As the rain and snow

“Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it… The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.’ So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.’ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.  And when they saw him they worshiped him. And Jesus came and said to them,.. ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. I am with you always, to the end of the age.'” Matthew 28:1-2,5-10,16-17,18-20

After Jesus’s crucifixion and burial, the women were compelled to be near Him, but found an empty tomb. The cross had changed everything, and would forever alter, and redirect, their life path. When the angel appeared, startling their overwhelming emotions with the truth that their Teacher-Savior was alive, he told them to look at the place He had been, then “Go!” They went, and fast, and met Jesus and worshiped Him, Who then also told them to “Go!” When the disciples saw the resurrected Lord, they too worshiped, and He told them to “Go!”

It is good and right to seek and to adore Jesus, to behold Him in His glory and worship Him alive in resurrection power, but He commands that we then take the joy of being in His presence, and “Go!” Worship fuels our witness. When once filled with the wonder of His life and beauty and love, our fear is replaced with zeal, our confusion with clarity, and we are equipped to take the message of His victory over death and His gift of salvation to a needy world. He Who is declared risen and alive is with us always, guiding our steps and empowering our testimony as we tell and train others to follow Him.

Lord, keep my heart in wonder at Your empty tomb, even as my feet go abroad and my mouth speaks Your truth. May Your resurrection power make effectual Your word, and bring many to know and marvel at You.

 

 

 

“When he mustered them at Bezek, the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand… And the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together… Saul said, ‘Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.’ Then Samuel said to the people, ‘Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.’ So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.” 1 Samuel 11:8,11,13-15

All in a day’s work. The newly-anointed King Saul was confronted with Ammonites who would agree to a treaty only on the condition that they gouge out all Israel’s right eyes. Ouch. By God’s Spirit, Saul strategized, prepared, and led the people, over hours as the sun blazed hot, and with much bloodshed, to a remarkable victory. But the day was not done. Immediately, taking no selfish credit, and no bitter revenge on nay-sayers, he directed God’s people to keep moving, however weary, south to Gilgal to renew their covenant and offer sacrifices to the LORD Who had given the triumph. Here, early in his reign, his kingly priority was to pause and rejoice.

Is this my practice? When I have triumphed over temptation, or impatience, or despair, do I turn my thoughts to my Deliverer and give thanks? Upon completing a large or weighty task, do I simply rest, or renew myself in God? In the heat of my days, in the midst of challenges with health or finances or personalities or hurtful choices of those for whom I am responsible, do I pause, set my thoughts aright, and praise? In weariness, during a long obedience, will I take time to stop, breathe, and offer myself once again to the Lord of my everything?

There is great benefit to practicing pause before the LORD, and it is always good to give thanks and renew our commitment, our love, our allegiance to Him. When we keep coming back to plumb, when we realign our straying affections or pride to be fixed on Him, we more readily stay in the flow of His will.

“Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.”  ~William Longstaff (1882)

Good Master, keep my stride in step with Yours. May I often pause to remember You, to offer myself anew, to give You the honor due Your glorious name. (Psalm 96:3,6-9)

 

 

“The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dancing has been turned to mourning.
The crown has fallen from our head; woe to us, for we have sinned!
For this our heart has become sick, for these things our eyes have grown dim…
But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations…
Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored!” Lamentations 5:15-17,19,21

“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.” Psalm 32:3-5; Romans 2:4

Many times through Israel’s history, God Almighty allowed them to experience misery, inflicted by enemies, brought on by natural phenomena or physical suffering, to lead them to recognize their rebellion, their idolatry, their desperate need for His mercy. And time and again, He lavished that mercy on them in ways that they could see only He had brought the deliverance. As we see this repeated in scripture, so in our lives. Mercy, by its very nature, is poured out over and over to an undeserving people who have a hard time learning its lesson once for all.

