As the rain and snow

“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.

“The LORD said to Samuel, ‘Obey their voice and make them a king…’ Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, ‘Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.’ And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there… When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant, ‘Come, let us go back…’ But he said to him, ‘There is a man of God in this city, who is held in honor; all that he says comes true. Let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go…’ As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, ‘Is the seer here?’ They answered, ‘He is; just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place…’ As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them…

“Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed to Samuel: ‘Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel…’ When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, ‘Here is the man of whom I spoke to you!..’ Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, ‘Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the LORD.'” 1 Samuel 8:22; 9:3-6,11-12,14-17; 10:1

Lost donkeys? Unable to be located in several regions? A servant who knows a prophet in this particular city, the fifth they’d reached in their search? Women drawing water at just that place and moment? Samuel arriving for a scheduled sacrifice that very day? God’s preparing Samuel the prior day with specific instructions? There are no coincidences or surprises with the LORD. Like a conductor, our God knows the whole piece of music, ordains how all the parts fit together, the timing and nuances, crescendos and largos and melodies, and in grand perfection orchestrates every performer and instrument and voice to make His symphony.

With our limited sight and provincial living, we can get narrowed into considering and fretting over small incidences, making big concerns out of mere pieces of a much larger life that God is designing for us. Am I letting inconsequential annoyances, setbacks, difficulties, obstacles eat away at my expectation for (and submitting to) God’s greater purposes? Or does the concern of how it all works prevent me from joyful delight in a single intrument’s lovely strain, of the significance and meaning of the facets of His character God reveals every day, as part of His big plan? Will I raise my eyes from the petty to seek and worship and trust the Master Conductor, Who over all things wondrously reigns? (Psalm 22:28)

LORD, keep me trusting Your sovereign baton, attuned to Your marvelous music, adoring Your masterful ways.

 

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Psalm 23:4; 1 Peter 5:6-11

Night extended into this morning as a thick curtain of storm cloud held back dawn’s light. Electricity flashed to give quick peaks into the view, thunder growled low and shaky, and then came the rain, ushering in a new day.

Some days begin this way– dark, dreaded, grumbly, untenable. Our cares and responsibilities, the realities of another rejection, an ill beloved life-partner, a wayward child, loneliness or an empty womb or uncertain future, realization that I no longer have (on this earth) a parent or close friend, may weigh heavy like these wet clouds. Yet the Lord is still nigh, ever present and bearing supernatural light even in the storm. He is our sun, the bridegroom striding from His chamber, leading in glory and joyful purpose, redeeming every wind that buffets, every storm that drenches with fear or despair. Beginning the day with Him washes us with hope and lifts the veil of darkness to give expectation for good in and from all things. (Psalm 19:4-6; Romans 8:28)

When I am overcome by the noise and pressure from storms– raucous and crushing from without, or taunting and pestering from within– do I, in my fear, or exhaustion, or dismay, remember the light? Will I by faith cling to the hope that the sun still rises and brilliantly shines behind the clouds, the earth still spins on its axis, and God reigns? The valley of the shadow must be walked, there is no escaping; yet it does not go on forever. And my Sovereign walks beside me all the way.

“O worship the King all-glorious above,
O gratefully sing his power and his love:
our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,
pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.

O tell of his might and sing of his grace,
whose robe is the light, whose canopy space.
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
and dark is his path on the wings of the storm.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
in you do we trust, nor find you to fail.
Your mercies, how tender, how firm to the end,
our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend!”  ~Robert Grant (1833)

Lord on high, in the morning when I rise, may I rise with You, fixing my gaze on the One Who rules above and below.

“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.