As the rain and snow

“How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life… We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him… For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Romans 6:2-4,6-8,10-14

It may seem strange to describe life as something dead, and death as life, but when we live biblically, this makes sense. The concept is a spiritual one that bears itself out in our flesh. “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” While we live and breathe here on earth, when we know Jesus Christ and have been redeemed by His blood, our old self has been crucified with His on the cross, and our ‘new creation’ life is a transformed life in Christ, inspired and lived out by faith. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20)

What does this look like, how does this play out in the day to day? We’ve died? We are to consider ourselves dead to sin, not let it reign? These phrases are charged with electricity that jolts our wills to action. No longer slaves? Freed from sin to offer ourselves as instruments of righteousness? May the power flow full throttle! If it is indeed true– an irrefutable fact– that sin no longer has dominion over me, then I, under grace, can walk in this newness of life! The old self diminishes its influential sway as I practice living the new. I can bear the fruit of God’s spirit in my relationships, my pondering, work, ministry, challenges, confusion, and pain. By faith I can know and live out love, joy, peace, and patience. I can exhibit kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Hallelujah! (Galatians 5:22-23; Colossians 3:5-23)

Father, thank You for making me a new creation in Christ. Every day, may I live with all my being as though this is true, to Your great glory.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us… We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Romans 5:1-5,11

Paul is a master at explaining big words and concepts, and here he opens wide the beautiful, narrow gate of justification to invite believers into the lush garden of delights Jesus has prepared for us. “[Righteousness] will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”  Once justified, a bounty of faith, grace, and hope of God’s glory are ours. (Romans 4:24-25)

As we enter this life defined by His grace, our eyes are opened to more and more of God’s gifts to us, many realized as we suffer. Endurance is developed for the long and difficult road of unmet longing, injustice, hurt, unanswered questions, hard relationships. Character is honed by intimate time with the Almighty, by constant washing as we rub and tumble in life’s battles. Hope in eternity and ultimate healing grows brighter on our horizon, urging us to keep putting one step in front of the other. And God’s immeasurable love deepens and grows in and through us as His Spirit transforms us from glory to glory, making us more like Jesus. Surely, we must rejoice in this ready access to His banquet table! (2 Corinthians 3:18)

What evidence is there in my attitudes, my demeanor, my conversations, that I have walked through His access and identify with and am living by faith in my Savior? Can others recognize by my peace, hope, the love of God that flows through my heart, that I have been with Jesus? When I speak, do I give out words of life and spiritual wisdom? How has my character changed and become more like His over the months and years? Do I fret and fluster, dodge and race, or stand firmly, contentedly, joyfully, in the grace of God? (John 6:68; Acts 4:13; 5:20)

“My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device nor creed;
I trust the Ever-living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.

I need no other argument,
  I need no other plea;
It is enough that Jesus died,
    And that He died for me.”  ~ Eliza Edmunds Hewitt (1851-1920)

God of grace, God of glory, I am overwhelmed at the access into Your eternal presence Jesus made for me, and I thank You for the gift of faith to enter. May I ever rejoice in and take advantage of all You make available as You conform me to Your image, to the praise of Your glory. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

“Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! Answer me quickly, O LORD! My spirit fails! Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD! I have fled to you for refuge. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant.” Psalm 143:1,7-12

“In almost all situations that do not involve immediate physical danger or great surprise, you should think twice before using an exclamation mark. If you have thought twice and the exclamation mark is still there, think about it three times, or however many times it takes until you delete it.”  ~Howard Mittelmark, How Not to Write a Novel

With the exclamation mark’s overuse and bad publicity these days, it piques my delight to see so many in this one psalm. David’s prayer is indeed exclamatory to the God he knows and trusts. His pleas are emphatic, urgent, passionate, and desperate. His admissions of faith, praise, dependence, and God’s ownership are sincere, bold, and heart-felt. I imagine a ruddy man-king on his knees, heavy with burden, hearty with breath, hands wrenched in fists, then open and reaching, wrestling with his Sovereign, pouring out his cries to the point of crescendo, then resolving in perfect peace, hushed  and confident in what God’s steadfast love would accomplish, fully submitted, surrendered. Amen.

Do I pray with such fervor? Have I grown lazy or complacent with comfy posture, repetition, recitation of lists, wandering eyes? When I go to prayer, do I tuck away and kneel and agonize and go deep to be heard by my Father in secret, or do I talk-walk along, eyes opened, distracted by many things? If He is the accessible Almighty Who reigns over all, is He not worthy of my attention, vulnerability, and reliance? (Matthew 6:5-13)

“What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

“Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

“Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.”  ~ Joseph Scriven (1819-1886)

LORD, keep me earnestly praying, for you are my God!