While misery– of guilt, anger, broken communion, conflict, exile– comes about for a variety of reasons, we must always look to see where we might be culpable. Is it a mercy in God’s hands intended to uncover, to convict, to cleanse, to bring about reconciliation between individuals or factions? If so, what is my part? If God indeed reigns forever, He has some purpose, and instead of pointing blame, or sitting in judgment on another’s motives, the Lord is pleased when we try the heart, when we open ourselves for His searching and purifying fire. How beautiful the simple words of David and Nathan, “‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ ‘The Lord also has put away your sin.'” (2 Samuel 12:13; Psalm 139:23-24)

“Come, Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace, Lord, like a fetter,
Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love:
Take my heart, oh, take and seal it
With Thy Spirit from above.” 

~Robert Robinson (1735-1790)

Would I remove the martyr mindset, confess my part in misery’s cause, and take the high ground to see things as God does, accepting and yielding to His purpose? It is on these heights my soul can sing.

Father, thank You for Your kind afflictions that show me Your fathomless love and mercy. May I gratefully submit to Your rule over all things, and ever sing Your praises, that Your mercy is magnified.

 

“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, ‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollos,’ or ‘I follow Cephas,’ or ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?.. For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power… [We preach] Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God… You are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” “Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me.” “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves.” 1 Corinthians 1:10-13,17,24,30; Psalm 35:1; Romans 12:18-19

I watched a heavy, dark band of cloud hover above the horizon this morning, portending only dreary tumult. Within minutes, as the sun pushed its way up, the clouds broke apart in glorious splendor. The power of light transforms in a most marvelous way.

Paul’s passion was the gospel, and he drove it right to the heart of division and disunity. If the gospel brings truth to light, and offers freedom, reconciliation, and peace, then the dark muddle of distortion, dissension, argument, comparing, quarreling, is exactly where it is needed. The immorality, religious diversity, and corruption of the Corinthian culture needled at this church, much as our self-laden culture seeps with accusation and hurt feelings and turmoil into our congregations and families today. Paul knew the solution to their selfishness and bickering, the only way to unity, was through the power of the cross.

When we let “I” take the throne, we can become short-sighted and persnickety. When we then bump against anyone or any decision that disagrees with my path or threatens my rights, we turn ornery and irascible. Our self-interest and stubborn determination pollute harmony with an ugly dissonance that destroys relationships and spiritual fruitfulness. Settling for this is like being content to take up residence in the wide storm cloud with a vista of only damp darkness. But when we look above, and allow the light of the gospel to burn its hot healing into our hearts (however much it may sting), to break up our prejudices, dissolve our touchiness, and reshape our thinking, we can release our wills to give way to the wise working of the Father.

In what instances am I so driven by selfish ambition that I disregard a sister or brother in Christ? Where am I digging in my heels and refusing to consider others as more important than myself, or their perspective as valid? How am I contributing to disunity, and what need I change to promote the unity God desires? (Philippians 2:2-4)

Lord, help me lay down my arms to give way to Your glorious, transformative gospel of peace.

 

 

“Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom I give thanks… Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.” Romans 16:3-16

That so many words of the inspired word of God are devoted to this list of names gives us insight into how God values relationships within His body. At the end of this doctrinally rich, intellectually meaty, spiritually edifying tome of a letter, Paul takes time to greet dozens of saints by name, his expressed appreciation and love gracing each with value and affection. His list of fellow workers, fellow prisoners, whole churches and families, gives proof of meaningful relationships he has forged over his ministry. We can imagine, as he mentions each one, a smile, a squeezing of the heart in remembrance, a softly spoken blessing, a closing of the eyes in particular thankfulness.

In the body of Christ, as each is in a different place, owns different gifts, personalities, even quirks and idiosyncrasies, the glue of the Spirit binds us together in a special, unshakable unity. Paul’s lavish display of love and thankfulness for those who have helped him, come alongside him in work, suffered with him, sacrificed, taught, planned, led, hosted, discipled, built up Christ’s church, should inspire us to such gratitude and deliberate expression. Do we take the time to marvel at those God has placed us alongside? (Romans 8:15-16; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 4:1-7; Philippians 1:3-5)

How can I ‘greet’ others today? When will I send or speak a message of encouragement or gratitude, a needed reminder of cogent truth, a blessing of hope or peace? Have I paused to contemplate God’s grace to me? When I do, out of thankfulness, I can be a conduit of His grace to others. Am I willing, and determined?

