience uniquely in the context of corporate worship.

1. Awakening

Often we come into corporate worship feeling a sense of spiritual fog. During the rough and tumble of the week, the hard knocks of real life in the fallen world can disorient us to ultimate reality and what’s truly important. We need to clear our head, recalibrate our spirit, and jumpstart our slow heart. Martin Luther found corporate worship powerful in awakening his spiritual fire: “at home, in my own house, there is no warmth or vigor in me, but in the church when the multitude is gathered together, a fire is kindled in my heart and it breaks its way through.”

Better than Luther, though, is the experience of the inspired psalmist. In Psalm 73, he begins by despairing over the prosperity of his wicked peers (verses 2–15). But the fog clears as he comes consciously into the presence of God: “When I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end” (Psalm 73:16–17).

He was embattled. The spiritual haze was thick. But the breakthrough came in the context of worship. Which then leads to this climactic expression of praise: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25–26).

How many times have we found this to be true for us as well? Instead of staying away from corporate worship when we sense ourselves to be spiritually lethargic, precisely what we need more than ever is the awakening of worship. When our hearts feel it least is when we need most to remind our souls, “For me it is good to be near God” (Psalm 73:28).

2. Assurance

A second benefit is the community dynamic — which means not only meeting our good desires for belonging and shared mission (fellowship), but also providing a catalyst for our assurance.

While we may admire figures like Athanasius and Luther who stood contra mundum, alone against the world, we must remember God has said it is not good for us to be alone (Genesis 2:18). These heroes were the product of dire days, and inevitably their stories have been thinned in the collective memory of distant history. Neither Athanasius or Luther truly stood alone, but were part of faithful communities that fostered and strengthened their otherwise unpopular beliefs.

And so it is with us. We were not made to stand solo with no fellows. Even in times as troubling as Elijah’s, God gave him seven thousand who hadn’t abandoned the truth (1 Kings 19:18). God made us for community — and named her “the church” — and being part of this great local and global community plays an important role in assuring us not only that we are not deceiving ourselves in pretending our profession is credible, but also that we truly know whom we have believed (2 Timothy 1:12).

And worship in the local church points us to the worship of universal church, and that Jesus has a people from many nations, and one day will include every nation (Revelation 7:9).

3. Advance

Corporate worship also plays an indispensible part in our sanctification — our progressive growth in being conformed to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29). Corporate worship is for our general “upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (1 Corinthians 14:3), but also in beholding Jesus together, “we all . . . are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Christian growth is not just something that we take away as sermon application and then work into our lives that week. As Tim Keller says, sanctification can happen “on the spot” as we sit under gospel preaching and engage in corporate worship. There are times — may God make them many — when the Holy Spirit takes the Scripture read, the prayer spoken, the chorus sung, or the truth preached and presses it right to the point of our need, and not merely informs our Christian walk, but heals us in that moment.

When we join in corporate worship, God loves not only to change our minds, but irrevocably change our hearts “on the spot.”

4. Accepting Another’s Leading

One important distinction between public worship and private worship is the place of our initiative. Corporate worship reminds us that our faith is fundamentally reception, not our own initiation. In private devotions, we lead ourselves in some sense. In corporate worship, we’re made to receive the leading of others.

In private worship, we’re in the driver’s seat. We decide what passage to read, when to pray, what to pray, how long to linger in Bible reading and meditation, what songs to listen to or sing, what gospel truths to preach to ourselves, and what applications to consider. But in corporate worship, we respond. Others preach and pray and select the songs and choose how long to linger in each element. We’re positioned to receive.

It is a wonderful thing in our personal devotions to make such choices, but it is also good for us to practice engaging with God when someone other than ourselves is making the calls. Corporate worship demands that we discipline ourselves to respond, and not only pursue God on our own terms. It is an opportunity to embrace being led, and not always taking the lead.

5. Accentuated Joy

Last, but not least, is the heightened experience of worship in the corporate context. Our own awe is accentuated, our own adoration increased, our own joy doubled when we worship Jesus together.

As the Swedish proverb says, a shared joy is a double joy. In corporate worship, the “graces and benefits” we uniquely enjoy are not only awakening, assurance, advance, and accepting others’ leadership, but also the accentuated joy of deeper and richer and greater adoration and awe, since our delight in Jesus expands as we magnify him together with others.

The secret of joy in corporate worship is not only self-forgetfulness — or to put it positively, preoccupation with Jesus and his glory — but also the happy awareness that we are not alone in having our souls satisfied in him.