 

“The promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith… It depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring… [Abraham believed in] God who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,  fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.” Romans 4:13,16-21

Romans is rich with mysteries of faith and the sovereignty of God, and it is hard not to be moved by the way God worked in and through the faith of Abraham. God’s promise came first, yet there is a magnificent picture here of Abraham responding in faith to grasp what appeared, and physiologically was, impossible. His faith in its fulfillment was unwavering because his hope was in the Promise-Giver, the One who calls into existence the things that do not exist. He knew that he knew that he knew that unshakeable God could be held to His word, that He was not only able, but committed, to performing what He said He would do. Being His work, all depended on, and was guaranteed by, His grace, and so it would be.

Human doubts get swallowed in the hope of faith when we look to God. Distrust is of the flesh, but we can be confidently convinced when we rely on and put our hope in the words of our inerrant and powerful God. If we trust in the strength or gumption or strategies or methods of man, we will be disappointed; faith in these will fall empty. But the word of God– perfect, sure, right, and pure– can be trusted implicitly because it is backed by the perfection and authority of Almighty God Himself. “This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true.” Every word. (Psalm 18:30; 19:7-8; Proverbs 30:5)

Do I spiritually languish because I live in the sphere of man, the swirl of worldly pontificating, biases, opinions, promotions? Are my days lacking significance, my efforts weak, because they are founded in uncertainty of purpose, or on the shaky foundation of self-effort and pride? Am I spiraling in helpless hopelessness, looking for earthly remedy? What need I do to be more familiar with God’s good promises? Faith and hope in Him may not be popular, but they are sure bets. Those who trust in the supernatural Lord of lords will stand apart, and will stand firm. Every promise is yes and amen in our Christ. (Psalm 125:1; Jeremiah 17:7-8; 2 Corinthians 1:20)

Father, keep me believing You and standing strong in Your promises. In hope, against hope, may I ever give You glory.

“Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. When the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, ‘Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.’  So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts… The Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.  And the ark of God was captured… brought from Ebenezer to Ashdod. The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 

“Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, ‘Till now the Lord has helped us.’ So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel.” 1 Samuel 4:1-4,10-11; 5:1; 6:1; 7:9-13

Ebenezer: “Stone of help.” From their camp at Ebenezer, Israel was at first defeated, then nearly slaughtered, by the mighty Philistines. How could this be the Lord’s will, His help to them? What ensued after the ark was captured is a strange blend of man’s superstition and God’s sovereignty. Following the ark’s return, Israel’s lament, and Samuel’s leading of Israel to return to the LORD with all their heart, the tables turned and the Philistines were routed. In this place of victory, Samuel named a stone monument Ebenezer, citing the LORD’s help. (1 Samuel 5:2-7:8)

Can the place of harm and hurt also be our place of help? Do we see with such limited vision that we think God’s help is delivered only in pretty, easy-to-open packages? I recently spoke with someone about a painful time that has led to deep understanding of God’s grace, and the joy and freedom in forgiveness. Would this Ebenezer have been established apart from the earlier wound? Isn’t help best defined, and appreciated, from a well of great need?

Will we be so bold as to name our hard places, our battlegrounds with temptation, loneliness, debilitating disease, ongoing discouragement, unmet expectations, ‘justified’ resentment, troublesome people, Ebenezer, and from there advance in courageous faith to win? Will we, in gratitude for God’s abiding presence and help in these very places He has ordained, establish stones of remembrance for our worship and others to see?

LORD, may I daily raise my Ebenezers to You in praise, and to glorify You before others.

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus,.. to all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world… Without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles… So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” Romans 1:1,7-13,15

There is something poignant about the introduction to Paul’s letter to the Romans. The quintessential Jew, he loved and longed to visit the predominantly Gentile church in Rome, a congregation that was known across the empire for its faith. Hindered from doing so to this point, but anxious to meet with them as part of his gospel call to the Gentiles, Paul used his period of longing and waiting constructively, to compose what Martin Luther described as “the epitome of the Gospel.” He took time to write, and prayed for the church from afar, endeavoring to build them up and motivate fruitfulness. He decided that although he could not accomplish this in person the way he had hoped, he would do what he could to stir them up in mutual and increasing faith by way of a letter that would lead to spiritual maturity not only for them, but for millennia to follow. Imagine what we could have missed were Paul’s longings immediately met!