Father, make my life and words a gift to others within Your body. Use me to greet them with encouragement and Your favor, to shower them with truth and light. May the grace You have so generously afforded me flow through me to bless and uplift others.

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.  Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.  If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.” Romans 12:9-21; 13:8

The ‘offered’ body of Romans 12:1-8 becomes a daily life that is expressed in outstanding love to God and others. In view of God’s mercies, we live and breathe mercy. In grasping His immeasurable love for us, we extend that selfless love to others in His name and attitude and strength. His very life applied to ours in turn makes ours a vibrant reflection of His divine and generous attributes. The One Who laid down His life for us works this love in and through us, compelling us to lay down our will, preferences, goals, time, for others. (1 John 3:16)

Cleansed and released from every other debt by Jesus, who bore all our sins and their penalty on the cross, we are free to focus our days on the one outstanding debt left: that of loving one another. In practical outworking, we are to love genuinely, lavishly, selflessly, motivated by a clean, good heart. Our love is to be affectionate, fervent, generous, consistent, sympathetic, humble. To prefer others, to outdo others in showing honor, to choose peace and not cling to rights, to care and expend myself more for others’ good than my own, to, with joy, exercise patience and bless my enemies, these are antithetical to the way of the world, but the magnificent mark of a Christian. (Psalm 32:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Is this kind of love even possible in our day of heightened, inflamed sensitivities and protection of self? Of course, because it is His. Rooted in His love for us, we can love in and with the energy and will of the Lord Jesus. All is a fulfillment of His call, all an exclamation of His glory. (Philippians 2:13; Colossians 1:29)

Remind me daily of my debt to You, my Savior. With all I am, may I with great vitality and glad determination love as Jesus loves, palpably caring and spending myself for others.

“The earth is the Lord‘s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.” “Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.” “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?.. Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in.” “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Psalm 24:1-2; Job 41:11; Isaiah 40:12,21-22; Colossians 1:15-17

There is nothing like taking pause to consider the earth, and sky, and sea, and remember, with hushed humility and adoration, Whose they are. It is good to recognize that the intricacies of flower petals and spider webs, the rhythms of tide and changing shape of moon, the coursing of blood through our veins and the holding, then dropping, of rain from clouds, are all gifts from the Creator’s grand imagination and power. Wondering at the Almighty’s majesty and acknowledging His ownership of all creation keeps us secure, thankful, able to rest in His authority and trust His reign.

What gets me to the place that I think I own my life, that I can control what I do and what will happen? Where did I begin gripping the reins so hard I do not relinquish my future hopes, my arranging for security, my plans for loved ones, or my tastes and preferences? Gravity keeps us here on earth, but does not need to keep us pulled to self and horizontal, inward, self-propelled living. Taking time, which takes intentional planning and guarding, to behold the Lord in His word and creation, realigns our thinking and readjusts our sense of possession.

“Heav’n above is softer blue,
Earth around is sweeter green;
Something lives in every hue
Christless eyes have never seen;
Birds with gladder songs o’erflow,
Flow’rs with deeper beauties shine,
Since I know, as now I know,
I am His, and He is mine.”  ~George W. Robinson (1876)

Father, open my eyes, my heart, my fists, to concede and appreciate Your ownership of everything, including me. May my life be a joy-filled response to Your loving care, provision, and authority, and may I reflect to the world Whose I am.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.” Romans 12:1-8

Paul is calling God’s people to do the almost unthinkable in our world today: offer your whole self to God, and live for Him and others, not yourself. This message is hardly preached in any culture today; even a self-sacrificing society is not necessarily inspired by God’s honor. But the way of God’s children stands apart from the world, and Paul gives practical instruction and example.

This way of living begins with relinquishing the self: body on the altar, mind renewed and transformed by the Spirit. This must be a deliberate surrender, a laying down and taking on that is consistently practiced, and it requires a proper, sober view of self and of God’s position and sovereign authority. Who I am, what I am capable of doing, is all ordained and gifted by God Almighty Whose body He designed and cherishes. The same is true for others; therefore, I am not to criticize or diminish another’s capabilities or role. We are all needed, and all contribute to the proper functioning of His plans.

Having offered my body, including all its energies, tastes, and determinations, and having taken on the renewed mind with a goal to edify and complement my siblings in Christ, do I recognize, accept, and appreciate what God has bestowed? Do I intentionally hone His gifts of grace, not yielding to sloth, or coveting another’s? How generously, how effectively, am I exercising them within the body? Are my days begun by what I want to do, or by asking the Lord where He would have me serve? What needs to change so I heartily, enthusiastically, zealously, with glad abandon, live out the role God has scripted for me, for the encouragement of His people and building of His kingdom?

Father, it is by Your mercies we live. In gratitude, and for Your perfect use, I open my hands, lay down my life, offer my body and my gifts for Your praise and glorious purposes.

“To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me,.. for you I wait all the day long. Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love... Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD! Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net… Forgive all my sins. Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.” Psalm 25:1,4-9,11-12,14-15,18,20-21

This psalm of David, a lifting of his soul to his Covenant LORD, is an intricate blend of seeking God’s mercy and guidance, His forgiveness and preservation. Even addressing His God is possible because of His mercy; gratitude for the mercy awakens further need, and multiplies trust in God’s goodness. David’s confidence is bound up in his high view of God, his utter dependence on His cleansing and guarding of the very soul he lifts. David’s ‘waiting’ on the LORD is an active turning of his soul’s deep needs to the One Who can meet them. (Psalm 103:7-8)

When we lift our souls in prayer, in claimed dependence on our Covenant-Keeper, we always come on the basis of His mercy to us, and it is good to renew that confession of known sin, and belief, as people of flesh. As His beloved friends, we also ask for instruction, guidance for our daily paths, decisions, opportunities, needs. The two are ever-intertwined, our need for mercy, our need for help, and it is our gracious, bountiful God’s delight and nature to dole out both. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Do I strut to the God of the universe with only my list of wants, perhaps needs, and make demands? Or do I humbly kneel, with an overwhelming sense of thankfulness for the torn curtain, the way of access He has made for me, His fresh mercies, His Spirit’s conviction of sin and removal of guilt? Do I come to the altar aware of my flesh’s proclivity to strange affections, pleading for cleansing so I can listen and understand His ways? And with right balance, am I then bold to get up and stand in His mercy, and desperately, confidently seek His counsel, provision, protection for the day ahead? (Lamentations 3:22-23; Mark 15:38; John 16:8-11)

Father, You have made the mysterious way to Your throne open to me, and I gratefully come. Please keep me ever dependent of Your powerful mercies, even as I lift my soul and wait for Your truth and direction.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.” “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Romans 8:1-2,5-7,9; 12:2; Colossians 3:1-3

Fixing our minds above, on the things of the Spirit, is not only a command, but a joyful reality when we understand and accept what Jesus has done for us. In the flesh, we tend to hold onto our old selves and all the crud that once dominated our thinking, our inner self that drove our outer self to do what it did. We think we can never break free– at least we don’t deserve to. In the flesh, we nurse old wounds, replay old hurtful conversations, are plagued with old choices, and condemn ourselves for confessed sins. But when we mind the mind rightly, we reckon ourselves freed from condemnation, free from death, free from the tyranny of our old self.

To set the mind on things above is to recognize the victory of Jesus over sin, now seated at God’s right hand, and claim it as mine. It is to live under no condemnation, at all. It is to dwell on His love that loosened my chains, and set me free to forgive others and myself and experience the resulting joy of life and peace. It is to be so infused with the Lord in my mind that my thoughts about the world and my place in it are renewed. When I live according to the Spirit, He directs my understanding of His good, pleasing and perfect will, and the impulses of mine.

Are there areas of my life– recesses of my heart, bitternesses nursed, habits too-long-ingrained– that exist outside being ‘hidden with Christ’? Is my gaze upward, mostly, but with cherished side-glances at old guilt, or resentment, or a stubborn right to myself?

Lord, You have set me free and dwell in me. Cause me to mind my mind, believing and acting on and driven by what is gloriously true.