We can have noble plans, planted in us by the will of the Father, that do not always come to fruition in our timetable. We can long for spiritual sight or humble repentance in those we love, and not see much evidence of the Spirit’s work. How actively, earnestly do we wait, and what should our priorities be in the meantime? 

How willing am I to make a plan B when the Lord prevents me from carrying out my plan A? Where do I see and take new opportunities, or try fresh methods, to serve, love, write or speak truth into others’ lives? If I long to be with those far away, are there some near in the meantime who need my encouragement? Who in my path could benefit from a ministry of love and mercy and gospel truth? In this day of bite-sized electronic messages, who needs a note that can be read over and over?

Father, thank You for Your redeeming purposes in my longing. Teach me to make the most of the time You ordain before what I desire, or what You intend, comes to pass. Bear fruit in my every word and deed. May I know You better that I can make You better known. (Ephesians 5:15-20; Colossians 1:10-11)

“He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, “A shower is coming.” And so it happens.  And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat,” and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?'” Luke 12:54-56

“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert.” “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Acts 20:28-31; 1 Peter 5:8

Summer storms are nothing to trifle with, though wondrous to behold. How often do friendly conversations begin with a discussion of the weather? It is a point of common experience, and something everyone is affected by in some way. We can complain about the heat, or exaggerate the wind or cold, but never get to what really matters. What an accurate illustration of how we can treat as trivial great invisible power, even watching an afternoon storm in awe while unaware of the destruction it can unleash. Jesus says, ‘the weather is no small thing, and has lessons for us. You think you understand it and make rules by its changes, yet you fail to recognize its more important warnings.’

Recently we observed many who, oblivious to the menacing charcoal clouds that brewed over their shoulders, the escalating wind gusts, played on in the horizontal beauty of surf and sand. While we took action to get under shelter, dozens never looked up and read the sky, and were caught unaware in torrents of lightning, cracking thunder, sheets of rain. The natural warnings Creator God has set in place were not just ignored, they were never considered.

In our day, there is much weather to watch, many wolves to be aware of, and twisted words to catch. Jesus warned of His glorious return, reminding the disciples to watch, to be ready. He knew the tendency of man to make much of temporal things and little of the eternal. Alerted to the wiliness of the enemy, we are foolish not to heed scripture’s warnings, yet our tendency can be to get caught up in the surf of work, play, pontificating that our ears are deaf to truth’s alarm and our dimmed, distracted eyes never see the lightning.

Am I sober-minded? Is my thinking more informed by the holy scriptures than the culture’s droning of talk and in-your-face display? How alert am I to nuances of speech and world-view, the signs of the times, so I can avoid getting caught in the undertow of false security or the eddies of unsound reasoning? (Isaiah 33:5-6)

Lord, keep me steadfast and watchful, alert to Your word and world. Grant me discernment and wisdom, and increase my heart to help others heed Your warnings also. (Colossians 4:2)

 

“Hear this; stop and consider the wondrous works of God… Do you know… the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge?” “You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.” “We give thanks to you, O God; for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.” “Praise the Lord in the heights!” Job 37:14,16; Psalm 40:5; 75:1; 148:1

As I saw the looming incline before me, I found myself leaning forward and pressing on step by step, step by step. I was reacquainted with certain leg muscles that throbbed their hello, and my heart escalated in rhythm to the urban sounds and my anticipation of reaching the top. Climbing a steep hill is no easy task, but a most rewarding one. There is nothing that matches the exhilaration of ‘cresting’ and pausing to take in all that lies around and below you.

The first trek, eyes fixed forward, I continued on to my meeting, only to realize, in disappointment, I had failed to turn around at the peak and behold the view from the top. There is always a smack of regret in getting lost in the drudgery of plodding, panting through the steep climb of responsibilities, the urgent, hardships, even straightforward schedules, and forgetting to stop and relish all that has transpired, all we have passed through, the faithfulness of God over our miles and days. While it is important to look ahead and keep our eyes on a worthy goal, it is also healthy for our spiritual growth to see where we have come from, to recount God’s good providences, to rejoice in the pinnacles and vistas along the way, the fresh perspectives on God and His world, on His methods and the paths He’s appointed for us.

It is important always to keep our view broad and deep, to ask for spiritual vision and practice an eternal perspective. When we bend over and lumber along with tunnel vision, we can miss the glories of progress made, the new facets of God‘s attributes He has revealed, the ways His character is being formed in us. Taking moments to look down from the top reminds us that amidst the nadirs in life, there are peaks, points from which we have greater understanding and can turn and walk on again in new strength.

“I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining every day;
Still praying as I onward bound,
‘Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.’”  ~ Johnson Oatman, Jr. (1856-1926)

Father, keep my eyes open to see Your sovereign, purposeful hand all around me, to be thankful not just for where I am going, but for where I have come from by Your grace, and for the actual journey I walk by Your enabling. Cause me often to stop to catch my breath, and behold the wonders You have done. And spur me on to keep climbing as You bid me higher.

“O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, ‘There is no salvation for him in God.’ But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill.” Psalm 3:1-4

Any day, numerous foes confront the soul, wily tempters to discouragement, depression, doubt, and despair. Physical enemies of fatigue, stress, pain, wasting disease attack the body, while responsibilities and demands and decisions required of specific roles and job assignments tax the mind. How many are these foes! Rising, pressing, choking, taunting, they are relentless!

But You, O LORD! Against the claim that God cannot save, He does! Amidst the agony of desperate cries, He hears! Against the pressure and cacophony of all that would destroy us, our Lord is a secure shield round about us, enveloping us and lifting our faces to behold in hope His glory!  Allelujah!

“Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!…In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” “Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice.” Psalm 4:1,8; 5:1-3

Again and again, David the psalmist describes the agony of need, the unstinting pouring out of the heart, met by the gracious, present, personal, loving response of his God. How prone are we to be as honest, as vulnerable, as specific with our need of His help and relief? Am I more apt to confront my foes solo, to attempt to muster the strength to deal with them head-on by myself, or to cry out to my King Whose ear is open and Who has command over all resources, authority over every power? Do I rely more on grit than groan? God alone is our glory in any situation, and He lifts our heads– amazing thought. His all-powerful hand tenderly lifts my head, my face, to His, so that all I can do in my distress is look up. It is there alone I am satisfied, resolved, at peace.

“How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!”  ~ K. (attributed to George Keith, R. Keen) (1787)

LORD, whatever foes You assign to my days, keep me crying to and trusting in You. Lift my head above my circumstances to see Your glory, and reflect it in the here and now.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” “Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” “Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.”  Psalm 1:1-2; 32:2; 51:6

Plumb: “exactly vertical or true.” An old house gives good illustration for floors and walls that are not plumb. It is usually rather evident, by visual inspection or skewed balance, that floors have sagged, doors hang uneven, and walls and corners no longer pass a level’s test. While these places have charm and character, they would likely not stand up to today’s rigorous standards.

It is a daily challenge to remain ‘spiritually plumb,’ to be filled with truth, to stay pure in a world that readily poisons with words, suggestions, images, philosophies. No matter how uprightly we begin, over time we can settle in to ease, complacency, habits we grow accustomed to that no longer hold strong against new and enticing pressures. When we lose our “sharp,” when we allow slippage from our Rock-bed, we begin to get off-kilter, to sink, sometimes so subtly and insidiously we do not even recognize the distortion. A bit of language here, some new recreation there, a door ajar to new and wayward affections, the entertaining of modern logic that negates eternal truth, the claiming of culture-determined ‘rights’… soon we have welcomed, maybe unconsciously, unperceived cracks that will eat away at our foundation and bring spiritual weakness, even ruin.

“Behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11:2-3

As foundations are riddled, what do we do? I must first recognize what and who is wicked, and not loiter in their presence. No walking, standing, or sitting with those who would turn my heart astray, my talk to scoffing, who entice my mind to doubt, my resolve to dissipate. Are there individuals, or programs, from which I need distance? I must intentionally delight myself in my Lord, and in His word– churn it over in my mind, apply it to my affections, trust in its power. I am regularly to expose myself to the Spirit’s searching and testing and repent of any foreign allegiances. I must be keen to listen to my Lord’s voice, and walk according to it. I must deliberately establish time in the scriptures to reinforce the foundation of my thinking and doing. (Psalm 37:4; 139:23-24; Proverbs 3:5-6; Isaiah 30:20-21; Matthew 7:24-25)

All these ‘musts’ are not to be attempted in my own power, but will be the fruit of a life yielded to my Sovereign. It is Christ Who works in us, Who gives the will and strength to stay firm. (Philippians 2:12-13; 4:13)

Lord, keep me ever plumb with the foundation of Your true word, accurately reflecting Your design, that You may be glorified in and through me, Your holy dwelling place. (Ephesians 2:20-22)